Swagtron EB7 Plus Electric Bike w/Quick-Shift Shimano 7-Speed & Removable Battery

After riding this bike for a few days and about 10 miles, I am disappointed with the motor controller not supporting pedal assist. The EB7’s motor controller is very different than a pedal assist controller: it is designed to simply propel the bike to a certain speed when it detects a pedaling motion. It does not help a rider pedal at a cadence of their choosing, instead when the controller detects any pedaling motion, it simply propels the bike to an assigned speed. This behavior ruins the ability to use the gear set and prevents the rider from controlling the bike’s speed while pedaling. This is a critical flaw of the controller, Swagtron should have programmed it differently rather than re-using this speed-based controller which they use on their other EB7 models.

The controller has modes 0-3 where 0 disables the motor, 1 sets the motor’s target speed to 12 mph, and 2 and 3 set a higher target speed. When in 7th gear (the highest), a comfortable pedaling cadence results in about 8 mph. If you set the mode to 1, no matter how slowly you pedal, the motor controller will not respect your cadence and simply propel the bike to 12 mph. If you go up a hill the motor may not be able to achieve its assigned 12 mph, so in this case you can use the pedals to help propel the bike. But other than hills or running out of battery power, the pedals cannot be used. Because of this, pedaling in modes 1, 2, and 3 doesn’t make sense. And because of this, having a 7 speed gear set doesn’t make sense. So I would highly recommend you save yourself the money and get a non-geared version of the EB7.

Here is an example of how the EB7 Plus does not support pedal assistance: Imagine you’re on a boardwalk that follows a beach. You’re riding a different ebike with pedal assist so you are able to choose your speed based on how quickly you pedal, and you range in speed between 3-8mph so that you can safely go around the many walkers and runners while you enjoy the waves and all the beach activity along your path. This is something you cannot do with the EB7 Plus. The moment you begin to pedal, BAM, you’re going 12mph! You’re darting in and around everyone on the boardwalk and almost ran over a child a moment ago! In order to slow down you change the speed controller from mode 1 (12mph) to mode 0 (off) to stop being a menace to society. Optionally, you can keep the controller in mode 1 and use the proportional throttle near the hand grip but then you ask yourself: why on earth did I pay for a full gearset when I could have saved money on a single gear ebike? I want to pedal and have gears, but I can’t use them! Now that I think about it, there’s only 2 situations where I can actually pedal: when going uphill and when the battery is dead. Rats! I made a poor buying decision and wish a reviewer would have told me.

This is specific to the Swagtron EB7 Plus. We purchased it after watching the EB7 Elite for the last 6mo.

It’s been a couple days now and I really like this little ebike. Still getting used to the slightly darty nature from the small tires but it is easy to ride. Electric performance is as expected from 350W. Really, this motor would work on a larger 20″+ tire bike. Charging and use is simple enough. Nice little kickstand. Built-in headlight works pretty well and how glorious not having to mess with additional batteries! Good 3-mode assist selection, or just use the throttle.

Misc:
1) Torqued all the bolts. Nothing was really loose but I noticed some slop in the main hinge, as if the pin were too narrow. Tightening the latch took care of it. (there’s an Allen-head pretension bolt underneath)

Negatives so far: 1) The pedal gearing is still too low. Even with new 7sp shimano, the fastest I can pedal in top gear is about 15mph. Poor ratios, so I’m looking for compatible cogs. Top electric-only speed is ~18mph. Drops to ~16mph when it hits 3 of 5 battery bars. 2) Motor response to throttle is delayed by a full second. Twist, wait, go! 3) No taillight.

Still like the bike and value and would buy again.

I’ll update as we learn. Thanks!

UPDATE – with less than a month of use, and a total os 71 km ridden, the rear tire is worn out – I will have to buy a new, better one. Took one star out because of it. I do expect things to be on the cheaper side, but a tire shouldn’t last this little. I’m currently on tour in Brasil, so getting a replacement is not an option. Still a good bike. :::: This thing is awesome. I’ve been researching e-bikes for 2 years. Bought a Mate-X 18 months ago, missed their letter about it, atill haven’t received it. So I decided to get one that would be okay to take on a plane. It had to have removable batteries, because you’re not allowed to check in batteries anymore. The eb-7 plus battery fit great in my carry-on. The bike was under the 23 kg linit (even less without the battery) and compact enough to fit inside an x-large suitcase. It is entry-level, so no torque assist: it knows when you’re moving the pedals via magnets, so it applies the chosen strenght (1 to 3) to the motor, but it doesn’t know how hard you’re pedaling. That means it would be better if they broke down to more levels (1 to 7) because it does ride well as a regular bike, and it would be nice to have a little lighter assist when not going uphill, but still, we’re talking less than 700 dollars, so I’m happy with it. I live way uphill in an Aspen-like town. My 21 gear german made mountain bike is great, but I can’t pedal more than 1/3 of my street without having to dismount. It’s too steep. I was concerned the 350watt motor wouldn’t be enough to carry my 300lb self up the hill. It is NOT in pure electric mode, as expected. Since I got it so I would lose weight, pure electric was not the idea anyway. So I get to pedal all the way up. The gears help, and I’m able to get home in one shot. As a result, I’ve been going to work biking for the past 10 days, everyday. I love it. It’s also an attention grabber, everybody stops me to talk about it. All in all, it’s a great lil bike. I’m 5’10, and it feels just right. My two kids, he’s 11, she’s 10, they both ride really well with the saddle in its lowest position. They want one. The battery lasts for 2 days for me, but haven’t used in a setting where there’s no uphills, so I wouldn’t know what is the range if you’re mostly using on flat streets. I highly recommend this bike.