Wait till you get to be my age and you will understand. The GO power pack couldn’t be easier to fit, simply strap it anywhere on your frame, and plug in the single cable. All three of our GO power pack options are the same size, but with different specifications and quantities of lithium cells inside, providing three different range options to choose from.
It has a basic on/off toggle, a battery level indicator, and a power mode button that toggles between low, medium, and high. You can easily switch between power modes, and this is the closest thing to a throttle the bike has. Beyond its connectivity, the IC4 comes loaded with valuable features. Both the seat and handlebar have loads of adjustability, both up and down and fore and aft. It comes with a performance-oriented seat as well as a sizeable multi-position handlebar. Below the handlebar are two bottle holders with cradles to hang the included 3 lb hand weights.
Normally, I’d hop in my car and zip down to the store, but this summer, I was able to stop using my car and start using my bike for almost everything.
As is often the case for expensive, weird, new things that don’t have a well defined use case, within a few short years, the bikes were being closed out for under $1000. They were down to $700 in 2013, and can now be found for $350 with bad batteries on eBay. Surprisingly few websites seem to have actually gotten around to riding the thing when it came out. Most of the reviews seem to be “paper reviews,” with a few reviews written by people who had never ridden an electric bike before, rode it briefly, and came away impressed (not a high bar). While riding, use the “+” button to increase the level of assist as desired, and use the “-“ to decrease.
If their goal was a lot of media coverage for them and, more importantly, Toshiba, they succeeded. But if their goal was to build a good bike, I think they failed. I’ve been riding this bike for a while, trying to get an idea of what it is and what it likes to do. Oh, and don’t expect a single bit of support from Schwinn or Toshiba. Neither one wants anything to do with this bike anymore, and they won’t help you a single bit.
Fully assembledLocal pickup only from Riviera Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, or Vero Beach – call to arrange pickup location and date. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Instead of fumbling with it myself, I go to my favorite local bike shop, Spin Bicycle Shop, in Lansing, Michigan. For $70, the shop put my new Schwinn e-bike together and offered to make any tweaks after I rode it for a little bit. No owners manual so this video has helped a lot with the battery removal trick etc (since my only other experience is a Raleigh retro eglide). I tested a couple Schwinn e-bikes from the demo stable at the end of the Square 2 Square ride in Bentonville recently.
The 100 levels of magnetic resistance are controlled by a knob below the handlebar on the bike’s mainframe. Schwinn is a big player in the home fitness market, and the IC4 is the top-of-the-line model in their range of indoor cycling bikes. In addition to its sturdy build, 40 lb weighted flywheel, and 100 levels of magnetic resistance, it is a smart bike with connected features. With more and more schwinn dealers people exercising from home and latching onto the interactive at-home studio and virtual cycling trend, this was a compelling model worthy of testing. We found the IC4 to provide an excellent workout, a high level of comfort, and functionality with popular apps like Zwift, Peloton, and JRNY (it comes with a 1-year JRNY membership).
I’d like to see an ebike have a powered tail light so I don’t have to remember to test the batteries. I’m assuming with the design it’s tough to power anything on the back without a rack. Then cruising city streets the higher pedal assist and gears help you get up to the 20mph pedal assist limit. It’s easy to switch through the 7 gears with the twist or grip shift. It moves easily and quickly move through the gears. I had to adjust my derailleur a bit on the first ride out so all the gears hit just right but once it was adjusted it was smooth.