You don’t usually associate bicycles with consumer electronics, but it seemed appropriate for Schwinn to have a booth this year at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES). One of the CES themes was green technology, so Schwinn showed its latest eBike, the Tailwind.

It’s a pedal-assisted electric bike with a range of 25 to 30 miles on a battery charge. You can fully charge the bike in about 30 minutes using a standard power plug, or as little as 5 to 7 minutes using a 40 amp commercial charger.

You can charge the Tailwind’s Toshiba SCiB battery a minimum of 2,000 times, compared with previous electric bike batteries, which could be charged 600 to 1,000 times. I was told at the booth that Schwinn is testing a newer-generation Toshiba battery that will be officially rated for 4,000 charges, but is actually capable of providing around 6,000 charges.

The various components associated with adding electric power to the bike weigh approximately 12 pounds, so the bike itself isn’t prohibitively heavy when human powered.

Sales of electric bikes are just starting to catch on. According to the Electric Bikes Worldwide Report, 2008 Update, U.S. eBike sales will reach 222,000 units in 2009, an increase of 83 percent over 2007. European sales will hit 750,000 units, up a whopping 300 percent over 2007.

Look for the Tailwind to be available in independent bicycle shops throughout the U.S. and Canada later this month. It will have a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $3,199.