Despite that initial impression about the size, my first ride showed me that the Schwinn was eager to roll, and nimble in the way that a large athlete can be quick on his feet. Locate the button on the back of the seat and push in. This will release the latch, allowing you to lift it up and open the seat compartment. It looks just odd enough for drivers to take a second look in a “what the heck is that thing?
However, the support process was slow and it took a long time for them to respond to my queries. Even after receiving an automated response with a ticket number, I had to wait for days, sometimes even weeks, to get a response from them. Just click the 2-part magnet disc onto your pedals, and stick the sensor to the frame to detect when you are pedalling.
It shows you what gear you’re in (1 is low, 8 is high), and you twist it to shift. Quick, easy, and when properly adjusted, surprisingly nice. It’s a brushless geared motor (excellent!), and supposedly rated for 180W sustained/250W peak output, though I haven’t stuck an ammeter on it to verify the power consumption (and, sadly, I lack an ebike dyno). It doesn’t seem to have been a very popular bicycle.
This is a 6-7 year old bike, and my particular example has been ridden a good bit, so it’s not in perfect condition. But I can still review it and provide some feedback on it for people who otherwise wouldn’t be able to find anything recent. Or, at least, get schwinn dealers some good detail photos of parts otherwise not covered. On a subsequent test climb, I experimented with the throttle while not pedaling at all. The throttle kept the bike moving, but as I neared the summit, the speed became so slow that I would have fallen over had I not started pedaling. That struck me as about right, for as I said before, I wasn’t looking for a free ride.
The fully assembled bike appeared larger than the display photo had led me to expect. In fact, I briefly wondered if I’d mistakenly been sent the L/XL size instead of the S/M. But once in the saddle, I found the fit to be correct. I am 5’7″ and the bike fit me fine with the seat post in the lowest position, so it’s likely riders slightly taller could also use this size. I had my 5’3″ daughter try the bike, and she found it too tall for her. Perhaps Schwinn can help drive to jump this next market ‘chasm’ with these sorts of price points, and some decent features delivered to justify even $1200.