Schwinn Tailwind and Searcher $999, good deal?
 

Just found out that Performance Bike has Schwinn Tailwind and Searcher priced at $999. Maybe they're 2010 models. But $999 still seems to be a good price at this point. Comments?

Probably a good price. I'd try one out before buying though.

I wonder of they bought a bunch of them and just have way too much stock and need to move them..
I always thought they were WAAAAY overpriced for a basic electric bike with a cool battery.

My intent use is for commuting. My one way commute is 30-ish miles and have 2000 feet elevation change. Currently I use a road bike (skinny tire/light weight) to commute. It takes me 2 hours one way. Due to the length of the commute and fatigue, I can only do it twice a week.

So my objective is two folds. 1. reduce the commute time 2. enable me to commute by bike everyday (or at least 3-4 days a week)

I'm looking at Schwinn Searcher. Looks like it's basically a hybrid bike + battery pack+ the motorized front wheel. It doesn't say how much weight it has. I'll guestimate it at 40-50 lbs. With my own weight (170lb), will Schwinn Searcher meet my objectives?

That's an impressive commute motorider. From what city to what city if you don't mind me asking. I'm in the East Bay too.

From Castro Valley to Sunnyvale :-)

Do you think Schwinn Search E8 can help me here? I'm not familiar with e-bikes and if I end up draining the batteries and have to haul a 50lb bike uphill, it doesn't sound fun.

so you have about 1/3rd of a mile of hills and 60 miles round trip...

of course the good thing is you have hills in one direction...but the good thing is you have a downslope in the other direction.....this basically means that if you pedal assist with the electric , on the hilly parts, you should be able to do the 2nd part of the trip very easily by cruising down hills without any electric assist.

I would say you would need a 20 A/h lifepo4 battery to accomplish your needs in a enjoyable manner in which you arent constantly worrying about running out of battery power .

luckily you are a person with low bodyweight...so that makes your goals much easier to acheive.

I've been researching electric bikes and had decided that the Trek Valencia+ was the bike for me - until this incredible sale on Schwinn electrics at Performance Bikes. I went down to my local store here in Philly and fell in love with the Schwinn Tailwind as soon as I saw it. I had not expected to buy a bike, so I didn't have my bike rack on the Mini Cooper. I bought the lovely white Tailwind they had on display, added a lock, and a few other things, and paid via my credit card. Then I had to drive home to put the bike rack on and then drive back. When I got to the shop the bike was ready and off I went. Once I got home I rode it for a couple of miles to test it out. I love it.

I agree, way over-priced versus other bikes, but still a high quality bike and definitely in the premium category. For them to go on sale for $995 was just irresistible to me and I bought one today. I'm sure that soon Schwinn will announce their new line of electric assist bikes, but I cool with that.

You've saved alot of money. Probably need to triple the battery capacity though. Be sure and post back on your adventures.

Oh? And how do I do that?

My commute is 1o miles each way - assuming a charger at my office, I don't see a problem. Am I missing something?

Eric

The valencia you mentioned has a much larger battery. Maybe the schwinn is super efficent but 24V and 5Ah is a very small battery. I didn't know what kind of range and speed you required. It may suit your needs. I read a review of the Bike and 2 years ago Schwinn was asking 3200 for the bike so you did good. Post back on how it does.

I don't think you can go wrong for the price. It's basically a city electric commuter bike. The battery is probably a 36 volt 10 ahr lithium iron phosphate battery and being removable is handy for recharging. I like the 3000 life cycles. The charger is a high amp charger and can recharge in 30 minutes. The motor looks like a geared hub motor which are more efficient than their direct drive cousins and are lighter and have no drag when free wheeling. They also have more torque for hill climbing. Top speed is 15 mph so you may find yourself "taking over" if you're in a hurry on the flat. It's also set up for pedal assist where motor goes when you pedal although there are 3 different modes to use. Range is about 30 miles, just enough for your commute.

Usually those commercial bikes are weak. Still better to build your own I think.

This one is $2000 but it's pretty much one of the best commercial kits out there.
http://epluselectricbike.com/buy-bik...conversion-kit

I too would be more comfortable with a sturdier kit like this but, can he make the 30 miles?

That kit is not worth $2k especially with nimh batteries..
If it had lifepo4 and 15ah then it would be worth it.

They answered people's request and they now have LIPO kits but they are like $2500 for it. I paid about $1200 - $1300 total for my crystalyte with lifepo4 kit. The E+ kits are so convenient. If I had $2000 to spend, I'd buy one.

$1200 for a LiFePO4 kit is a lot! We carry bikes equipped with LiFePO4 batteries for less than $1200.

Im a bit confused....

I purchased a 1000 watt/48 volt complete kit off ebay , with lifepo4 20A/h battery for $750 shipped . Now I did have to buy another brushless controller for $129 because the stock one burnt up...but even then thats a total of $830....

this kit pulls me 32mph { and I weigh 270 lbs** and does fine on the steepest roads in my area, as long as I give pedal assist.....

why would anyone spend $2000 on a kit ?

I AGREE !!!

I got my lifepo4 kit for $750 delivered off ebay....48 volt/ 1000 watt / 20 A/h....

I have to wonder , in a few years, if these kits will come down significanlty in price. The lifepo4 batterys certainly have.

Be aware of the range of one battery charge on the Tailwind. Whatever Schwinn says it is divide by 2 for real world. We have Schwinn World GSE which are supposed to get 40 miles but we generally get 20+ depending on the surface type; paved will get us close to 30 but gravel will drop to 22 or so.

Richard how much are you selling yur world gse for.

Not so that the Valencia+ has a much larger battery I think. I have the Valencia+ and I think the battery is only 6.4ah, something like that. I remember being very pissed when I found that out because the standard Bionx PL350 kit does have a 10ah battery. The Schwinn, according to http://www.ehow.com/list_7337679_sch...fications.html, has a 10ah battery. That said, I easily do a 25 mile r/t commute without coming close to wiping out the battery. I pedal a lot, really just using the battery for crappy headwinds and hills, and charging when going downhill. Still, the Bionx motor does seem very efficient. I would assume that the Schwinn, with serious pedaling, would get similar mileage. I was going to get one originally but it was even more expensive than the Valencia and only had a 250 watt motor. But for $1000, it's hard to go far wrong.

The special point of the Schwinn Tailwind, is that it has the SCiB battery from toshiba..
In TEN MINUTES, it will charge to 90%!!!
No other battery chemistry can achieve that..
(other than nanotech LiPoly, but those are dangerous)
Imagine having 4 of those batteries... 20ah charged in 10 minutes to 18ah... You could concievably go 30 miles, charge in 10 min, go another 27 miles, charge in 10min, etc... At 20mph, you could travel 300 in a day, easily!