Any RadRover contributors out there ?

[George S.]

I'll give it a "9" for looks, just from two pictures. All the little things look good, to me, like where he located the controller and how the battery sits. Wonder if he will do something with 2" - 2.25" tires next? That's the sweet spot for me. I would have bought one of these with that configuration, and closer to 50 lbs. I assume he will retail his bikes, going forward. That's a nice looking no-frills ebike to me, what could end up finally selling millions.

Be nice to know how it handles, the climbing, top speed, endurance stuff. Maybe Court can get his hands on one...These apps for biking that show the routes, speed, and grade can be very helpful. I think the bike may have a watt meter. That tells a lot about how a bike is climbing a hill, how much power it will generate (like just using the throttle, flats or hills).

You all have fun now! Take your time on the comments. Just enjoy. Figure out what you've got.

 

[PJungnitsch]

Yeah, enjoy your fatties folks!

 

[Phrodos]

Looks great! The wait is terrible now that I know my bike is sitting there in Seattle, all though it's on the other side of the planet. I promise to share my thoughts when I get it, and also make some video clips of it here in Norway. I had hoped to take it with my on my little vacation visiting friends this summer and ride it up and down here on the way:
(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)
That's "Trollstigen" (The Troll Ladder") for you.
Anyway, that's an idea so cool that I think I will do it anyway, later on, even if it doesn't arrive here before I leave.
Photo: Wikipedia.

 

[Alex S]

I'm new to EBR, but have been following the threads closely. My White RadRover should arrive early August - batch 5 or 6, I believe.

Can't wait for it to get here so I can stop sitting in Seattle traffic and stop paying the obscene parking rates downtown!

 

[Tara D.]

@RSwannabe nice set up with your trailer carrier! What do you have there? Interested to hear how the bike performs for you!

 

[RSwannabe]

The trailer is a Champion Cougar (now produced by Thule) that I'll use to take my daughter to and from school, either behind the RR or using it as a jogging stroller (in addition to being a bike trailer it can convert to a walking stroller, jogging stroller, skiing stroller, ext). The stock trailer connection is supposed to be bolted to the rear axle on the left side, but the motor wire would not allow this without modifying the bracket. So I remove the kickstand and used its beefy flange to bolt on the trailer bracket. Works great. With a little more time I'll likely come up with another option that allows me to keep the kickstand as well.

I used it to take my daughter home on Friday and it worked great. Got a few thumbs up from people along the way. Was working on projects all weekend though and have not rode it since. should use it again tomorrow for the commute though.

Most of the commute is flat along a bike path in Seattle and I kept my speed down to 12-14 mph (pedal assist level 2) and it was very comfortable even with the combined weight of the rig. The last mile is uphill at a relatively easy grade, but still definitely a hill. I bumped the pedal assist up to level 3 for the hill and went right up it comfortably in the 3rd gear in the stack). For comparison I turned off the electric assist altogether and had to drop to the lowest gear and it was then much more of a slog.

 

[pxpaulx]

@RSwannabe did you mean it was a slog up hill or just in general when you were riding without the motor assist? I generally found it was a pretty hard ride on my easy motion neo xtrem without the motor running, I think that is generally what happens even with the geared type of motor we are getting on the radrover.

I have a new 7 speed dnp freewheel that I am planning on replacing the shimano freewheel with (probably not right away, but soon enough). It is a gear range of 11-32t vs the shimano that came with the bike which is a range of only 14-28t (meaning slower top pedaling speed and also less of a granny gear as well). I think that would help a least a little with riding without the motor engaged.

Hoping my bike is coming this week!

 

[Lynnandj]

RSwannabe: Would you mind a pic of the hitch mount? I have a doggy ride and was wondering about how to mount the hitch, if not on the axle. Doggy ride also has a hitch adaptor that may help, but without looking its hard to tell if the hitch adaptor will work.

 

[Lynnandj]

Anybody have a tracking number yet. Was hoping to be riding by the4th, guess not.

 

[pxpaulx]

Anybody have a tracking number yet. Was hoping to be riding by the4th, guess not.

Me too! The Friday update did say they will be shipping today - I've noticed they tend to do updates and send emails later in the day/evening, and if they actually shipped the bikes today I'm sure they were busy. Crossing my fingers we'll get a shipping notification by tomorrow sometime.

 

[pxpaulx]

Ty just posted in the comments that the US bikes shipped today and we will be getting tracking details tomorrow, awesome!

 

[RSwannabe]

Pxpaulx - I meant it was a slog going uphill with my daughter in the trailer without electric assist. The bike on its own rides fine without electric assist. So far I've been riding with the pedal assist mostly at 1 or 2 and not even using the higher settings.

 

[RSwannabe]

Lynnandj - here is a pic of how I have the trailer connect for now. This is not the permanent solution, but it works well for now.

 

[scmike]

I'll give it a "9" for looks, just from two pictures. All the little things look good, to me, like where he located the controller and how the battery sits. Wonder if he will do something with 2" - 2.25" tires next? That's the sweet spot for me. I would have bought one of these with that configuration, and closer to 50 lbs. I assume he will retail his bikes, going forward. That's a nice looking no-frills ebike to me, what could end up finally selling millions.

Be nice to know how it handles, the climbing, top speed, endurance stuff. Maybe Court can get his hands on one...These apps for biking that show the routes, speed, and grade can be very helpful. I think the bike may have a watt meter. That tells a lot about how a bike is climbing a hill, how much power it will generate (like just using the throttle, flats or hills).

You all have fun now! Take your time on the comments. Just enjoy. Figure out what you've got.

George,
I think shedding 10 pounds could be doable with a reg. fr. fork and 2" tire and wheels... I would be interested in adding weight, in the form
of regen. braking... Not sure how, front hub or some sort of barrel generator, maybe with a center rib type tire??

 

[scmike]

Lynnandj - here is a pic of how I have the trailer connect for now. This is not the permanent solution, but it works well for now.

View attachment 3623

RS,
You could go with one of those cast aluminum kickstands... they've been around for at least 30 years and bolt to the frame behind the center
bracket... I think it's a better location ... more centered, more stable..?

 

[RSwannabe]

Actually I think the simple answer is to cut a slot into the trailer bracket, turning the "O" into a "C". The slot is just wide enough to let the wire for the motor slide through, and then mount it to the axle as intended.

 

[scmike]

Actually I think the simple answer is to cut a slot into the trailer bracket, turning the "O" into a "C". The slot is just wide enough to let the wire for the motor slide through, and then mount it to the axle as intended.

I guess what I'm also saying ... is I don't like the location of the kickstand.. looks like an afterthought... imho...

 

[RSwannabe]

Rear mounted kickstands like the Greenfield Stabilizer are becoming more and more popular in the MTB crowd and work well. The one that comes on the RR seemed to work well in the limited time I used it before I removed it to mount the trailer.

 

[Lynnandj]

Thanks RS. Looks like I will try the kickstand mount. Looking, I am surprised that's not a plug at the axle for the motor cable. New to ebikes; how do you remove the rear tire? I guess I'll await the operators manual.

 

[pxpaulx]

What I wouldn't do to have that tracking number right now! Sure would like to know which day I'll have to take off this week. I checked the UPS shipping calculator and it gives 4 days from Seattle, likely a Friday delivery, which would be a nice start to the weekend!