Drowning in a sea of choices, throw me a life raft!!!!!

[Stefan Mikes]

Probably because your 20x4 data looks more 26x4 data.

Right! Thank you! I looked up wrong wheel size.

26x4 = 762mm
29x2 = 723mm
27.5x2.6 = 716mm

These are Schwalbe tyres: 100-559, 50-622, 65-584. Schwalbe does not convert inches ideally. They use ERTRO sizes, which are European.

 

[AHicks]

Thanks to all for your input and advice. I just pulled the trigger on the Rad because in the end my height requirement and budget felt really limiting. I wish some of specs were better but I think for this point in time, and especially for my first ebike, the huge community will be a really big asset for having the support I need as a newbie. I can always upgrade down the road! See you on the forum.

Congrats on wading through it all to a decision! Smart move to consider the RAD a first e-bike. It's going to teach you a TON - and give you plenty of time to pick out your NEXT bike....
-Al

 

[Stefan Mikes]

It's going to teach you a TON - and give you plenty of time to pick out your NEXT bike....

I just was wondering why people waste money for the first e-bike to discover far better e-bikes exist and the buyer's remorse leads them to the N+1 e-bike.
Then I recollected my own story

But I had nobody to ask when buying my first e-bike.

 

[Dallant]

I just was wondering why people waste money for the first e-bike to discover far better e-bikes exist and the buyer's remorse leads them to the N+1 e-bike.
Then I recollected my own story

But I had nobody to ask when buying my first e-bike.

Some of us haven’t wasted a dime on our first ebikes. And I never came on this or any other ebike forum til after I bought. Maybe that was a godsend because I knew basically what I wanted and didn’t get confused or overwhelmed by all the different rhetoric/opinions/strategies.
Same as when I bought my Corvette!

 

[Art Deco]

I just was wondering why people waste money for the first e-bike to discover far better e-bikes exist and the buyer's remorse leads them to the N+1 e-bike.
Then I recollected my own story

But I had nobody to ask when buying my first e-bike.

I know a couple who are on their 4th motorhome and still looking at others. They still have two of the four ... think of the storage space that takes.

 

[AHicks]

Likely a safe bet the #2 bike will be a little more expensive than the #1.

I've mentioned before that first e-bike requires a huge leap of faith. People are never totally convinced that they likely just purchased a lifestyle game changer. They're still concerned it COULD be a pile of endless problems that will end up sitting in a dark corner of the garage....

Thankfully, most of us end up with a smile that just won't go away for months....

 

[AHicks]

I know a couple who are on their 4th motorhome and still looking at others. They still have two of the four ... think of the storage space that takes.

As the former owner of a 38' diesel pusher, the first thing that comes to mind here is maintenance costs... But I agree. Everyone ALWAYS has an eye out looking for their next one. Boats and small airplanes no different....

 

[Art Deco]

As the former owner of a 38' diesel pusher, the first thing that comes to mind here is maintenance costs... But I agree. Everyone ALWAYS has an eye out looking for their next one. Boats and small airplanes no different....

The perfect is the enemy of the good enough ...

 

[Whatdevs]

I think you made a pretty good choice. Thatś a good entry level bike that won´t break the bank. Rad
is well established & have a decent support structure should the need arise. Then too, we´re all here for you
if you have questions.

Really appreciate that, thanks John

 

[Whatdevs]

Congrats on wading through it all to a decision! Smart move to consider the RAD a first e-bike. It's going to teach you a TON - and give you plenty of time to pick out your NEXT bike....
-Al

Thanks Al!!

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Some of us haven’t wasted a dime on our first ebikes. And I never came on this or any other ebike forum til after I bought. Maybe that was a godsend because I knew basically what I wanted and didn’t get confused or overwhelmed by all the different rhetoric/opinions/strategies.
Same as when I bought my Corvette!

Now think of the time you'd like to get an e-MTB or a super lightweight e-bike or some other type you've never owned. You might be lucky with your next choice

 

[AHicks]

The perfect is the enemy of the good enough ...

To that, I can only add.....AMEN!

 

[Dallant]

Now think of the time you'd like to get an e-MTB or a super lightweight e-bike or some other type you've never owned. You might be lucky with your next choice

Yeah, I’ve certainly pondered an EMTB. I could easily go buy a Powerfly FS 4 EMTB that’s in stock sitting assembled on a shop floor less than 10 minutes from me. It’s what I think I want, its the right size, I could write the check this minute, etc.. Hell, I could even add it to my truck’s new bike hauling setup very painlessly. But so far, I just cannot honestly justify the expense or the real need. Maybe, if I lived out west...

 

[Stefan Mikes]

Yeah, I’ve certainly pondered an EMTB. I could easily go buy a Powerfly FS 4 EMTB that’s in stock sitting assembled on a shop floor less than 10 minutes from me. It’s what I think I want, its the right size, I could write the check this minute, etc.. Hell, I could even add it to my truck’s new bike hauling setup very painlessly. But so far, I just cannot honestly justify the expense or the real need. Maybe, if I lived out west...

It's called brand-loyalty, right? You would probably be in love with the FS 4. My point is: You wouldn't even have tried other brands. Let me give you an example from my own experience:

I was craving for Specialized Turbo Levo Comp. Since I could not buy it (or even try it) in May last year, I started reading what other EBR members had to say about e-MTBs. PDoz is the EBR member who knows the most on electric mountain biking on these Fora. Browneye had created an "eMTB options for 2020" thread and he was describing his numerous visits to all possible brand stores down there in Orange County, demo riding e-MTBs from different brands. To surprise of everyone, Browneye went with a Giant Trance E+ Pro 2, and was delighted with both the price and the e-bike features (not forgetting about its looks). He bought the Giant e-bike because PDoz turned Browneye's attention to the brand and model.

All of that focused my attention on Giant Trance E+. I found the Trance E+ Pro 2 had excellent features, was beautiful, and far cheaper than the Levo; and it was available. Now, I have ridden Trance E+ for almost 2000 km and am still delighted. Actually, the only sub-standard feature of Giant e-MTBs is the dropper post that I needed to replace with a better product. But even stock tyres in Trance E+ were top-notch! Now, other EBR members have bought Giant e-MTBs, such as Fathom, Stance or Trance and are very happy.

I have told you the story to illustrate how valuable the EBR Forum is. I am personally thankful to so many respected EBR Forum members for educating me. I'm not the "I know the best what would be good for me" person anymore

 

[Dallant]

It's called brand-loyalty, right? You would probably be in love with the FS 4. My point is: You wouldn't even have tried other brands. Let me give you an example from my own experience:

I was craving for Specialized Turbo Levo Comp. Since I could not buy it (or even try it) in May last year, I started reading what other EBR members had to say about e-MTBs. PDoz is the EBR member who knows the most on electric mountain biking on these Fora. Browneye had created an "eMTB options for 2020" thread and he was describing his numerous visits to all possible brand stores down there in Orange County, demo riding e-MTBs from different brands. To surprise of everyone, Browneye went with a Giant Trance E+ Pro 2, and was delighted with both the price and the e-bike features (not forgetting about its looks). He bought the Giant e-bike because PDoz turned Browneye's attention to the brand and model.

All of that focused my attention on Giant Trance E+. I found the Trance E+ Pro 2 had excellent features, was beautiful, and far cheaper than the Levo; and it was available. Now, I have ridden Trance E+ for almost 2000 km and am still delighted. Actually, the only sub-standard feature of Giant e-MTBs is the dropper post that I needed to replace with a better product. But even stock tyres in Trance E+ were top-notch! Now, other EBR members have bought Giant e-MTBs, such as Fathom, Stance or Trance and are very happy.

I have told you the story to illustrate how valuable the EBR Forum is. I am personally thankful to so many respected EBR Forum members for educating me. I'm not the "I know the best what would be good for me" person anymore

It’s not really a brand loyalty issue. As I mentioned here a couple of weeks ago, I visited a Specialized/Trek store and was looking at the Specialized emtbs. Much more of a strong Specialized presence there than Trek.
About that time I also started a thread about Marin ebikes that my existing home LBS is starting to carry. It’s much more about justifying the need to spend that kind of dough on any EMTB when I’m very satisfied with the Allant for the vast majority of my riding. It‘s more like buying a specific track car when I already have a fleet of 4 other cars/trucks.
It’s also about what’s available with support in middle America. Many of the folks you mention have much greater access to a larger group of companies they have close by. I haven’t seen a Giant dealer (or bike for that matter) in ages. And to tie it back to the thread, I don’t have a sea of choices to get lost in!
And I refuse to gamble a couple of grand on some mail order deal of the kind I see complained about here every single day.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

And I refuse to gamble a couple of grand on some mail order deal of the kind I see complained about here every single day.

Amen.

 

[Inujosha]

You're clearly learning, picking this up quickly, so I'm not going to throw brand names at you. What I will share is that you might consider watching for proprietary parts on any potential bike that interests you. These will force you back to the bike manf (or the dealer that sells them) for anything you need - and - allowing them to charge anything they think they can get away with for them. Non proprietary parts are available everywhere. Even Amazon has a good selection (of parts, not bikes!). Non proprietary parts will be available even long after a bike manf. has gone out of business.

For example, RAD uses no proprietary parts, as do Rize and Biktrix, and Espin. Try and find that big side cover used on a Sonders bike, or even the latch that holds it, anywhere but from Sonders....

26x4" tires are too big unless you really can justify them with nearby beaches or something. They give the bike a BIG heavy feel. 27.5x2.25" more likely to give you more of a "hybrid" on/off road. Something like that, especially when equipped with street (quiet) tires will do what you are talking about really well.

After much searching, shopping on a bucks spent for bang received basis, I bought a Rize RX Pro not too long ago, to try out the 4" tires. I would repeat that experience in a heartbeat, love this bike's power, but next time would be with the 27.5x 2.25"-2.5" tires for a little quicker handling.

Keep asking questions!
Best of luck, -Al

I was looking into J

You're clearly learning, picking this up quickly, so I'm not going to throw brand names at you. What I will share is that you might consider watching for proprietary parts on any potential bike that interests you. These will force you back to the bike manf (or the dealer that sells them) for anything you need - and - allowing them to charge anything they think they can get away with for them. Non proprietary parts are available everywhere. Even Amazon has a good selection (of parts, not bikes!). Non proprietary parts will be available even long after a bike manf. has gone out of business.

For example, RAD uses no proprietary parts, as do Rize and Biktrix, and Espin. Try and find that big side cover used on a Sonders bike, or even the latch that holds it, anywhere but from Sonders....

26x4" tires are too big unless you really can justify them with nearby beaches or something. They give the bike a BIG heavy feel. 27.5x2.25" more likely to give you more of a "hybrid" on/off road. Something like that, especially when equipped with street (quiet) tires will do what you are talking about really well.

After much searching, shopping on a bucks spent for bang received basis, I bought a Rize RX Pro not too long ago, to try out the 4" tires. I would repeat that experience in a heartbeat, love this bike's power, but next time would be with the 27.5x 2.25"-2.5" tires for a little quicker handling.

You're clearly learning, picking this up quickly, so I'm not going to throw brand names at you. What I will share is that you might consider watching for proprietary parts on any potential bike that interests you. These will force you back to the bike manf (or the dealer that sells them) for anything you need - and - allowing them to charge anything they think they can get away with for them. Non proprietary parts are available everywhere. Even Amazon has a good selection (of parts, not bikes!). Non proprietary parts will be available even long after a bike manf. has gone out of business.

For example, RAD uses no proprietary parts, as do Rize and Biktrix, and Espin. Try and find that big side cover used on a Sonders bike, or even the latch that holds it, anywhere but from Sonders....

26x4" tires are too big unless you really can justify them with nearby beaches or something. They give the bike a BIG heavy feel. 27.5x2.25" more likely to give you more of a "hybrid" on/off road. Something like that, especially when equipped with street (quiet) tires will do what you are talking about really well.

After much searching, shopping on a bucks spent for bang received basis, I bought a Rize RX Pro not too long ago, to try out the 4" tires. I would repeat that experience in a heartbeat, love this bike's power, but next time would be with the 27.5x 2.25"-2.5" tires for a little quicker handling.

Keep asking questions!
Best of luck, -Al

I was looking into juiced bikes, I know that their batteries are expensive but can I buy a 3rd party battery or I have to buy one of their 1st party proprietary batteries which are really expensive?