Mariner & trail use

[Garys_PDX]

Hi, I'm an amateur photographer and am looking for a folding e-bike that will allow me to get out and do more photography (I have severe arthritis in my legs which makes walking any distance difficult but I have no problem riding a bike.). I have pretty much decided on either the Mariner or the RadMini as both have the main characteristics that I'm looking for, folding, fenders & rear rack. My question is: does anyone have experience with the Mariner on gravel roads and trails? I need a bike that handles reasonably well off pavement as I will typically be carrying camera equipment that is worth a lot more than the bike. I'm not looking to ride single track or any terrain that is particularly challenging as I did enough of that in my younger days. Thanks for any thoughts or advice.

 

[Trac1]

We use ours on the trails and gravel roads all the time they are fantastic!! you will not regret the Mariner on the trails

 

[Garys_PDX]

We use ours on the trails and gravel roads all the time they are fantastic!! you will not regret the Mariner on the trails

Thanks for the input.

gary

 

[mrgold35]

Not sure if this is true for the Mariner; but, the Radmini has a twist throttle that applies full 750w of power at any PAS level of 0-5. Comes in handy walking the bike up steep inclines, over obstacles, or even powering up stairs. I ride my Radrover singletrack and often take my Nikon DSLR in my backpack. Nice to have the full power throttle when you need to get up a short incline or when the trail gets too narrow to pedal.

The only suspension with the Radmini depends on how much PSI in the tires since there isn't a front suspension fork. A suspension seatpost from Thudbuster, Bodyfloat, or Suntour is a plus when trail riding.

 

[Garys_PDX]

Not sure if this is true for the Mariner; but, the Radmini has a twist throttle that applies full 750w of power at any PAS level of 0-5. Comes in handy walking the bike up steep inclines, over obstacles, or even powering up stairs. I ride my Radrover singletrack and often take my Nikon DSLR in my backpack. Nice to have the full power throttle when you need to get up a short incline or when the trail gets too narrow to pedal.

The only suspension with the Radmini depends on how much PSI in the tires since there isn't a front suspension fork. A suspension seatpost from Thudbuster, Bodyfloat, or Suntour is a plus when trail riding.

Thanks for our thoughts.

g

 

[Uphill]

I fully endorse the Mariner for trail riding. I'm 67 years old, have ridden mine 450 miles -- about half on trails-- and just love the bike. With its wide tires it's stable enough to roll over rocks and roots, thick sand or gravel, has plenty of power, and can fold into the back seat of a sedan (I bungee mine to the headrest). It's taken me on countless adventures. I say that because I never really intended to use it much as a mountain bike. I just wanted something versatile enough to ride on the occasional groomed park trail and leave more rugged trails for hiking. Kind of what you are saying, right? However, this thing is so capable that I'd actually rather ride on a trail than pavement, because it's more fun, rather ride than hike, and have ended up exploring so much more than I used to on foot. It's nothing to decide to ride up a side trail I'd never hiked up before, because I can do it quickly and effortlessly. If the trail goes up a steep hill, so what? I very rarely go over level 7 out of 9 for even the steepest terrain (although 9 is nice to have for the really mean grades). Usually, I'm on level 2-4 on a trail. And if the trail is rough, the fat tires generally roll right right on through. If not, the Mariner has a low crossbar, so it's easy to slide forward off the seat and have both feet flat on the ground, knees bent.

The thing that prevented me from ever being a mountain biker on a normal bike is the hills, and at my age that's even more of a consideration. You find yourself faced with endless circumstances on trails, and one I used to hate was one where you had to stop and cross over some kind of rut, or to slow to a crawl going around a sharp corner or around some obstacle, and then be faced with a steep uphill section that is next to impossible to start up from a standstill. No problem on this bike. Just set the pedal assist level, push the thumb throttle to get going while you start to pedal, and up you go.

The rack in back is really sturdy. I bungee a day pack to mine to get it off my back. You can buy a hard locking case for the back rack as well (3rd party, not from Volt Bike), but I don't like it for trails.

The seat and handlebar heights are adjustable & I've found the ride comfortable and much easier on the back than my normal bikes.

I've never ridden a Rad Mini, but they are probably similar in a lot of ways.

 

[Uphill]

I fully endorse the Mariner for trail riding. I'm 67 years old, have ridden mine 450 miles -- about half on trails-- and just love the bike. With its wide tires it's stable enough to roll over rocks and roots, thick sand or gravel, has plenty of power, and can fold into the back seat of a sedan (I bungee mine to the headrest). It's taken me on countless adventures. I say that because I never really intended to use it much as a mountain bike. I just wanted something versatile enough to ride on the occasional groomed park trail and leave more rugged trails for hiking. Kind of what you are saying, right? However, this thing is so capable that I'd actually rather ride on a trail than pavement, because it's more fun, rather ride than hike, and have ended up exploring so much more than I used to on foot. It's nothing to decide to ride up a side trail I'd never hiked up before, because I can do it quickly and effortlessly. If the trail goes up a steep hill, so what? I very rarely go over level 7 out of 9 for even the steepest terrain (although 9 is nice to have for the really mean grades). Usually, I'm on level 2-4 on a trail. And if the trail is rough, the fat tires generally roll right right on through. If not, the Mariner has a low crossbar, so it's easy to slide forward off the seat and have both feet flat on the ground, knees bent.

The thing that prevented me from ever being a mountain biker on a normal bike is the hills, and at my age that's even more of a consideration. You find yourself faced with endless circumstances on trails, and one I used to hate was one where you had to stop and cross over some kind of rut, or to slow to a crawl going around a sharp corner or around some obstacle, and then be faced with a steep uphill section that is next to impossible to start up from a standstill. No problem on this bike. Just set the pedal assist level, push the thumb throttle to get going while you start to pedal, and up you go.

The rack in back is really sturdy. I bungee a day pack to mine to get it off my back. You can buy a hard locking case for the back rack as well (3rd party, not from Volt Bike), but I don't like it for trails.

The seat and handlebar heights are adjustable & I've found the ride comfortable and much easier on the back than my normal bikes.

I've never ridden a Rad Mini, but they are probably similar in a lot of ways. View attachment 18353 View attachment 18354 View attachment 18357

 

[Garys_PDX]

I fully endorse the Mariner for trail riding. I'm 67 years old, have ridden mine 450 miles -- about half on trails-- and just love the bike. With its wide tires it's stable enough to roll over rocks and roots, thick sand or gravel, has plenty of power, and can fold into the back seat of a sedan (I bungee mine to the headrest). It's taken me on countless adventures. I say that because I never really intended to use it much as a mountain bike. I just wanted something versatile enough to ride on the occasional groomed park trail and leave more rugged trails for hiking. Kind of what you are saying, right? However, this thing is so capable that I'd actually rather ride on a trail than pavement, because it's more fun, rather ride than hike, and have ended up exploring so much more than I used to on foot. It's nothing to decide to ride up a side trail I'd never hiked up before, because I can do it quickly and effortlessly. If the trail goes up a steep hill, so what? I very rarely go over level 7 out of 9 for even the steepest terrain (although 9 is nice to have for the really mean grades). Usually, I'm on level 2-4 on a trail. And if the trail is rough, the fat tires generally roll right right on through. If not, the Mariner has a low crossbar, so it's easy to slide forward off the seat and have both feet flat on the ground, knees bent.

The thing that prevented me from ever being a mountain biker on a normal bike is the hills, and at my age that's even more of a consideration. You find yourself faced with endless circumstances on trails, and one I used to hate was one where you had to stop and cross over some kind of rut, or to slow to a crawl going around a sharp corner or around some obstacle, and then be faced with a steep uphill section that is next to impossible to start up from a standstill. No problem on this bike. Just set the pedal assist level, push the thumb throttle to get going while you start to pedal, and up you go.

The rack in back is really sturdy. I bungee a day pack to mine to get it off my back. You can buy a hard locking case for the back rack as well (3rd party, not from Volt Bike), but I don't like it for trails.

The seat and handlebar heights are adjustable & I've found the ride comfortable and much easier on the back than my normal bikes.

I've never ridden a Rad Mini, but they are probably similar in a lot of ways. View attachment 18353 View attachment 18354 View attachment 18357

Thanks for your thoughts. I received my Mariner a little over a week ago so I'm still getting used to it on the pavement but look forward to more adventuresome rides soon.