Schwinn Tailwind Electric Bike

[mwkeefer]

Hey all,

I finally got my hands on one of these for a few moments earlier today (it was a delivery for a customer sitting at the shop)...

The bike was comfortable to sit on and the handlegrips were ergonomic

Sad as it is to say, those were the only 3 good parts of the bike!

I pulled the battery out, it was uber light weight.. when I flipped it over I suddenly noticed why, 24v 4.2 ah.

WTF - everything I had read said these were powered with a 29v (max) 10AH LiPo pack... whatever, the pricetag was over 2K for this ride + charger and it was kinda a joke.

Not only doesn't it have a throttle, the front hub motor is almost a joke... the terrain switch is "interesting" I suppose but I didn't ride it enough to check the function.

The real deciding factor - weight. I couldn't tell you the exact weight with the battery and charger but it was heavier than my 26" Hard Rock with a 9C 500w and a 15S2P Turnigy Pack - with panniers and a charger on board - all this for just a tad over 2G (the Tailwind).

Might as well call them the "NoWhere Fast" because thats about what your getting.

-Mike

 

[maydaverave]

Schwinn as turned into a very unfunny joke They sell pretty crap and a turd rolled in rhinestones is still a turd.

 

[mwkeefer]

Those aren't real Rhinestones, they are just red glass!

-Mike

 

[lfairban]

About the size of the battery, you probably heard about a previous model. IIRC, the battery on the Schwinn that my wife bought in '08 was 24V 20Ah polymer battery. I say my wife bought even though I paid for it since she picked it out. She didn't want me to build one for her, go figure. She liked the fit, so for $1.4K ( got a deal) I figured I could put a font kit on it if need be. The motor maxes at 9A, says so on the housing.

When I first saw the description, with the 5Ah battery on the new one (lol), I knew why they called it the "Tailwind". It is like riding with the wind at your back all the time. I have a 10 year old Schwinn with a 300 W Currie direct drive motor that only does 20A before the BMS on the replacement Li battery cuts out, and I leave her at the line when the light turns green all the time. I LIKE racing cars across intersection.