Any reason not to go with Rad Wagon 4 for flat kid commutes?

[DesertTortoise]

My daughter recently bought a Radwagon4 to take my granddaughter to day care. She loves it. She lives in Seattle, home to Rad, so she had no concern about the unusual tire size nor worries should a problem arise with the bike. Like you @DesertTortoise, she was looking at a Tern HSD, but could not afford it.

She has not had a chance to go grocery shopping with the bike yet, but I think it is doable if you get the proper grocery basket or pannier. Attached is a picture I found on the web of a 1018 Radwagon with a child seat and grocery panniers.

My girlfriend rides a Tern HSD and I ride a Haibike AllMtn. Both have mid-drive motors, Bosch in the case of the Tern, Yamaha in the case of the Haibike. Neither motor exhibits any drag when pedaled with the motor off, but both bikes weigh more than 60 lbs each with racks and accessories, so they are significantly more difficult to pedal with the motor off than conventional 28-lbs bikes.

In more than four years riding an ebike, I have never totally drained the battery. Close a couple of times, but I still got home with about 5% battery charge. Most of the time, after 30-mile rides, I still have more than 25% battery charge. My butt is likely to give up before my battery!

Great points about the range. I actually do anticipate our range to be on the higher end of the spectrum, because I'm planning to pedal as much as possible, and where we ride (Tucson), there are no hills anywhere. Very, very gradual inclines, but no steep climbs whatsoever. When my little guy and I commute to his daycare and/or to my workplace, which are within a mile of each other, we're talking 5 miles one way, tops. And I don't expect to load the bike up like crazy. It's the two of us, plus a bag or two, so no more than 200 pounds on most days.

 

[Dewey]

Might something like this pannier adapter work? Hooks over thick rack tubing but provides standard gauge tubing on which to attach a bag. https://www.etsy.com/listing/858026406/pannier-adapter-for-rad-power-bikes
There's a photo on the Etsy listing of someone using it with the RadWagon 4, you just need to order the right size

 

[EmotionLynx6Pro]

Since you will have a rigid fork, have you considered a rack on the front for the groceries?

 

[DesertTortoise]

Since you will have a rigid fork, have you considered a rack on the front for the groceries?

Yes, I have! I was about to order a front basket when I ordered the bike yesterday, but then I hesitated once I realized they offer both a dedicated basket and a rack to which one can mount a basket. The rack seems to make more sense to me intuitively, as I think it's more flexible. I could possibly even jerry-rig a milk crate to it rather than shelling out $$ for a dedicated basket. I didn't want to make a rash decision while I was on the phone with the sales rep, so I decided to wait for the bike to get here first. That way, I can get a feel for it and see whether I can possibly reuse some of my existing bike cargo accessories before overloading the bike (and my wallet) right off the bat.

 

[indianajo]

Might something like this pannier adapter work? Hooks over thick rack tubing but provides standard gauge tubing on which to attach a bag. https://www.etsy.com/listing/858026406/pannier-adapter-for-rad-power-bikes
There's a photo on the Etsy listing of someone using it with the RadWagon 4, you just need to order the right size

All those specialized bits of plastic imported over the Pacific! I tie my panniers on with hay bale twine. I make a slip knot in one end, loop over, pull through, secure with a half hitch and one bow knot. Never comes off unless I pull the bow knot & untie. Won't work with slick plastic twine, use jute or cotton twine. I don't have to buy 30# of twine, I find cut lengths off bales in the weeds at the side of the road.
Something more wiggle free needs to attach the child seat, of course. Yuba had designed designed the cross bars of my bodaboda to fit some popular brand of child car seat.
Basket on the handlebars is old and annoying. both Rad 4 and yuba bikes have bosses in the frame to mount a front basket, that doesn't swing with the front wheel. You see I have my battery mounted up there with a cage made of aluminum angle & #10 SS screws. Frame mount is 1/4" x 3 1/2" SS bolts. 6 mm will also work. Use elastic stop nuts to keep it tight and inhibit thieves.

 

[DesertTortoise]

Might something like this pannier adapter work? Hooks over thick rack tubing but provides standard gauge tubing on which to attach a bag. https://www.etsy.com/listing/858026406/pannier-adapter-for-rad-power-bikes
There's a photo on the Etsy listing of someone using it with the RadWagon 4, you just need to order the right size

Thank you for the tip. Rad actually does offer panniers for the Wagon, but here in Arizona, panniers are next to useless, since they're built to keep the contents dry, something we don't worry about at all. (We don't need fenders, either; last year, it rained for literally 3 or 4 days, total.) That's why I prefer baskets, they're much easier to use and much cheaper. On my muscle-powered bike, I use Omaha Bushwacker collapsible baskets, and they are amazing.The pair was cheaper than what I'd pay for one rain-proof pannier bag, and they each hold 2 six-packs of beer, plus lighter stuff on top.

 

[DesertTortoise]

All those specialized bits of plastic imported over the Pacific! I tie my panniers on with hay bale twine. I make a slip knot in one end, loop over, pull through, secure with a half hitch and one bow knot. Never comes off unless I pull the bow knot & untie. Won't work with slick plastic twine, use jute or cotton twine. I don't have to buy 30# of twine, I find cut lengths off bails in the weeds at the side of the road.
Something more wiggle free needs to attach the child seat, of course. Yuba had designed designed the cross bars of my bodaboda to fit some popular brand of child car seat.
Basket on the handlebars is old and annoying. both Rad 4 and yuba bikes have bosses in the frame to mount a front basket, that doesn't swing with the front wheel. You see I have my battery mounted up there with a cage made of aluminum angle & #10 SS screws. Frame mount is 1/4" x 3 1/2" SS bolts. 6 mm will also work. Use elastic stop nuts to keep it tight and inhibit thieves.

Indianajo, I like the way you think. Only thing is, no bales of hay here; no weeds by the roadside, either. All we have here is cactus. I like the system with the different knots you're suggesting, and it reminded me that I have been meaning to learn knots better. I can barely tie a bowline, if you give me a few attempts, and I would have to google "slip knot, half hitch and bow knot" to see what they look like. Do you have a suggestion on a good way to learn knots? I have a couple of apps, and they work ok, but my problem is I forget how to tie knots unless I do it all the time.
As for the child seat, I'm not planning on using one. I decided early on to buy the Mac Ride seat instead of a back-mount child seat, and it was the single best investment I ever made. My son has been using it since he was 1.5 years old. I already contacted Mac Ride, and they confirmed it will work with the Rad Wagon. So he'll be riding in front of me, and once he is old enough to ride in the back, I'm going to order a seat cushion and running boards for him (currently out of stock). The hand rail cage just came back in stock, and I ordered that right away with the bike. But I fear he might be a tad too young for that setup, as he's only 3.

 

[indianajo]

I had baskets but the panniers are lighter. My panniers do not keep things dry. I had to poke holes in the bottom to let the rain out. Velcro clasp worked almost the first year, not much use thereafter.
Edit: half hitch is half a square knot. the second bow knot is like the 2nd half of the square knot, only you slip a loop through instead of the end of the twine. Then you can pull the end and untie the first half of the square knot without a pick. Boy Scout handbook is allegedly good, but I learned this knot as "truck driver's #1" as a truck loader. Read about how ex circus roustabouts taught the Army how to load trains at start of WWII.
Slip knot is a loop tied in a half hitch, with the loop big enough to pull other string through.
If you don't find discarded hay twine, you can get the stuff in big rolls at TSC, Orscheln's farm supply, but oddly not Rural king. Where ever they sell farm supplies. Most of the real ropes are plastic these days, too slick. Don't try 5 mm tie-wraps. I did, and they won't hold the weight.
BTW Wald baskets won't take a gallon jug of milk water or punch without pinching the bottom. My panniers will. the baskets I welded up did, 6 of them, but weighed 40 lb.

 

[john peck]

Definitely the best choice for your budget & terrain. There are 2 of ´em running around my
one horse dorp. We´ve plenty of hills here, but they don´t seem to be struggling.

 

[sarahlaughed]

Those photos are adorable! what about serious groceries, though? I'm talking two full Trader Joe's paper bags. On my current, non-electric, non-cargo bike, I can carry two of those without problems in my soft baskets that attach to the rack, while my little guy rides in front of me. From a cargo bike, I would expect to be able to fit both -- passenger and groceries -- on the back, otherwise I see little reason for the extended back frame. As long as I could attach two baskets on each side, and still have my kid sit behind me, I think I'd be happy.

I was looking at conversions, and highly encourage you to do so too!

I had to make a snap decision and get something right away, and so bought a Rad Wagon 4.

I love it! The pannier bags made for the Rad Wagon are in stock, and they use clips to adapt to the Rad Wagon 4 (they fit without extra clips on previous Rad Wagon models). I plan to get two, and carry my groceries mostly in
those. They should handle your TJ’s runs, but I can confirm once I get mine!

Since you can make a more considered decision than I did, a conversion might be the most cost-efficient way to get precisely what you want, though. I’ll be looking to convert an adult, off-road capable trike for my next vehicle, once I need that extra wheel, and I do wish I’d been able to properly look into conversions for my two-wheeler.

The Rad Wagon is fab, though, and I have no complaints at all with it thus far. It doesn’t ride like a $5k bike, and a conversion might get you some nice touches for the same or less money, but I find it to be more than good enough, thus far. A joy to ride, and far more practical than a car, even with my disabilities.