A growing number of US teens and young adults were purchasing imported European sport racing or sport touring bicycles, many fitted with multiple derailleur-shifted gears. Schwinn decided to meet the challenge by developing two lines of sport or road ‘racer’ bicycles. One was already in the catalog — the limited production Paramount series.
As is often the case for expensive, weird, new things that don’t have a well defined use case, within a few short years, the bikes were being closed out for under $1000. They were down to $700 in 2013, and can now be found for $350 with bad batteries on eBay. Surprisingly few websites seem to have actually gotten around to riding the thing when it came out. Most of the reviews seem to be “paper reviews,” with a few reviews written by people who had never ridden an electric bike before, rode it briefly, and came away impressed (not a high bar). While riding, use the “+” button to increase the level of assist as desired, and use the “-“ to decrease.
That adds a nice nighttime glow to the bike to give you better side visibility – an area where most bikes are lacking. Among the exercise bikes we tested, the Schwinn IC4 was fairly involved and time-consuming to assemble, similar to, but slightly easier than the screen-equipped models. It comes with all of the tools you need and detailed instructions that are easy to follow, and while it isn’t challenging to finish, many steps are necessary to complete the task. It took about an hour to get this bike from the box to ready to ride. Overall, given the fundamental shift I have seen in my personal bike riding habits this past summer, I very much enjoy having an e-bike.
The motion of the pedal is necessary to engage the motor in pedal-assist mode, but I rarely felt like I was assisting the motor except on the steepest hills and that was only when I was in the highest gear. If you need help, you may want to check out the voluminous guide to e-bikes my colleague Jo Borras created for schwinn ebike CleanTechnica readers recently. The bottom line is that no electric bike is right for all riders and all use cases.
It has a basic on/off toggle, a battery level indicator, and a power mode button that toggles between low, medium, and high. You can easily switch between power modes, and this is the closest thing to a throttle the bike has. Beyond its connectivity, the IC4 comes loaded with valuable features. Both the seat and handlebar have loads of adjustability, both up and down and fore and aft. It comes with a performance-oriented seat as well as a sizeable multi-position handlebar. Below the handlebar are two bottle holders with cradles to hang the included 3 lb hand weights.
In the 1950s, Schwinn began to aggressively cultivate bicycle retailers, persuading them to sell Schwinns as their predominant, if not exclusive brand. During this period, bicycle sales enjoyed relatively slow growth, with the bulk of sales going to youth models. In 1900, during the height of the first bicycle boom, annual United States sales by all bicycle manufacturers had briefly topped one million.
Although it is becoming harder to find, many of these are still on the road with their original high quality Lithium Polymer battery packs. In my opinion it’s a great setup with everything you need to cruise around town running errands. It’s also great for commuting to work where you can easily remove the battery pack for a quick charge before heading home. The fenders keep you dry while the larger 700c wheels and hybrid tires provide efficiency in coasting. The front suspension fork pairs nicely with the seat post shock and the ergonomic grips, swept back handlebars and adjustable stem keep your hands and arms comfortable. Even though this bike uses a relatively weak motor, it rides well and keeps the overall weight down.
Find one that works for you, then charge up and ride happy. That lovely early morning ride can turn into a chore when the wind shifts and starts blowing in your face rather than against your back. But with e-bikes, you will hardly notice the difference. At first, I was nervous about the bike going 20 miles an hour.
I’m sure that keeping it in low pedal assist will still net riders the claimed maximum of 35 miles that Schwinn promises. I’m not about to pedal around in the lightest pedal assist setting all day, especially since this isn’t a high power e-bike to begin with. So if you’re using liberal throttle, keep in mind that you’re going to wind up with limited range. Another consideration to keep in mind when choosing an e-bike (or any bike for that matter) is your height. Schwinn has electric bikes that fit riders from 4’8″ all the way up to those who are 6’4″.