Our team of experienced testers spent many hours and miles using most of these bikes for their intended purposes. But this doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be riding around on a rattling tin can. And although the electrical components on some of these bikes might not be plastered with a familiar name, like Bosch or Shimano, that doesn’t mean they’re not capable. Every e-bike here uses a hub motor rather than a mid-drive motor.
In the world of mountain biking, the West Coast gets all the love. We’re also not here to argue that some of the best trails in the country (if not the world) call places like Moab, Park City, and Sun Valley home. Still, you shouldn’t sleep on the East Coast, and you especially shouldn’t sleep on the best mountain bike destinations in Georgia. The simple, somewhat disappointing truth is that the Coston DX doesn’t stack up against other e-bikes of a similar price.
The only time you’ll ever need to balance power output would be if you were planning on doing an entire 20 miles without charging. For commuters and people who run errands, that’s not always going to be the case. But what happens when you cross the quintessential feather-light and razor-sharp handling XC bike with the go-anywhere, ride-anything DNA of a proper full suspension trail bike? Here’s what we found after spending a few weeks with the Cannondale Scalpel Carbon SE LTD. While it could use a little boost to a 500 watt motor to help on the hills, the smaller motor keeps the price lower.
It’s good because everything on the bike feels solid and borderline rugged. The downside is this bike feels about as heavy as a light-armored vehicle. The bike tops out at around 57 pounds, which is tank-like in the biking world. By comparison, mongoose bmx my poor, neglected Trek bike weighs around 25 pounds. That’s a big difference when you’re picking up the bike to turn it around or put it on a car rack. On the other hand, in the time I’ve had an e-bike, I have barely touched my poor Trek bike.
The latest on mountain bikes delivered straight to your mailbox. If you are looking for the ultimate eBike experience, this might not be your bike. If you are shopping for something that does off-road and handles city commutes simultaneously, I would suggest you check out the Super 73 S2 instead.
In general, if purchased on the Schwinn website, your new bike will be shipped within hours of being ordered and should arrive within 7-10 days. At the moment these are the greatest offers that I’ve seen anywhere online. The 280Wh battery gives enough juice for up to 25miles, which might not seem much, schwinn mountain bicycles but it’s perfect for weekend adventures. Lastly, the Marshall comes with integrated LED frame light and headlight, but with just a battery taillight. A 7-speed transmission from Microshift also adds to the commuter street-cred, giving those in hilly areas the ability to run through the gears on hills.
This bicycle has a thumb pad controller for selecting the level of pedal assistance. We like the rear rack on this model, which provides cargo space. Drop below the $1,000 price level and e-bikes start to get sketchy. Most use lithium-ion battery technology, which is still pricey, and including it could mean cutting corners elsewhere if the overall price is that low. At $1,399, the Aventon Pace 350 gets close, but our test revealed it’s not too cheap to be high quality. The Class 2 e-bike tops the assistance out at 20 mph, whether you get there by pedal-assist or a throttle.
According to our experts, Bosch is a veteran, premium manufacturer of ebike motors most shops will be familiar with. Combine a great motor with an accessible step-thru design, front suspension, dropper seat post, and built-in lights, fenders, and rack, and this is a comfortable, easy to enjoy ebike. Schwinn produces excellent entry-level bikes for the standard e-bike newbie. Most of their e-bikes are affordable, especially compared to leading competitors, giving you an excellent opportunity to get into the industry without a ton of investment. Another consideration to keep in mind when choosing an e-bike (or any bike for that matter) is your height.