By 1979, even the Paramount had been passed, technologically speaking, by a new generation of American as well as foreign custom bicycle manufacturers. I always thought electric bikes let you pedal at you own speed with the motor helping out. They go at whatever speed they are set for and you turn the pedals to keep the power flowing to the hub motor. 1 was a little slow, 2 was just about right, 3 sent me whizzing along faster than I could pedal.
This button is located on the underside of the downtube near the cranks. Use the included charging cable to connect the battery to a standard household outlet. The 250 watt motor could be bigger for this bike to use the throttle regularly and give a better boost on hills. The battery fits inside the bottom tube of the bike which gives it a sleek look. 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 SCiB batteries are power dense, charge insanely fast, are proprietary and un-obtainable by normal people, and just don’t make sense for an electric bicycle. It got a lot of positive press for Schwinn and Toshiba, but it’s not a very good electric bike. Even when it came out, the 350W BionX packs were setting a standard, and this bike missed it – badly. To charge the battery pack, you have to take it out of the bike. It comes out easily, but this is quite annoying, given that you charge the bike pretty much every time you ride it (or, at least, you will be, with this small a pack).
There are electric cruiser bikes, cargo bikes, mountain schwinn beach cruiser bikes, and fat tire bikes for riding on sand or snow. Not only is it one of the most affordable electric bikes you can buy, but Schwinn backs it with a lifetime warranty on the frame and fork, along with a two-year warranty on the battery and electric-assisted parts. Unbeknownst to me, the company has a line of electric bikes designed for entry-level cyclists.
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 or looking to add to their lineup. The Monroe 250 is also quite heavy at nearly 45 pounds. For comparison, my main bike — the REI Co-op Cycles CTY 2.1 — is bigger and weighs just over 30 pounds. The added weight makes the Monroe a pain to lug into my basement for storage. Fortunately, when riding, I can’t tell that it weighs more than my other bikes. Some of the added weight is attributed to the battery, which checks in at about six pounds.