You can easily switch between power modes, and this is the closest thing to a throttle the bike has. I mostly used the motor in pedal-assist mode, though I will cover the throttle in the next section. The motor on this bike is very aggressive in that is starts up quickly with even the slightest movement of the pedal, and it goes hard. It can actually be hard to tell if it’s working or not, until you tap the on/off switch and realize, yes, it’s helping out nicely. There’s no need for the max assist level on flat ground. Riding this bike is easy enough, once you remember to turn the key on. Turn the key on back at the battery pack, then turn the handlebar controller on (if you want the assist), get on, and start riding. It’s powered by a generator from the rear wheel. I’m not really sure what it’s point is since it’s not very useful at night, but it does have a front light. Surprisingly few websites seem to have actually gotten around to riding the thing when it came out. Your sales taxes will be calculated at check-out and vary per state. Meanwhile it is possible that you don't see any sales taxes applied to your purchase. What makes me excited about the bike is the possibilities that it opens up, but like a lot of aspects of this bike, it's something of a double-edged sword. Electric bikes are a ton of fun and I've had a great time this summer riding them. As an avid cyclist who commuted to and from the train for years in the past, I see e-bikes as a very reasonable step forward in commuting. With 2.6? tires, you’ve got a lot of air and rubber under you to tackle more than just well-manicured bicycle lanes. Hitting curbs or potholes will be smoother than most pure commuter bikes, especially considering the inclusion of the front suspension fork and suspension seat post. Aluminum frame with formed top tube design provides plenty of clearance. This is awesome, and I’d love to see more bikes doing something like this. As is standard for geared ebike motors, it has no significant rolling resistance when the wheel is turning faster than the motor. It’s not a bad choice for a small assist - it’s not going to cause any drag when you’re not using the assist, and it’s fairly light. As this bike isn’t at all suited to hills, this isn’t a problem at all. I really do like this controller for the shifting. This bike comes equipped with front, rear, and bottom lights. The front and rear lights are attached to the fenders while the bottom lights are part of the battery itself. I’m not sure what the 3D label is for, actually. Fundamentally, this bike seems like a bunch of parts bolted and ziptied (yes… literally ziptied) onto an otherwise standard Schwinn city bike frame. Of course, as some of my regular readers might know, I bought one. And bypassed the BMS so I could actually ride it. And at the end of the day, we’re talking about an affordable cruiser, so I didn’t expect to find high-end shifters, hydraulic disc brakes, or suspension on the bike. The Shimano Tourney shifter, mechanical disc brakes, and plushy spring saddle are enough for me. I’ve seen this level of components on electric cruisers that cost nearly twice as much.