Known Issues & Problems with Rad Power Products + Help, Solutions & Fixes

[nuthatch]

I've had my RadRover 5 for a month and riding as much as possible. I am unable to find a comfortable hand position on the grips. Has anyone found a replacement grip that is more comfortable? The Rad grip is shape formed which may be the issue? Can the grip be rotated so my orientation to the grip changes? Any advice is appreciated!

The grips fit very tightly, but if you squeeze hard enough you should be able to rotate them to a position that's comfy for your hands

 

[AHicks]

The plan is to spread out the weight on your palms as much as possible. That flat part of the grip should be doing it's share to support your palm, but it loves to twist down under the weight where it's not supporting a darn thing. Try twisting it back up to horizontal to see if that helps a little. Seems like I was screwing with mine, constantly twisting it back into position. I'm scared to glue it, so I used a short TEK screw installed from the bottom to "stake" it. Works better, but that's not the final answer....

There's another plan that has you doing whatever is required to get some weight off your hands with a more upright riding position. That generally has you moving the handlebars up and back, or replacing them with something taller. Downside here is that you can run out of control cable length pretty easily doing this.....

 

[legsofbeer]

I am unable to find a comfortable hand position on the grips. Has anyone found a replacement grip that is more comfortable?

Are you of non-average height? It is possible a seat adjustment (height or angle or forward position on the post) or a handlebar adjustment would make a difference. The HBs can be rotated forwards or backwards, and there are three risers than can be taken out to lower them (RR4), or put in more to raise them. I did unintentionally rotate my left grip forward about 120 degrees over time, was able to twist it back to original position for more comfort. It might be worth a visit to an amenable LBS to get fitted to the bike.

Finally, are you gripping the f*ck out of the handlebars? I did that my first few days as I got used to the power bike, then taught myself not to, no need, it's a stable beast, easy to ride with a light touch.

 

[2wheelsturning]

Thanks for the replies. LOL I'm not gripping handle bars too tightly. I came from a road bike background and for the most part would rest my hands on the brake hoods. This is a different setup and a bike fit at a LBS should identify and presumably correct any contributing issue(s) and that is one route I'm considering.

 

[Ccount]

I have a relatively new RadRunner, and have an issue with the headlight. It stays on ALL the time, regardless whether or not the button is pressed. If the power is on, the headlight is on. The obvious solution is to unplug it during the day rides, and I do. I queried Rad, and they gave me the ridiculous advice of checking all of the connections by unplugging and replugging them. Has anyone experienced this? What may be a fix? Thanks!

 

[AHicks]

I agree. I've received some pretty corny advice, obviously from a script.
Tell them you checked the connections and the problem still exists. Now, what's next?
That should escalate your issue to the next support tier, and maybe you'll get somebody with some actual experience there.

 

[legsofbeer]

What may be a fix?

Defective display, maybe? But, I wish I had this problem. I always ride with headlight on, gives me better odds of being seen when the uberholes look up from their phones, and I've probably burned 2 hours the past year having to turn the light on every time I power up the bike. I would just live with it, just make sure the light is angled downwards enough that you're not lighting up people's faces. I think the power draw is negligible.

 

[BKing]

Hi - A friend bought a Radmini this spring and has a problem with it slowing down going down hill - The brakes are not dragging - It will not coast above 25 mph no matter what he does - He called Radpower bikes and got very little help - He was told to take a video of it happening - They suggested to him the possibility that the bearings in the motor may need to loosen up - Has anyone else experienced this or does anyone have any ideas on what could be causing this? - Thanks in advance

If the hill is not real steep and/or the tire pressure is low it will act strange. I noticed it once on my radcity. On a very steep hill I hit 34 mph so fast I never noticed anything weird around 25.

 

[EasyRiderDude]

New Rover at day 5 & 73 miles: the LCD turned itself off a couple of times during a ride, then the speedometer stayed at 0 and the odometer didn't increase above 73. All else fine, I sent Rad an email, then the ride continued.
Within 90 minutes Rad tech support responded, asked for a video, then confirmed that it's the speed sensors that failed, they're in the motor, so the motor needs replacing. Techs offered to ship it to me when they're back in stock (next week we hope) and gave detailed instructions for the replacement.
Here's what impresses: they will ship a whole new rear wheel including motor, to make the swap easy for me. And, they don't want the old motor/wheel back. (We live 150 miles from Seattle.)
That seems like a quick helpful and fair response.

Off topic: We got a Mini for my wife. She's shorter, couldn't ride a Rover, but the Mini fits her well, with seat post at lowest position and the somewhat thicker Cloud 9 seat swapped in for comfort, and reduced front tire pressure for softer ride. The two bikes are well matched for speed (she weighs 50# less than my 160), which makes biking together easy. 15 miles today on hilly terrain, she could take it easy with electricity when I chose to select pedal workout settings.

Hi Rover Bob: I know this is an older post, however I'm considering a RadMini StepThru for my wife. Is yours (your wife's) a StepThru? My wife is 5 ft tall & she would also likely need the seat (near) all the way down. I'm a little concerned that she may find the handlebars too high. It's my understanding that the rad mini handlebars are not adjustable, you can't lower them? How does that work out for your wife? does she find it comfortable with the seat low down & the high handlebars?....... THANKS!
ERD

 

[steckdev]

I'm having issues getting my 2016 RadRover with ~700 miles to charge the battery. It's been working great and charging right up. However the last couple times I have plugged it in to charge has not increased the charge on the battery. I'm not sure what is going on but I see the Red and Green (solid) light before I plug in the bike, and I see Red and Green (solid) light after I plug the charger into the bike.

Troubleshoot info:
I have turned the battery OFF & ON (doesn't work)
I have pulled the battery pack off the bike (doesn't work)
I have tried another device in the 110v outlet and it works properly.
I have turned on the bike before charging and turned it off (doesn't work)
The bike will still turn on and show that I am at 1 bar of charge
When I hold the battery charge check button before plugging it into the charger I get no lights
When I hold the battery charge check button after plugging it in I get all four lights lit up.
I have not checked the fuse (I didn't have anything easily accessible to pull it out).

 

[BKing]

Sounds like a bad fuse, the smaller one, or a bad charger or if not those a bad battery. Do you have a volt meter to check the output of the charger?

 

[mrgold35]

I'm having issues getting my 2016 RadRover with ~700 miles to charge the battery. It's been working great and charging right up. However the last couple times I have plugged it in to charge has not increased the charge on the battery. I'm not sure what is going on but I see the Red and Green (solid) light before I plug in the bike, and I see Red and Green (solid) light after I plug the charger into the bike.

Troubleshoot info:
I have turned the battery OFF & ON (doesn't work)
I have pulled the battery pack off the bike (doesn't work)
I have tried another device in the 110v outlet and it works properly.
I have turned on the bike before charging and turned it off (doesn't work)
The bike will still turn on and show that I am at 1 bar of charge
When I hold the battery charge check button before plugging it into the charger I get no lights
When I hold the battery charge check button after plugging it in I get all four lights lit up.
I have not checked the fuse (I didn't have anything easily accessible to pull it out).

I have a 16 radrover also and I blew the internal fuse inside the battery pack. The battery would operate and discharge on the rover with the blown fuse. I just couldn't recharge the battery on the charger. Very easy to take the case apart and inspect/replace the internal fuse. Can't remember the amp and if the fuse was large or mini size.

 

[AHicks]

The charger should have 2 red lights prior to it shutting off after charging the battery, when one light turns green.

So, with the charger plugged into the wall, and not the bike, do you have 2 red, or 1 red and one green?

 

[BKing]

He said red and green before and after connecting to bike. I forgot, the 2016 fuses are inside the battery so not as easy as a 2019.

 

[AHicks]

Know what he said, just double checking. If that green light is really on prior to being connected to the battery, I don't think that charger is going to charge a thing -

 

[BKing]

On the 2019 it’s normal to have red and green prior to connecting, two reds when charging and red and green when fully charged.

 

[steckdev]

So that helped to resolve the red light and enabled it to "charge" after replacing the 5A breaker on the inside of the battery. However, I feel that it just uncovered a deeper issue. I charged it for over an hour and I still don't have a charge and when I attempt to start the bike it no longer will show the items on the display. I may have reached the point where I need to replace the entire battery. I will do a bit more testing and troubleshooting. But I would like to know what battery replacement vendor are used from this group.

 

[RangerDave]

Rad has the 2016 Rover battery in stock on sale for $399.

 

[AHicks]

On the 2019 it’s normal to have red and green prior to connecting, two reds when charging and red and green when fully charged.

So the moral of this story is that the chargers are not all the same. Didn't know that. My '17 is 2 red when charging and one red and one green when charge is complete. Will try to remember that....

 

[BKing]

You described the way the 2019 works too.