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 Schwinn Mendocino electric cruiser bike looked like exactly what I wanted. With creaky hips, I prefer a step through model and the website showed it in bright blue, which meant it would be a great replacement for my current ride. So I ordered it, only to find that blue was not available. I had already decided I wanted one, so I said I would take the gray one.
This versatility gives the IC4/C6 a leg up on the competition in this metric. By the mid-1970s, competition from lightweight and feature-rich imported bikes was making strong inroads in the budget-priced and beginners’ market. This feature, attractive to older riders, soon found its way to other Schwinn models, especially those intended for senior citizens. You might see the occasional “e-bike” (and we use the term loosely here) blowing through city traffic at speeds of 30 or 40 mph or more.
But there’s another class of EV that might have slipped below your radar, but which has transformed my summer in very unexpected ways. Of course, if you read the headline, you know I’m talking about electric bikes, and I’ve had the opportunity to test out Schwinn’s Coston CE electric bike for the past three weeks (and an older model before that). The bike was provided by Schwinn for the purposes of the review. The frame-mounted GO power pack fits anywhere on your frame via a set of velcro straps, has just a single cable to plug in, and provides up to 378Wh of battery capacity ( GO++ upgrade version, miles range).
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.
I understand that I’m a big guy, and I’m also about 50 pounds over the maximum advertised weight for this bike. I was probably never going to get 35 miles out of this or any other bike. That being said, I also didn’t get much extra range beyond miles, even after schwinn beach cruiser I set the pedal-assist at level 3. In the past, the range you got depended on how much work you were willing to put into it. On my older e-bike (also a Schwinn) I get about the same 20 miles of range at level 5, but I also get closer to 40 miles at level 3. 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.
The Paramount series had limited production numbers, making vintage examples quite rare today. Other road bikes were introduced by Schwinn in the early and mid 1960s, such as the Superior, Sierra, and Super Continental, but these were only produced for a few years. The Varsity and Continental sold in large numbers through the 1960s and early 1970s, becoming Scwhinn’s leading models. The wheel rims were likewise robust, chromed, stamped steel with a unique profile designed to hold the tire bead securely, even if pressure were low or lost.
It comes with dual-function pedals that have cages on one side and SPD clips on the other, so you can choose the footwear that’s best for you, plus they come with SPD cleats. The front stabilizer has integrated transport wheels that make moving this heavy bike easy. All feet have independent levelers to help stabilize the bike on uneven surfaces. An adjustment knob below the handlebar controls resistance, and there are 100 micro-adjustable levels of smooth, quiet magnetic resistance. In 1938, Frank W. Schwinn officially introduced the Paramount series. Developed from experiences gained in racing, Schwinn established Paramount as their answer to high-end, professional competition bicycles.