As a commuter e-bike, I’m also glad to see some good commuter specific parts, like the included fenders and the excellent lighting. Not only do you get typical head and taillights, but you also have LED frame lights built into the sides of the battery. That adds a nice nighttime glow to the bike to give you better side visibility – an area where most bikes are lacking. Of course, the premier feature of this e-bike is the “e” part. This is a class 1/class 2 e-bike in that it can be a pedal-assist bike up to 20 mph or you can use a dedicated throttle lever without pedaling. You will want to check your local regulations to find out what is legal in your area.
Easy conversion by replacing the front wheel with a motorised one. Includes a convenient handlebar-mounted battery, and an LCD display in place of buttons, which makes it easier to see your battery level and more. Although it has an aluminum frame, it weighs in at just over 66 pounds. Maybe that’s schwinn beach cruiser not such a big deal, but much of the weight is carried high in the frame. My first impression was that the bike felt unwieldy, like I was carrying a bocce set on the rack behind me. Shipping took a little over a week, but soon enough the UPS truck was at my door and unloading my first ever e-bike.
There was a certain comfort level right from the start about dealing with a brand I knew and trusted. Many people have complained about the slow response time in the reviews, and I believe the company needs to improve its customer support procedures and responsiveness. You can re-position the velcro straps anywhere on the power pack, allowing it to fit to a wide variety of bicycle types. Upgrade to our LED or OLED display to view battery level, unlock settings, and up to 5 power levels. I really enjoyed my time with Schwinn’s Monroe 250 Single-Speed Electric Bike and was sad when it came time for Pacific Cycle — Schwinn’s parent company — to take it back. It was such a joy to ride around and truly turned me in favor of e-bikes (something I never thought possible).
To be fair, not many competing e-bikes tend to come with these extras anyway, so with its comparatively low price, you’ll have extra money to pick out the accessories you want. 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.
The battery has to be on before turning the bike on which got me the first time I tried. The Marshall looks like a mountain bike with a comfy cruiser feel to it. A step-thru version offers a slightly lower top bar than the regular version. The features like the neat integrated lighting are rarely seen in the industry and are a definite win.
Despite my desire to only bike for exercise, I do admit I get lazy sometimes. Despite my weight and the strain it put on the motor, I found that the bike really does have a 45-mile range on a single charge. I didn’t have a chance to precisely time how long the battery takes to charge from empty but it recharged completely overnight or during a full workday. There are five speeds you can adjust via the bike’s thumb pad controller located on the left handle.
Once you have that, you’re ready for all the e-bike adventures you please. Class 2Class 2 e-bikes (the majority of e-bikes on the market today) have a throttle that can propel the bike to that top 20 mph speed without any pedal assist from the rider. The bike can accelerate to 20 mph without the rider having to pedal. And like Class 1, these bikes are allowed wherever bikes are permitted.We should add that not all Class 2 e-bikes will get you all the way to 20 mph. Take, for instance, our smaller Healy Ridge mountain bike. Designed for younger riders and with safety incorporated as a top concern, it purposefully has a top speed of 16 mph.But for the most part, 20 mph is the top speed on a Class 2 e-bike.