My New Bike! - Schwimm Tailwind

[fatboytrig]

OK, so a review will follow but I ended up with a Schwimm Tailwind. A bike that has had mixed reviews for its claims around battery charging times, value for money e.t.c. They seemed to be retailing at around £1,600 upwards. Obviously being offloaded now as they didn't sell very well. I picked a new one up for £600! Cheaper than the powabyke 2009 X6 or X24 that I was looking at.

Big thanks to my new friend kitchenman‎ (the electric bike nut job) who helped me get it going this morning. Just had a test run on it and loved it. Wow! it actually does help you up the hills. Smiled the entire trip. Anyway, that was just a short tester as I have to get back to work (boooooo).

However, what I do have to do is ride my 7 miles back home this afternoon (yaaaay) and for that, I cannot wait!! Which way shall I go, I just don't know. Shall I try this hill or that hill, the hard route, the easy. Oh such choice now!

I am like a little boy on Christmas day! Thank you God of electricity, who ever the hell you are!

 

[flecc]

Now that's a very good buy at that price. They were rightly criticised at the high initial prices for Schwinn have had a patchy record with e-bikes, but at £600 it's a bargain. Hope you get loads of enjoyment from it.

 

[kitchenman]

I've got the video! .. I hope you will give me permission to broadcast when you've seen it!

 

[fatboytrig]

Well, I took my first proper journey home and took the long route, just for the fun of it and boy, it was fun! The journey is something like 8 - 9 miles and usually takes me upwards of 50 minutes with headwinds and tough hills. (I'm not very fit). It took me half an hour!!!!!

The Tailwind has three settings, effectively low/med/hi - Some icons by these buttons look like Down hill (for low), Flat (for medium) and uphill (for Hi) each icon is a little person on a bike angled down,flat or up hill - I was careful not to just stick it on hi the entire time and soon learnt that with the very steep hills, I should chose a low gear and even go down to medium to stop the motor from whining. It only makes that noise when it struggles up the steep hills and with a 6'2'' 17 stone mass with full pannier with laptop and clothes sat on its back, I'm not surprised.

I should lower my expectations a little on the hills and that's fine as I am still going allot faster AND it's so much easier to make the journey, yet I am still out of breath from peddling and getting exercise, which is fantastic and absolutely my objective.

The battery indicator has 4 notches. All 4 were lit up as I left work, despite all the playing I had done around the block on it. When I was going up steep hills and the motor was working hard, a couple of indicator lights switched off. But then they came back on again. Now I am at home, 3 out of 4 are still on.

I will charge it up again for Monday morning and see how many journey's I can get out of it. I suspect it could be about 3 or 4. Which could be around 28 miles.

More to follow.

Now I really do understand what everyone has been banging on about for so long. May the smile miles just fly by!

 

[Abs_N]

Scwinn

That's a good price where did you buy it from ?

 

[banbury frank]

Hi

Looking for a Value for money Bike £499 75 % off RRP £2,000

Schwimm Tailwind


http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=55968&utm_source=google&utm_medium=shopping&utm_campaign=Google-Products-UK


Frank

 

[PJM]

How steep are the hills you have gone up? The Old reviews in the states slated it for its lack of power. At £499 it is tempting.

 

[flecc]

How steep are the hills you have gone up? The Old reviews in the states slated it for its lack of power. At £499 it is tempting.

They are lower powered than most e-bikes, this to get enough range from the low capacity fast charge SCiB battery type. It's not a battery choice I'd recommend normally, but at this price the bike is certainly worth considering, especially for that half of the country with hills below 10% gradient.

Not for a steep hills area unless the rider is very strong.

 

[kitchenman]

One thing I forgot to mention was not to put the battery on to charge just after you have been using it. I believe this is because of the chemical reaction that goes on. Not sure how long is needed before its safe to put it on to charge but I hope someone else will be able to suggest a period. I would have thought an hour would be sufficient but thats just a guess! ...

 

[kitchenman]

Don't remember seeing a bike computer. Did it come with one? If not, you need to get one! ... These all kinds of statistics that I need to survive! ...and dont forget to dust off your PSP and sort out the rear view and videoing. This is all essential stuff! ...
btw - I sent you a PM with a link to the unboxing video for your approval!

 

[fatboytrig]

How steep are the hills you have gone up? The Old reviews in the states slated it for its lack of power. At £499 it is tempting.

It does struggle on the really steep hills and actually the secret is to lower the amount of power to the motor, take it down to a much lower gear and peddle. You will still be out of breath when you get to the top but nowhere near out of breath on a normal bike. As for how steep the hills are, I couldn't tell you but there are a couple of VERY steep hills, the kind that even an experienced cyclist would get off and walk, or you use those crazy gears that make your legs go round really quickly and you go slower than walking

Gonna go out this morning to try the worst hill I know, one of the routes into my village...

 

[fatboytrig]

One thing I forgot to mention was not to put the battery on to charge just after you have been using it. I believe this is because of the chemical reaction that goes on. Not sure how long is needed before its safe to put it on to charge but I hope someone else will be able to suggest a period. I would have thought an hour would be sufficient but thats just a guess! ...

Thanks Alski, I will remember that.

 

[fatboytrig]

OK, so I paid 599 + 25 for delivery from factorydirectbikes.co.uk - but if you can get it at 499 its absolutely worth a punt. The quality as a bike itself is fantastic. The ride is so smooth and quick. So much better than my TREK Navigator, which I have loved for 2 years.

It is fast, the motor is great and if you lower expectations on the steep hills, you will be fine. It will still get you (help you) up them, you just have to go a bit slower. It's still worth getting out of breath sometimes. It's nowhere near as bad as on a normal bike!!!!

I can't wait to get out on it again this morning. Smiling, just thinking about it.

Oh, the only other thing is the saddle and saddle suspension are a bit hard. I am guessing the suspension will loosen with time as I am a fatboy, after all. Also, the saddle, I think you can get soft coverings for them.

Can anyone recommend coverings for a saddle to make my fat a**e more comfortable?

 

[fatboytrig]

Don't remember seeing a bike computer. Did it come with one? If not, you need to get one! ...!

Hey Alan, one step at a time for me. I will sort out a computer. Do you recommend a good one? Preferably inexpensive and probably wireless? Also in miles rather than K's, I will sort out the PSP as soon as I can get some decent housing. Not sure about recording video, although I may... just like the idea of the rear view, like you have!

 

[trex]

fatboytrig, just a quick question, can you tell me the ratings of this bike's battery and motor?

 

[kitchenman]

fatboytrig, just a quick question, can you tell me the ratings of this bike's battery and motor?

Hes probably out riding! Here are some of his details:

SCHWINN TAILWIND 2011 Factory Direct Bikes £599
24V 250W Brushless
Rack mounted Toshiba 24V 5Ah SCiB
Bikes, Mountain Bike, Kids Bikes, Cheap Bikes, Discount Bikes
http://www.factorydirectbikes.com/images/schwinn/2011/o-2607-SCHWINN_TAILWIND_2011_ELECTRIC_BIKE.jpg

 

[fatboytrig]

fatboytrig, just a quick question, can you tell me the ratings of this bike's battery and motor?

Um OK, I am not a technical person, so I will just copy it off the web

FrameAlloy trekking geometry.
ForksSuntour NEX with 1-piece alloy lower, preload adjust and lock-out
DrivetrainShimano Nexus 8-Speed gear hub with Nexus twist shifter
Braking SystemShimano Nexus roller rear and alloy LP front
SaddleSelle Royale Look-in 3D
SeatpostSuspension with micro adjust clamp
BatteryToshiba SCiB 5Ah 24V Casing compatible with Schwinn Tailwind rack system only
MotorSchwinn Tailwind 24V 180W nominal, 250W max front hub
MiscellaneousSchwinn Tailwind rack, B+M Dyno lights and Basta rear wheel lock, fenders, kickstand

Hope that helps.

 

[fatboytrig]

Hes probably out riding!

Ha haaaa. I was out riding and for no good reason

 

[trex]

Is it true that you can charge up the battery in just 30 minutes? if so, why aren't they more popular?

 

[fatboytrig]

Is it true that you can charge up the battery in just 30 minutes? if so, why aren't they more popular?

well, actually, it takes from 30 - 40 minutes to recharge but that is still very quick. I think there are two reasons why they are not more popular.

1. They were very costly. Retailing upwards of £1600, I think. $3000 in the USA. - They are a very hi quality cycle actually and that shows in the build and materials used.
2. The power of the motor is not as strong as others. For e.g., I believe the POwabyke will get you up a hill faster than this. It depends on rider weight.

It all depends on what your objective is. Mine was to speed up commute time and to help with the hills. It certainly does that. I also want to keep some form of exercise, still having to peddle up hills, albeit nowhere near as hard as without the motor, keeps me happy.

Don't be fooled by some of the reviews you can find on the web, all of them written in the context of it being a hi end priced bike. Which I think probably contributed to the model not doing well. Now you can pick them up for £500.00 or so (I got mine for £600) you have yourself a fantastic machine!

If you are tall and heavy like me (6ft 2 & 17/18stone) you need the 19inch frame and to lower expectations around speed on hills. You just slow down, don't push the motor too hard, choose gear 2 or so. It is so much fast and easier than riding normally, believe me...and for that, I mean the really steep hills.

It does the job for me.