I can't speak to the older version of the Radwagon, since we just got ours, and that's the new and improved model, the Radwagon 4. Biggest differences are the smaller wheel size on the 4, along with a geared hub drive vs. the 3's direct drive. Based on what I read, I wouldn't want a direct drive. I've only ridden the Radwagon 4 for ~90 miles, but so far, I'm extremely impressed. This is my first ebike, and given its enormous weight (compared to my muscle-powered bikes), I expected something that is very sluggish. Not at all. The wagon is a little rocket. It's acceleration is phenomenal, and the pedal assist works really well. I have taken my kiddo to and from daycare over the past 2 weeks and not once even used the pedal assist level 3 or higher. The bike cruises along with minimal pedaling effort at level 2 just fine. Now mind you, this is all in relatively flat terrain. If you have serious hills, that might be a different story. My only grief is that I feel the bike should be faster. The way it accelerates, it always comes as a bit of a let-down when the motor cuts out at 20mph. Yes, you can pedal it faster than that, but given its weight and the roll resistance of the 3-inch wide tires, it feels a bit like pedaling a moped with an empty tank, although, I have to say, it's not that bad. Some days I don't even use the pedal assist at all on the 3.5-mile cruise back home, which is ever so slightly downhill. A Radwagon 3 at $1,100 seems pretty tempting to me, provided it's in good shape. They do have known issues, as you can easily find out here on the forum. That said, I think it might be worth spending twice that and get the new and improved version, unless you're on a severely restricted budget, in which case, the RW3 is probably a good choice. Resale value might be bad, though, since going forward, people will want to go for the version 4, I think. I, too, was skeptical about the mechanical brakes, and I do think that any ebike should have hydro brakes, but that's part of why the Radwagon is cheaper than comparable bikes. In terms of stopping power, I can say that the mechanical brakes are totally adequate. I can get both wheels to lock up if I wanted to. It's more the thought of a cable breaking that I'm not too thrilled about. I'm not familiar with the other ebike you mention, but 3 speed would be a total dealbreaker to me. The Radwagon has 7, and I would not want to have any less than that. These things are heavy, and you want to be in first or at least second gear when you accelerate from a stop. And when you go top speed, which you will pretty much all the time, you will want to be in 7th gear, or at least 6th, otherwise you'll pedal yourself crazy.
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