Otherwise, the headlight is adjustable to your preference, and the rear light is built into the fender itself. The Coston e-bike comes with a typical brick-on-a-string charger that plugs into a normal 110v outlet. Schwinn advertises that it takes about four hours to charge. You can plug the battery in while it’s inside the bike, or you can use an included key to remove the battery from the bike for charging. Nothing feels cheap, plastic-y, or vulnerable to quick failure. You also get two different frame sizes to choose from, which is a big upgrade over the single one-size-fits-all frames that many e-bike companies still offer.
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.
The motor still comes into play here and provides some assistance by giving an extra boost each time you pedal. Using PAS, the bike will not accelerate without use of the pedals like the throttle does. The Pedal Assist System, or PAS, is a feature of your e-bike that provides extra power behind each pedal. It all runs through schwinn beach cruiser the LCD display located on the handlebars, from here you can toggle between one of 7 levels of assistance and turn on the PAS. Once you turn it on, the system engages each time you pedal on the electric bike. If you don’t press the power button to turn on the PAS, it will feel like you’re riding a regular bike when you pedal.
One thing I miss from previous e-bikes I’ve had was a range estimator that gave you an idea as to how much further you could ride at your present power level under present conditions. Such a feature is fairly inaccurate all things considered, but some estimate is better than no estimate. The Coston e-bike is controlled with a handlebar-mounted LED panel with three buttons on the side. The panel displays your speed and power level, plus you can cycle through other functions like an odometer, tripometer, and other stats like average speed, max speed, and total ride time. As reviewed, the bike didn’t have much in the way of storage, but other models have a rear rack and even storage in the seat. Speaking of the seat, it’s not the most comfortable I’ve ridden on, but that’s easy enough to replace with a third-party seat if you like.
Longer distances and steep hills are no problem when you have a pedal assist motor and throttle to add a little extra oomph to your ride. The standard batteries that come on our Marshall, Coston CE and Coston DX bikes are good for up to 45 miles of riding. But Schwinn knows many riders want to go farther, so we developed higher capacity batteries that are super easy to install (you’ll only need a screwdriver). These additional batteries extend the riding distance up to 80 miles on both our Coston and Marshall series of bikes. That means the motor is located on the rear hub and works by spinning the back wheel.
What makes me excited about the bike is the possibilities that it opens up, but like a lot of aspects of this bike, it’s something of a double-edged sword. Electric bikes are a ton of fun and I’ve had a great time this summer riding them. As an avid cyclist who commuted to and from the train for years in the past, I see e-bikes as a very reasonable step forward in commuting. The bike should have an estimated range of 18 miles without pedalling.
I mostly used the motor in pedal-assist mode, though I will cover the throttle in the next section. The motor on this bike is very aggressive in that is starts up quickly with even the slightest movement of the pedal, and it goes hard. When riding with level 5 assistance my pedals were free-spinning most of the time even on the highest gear. Ride up to 20 MPH with the 250-watt pedal assist hub motor that gives you a boost while you pedal. 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. Whether you’re commuting, exploring new trails, tooling around town, or all of the above, a sport hybrid e-bike can handle it all.
But it being a midweek day, I had the trail mostly to myself and was able to test all the assist levels — learning that the bike could indeed do the advertised maximum assist speed of 20 mph. When Schwinn contacted me about reviewing one of the bikes, I chose the Coston DX in the step-thru version, which makes for easy mounting. It also has upgraded fenders, a rear schwinn beach cruiser rack and a unique storage saddle that opens like a clamshell with the hinge in the nose and has room for your wallet, phone, energy bars or a multi-tool. All three models have headlights, taillights and integrated downtube lights for full visibility. Riding around on electric bikes might feel a little surprising at first, but most people who try it love it.