Very curious about a electric mountain bike. Can't afford the 4-5K bosch powered jobs, but might be a player for RADS at 1500.
E bike place in Phoenix selling all they can get (Lectric Bikes) but a no travel frame.

Anyone have experience with RAD?

Take this as an anecdotal experience - I work with a technically capable fellow who was into electric bikes before they were cool; as I recall, he retrofitted both his and his wife’s bicycles with electric motor kits of some sort. Those worked but not perfectly. The extra weight being an issue for the wheels/tires is one of the major problems he mentioned. He then did a lot of research/googling and ended up buying a Rad Power bike (his is an older model they no longer sell) and has been enjoying it without a single issue for the last 3 or 4 years; incredibly happy with his bike.

I don't know about RAD E-Bikes so I went to their site.

They have several types that look cool.

I am taking delivery of my Revi Cheetah E-Bike next week and I'm really looking forward to riding it.

What type of riding do you see yourself mostly doing?

I worked as a bike salesman last year. Here is my take on e-bikes.

there are 2 basic types
- The motor in the rear hub
- A motor at the crank

The motor on the hub.
- Less expensive by far
- The problem is if the motor goes bad you replace both the motor and the wheel.
- The weight of the motor and for some bikes, the battery is all at the back of the bike. Plus your body weight may or may not be well balanced. You end up with a bike is out of balance, it can affect handling.
- The motor's power is independent of the bike's gear ratio. The motor itself is geared (RAD bikes are).
- Generally, you are going to get a motor made in China. Especially at the $1500 or less price point.
- Regardless if you are not using the motor then you still need to pedal and overcome the inertia/weight of the motor on your hub
- I would guess that RAD's motor disengages when not in use

A motor at the Crank.
- The weight of the motor is centered on the bike.
- If your motor goes bad you are only replacing the motor not the wheel as well.
- The motor turns the crank, which then turns the gears, thus you can downshift, upshift, keep the motor's RPMs the same and go faster or climb easier.
- The motor may be made in Europe (BOSCH) as well as the battery. (for TREK)
- Depending on the make/model the motor may have a 2:1 drive ratio prior to engaging the crank.
- A lot of the bikes these days you can pull the motor out and the batter off and get the weight down quite a bit if you just want to ride.
- The motor disengages when you pedal and are not using it
- You will wear out chains and gears faster than a wheel hub motor.


When it comes down to it. The rear hub motorbikes are less expensive generally made with Chinese components. Even the ones from the big brand names (trek) sourced parts from China to compete with the inexpensive bikes you can buy at your local Sam's, Costco etc..

For the majority of E-Bikes
- Weight anywhere from 45-53 pounds.
- When loading the bike on/off your vehicle take the battery off and you will save 10 pounds.

I've seen both high cost and low-cost e-bikes fully taken apart. I'm sad to say I've seen QC issues on both.

I've had several mechanics tell me that they would never buy the rear motorbikes. Generally, the quality isn't there.

It comes down to a few key things
1) The budget I'm guessing sub $2k
2) What are you going to use it for?

The answer to question 2 can make make a difference on 1. If you use the bike to supplement or replace your car for commuting, then the cost of the bike goes down.

bikeforums has an e-bike section.

Below is my quote from PR64's thread (excited to hear the review!). If you have any intention of riding this on trails you may be very disappointed.

The Rover 5 looks like the only model intended for this type of use but with the fenders, powered brake and headlight it's clear the intent is really for crawling around town. It's 67lbs as well ( ) so you're most likely not going to want to be tossing that on any cheapy bike rack.

quote:

This bike doesn't specifically look like it's intended for mountain biking use, which is good since it's very unlikely the trails allow anything other than 'human power only'. The same may be true for your park paths, look into the local laws/rules.

I should note, however, the 'human power only' is difficult to enforce depending on how busy the local trail systems are. One local trail is known to call DNR when riders see ebikes and they're very quick to come out and meet the rider in the parking lot with a $500 ticket. Yeah, this is why people hate us cyclists...

They started renting these in Glacier Park this year. I hope it's the LAST year.

On an already clogged and narrow road system folks who seldom if ever ride a bike are now motoring along on these, generally half in the travel lane, weaving in and out, SLOWING already slow traffic.

I have the RadRover and love it. I rarely use the assist above level 2, but it’s nice to have. I have almost 200 miles on it without any issues.

Mike...You started a thread and disappeared

i was looking at some bike manufacturers with Bosch drives and saw Cannondale. Imagine, an e-bike where you can carry a flat fixing kit and do the deed on the side of the road...

a few bikeforum member opinions (grain of salt time?) on RAD.

quote:

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.

quote:

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.

quote:

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.