Here at Schwinn, we worked hard to develop a high-quality ride that won’t break the bank. Plus, we believe in our bikes and back them up with one of the best warranty programs around. National Road Champion as well as the founder of the Bahati Foundation which works to build strong communities by providing underserved youth with bicycles. Giant’s first foray into professional road cycling was with the defunct Spanish Team ONCE directed by Manolo Saiz using Giant TCR frames in custom sizes for each individual rider.
This is because the motor is actually an assistance system; primary meant to augment your manual pedaling. In fact, the motor disengages when you stop pedaling or when the brakes are engaged. A good thing in the case of the latter, as I discovered the motor is surprisingly powerful. The bike can also tell when you are going downhill or coasting and will disengage the motor to save battery power. The acceleration is palpable but not jerky or jarring, although, like me, you may be initially surprised at its strength. When Schwinn contacted me about reviewing one of the bikes, I chose the Coston DX in the step-thru version, which makes for easy mounting.
The rear hub motor offers assist levels of 0-5, with 0 being no assist and 5 being the maximum assist. On the mostly flat trail, the bike rolled easily enough that I could have pedaled its whole length without using any assist at all, just shifting the gears to accommodate the gentle rise and fall of the path. Of course, I wanted to try the assist, and when I did, I found that I never needed more than level 1 to roll at a comfortable trail speed. But it being a midweek day, I had the trail mostly to myself and was able to test all the assist levels — learning that the bike could indeed do the advertised maximum assist speed of 20 mph. Explore the exciting world of eBikes with a stylish urban ride that’s perfect for your on-the-go lifestyle.
They are most noted for when both men and women teams won the Team Time Trial event at the 2017 UCI World Championships in Bergen, Norway. The bike offers a smooth, comfortable ride, enough assist options to either get a workout or just cruise, and has plenty of range to get me around town. That it’s also one of the more inexpensive e-bikes on the market makes the Monroe 250 an excellent choice for anyone buying their first e-bike schwinn ebike or looking to add to their lineup. Despite my weight and the strain it put on the motor, I found that the bike really does have a 45-mile range on a single charge. I didn’t have a chance to precisely time how long the battery takes to charge from empty but it recharged completely overnight or during a full workday. When I pedaled hard, the bike was able to get up to 20 mph in about 10 seconds on smooth, flat surfaces.
An interesting characteristic of cadence sensors however, is that you don’t need to push hard in order to activate them… just keep turning the cranks and the motor will stay active. I love that both brake levers have motor inhibitor switches built-in to cut power instantly when you need to stop or want to track stand at a stop sign or traffic signal. One complaint I have schwinn ebike about the motor design is that the power cable entry point is a little exposed on the right axle. There is a rubber cap to help protect it, but the cable still protrudes a bit and could get snagged or bent and damaged if the bike were to tip onto its right side. I personally prefer rear mounted stands… but I see lots of city bikes that come just like this, with no stand!
However, please do be careful of the wire brake line running along the base of the top tube if you try to lift this bike, because it could get snagged or rub into the frame and scratch it over time. Many of the other wires, for the electric assist and control systems, are internally routed through the frame. This design choice makes the bike look nice and provides a bit of added protection but could make it harder to work on. Each frame is available in step-through form and includes wide tires, integrated lights, upright positioning, and a powerful motor.
The only time you’ll ever need to balance power output would be if you were planning on doing an entire 20 miles without charging. For commuters and people who run errands, that’s not always going to be the case. This is a class 1/class 2 e-bike in that it can be a pedal-assist bike up to 20 mph or you can use a dedicated throttle lever without pedaling. You will want to check your local regulations to find out what is legal in your area. Most places are fine with class 1 e-bikes, but different municipalities have different rules pertaining to class 2 and above.
Due to the complexity of assembly required for the Schwinn E-bikes we only offer in click and collect to ensure the bikes are assembled correctly. If this isn’t an option please feel free to contact the store to discuss other options. I live in Southeastern Ohio, amid the Appalachian foothills, so most of the bike rides in my area are hilly. Thus, for my next ride, I first headed for a local cemetery that sprawls over the top of a high hill and is accessed by a steep road. In fact, the graveyard provides a favorite vantage point for photographers wanting a shot of our town.