That’s a big difference when you’re picking up the bike to turn it around or put it on a car rack. Before we get into the e-bike itself, I want to take a moment to talk about e-bike ownership and what it has meant for me. I mentioned the shunning of my trusty Trek bike in lieu of my e-bikes this summer, but the reason for that has been life-changing for me. I’ve been using an electric bike and a shoulder bag for most of my shopping “can you grab me XYZ from Target” runs. On the other hand, in the time I’ve had an e-bike, I have barely touched my poor Trek bike. 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.
It can actually be hard to tell if it’s working or not, until you tap the on/off switch and realize, yes, it’s helping out nicely. There’s no need for the max assist level on flat ground. There are four or five pieces of plastic that clip together to seal this thing up very well.
The fast charging capability makes it seem like it was focused on fleet use, perhaps for urban delivery. But it’s just not a good bike for this – it’s heavy and slow. It doesn’t make much sense to me for an electric bike – the focus on fast charging and a high power density chemistry on a bike that really doesn’t need much power is hard to understand. The only thing I can think is that they hoped it would become a delivery fleet bike or something – but a decent delivery rider would absolutely smoke this bike in any terrain. It makes sense, if you’re Toshiba and want to advertise this fancy battery chemistry you’re gearing up to produce, though. Feature rich, relatively affordable, light weight electric bike from ~2009 well suited for city use.
The Lectric XP Lite weighs 46 pounds — 20 less than the Schwinn (Lectric has other models that weigh about 60 pounds.) The Schwinn was like driving a Hummer. The weight of the battery is much lower than with the Schwinn, which allows the rider to maneuver easily and confidently at all times. It has no gears and no chain, which means less maintenance.
Sure, I could have bought an electric bike for thousands, but I like my original bike and this kit was a breeze to install at a fraction of the price. You can re-position the velcro straps anywhere on the power pack, allowing it to fit to a wide variety of bicycle types. Add the optional LED display to your Kit to unlock extra power modes, track your battery level, plus turn the power off while riding. Unfortunately, Schwinn doesn’t outfit the Monroe 250 with any accessories you’d typically want for commuting, such as fenders or racks.
Unable to produce bicycles in the United States at a competitive cost, by the end of 1991 Schwinn was sourcing its bicycles from overseas manufacturers. This in turn led to further inroads by domestic and foreign competitors. Faced with a downward sales spiral, Schwinn went into bankruptcy in 1992.[59] The company and name were bought by the Zell/Chilmark Fund, an investment group, in 1993. Zell moved Schwinn’s corporate headquarters to Boulder, Colorado.
The motor driving this bike offers 180 watts nominal power and up to 250 watts peak. It’s a planetary geared design by Protanium and it offers good schwinn dealers torque while keeping weight down. The motor is quiet during operation and blends in with the rest of the bike. One downside to a front mounted hub motor is that it increases the steering weight and changes the ride quality a little bit but the impact is minimized here due to the smaller size of the motor.
You also have the option of setting a time, distance, or calorie workout goal through the bike’s console. Schwinn followed the Scrambler line with the Predator in 1982,[38] their next step into the competitive modern BMX market. The Predator took just eight percent of the BMX market. Schwinn had a very successful BMX factory supported racing team (beginning in 1976) made up of some of the best riders of the day. They were even used for an episode of the TV show CHiPs.
But it’s a great go-to steed for commuting, errand running, recreational riding, hauling a kid in a child seat and other general purposes. And it can still perform when needed for more demanding travel. Fully charged, a 250-watt e-bike motor can take a rider about 22.5 miles at 20 mph. At lower speeds, a battery will last up to 45 miles. These numbers, of course, can vary depending on riding conditions, bike weight, and rider weight. While we offer higher-capacity batteries for our e-bikes, the larger batteries won’t make the bike go faster.