Rad Power Bike?
 

Anybody ride one? What do you think of it? Rad Power Bikes

they seem ok but they are a low end bike and the components are cheap. the rear wheels tend to have loose spokes so you have to watch it. shops may or ,may not want to work on them. but really it depends on what your after and how much you can spend. you can only get one frame size and they are heavy.

Just make sure to true the wheels and make the adjustments when you assemble. Rad Power Bikes are the best selling Direct to Consumer ebikes. I would say that it's mid level. They have great customer service. I would look at Aventon or Blix Bikes also. Different style of bikes, but price points are decreasing and features, range, and speed are improving. I think that the direct to consumer bikes are the fastest growing ebike segment. Yes, it's not a mid drive. If you have a lot of hills to climb go with a Mid Drive bike. Rear Hub drive bikes are good on flats. A 750W rear hub is pretty powerful, you can always change the controller and battery. Pretty good range if you're not on the highest assist level all the time. I generally use level 1-3 out of 5. Good luck.

I have 2 friends who have them. One uses his bike to commute to work and has put a lot of miles on it. He's had a few problems, which I have helped him with. The most significant one was cracks in the rear rim at the spoke holes. Rad Power sent him a complete rear wheel at a discounted price (bike was out of warranty), but it took a while to receive it. He continued to ride it gently during the wait.

The hub motor was a Shengyi brushless direct drive unit. He and I, out of curiosity, disassembled the old hub. It turned out that the drive side bearing was shot, which explained the noise he had been hearing for the last thousand miles. The bearing is cheap and easy to replace once you have the hub apart, but that's the rub ---> in order to take the hub apart you have to de-lace it from the rim, fix it, and then rebuild the wheel. There is no side plate - the spoke flanges are built into the 2 sides of the hub body. This means, that for most people the wheel is a throw-away when bearings go bad. I still have his old hub and am considering hooking it up to a wind turbine. It produces 3 phase AC power so I'd have to add a full bridge rectifier to convert to DC

no they are entry level. low end components with decent online support.only one size of frames and if your not good at working on bikes you may be in trouble.

Nothing prevents you from improving the components for less money. Ebike were made on the internet. The Big four bicycle makers are now only realizing the market potential. I'll continue to support companies that innovate and bring value to the market. Components are made by the same manufacturers that make more expensive bikes. Off the shelf components. These bikes are the open source vs. Closed systems of other bike manufacturers. Compare the different ebikes and choose on your own merits. If you want to be double or triple the price for a bicycle that will get you from point a to point b you have the freedom to choose as a consumer. For repairs you can always search on the internet or go to a non profit bike shop or even a local bicycle shop to get repairs done. Break the oligopoly! Ask the ebike owner's groups of whatever ebike that you purchase for information. Not people that are only getting into ebikes now. Ebikes are like computers/phones. Get the most features for the price. Does everyone need a flagship model. No!

Which bike would you purchase? Same price point?

https://www.electrabike.com/bikes/to...-7d?g=stepover

https://www.radpowerbikes.com/produc...-commuter-bike

yes you can upgrade some things but when your talking electronics its not always practical. then it may be cheaper to buy a kit and put it on a decent bike. it also depends on what you want out of the bike. if you want to travel at about 20 mph your going to need a different bike. I ride at least 120 miles a week and usually more and since my bike is my main source of transportation I want a reliable bike. it also has to fit well so riding is comfortable. fat tires and rear wheel drives and weight really eat up batteries so if you want to go a long ways thats pretty limiting.

They are very low end bikes that tend to require a lot of service. We regularly see those bikes in the shop for constant repairs on all aspects of the bike. They have slightly decent support but it ends at a year and requires you to do all of the warranty work yourself. I wouldn't pay much for one but if you can get a brand new one for under $400 and you are the original owner it wouldn't be as bad but they retail for over 1k which is just not worth it.

Look for Bosch, Brose or Shimano motors and quality components. Avoid mechanical disc brakes or rim brakes. Also look for batteries that are in the downtube position rather than rack mounted. That will give you better balance of the bike. Keep in mind with cable operated mechanical Internally Geared Hubs you will have to stop pedaling in order to shift. Not good not bad just different.

If you find a good shop and buy a decent bike you will be in much better shape overall. You will likely have good support especially on the warranty side and with the quality motor brands you will generally get 2 years on the electric components. You will also get a bike that is already assembled that you can test ride and if a proper shop they will show you how to use and take care of the bike.

I try to tell people that but they can be fanatics about rad bikes. my Bosch powered bike is great and its s reliable and I can put 120 or more miles a week on it no problem. it gets a lot more range with a lot smaller battery.

I just re-read my post above and think that it was not very positive. I wanted to correct this by saying that my friend commuting on his Rad Power bike just hit his 6,000 mile mark and, despite the few problems he's had, considers it one of the best purchases he's ever made.

Yeah a lot of people like the stuff because things have gone crazy with online shopping. If all you try is a bike you paid money for and got shipped to your house and you didn't know something better could be out there you will be a bit more fanatical.

We have two ebikes, one Rad Rover and one Specialized. For the money, the Rad Rover is a great bike. It's very good for street and light dirt roads. This bike is by all means not a MTB. I use it for around town and running errands. I have had it for over a year and have experienced no problems. The components are on the lower end but function well. It's a heavy bike and I changed out the heavy front fork for a rigid one, cutting out about 5 lbs. The bike is a blast to ride and the Rad customer service is very good. I would have a LBS or Velofix set it up unless you have a bike maintenance background.

https://i.imgur.com/5djuQ4F.jpg

You might look at https://www.aventon.com/ or https://shop.m2sbikes.com/ Good features per dollars spend.

If I was going to buy a quality ebike I would get a Yamaha E bike. www.yamahabicycles.com. Yamaha has been building ebikes since 1989. Yamaha has the only mid drive with more than one front sprocket on the front derailer. Yamaha makes motorcycles, instruments and robots..etc.

In 2017 I bought a Radmini. I took it to a bike shop and the mechanic tuned it up. He said a wheel bearing had been not working properly and I was lucky that it didn't cause problems. It's a fun little bike and I like riding it in the woods. I bought it because it folds up and fits with my camping gear in the back of a pickup.

The bad things? My hands go numb after a while. It is not comfortable for long rides as the only way to adjust the ride is to add or reduce the air in the tires. The next year, they put shocks on the front. The battery didn't last as long as I wanted it to. The mini does not feel like a good bike, I call it the elephant bike--heavy and not as responsive as my mountain bike. But, it really will zoom up steep hills.

Last year, I wanted to see if there was an e-bike that felt more like a regular bike. I went to Hood River and tried out some bikes. I ended up with a Gazelle Arroyo Elite. You could buy 2 Rads and accessories for the price. The Gazelle is comfortable, I no longer get numb hands and I do not feel beat up after riding it. It gets wonderful battery mileage--my longest ride so far is 35 miles round trip and I used half the battery. I can ride it on flats at a good rate of speed with no assist. Since it is a mid drive bike, it does not go up hills as easily as the Rad, but I get up the hills and get more of a workout. The Gazelle is lighter than the mini.

So, I've just been cleaning up the Mini and getting it ready to ride. I'll use it for the bad roads in the woods. The Gazelle is my Mercedes, the Mini is the Jeep.

I've had a mobile bicycle service construct and maintain my Direct to Consumer Ebike if my local bicycle shop wouldn't do the work. The mobile bicycle repair shops charge lower rates and will go to your workplace or home to work on your bike.

I have a 2020 Mini, it'll scoot along up to 25 mph in high gear (I'm 185lbs). I get up to 35 miles per charge as well. The mechanics on it are pretty simple, and uses some off the shelf parts. It's similar to high end lipo powered rc vehicles, need to take care of the batteries, I like it for cruising on weekend mornings when the streets are desolated and park trails.

rad power bikes is a famous bike brand!

so is mcdonalds.

Micky Dee sells Bike's? :eek: Seriously. I get what you're saying. ;) There's a local guy that builds them, but I'm sure from kits.

I see so many rad ads its ridiculous. they have the right price and the right look.

I really like my Mini. I was skeptical on the quality when ordering but it does what is advertised. Welds, electronics, fit/finish are up-to-par. Most of my trips are 10-15 mi. and I feel pretty good afterwards. I can fold it up and fit it into the car or house pretty easy, I plan on keeping it inside vs. the garage in winter months.Performance wise it handles good and solid, I can get up to 25 MPH pedaling in high gear, and will get 30-35 mi. on a charge. As you said, I like the looks as well, the satin black and graphics are well done.:)
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f48e1ca01e.jpg

Hi, I see it has fenders and rack as well. Does it feel heavy when riding? Looks like it might be good for light grocery shopping?

Not heavy at all, it's a fat tire so it's a little cushy, not as precise as a standard bicycle tire but OK. The racks RAD makes are very nice, welded aluminum tubing like the bike and very sturdy, I'm 185 and I sat on it to test, and it does not flex at all. I'll probably get the RAD basket and front rack as well. You can easily get groceries on this bike, it has power to spare. I've had street bikes, high end scooters, mopeds etc, this thing goes places they never could, and they're quiet, no sitting over a hot motor in summer months. I have my eye on that RAD City for my wife, looks interesting with the direct drive motor and it's smooth ride:)

Rad started as a crowdfund AIR, and must be doing something right considering how they've grown. Also, I've read many reports from individuals about their products and very few were negative.