There’s no need to change the wheel as with the Swytch system. Here the motor sits on top of the rear tyre and a roller pushes it around from above. There’s also a wireless cadence sensor, as this is a cadence-based system that adjusts based on pedalling cadence, rather than torque. If you are in the market for an electric bicycle, I personally recommend the Lectric XP Lite. It’s necessary to clarify what it is you want the bike to do. Fat tire bikes are all the rage, but the noise those big wide tires make is a deal breaker for me.
If you don’t yet have one, then the cost of buying a bike, buying an electric bike conversion kit and then fitting it, is probably not going to be worth the time, effort, or money involved. However, if you have a bike that is in reasonable repair, then the value for money – and effort – will be greater. If you’re interested in fitting an electric bike conversion kit to one of your own bikes, you should consider your own personal requirements first and do plenty of research. You’re in the right place, as this guide will help you with a lot of that. So here are our findings, and our roundup of the best electric bike conversion kits you can buy right now.
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. I mostly used the motor in pedal-assist mode, though I will cover the throttle in the next section.
Before you complete any purchase, make sure you have an understanding of the local laws that govern electric bikes, which is where our guide to e-bike classes comes in handy. For example, in the US, there are different classes of e-bikes that vary by their power, speed limitations and whether or not they have a throttle, and each class is subject to different schwinn ebike rules. Things are a little more simple elsewhere, with the UK and EU stating that anything with a speed limiter of over 25km/h is classified as a moped, while anything up to 25km/h (15.5mph) is classed as a bicycle. You have a bike in the shed you haven’t touched for many years and it seems like a perfect candidate for conversion to an electric bike.
It’s a well-thought-out system that looks and feels great. The battery mounts to the handlebars and we found that a really useful detail. It is easy to disconnect and schwinn dealers take it away for storage, so it doesn’t get stolen when you are out and about, or to lighten the bike when, for example, it needs to be carried up a flight of stairs.
Attach the quick release front wheel, handlebars, and seat, then plug in the battery to get it charged up. The next morning, all was in readiness, so I set off for my first Schwinn e-bike ride. For more on the Schwinn Ebike, use our contact form to get in touch with us, or visit our website Prime EBike to read about more electric bikes we have for sale and rental. All three of our GO power pack options are the same size, but with different specifications and quantities of lithium cells inside, providing three different range options to choose from. Add the optional LED display to your Kit to unlock extra power modes, track your battery level, plus turn the power off while riding.
The bike offers a seven-speed gear range, with a derailleur and double-trigger shifter from Microshift. The rear hub motor offers assist levels of 0-5, with 0 being no assist and 5 being the maximum assist. On the mostly flat trail, the bike rolled easily enough that I could have pedaled its whole length without using any assist at all, just shifting the gears to accommodate the gentle rise and fall of the path. Of course, I wanted to try the assist, and when I did, I found that I never needed more than level 1 to roll at a comfortable trail speed. 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.