The LED display shows you how much assistance you’re getting, as well as how much battery life is left. When you want to stop, just squeeze the brake levers and the motor cuts off. The Schwinn Monroe 250 gets its 250 moniker from how many watts the hub drive puts out. This power level proved more than enough for me and my lifestyle, though there are models from other brands with 500 watts should you need even more.
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 schwinn mountain bicycles aftermarket lights are something that could be added easily later on. You’ll need to consider the type of terrain and style of riding you prefer, as well as how far you want to ride before recharging the battery. For example the Healy Ridge and Ridgewood e-bikes are great for trails and other off-road rides, whereas the Mendocino is perfect for casual cruising around the neighborhood.
E-biking is very powerful and addictive, and it has ruined traditional cycling for me, and I can’t decide if that’s a good thing. So, while my doctor, my therapist, and I all unpack that, this is my full review of the Coston CE e-bike from Schwinn. The features like the neat integrated lighting are rarely seen in the industry and are a definite win.
18-speed drivetrain with twist shifter lets you adapt to your terrain, while mechanical disc brakes deliver all weather stopping power. With just 288 Wh of capacity, the battery surprised me, and not in a good way. Sure, I’ve seen plenty of e-bikes with 288 Wh batteries before. It’s just that they’re usually on smaller, lightweight e-bikes that push the needle considerably less on the scale. The Schwinn Coston CE is very much a commuter electric bike, but it’s not one of those thin-wheeled messenger e-bikes.
Uphill, however, we definitely expended a significantly higher amount of energy with our toothpick-like legs. On flat roads, shifting gears will allow you to put more or less effort into your ride as you please, allowing for a lot of levity in the experience. We didn’t clock our speeds, but the bike can supposedly top about 15 miles per hour on flat ground with the pedal-assist on, and that sounds about right to us.
Riding this Schwinn without the pedal assistance on is, as you’d expect, just like riding any other bike… 7-speed trigger shifters offer smooth gear changes, mechanical disc brakes deliver all weather stopping power, and the aluminum frame provides lightweight durability. Ride up to 20 MPH with the 250-watt brushless geared schwinn electric bike hub drive pedal assist motor that gives you a boost while you pedal. Choose from several levels of assistance or use the throttle instead. Go up to 45 miles on a single charge, depending on conditions with the 313-watt hour rack mounted battery. Recharge in 4 hours with a standard household outlet and included charging cable.
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. On the other hand, in the time I’ve had an e-bike, I have barely touched my poor Trek bike.
These e-bikes deliver the same trail-ready riding experience with the addition of a pedal assist motor and rechargeable battery that let you roam farther and take on steep hills with ease. It works by spinning the back wheel, creating the feeling of being pushed. A mid-drive motor powers the bike’s drivetrain instead of the wheel hub. This style creates a natural sensation that one would typically feel while riding a bike.Most Schwinn e-bikes feature a hub drive motor because it requires little to no maintenance.
Schwinn advertises the Tailwind as being rechargeable in just half an hour. However, because of the dedicated external charger, you will either need to bring the bike back home or bring the charger with you to top up the battery. We rode the Tailwind for an hour without discharging the battery completely. The Schwinn Tailwind is one amongst a large number of electric bicycles available today, a segment gaining popularity due to interest in transportation alternatives to the car.