As is often the case for expensive, weird, new things that don’t have a well defined use case, within a few short years, the bikes were being closed out for under $1000. They were down to $700 in 2013, and can now be found for $350 with bad batteries on eBay. Surprisingly few websites seem to have actually gotten around to riding the thing when it came out. Most of the reviews seem to be “paper reviews,” with a few reviews written by people who had never ridden an electric bike before, rode it briefly, and came away impressed (not a high bar). While riding, use the “+” button to increase the level of assist as desired, and use the “-“ to decrease.
If their goal was a lot of media coverage for them and, more importantly, Toshiba, they succeeded. But if their goal was to build a good bike, I think they failed. I’ve been riding this bike for a while, trying to get an idea of what it is and what it likes to do. Oh, and don’t expect a single bit of support from Schwinn or Toshiba. Neither one wants anything to do with this bike anymore, and they won’t help you a single bit.
That adds a nice nighttime glow to the bike to give you better side visibility – an area where most bikes are lacking. Among the exercise bikes we tested, the Schwinn IC4 was fairly involved and time-consuming to assemble, similar to, but slightly easier than the screen-equipped models. It comes with all of the tools you need and detailed instructions that are easy to follow, and while it isn’t challenging to finish, many steps are necessary to complete the task. It took about an hour to get this bike from the box to ready to ride. Overall, given the fundamental shift I have seen in my personal bike riding habits this past summer, I very much enjoy having an e-bike.
I confess I have never heard of most of the companies selling e-bikes these days. There was a certain comfort level right from the start about dealing with a brand I knew and trusted. I live in an oceanside condo community in Florida, which is very nice or will be, at least, until the seas rise and reclaim Florida’s barrier islands once more. All of Florida has been underwater before and will be again, although hopefully not in my lifetime.
Great for pavement and light trails, the Coston CE comes with pedal assist and throttle up to 20 MPH, and up to 35 miles per charge. Special features include integrated lights and fenders. Thus, the [integrated] lights and the brightness make the bike great. Also, being older, I love the throttle which makes starting off at a light much easier and safer. Strong and able to handle what I enjoy doing.” — Philip D.“We live in a very hilly area. My spouse has always had difficulty riding her standard bike uphill, to the point that she stopped riding.
The motion of the pedal is necessary to engage the motor in pedal-assist mode, but I rarely felt like I was assisting the motor except on the steepest hills and that was only when I was in the highest gear. If you need help, you may want to check out the voluminous guide to e-bikes my colleague Jo Borras created for schwinn ebike CleanTechnica readers recently. The bottom line is that no electric bike is right for all riders and all use cases.
The Coston DX is a hybrid e-bike with several frame sizes available in both step-thru and stand over styles. Great for pavement and light trails, the Coston DX comes with pedal assist and throttle up to 20 MPH, and up to 45 miles per charge. Special features include integrated lights, a storage seat, fenders, and rear rack. Compatible with extended-life batteries (sold separately). We have friends who told us about a couple they met that had a pair of folding electric bikes from Lectric. My wife did some research, read the reviews, and ordered one — in bright blue, my favorite color.
Wait till you get to be my age and you will understand. The GO power pack couldn’t be easier to fit, simply strap it anywhere on your frame, and plug in the single cable. All three of our GO power pack options are the same size, but with different specifications and quantities of lithium cells inside, providing three different range options to choose from.