Fat Tire EBike for Shorter Females?

[Cristina]

Hi,

I am looking at the RadRover and Voltbike Yukon. RadRover comes with a a 18.25" frame, and 31.25" stand over. The Voltbike Yukon comes with a 19" frame, yet has a stand over height of 29.5". What is more important to look at when considering height between these two bikes, or should I be looking at a different measurement than stand over and frame size?

Would appreciate some input! Thanks.

 

[Dewey]

Wheel size makes a height difference. Folding fat tire ebikes like the Sondors Fold X and VoltBike Mariner typically use smaller 20" wheels that lower the bike. Also hub motors have mechanical advantage when threaded into smaller wheels.

 

[mrgold35]

Depends on your height and leg length to see if the Radrover is too tall for you. I think the normal height range is 5'2" to 6'2" with around 31.25" stand over height for the Radrover. I'm 6'3" and I needed to get a longer 400mm seatpost and 0-60 degree adjustable stem for the Radrover to fit me a touch better. My wife is 4'11" and I move the adjustable stem down to 0 degrees and added the ISM Touring Saddle, Amazon, $60, to give her the extra room for stand over at a stop (she can straddle the Radrover at stop with both feet flat on the ground with the new saddle). Without the smaller ISM seat, she had to lean to one side with only one foot touching the ground because the nose of a regular seat moved her too far up the top bar at a stop.

Some folk said when they changed out the Kenda tires with Hookworms also lowered the straddle height of the Radrover a bit.

My wife's biggest complaint is the just the weight of the Radrover of 65-70lbs with rack, rack bag, accessories, gear, and water. Hard for her to maneuver slowly and getting started if there is an incline. Zero issues once she gets going. The Radrover is too heavy for her to put on our platform bike rack by herself even with the battery and rack bag removed. The Radmini folding bike is smaller; but, still weights the same as the Radrover.

You can see my bike with Cloud-9+Bodyfloat seatpost and my wife's bike with the ISM seat:

 

[MLB]

Electric Bike Review reviewed a 24" fat tire bike that was pretty nice in the past month or so. That would drop the seat height substantially versus 26". As noted the 20" wheels would have the seat even lower.

 

[Ravi Kempaiah]

Electric Bike Review reviewed a 24" fat tire bike that was pretty nice in the past month or so. That would drop the seat height substantially versus 26". As noted the 20" wheels would have the seat even lower.

I concur MLB's idea.
@Cristina ,

a 24" Pedego trailtracker would be a good choice.

You could also look at Radmini, Voltbike mariner or Sondors fold and use the forums to gain some knowledge on the basics of maintenance.

 

[Cristina]

Thanks for the replies. I did look at the Radmini and Mariner but they're not quite what I was looking for, though it did offer some advantages with a lower stand over height. Also great to see that the RadRover works for someone who is 4'11". I am 5'4" so hopefully it won't be too much of a struggle. I am guessing that the RadRover and Yukon are pretty similar in size, but the RadRover seems to have a more upright position for riding.

Pedego Trail Tracker looks very nice, but it is out of my budget at the moment, especially for a first e-bike. It is too bad because they are local for me.

I saw that M2S Bikes (https://m2sbikes.com/) offer different frame sizes which is nice, but it seems they are already out of pre-orders next month, and I haven't really seen a lot of reviews online about their bikes.

The touring saddle is a good idea. I have read some people trim the post of their bike, but I would rather not do that right away since I'm sure it would void the warranty. I am thinking maybe wearing boots with a heel might help out a little bit too. Really leaning towards the Voltbike Yukon at the moment, for all of the features for the price.

 

[mrgold35]

I would review EBR for both Voltbike and Radrover to look at the fine details of both bikes. I was on the fence a year ago trying to decide between the same two bikes for the same $$$ (cheaper shipping with Volt). What I liked about the Radrover was it was a fat tire bike with ebike components added. I could repair/replace as needed any parts once the warranty ran out. I can even transfer all the ebike components to another fat tire bike and convert the Radrover into a regular pedal bike. Because the battery is standard, I can also upgrade up to 52v/13.5ah version for more power and range from Luna Cycle because the standard Dolphin battery pack fits into the Radrover battery tray. What also pushed me towards the Radrover was:

- riding position was more upright with a shorter handlebar stem
- had ergonomic grips for added comfort
- has a twist throttle with on/off switch, later added an aftermarket thumb throttle attachment I use when trail riding
- throttle is available with full 750 watts of power in PAS 0-5, comes in handy if you need to walk your bike up inclines or stairs
- the controller is made to deliver full power you are set for until power is depleted (kinda like a car giving you full power until you run out of gas).
- front suspension has a lock-out feature
- 180mm brakes front and back
- neoprene slap guard for chain
- three built-in water bottle mounts (either side of upper top tube and one on down tube facing the ground)
- two different colors for his and her ebikes
- standard rack ready connections (went with Topeak fat tire rack)
- more comfy standard seat
- option for PAS 0
- quick release on front wheels
- I can add a triangle bag to cover the battery to dry, dust free, and warmer during winter rides
- you can adjust the motor cut off speed in the LCD screen setup, you can set the RR from 7 to 24.8 mph motor cut off.

This was a year ago and I'm sure Voltbikes has made upgrades since then.