FREEBIRD1

Anyone try one of these? they look like a good single e bike.

MadKaw

Don't know anything about that bike. Just looking at the ad, though, Schwinn certainly didn't try to throw too much stuff in so that they'd cheap out on the parts. That said, there's also nothing "premium" on it. Tektro mechanical brakes, single speed, 250 W Bafang... you might do worse—you might do better, I just don't know. One point I would make, however, is explore what you can get serviced locally. Any bike you have to wait six months for parts to arrive from China to repair is just a very clumsy paperweight.
When I looked around here, I was surprised to find 3 shops within driving distance that sell and service electric bikes.

FREEBIRD1

With the single speed and generic frame parts, there doesn't look like a lot of components to fail. The controller and hub motor are also pretty simple. I do a lot of riding in my area and see quite a few e bikes, but have not seen one of these, plenty of the schwinn sidewinders,

veganbikes

Schwinn is not known for quality anymore. Hopefully Wally-Mart will want to service that thing when it has issues, they can't and won't but for the high price they charge for it you might as well dream. I guess they took a cheap single speed and slapped an old school hub kit on it and said let's see how high we can price it.

I would save some money and get something of quality, Bosch, Brose Shimano or even Yamaha make excellent quality motors with good support behind them on generally decent enough bikes. Sure there is some cheap low quality bikes using those motors but most of it is at least decent enough that a normal shop might consider touching it, You will be happier you spent a little more and got a much higher quality bike with better warranties and support.

FREEBIRD1

I know what you mean with some of this low end stuff, it's usually built for a specific life cycle, and if it makes to that time frame (usually not as long a a high end piece), the manufacturer has done what they set out to do. It always amazes me when people buy tools from Chinese distributors, and complain on the quality. Did they actually believe they were going to last as long as commercial grade mechanics gear? I have had luck with low end products, and some actually have pretty good parts support ( I don't like to rely on shops to work on stuff for me) and others it's a disposable item, or parts bin materials.

Doc_Wui

I been following a Walmart e-bike thread on another forum. The customer just broke a spoke, complained, and Walmart sent him an entire wheel/motor. That's not bad for a $2 spoke, getting a whole new drive assembly under warranty. Stupid me, I'd just put in a new spoke.

I'd feel bad if I owned WMT stock. That cannot be good for the bottom line.

FREEBIRD1

I have used those extended warranties Wal Mart sells, they honored them quite well for me.

veganbikes

Basically it is a disposable item. Probably not terrible for a month of use in a flat area with decent roads under a lightweight rider but if I am commuting on it or riding it often it is not a bike I would want to rely on. For a bike like that I would rather just build up a 16 pound single speed and ride that. Vintage bikes are cool but vintage e-bike parts on something brand new just isn't. The technology wasn't all that good and worth all that much.

2old

Looks like a solid bike, and the "bicycle" components are easy to procure. Bafang produces about a million motors a year and I haven't heard anything bad about their quality (my three have been superb). That said, I think the bike is overpriced ($1499 when I looked).It seems more like a $799 - $999 bike to me. Trek stores have an Electra with a good warranty for about tha same price last time I looked.

FREEBIRD1

I think I seen them at WM for 799-899, the 350W model is a little more,

2old

Look closely at the two models since there's a chance the motors are identical (maybe the controllers differ). The lower price is fair especially with the Walmart guarantee. If you decide to buty I would "ride it hard and put it away wet" in the warranty period. Many electrical problems are "infant mortality" and if they don't occur in the first month or so, you'll be OK for a long time. Just don't overheat the motor riding up hills. Rule of thumb is don't let the speed go below half of top speed for any length of time (few seconds IMO).