BAM bikes identical to Rad Power bikes?

[johnny333]

It Gainesville fl most LBS prices are high. They don't talk to you unless you are buying something. Parts for e bikes for get it. some have 2 or 3 for 4000.00 plus. They can order somethings take 2 weeks plus. I can order from Rad and get with in a week working days and it is the right part. I do better work than the LBS I can't lace a wheel any more. But the LBS will charge you more to lace a wheel than I can buy a better wheel than they make. The only good shop is Recycled Bicycles Gainesville and for 40.00 a year they have a work shop that you can use their tools and will help you on a bicycle. No e bike.
Johnny McCown

 

[KenS]

Thanks to AHicks for a thoughtful response.

Here is my experience, which is consistent with his response.

When I began to become interested in buying an e-bike then there was no LBS that sold them. I identified some potential bikes of interest and located dealers. One was a dealer 3 hours away in another state. It was a ski, bike, and hike shop. The shop couldn't tell me whether they had a bike in the model and size I wanted for a test ride. The second was 3 hours away in another different state. They didn't reply to email. The third was only 2.5 hours away in my home state but they had irregular hours and seemed to be a by-appointment-only selling business. So, it was clear that I was going to need to buy from an online dealer.

I ended by picking Rad because they had lots of reviews and the EBR forum was active. I reasoned that there seem to be a lot of people buying this bike and most people were generally pleased. The $1499 price was attractive because I still felt I was taking a guess.

I ordered the RadCity Step-thru. Reviews and commentaries indicated that loose spokes could be an issue. I decided to go to a LBS to buy the spoke wrench (because I am always trying to give business to a LBS). The sales kid (and I am being accurate here) did not understand why the standard Park tri-spoke wrench would not work. The chief wrench at the LBS came out and gave me a mini-lecture on how my request was uninformed. After I was able to point out that I was going to be dealing with the spokes on a heavy e-bike then he proceeded to give me another mini-lecture on why I didn't want to buy an e-bike. You can see from this point my conclusions about support from this LBS.

(Interestingly, this LBS has started selling e-bikes recently and I wonder what is the tale from the wrench now.)

The bike arrived in a box that looked like it had been to a war zone and back. I emailed tech support at Rad and they replied in 24 hours. Send a picture of anything that looks wrong and we can deal with it.

The bike was in good physical condition but was not immediately functional. A connector had come loose and the brakes were adjusted so tightly that wheels would not rotate. A combination of google searches, advice from EBR, and advice from Rad tech support soon solved those problems.

A couple of weeks into regular riding, I encountered a weird problem. (You need to understand I have been riding bikes for over 50 years.) A pedal was pulling out of the crank arm. It was a weird metal fatigue failure where my pedaling force was causing the pedal to bend and separate the threads in the crank arm. I emailed Rad tech support and supplied them with photos. I gave them my diagnosis: crank arm failure with possible compromise of the pedal shaft. Twenty-four hours later I got their reply. We can replace that. Another twenty-four hours later I got a shipping notice, parts with no charge. A couple of days later I go a follow-up email informing me that replacing the crank arm may require the services of a LBS. I replied that I had a crank puller.

So you be the judge of their tech support.

The original poster stated that the Rad bikes are heavier than many apparently similar bikes. I agree with this observation. They are on the heavy side of the spectrum. But most e-bikes are heavy and this has not been an issue with me.

There are lots of complaints I could make about the bike but most of them are about specific compromises by Rad that could have been taken in another direction. All in all, I have been pleased with the bike.

 

[Mass Deduction]

Thank you for your interesting responses about bike shops vs. buying online. Fascinating and wildly different than my experience in Victoria, British Columbia. There are multiple bike shops here that sell hundreds of e-bikes a year each, that know their products inside and out, and that service them thoroughly. My local bike shop has been selling e-bikes since 2003! I'm stunned at what you're reporting.

I'm not a do-it-yourselfer. I have no interest in tuning a bike myself. If something breaks, a company sending me a replacement part and me installing it myself is not going to happen. A bike as heavy as a Rad Power bike does not appeal to me either. I recommend people choose a bike shop first and a bike second, but I do so under the assumption that at least one local bike shop would be appropriate (but I live in an area with 30 local bike shops so, of course, one of them will fit the bill when there's that much choice). Dang, I don't know what I'd do if an appropriate bike shop was impossible to find in my area! Thankfully I'm not faced with that dilemma.

This is getting too off topic, so I'll end this here, thanking my lucky stars for the LBS variety that I have!

 

[KenS]

Mass Deduction:

Selling e-bikes since 2003 then color me stunned! Count yourself as among the very lucky.

 

[trainman]

I purchased two Rad Mini Step Thru's and both arrived in perfect shape and the boxes were undamaged. Myself I'm pretty mechanical minded so I figured if anything was wrong with the new bikes I could take care of it and Rad would send the parts needed for repairs. Now for those who are not so mechanical minded you would probably do best to purchase your ebikle from a local dealer, pay the higher price, and feel good about your purchase.

 

[phoenixtoohot]

All of Rad Power bikes are generic, that's how this post was started. They do not design or manufacturer bikes, but pick available designs from Chinese catalogs and then market and support them, and they do an excellent job at that. There are at least 2 other DTC companies that sell the identical bikes. BAM still sells them under EWheels and American Quality Health Products, a company much bigger than Rad also sells the full line of the same bikes (see original post here).

 

[Multi-Media]

"Mass Deduction, post: 224043, member: 26261"
There are companies ready and waiting to do that. Promovec for example: https://promovec.com/e-bikes/ Not one decal anywhere on their bikes, as each bike is awaiting customization from the company buying them from Promovec. I've seen online ads for Promovec e-bikes with a caption to the effect of "You want to make e-bikes? We'll help you make e-bikes". And by help you make e-bikes, they mean put your decals on their ready-made bikes, perhaps with other very minor tweaks. Every Promovec ad I've ever seen is aimed at companies who might want to make e-bikes, not end consumers.

As for Rad Power bikes, what is so good about their service and support?

They generally take pretty good care of their customers. This as compared to potentialy unanswered or not returned calls, and generally not being available. They seem to bend over backwards for you if necessary. Don't believe for a second they are not keenly aware of what an unhappy customer is capable of.

Do they do something that a local bike shop can't do? I would say supply a reasonable product at a reasonable price?

Is there support even as good as a quality LBS? Don't assume you're going to be taken care of by a local shop. Many areas don't even have a shop willing to deal in, or work on e-bikes.

I'm genuinely curious as I have no experience with them. You may be in for a real education, or you may luck out and have a good experience. I'd say your chances are about 50/50 either way.

At a quick glance, they look to me like they'd be on the heavy side. True, they are not known to be lightweights. Many people say that's no big deal. If it is a big deal, move on. I'm sure you can find something lighter.

Rad Power bikes have a lot of parts that your LBS can't get for you if something goes wrong.
Won't get for you would be more likely. If for some reason you can't or won't call RAD yourself to get the part you need, many (or most?) are available on Amazon for instance. Rad uses very few, if any proprietary parts on their bikes. Nothing that will shut you down or leave you with a paper weight anyway.

The frames may look similar, but check the attachment tabs... and the elegant cable tie-downs...
extended range rear gear cassette, 180mm disks as opposed to the 160mm on the Bam AND a Brake Light... who has that? Love our Rad Minis!

 

[trainman]

For myself when purchasing a new item I only look at quality, service, style, and price, well there's not too much else to look at, is there. As far as if a RAD, or BAM being the same bike makes no difference to me, I just felt that RAD was the better deal for me after reading everything I could fine on these ebikes. I would have preferred to purchase a ebike in the DFW area, but no one offered a ebike like the RAD Mini and at a price that was even close to the RAD's price. We all know that China as well as other Asian companies steal from each other as well as from the U.S., it's just the way it is, you might as well learn to live with it. It's just like the rear cargo bag I purchased on Amazon for our Rad Mini's, one was $18.00 and there was another from another seller for $28.00, same bag, only difference was the nameplate, so which one did I buy.

 

[AHicks]

No brand loyalty here any more. For bikes or anything else for that matter. I look at them as a commodity. Everyone has an equal chance at my dollar. The winner will be the manf./seller offering the best deal.

So, that in mind, I think people should focus on the "best deal", and I'm pretty sure that's going to cover a LOT of country as "best deal" has the potential for being quite a bit different from one person to the next. We are ALL going to have our own set of priorities, and while there will likely be some overlap, the rest could be all over the map!

 

[johnny333]

China , south Korea , Taiwan , etc have been doing this for years 30+. I first got into it with computer parts, then turbo parts with my Miatas . They would take picture a electronic conventions. Japan car companies use each other's part all the time. Toyota supra 2020 is just body panels on on a BMW car. That’s the million dollar question, and one that will likely be debated for years to come as the model was created in collaboration with BMW. While there’s two sides to this coin, cynics will quickly point to the sticker on the door which says the Supra was made by BMW.

 

[Alex M]

How is it that BAM (aka American Quality Health Products) offers the exact bicycles that Rad Power offers ....
Does this mean that Rad just orders generic bikes from a Chinese supplier and then tries to market them as uniquely developed by Rad?

Sort of.
Illustrates what I wrote recently in another sub-forum, - there is very little input of US (probably European too) brand owners into what makes it a final product. They just have to choose from components already existing in Chinese market. Like another member here noted, RAD parts are generic and are easily obtained from places like Amazon. Still, I tend to think that BAM is a clone of RAD, - due to distinctively bland curves of the original RAD Step Through ... A lower quality clone, at that - welding is rough.

 

[johnny333]

I see the Radrover comes with fenders like the bam bikes. I have the Radcity and the Bam - Nomad, the battery mount is not the same and the LCD is different can program the Bam more. When stuff comes from China and other places you don't known how good it it till you use it. My model train are made every where ( Lionel trains), R/C cars and trucks too. There are few products made completely in the USA any more.

 

[Grampy]

Wondering if wiring on Bam Nomad is identical to Rad Rover. Trying to install Rad Rover Controller and display upgrade with no luck?

 

[sc00ter]

In motor scooter land someone makes a "clone" of the Yamaha Zuma. Also the Honda Helix. Suzuki Burgman 400. Much cheaper price also. But the quality is lacking, as well as warranty support. If these BAM bikes are exact clones, and cheaper, how is the support? I picked Rad Power over some cheaper options because I knew it was supported.

 

[BKing]

Rad did write the specs for what goes on the frame and probably had a lot to do with the frame too.
They failed to make the design proprietary or in reality they tried but the factory just changed a few things to get around the agreement. When you buy a huge quantity from an Asian factory you get to choose what you want.