Schwinn Electric Bicycle Information.

[Supp]

Mission: Generally there is a lot of information on Schwinn Electric bicycles but they tend to be scatterred across multiple websites and forums. I'm organizing the data into a single thread for future readers. This is a WIP and may not be "fully accurate" but I'll try my best.

Models:

Campus
Production Years: 2008-?
Battery: lithium polymer 24V 10AH ... (claimed 29.4v/ possibly peak)
MSRP $1900

World GSE
Production Years: 2008-?
Gears: 24 Speed
Fork: Nex 4110
Shifter: Sram 3.0
Rear Derailer: Sram X-4
Battery: lithium polymer 24V 10AH ... (claimed 29.4v/ possibly peak)
Notes: 2008 TAS/PAS, 2009 PAS only
MSRP $2200

Continental
Production Years: 2008-?
Type: Standard Frame
Shifter: Shimano Nexus 7
Gears: Shimano Nexus 7 hub
Fork: Schwinn suspension with one piece alloy lowers.
Battery: lithium polymer 24V 10AH ... (claimed 29.4v/ possibly peak)
Notes: Shaft Drive, 2008 TAS/PAS,2009 PAS only
MSRP $2500

Transit (European)
Production Years: 2008-?
Type: Stepthrough or Standard Frame
Shifter: Nexus 8
Gears: Nexus 8 hub
Fork: SrSuntour Nex 4610
Battery: lithium Polymer 24V 10AH ... (claimed 29.4v/ possibly peak)
Notes: Eurpean (TAS/PAS)
MSRP Link Removed1150

Transit (American)
Production Years: 2009-?
Type: Stepthrough or Standard Frame
Shifter: Shimano Nexus 3 speed
Gears: Shimano Nexus 3 hub
Fork: Alloy fork.
Battery: lithium Polymer 24V 10AH ... (claimed 29.4v/ possibly peak)
Notes: PAS Only
MSRP ?

Searcher
Production Years: ?
Type: available Stepthrough Frame
Shifter: Shimano Alfine 8 trigger
Gears: Alfine 8 hub
Battery: Toshiba SCiB 24V 4.2AH
Notes: PAS only
MSRP ?

Tailwind
Production Years: 2009-?
Type: available Stepthrough or Standard Frame
Shifter: Shimano Nexus twist shifter
Gears: Shimano Nexus 8-Speed gear hub
Fork: SrSuntour Nex 4610
Battery: Toshiba SCiB 24V 4.2AH
Notes: PAS only
MSRP $3200

 

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Technologies:

Schwinn "Protantium". Protanium turns out to be a company specializing in ebicycle technology according to their website. I think during this period they rebranded Tongxin motors and maybe their controllers as well.

Schwinn "Protanium" Motor: All the bikes mentioned here (manufactured from 2008 to about 2010ish) are powered by the protanium motor. This is actually manufactured by Tongxin, and is a geared brushless freewheel motor that runs at about 180w (250w peak).

Protanium Battery: Most of the models feature a Lithium Polymer 24v 10AH battery (they claim it is 29.4V, but I believe that's the batteries peak power rating). The 2 exceptions are the Searcher and the Tailwind.

Toshiba SCiB Battery: The Searcher and the Tailwind both use the Toshiba SCiB battery, which charges to 80% capacity in 30 minutes (very fast), unfortunately it's only 4.2AH, which means it won't last very long. The battery is a Lithium–titanate battery, which is used in the electric car industry and can go through more than 10,000 cycles.

Schwinn Controller: There have been 2 versions of the controllers released with these bikes. 1 features PAS and TAS. The other features only PAS. The easiest way to determine which version you have is to look at the ebike LED display. If it has a throttle switch and a separate battery indicator (maybe labelled SPE-03) then it's the earlier PAS/TAS version (2008). If it has a "schwinn" labelled control panel with PAS levels and a battery indicator then it's the PAS only version (2009+).

 

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Additional Notes:

AtoB review: In AtoB (a UK bicycle magazine), they did a review of the Schwinn Transit (European version) in November of 2007. This of course was the TAS / PAS version of the Transit (stepthrough model) with a Nexus 8 hub. It was regarded as the first bike to fail their Hilly course circuit test. AtoB theorized that the problem was with the Controller being housed in a plastic box, and simply overheated. They were told than an "uprated" power controller was on the way (which is likely why the later models got a new controller (uprated?) with only PAS).

The tongxin motor is generally regarded as being very solid, but it has been known to fail due to a broken "ring". details on the fixing of the ring (which aren't for the faint of heart) are available on youtube (search Tongxin motor repair). The ones that developed the video are hightekbikes in San Francisco, and they seem to have knowledge dealing with Tongxin motor and controller failures.

An excerpt from hightekbikes, regarding tongxin motors repairs and controller reliability in general. "We are a factory authorized and trained repair center for Tongxin and have the spare rings in stock along with the required tool to replace them. We also have spare controllers in stock. FYI, the new version of this motor is even thinner, and is sensorless for more efficiency. One note on the controllers, they are vulunerable to high levels of back EMF. If you go down a steep hill, the voltage generated by the motor will burn up the mosfets, I suspect because the internal diodes are conducting. The work around is to add some protection diodes on the three motor leads, to GND and Batt+. Since this will pump the voltage into the battery, it will need to have over voltage and current protection (if Lithium)."

Stamina: Schwinn initially claimed a 40-60 mile range on their bikes. This was subject to a good deal of criticism. Afterwards they amended the range to 30 miles on the 24v 10ah battery models.

Weight: Schwinn initially said their bikes weigh between 40-45 pounds making them some of the lightest electric bikes around. When AtoB UK did their tests against the European Transit, their measured weight was 26kg (including the 2.8kg battery). The claimed weight of the bike was 20.5kg (45 pounds), as you can guess this disappointed the reviewers. The lightest of the Schwinn Electric line would be the Transit (american) as it uses a standard non-suspension fork and a relatively light Nexus 3 hub. The Schwinn transit weights in at 46lbs according to my bathroom scale.

 

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[Dewey]

The Reddit ebikes forum has a lot of information about the first generation Schwinn ebikes, including links to service manuals, battery pack teardowns, etc.

The Schwinn Tailwind is a good option for converting to a city/commuter ebike with a replacement 36v or 48v front hub kit motor/battery in a 700c wheel. Someone in Texas is selling them on (Link Removed - No Longer Exists) for $325 with free shipping. The Nexus IGH, full chain case, front suspension fork, swept back handlebars, and upright riding position are desirable features on a city bike, the front rim brake ought to be replaced with a disk brake or hydraulic rim brake as the rear only uses a roller brake, and you would need to remove the original 24v tongxin front hub motor and toshiba rack battery, but as these were lashed to the bike with zip ties the wiring should be easy to cut off. This would be a good donor frame for a front hub kit motor/battery like a Dillenger 36v kit in a 700c wheel although there are no bottle cage bosses on the frame so you would need to tie the battery pack to the rack.

 

[Brewerpaul]

I've heard that support for inexpensive bikes like Ancheer can be spotty, and I was wondering if ,being a US company, theirsupport might be better even though the bikes or most of their parts are undoubtedly Asian. Anyone seen and tried the Schwinn electric sidewinder?

 

[Dewey]

The Schwinn brand of ebikes sold at Walmart and Dicks sporting goods is a brand of the corporation Pacific Cycles which according to Wikipedia has a corporate hq in Madison, WI, and distribution centers in Illinois and California with the bikes made in Taiwan and China, so with US based support they ought to warehouse spare parts here if something goes wrong and you take it into Walmart or Dick’s for servicing.

Looking at the Walmart page for the sidewinder electric model it appears to use a 250w hub motor, so Court’s review of the Schwinn Monroe which uses the same motor should give you an idea of the electrical systems capabilities https://electricbikereview.com/schwinn/monroe-250/ The Sidewinder is better than the Monroe if you’re comparing the two bikes specifications because it has 7 gears, a suspension fork, and disk brakes, vs single speed, rigid fork, and linear pull brakes,

However I can’t find a product page for the electric Sidewinder on the Schwinn US website so it is unclear if the Sidewinder is a budget model only made for Walmart, Schwinn’s current eMTB offering is called the Schwinn Sycamore which uses a more powerful 350w motor https://www.schwinnbikes.com/en/int/bikes/electric/sycamore-mens-s7506

 

[Brewerpaul]

That's what I was thinking. Walmart was the only place I found it.

 

[marcl312]

@Supp, thank you for starting this thread. It was huge help when I sought to overhaul a Schwinn Continental that had a bad battery and then developed a problem with the hub motor.
It turns out that John Nether’s business Nethers Batteries is located in my hometown. John did an amazing job refurbishing and even upgrading the battery pack with 17.5Ah (7s5p) of Samsung 35E for $400. He was able to use the original BMS. The turnaround time was 48 hours. I highly recommend him.
It was disappointing that shortly after getting the battery replacement, the motor started to fail. I decided that a replacement was more efficient when I came across Leeds who sells a 250w sensorless motor in silver for $169.
That setup has been going strong for over a year. I get well over 30 miles of range with a mild pedaling effort (18-20 mph).
The Continental is an amazing bike with the Nexus 7 IGH and the shaft drive. It is very comfortable as a city bike, save for the leather saddle which has gotten so hard over the years that I cannot break it in. I will eventually upgrade that and the handles to Brooks. It is powerful enough to go over the rare mild hills around my hometown. The final drive ratio of the IGH is a bit short so the max comfortable speed is around 20 mph. I doubt the final drive ratio can be changed because of the shaft drive but that’s plenty speed for my purpose.
I wish the bike had more modern PAS controls with maybe 5 levels of assist. The Continental’s PAS control feels more like it offers only levels 4 or 5. It would be nice to be able to get less assist sometimes.
Still, these are minor annoyances for a technology that’s now 13 years old.
I may eventually upgrade the front brake to a hydraulic setup. The fork and motor both have mounting points. I am not sure how much more stopping power I would get since the rim brake already does a good job.
The bike is a real looker too. I often get compliments riding it around.
Overall, I am super happy with the bike. I hope this post is helpful to those who are looking to refurbish their old Schwinn.