And at the end of the day, we’re talking about an affordable cruiser, so I didn’t expect to find high-end shifters, hydraulic disc brakes, or suspension on the bike. The Shimano Tourney shifter, mechanical disc brakes, and plushy spring saddle are enough for me. I’ve seen this level of components on electric cruisers that cost nearly twice as much.
So now that we’ve waxed philosophic about e-bikes, let’s get to the Coston CE. It’s basically the Goldilocks option, offering enough performance and functionality for everyday commuters without pushing the price too high. Take on greater adventures with our e-bikes, which stay true to the superior quality that’s made Schwinn famous for over 125 years.
When you think about EVs, you probably (rightly) think of cars. But there’s another class of EV that might have slipped below your radar, but which has transformed my summer in very unexpected ways. The bike was provided by Schwinn for the purposes of the review. The Schwinn Coston CE is very much a commuter electric bike, but it’s not one of those thin-wheeled messenger e-bikes. Easily recharge in as little as 4 hours with a standard household outlet and the included charging cable.
No suspension elements but the fork is steel which provides some vibration dampening properties and…… One of the valid concerns raised by riders of e-bikes is the ability of their e-bikes to hold a charge and provide pedal assistance when they’re out for rides of longer distances. When fully charged, Schwinn e-bike batteries last up to 45 miles. This estimate may vary depending on model, rider height/weight, and riding conditions. Our Coston and Marshall lines have an optional extended-life battery available that lets you go up to 80 miles per charge.
You have to turn the switch on first, then turn on the bike from the handlebars. I suspect this is designed to reduce battery drain when idle, but it doesn’t really work. There’s not a great spot for the wheel lock key, though you can sort of wedge it into the frame if you try.
Road or trail grit will stay out, and chain oil will stay in. They can do this because all the shifting is done in the rear hub – so it’s a straight, simple chainline with nothing other than two sprockets and a chain. I really, really like this feature – I can ride it in long pants and not get dirty, and if I take it on a dusty trail, the chain will stay clean and grit-free. This is awesome, and I’d love to see more bikes doing something like this. As is standard for geared ebike motors, it has no significant rolling resistance when the wheel is turning faster than the motor.
Downsides include complexity, lack of repairability, and adequate braking at best if you have hills. The braking feel is also very springy – there’s no real feedback schwinn beach cruiser in the lever, just an increasing force that goes all the way to the bars, and increases braking effort. It might lock the rear wheel up on ice, but that’s about it.
Once I rigged up my kids’ old trailer into a cargo trailer, I could transport even more from the grocery store. Suddenly I was spending hours if not days less time in my car, and more on a bike. I won’t pretend that exercise was a factor here — the e-bike does 95% of the work for you — but I’ll argue with any doctor that some peddling is better than sitting on my butt in a car. A 7-speed transmission from Microshift also adds to the commuter street-cred, giving those in hilly areas the ability to run through the gears on hills.
The grips are comfortable, the brake levers work fine with the Tektro rim brakes and the display console and thumb throttle are easy to reach and use. There’s not a lot of choice here, you just turn the console on with a 0/1 toggle switch and either begin pedaling or push down on the giant paddle trigger. This makes the bike easy to use for just about anyone and reduces distractions when riding. If you want to know how fast you’re going you will need to add an aftermarket LCD display as seen on the bike in this review and that could cost ~$25. I like that they included a bell with the bike and would love to have also had some lights for safety. Considering the relatively low price point aftermarket lights are something that could be added easily later on.
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. So to offer a full-size electric bike with otherwise nice commuter features yet with such a small battery is a bit surprising.