Misleading Motor Information

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Sidthesurf

New Member
Hi court,

I’m a new guy here and have really enjoyed your ebike video reviews!

Why do you think ebike companies mislead us with their motor specs?

I have a RadMini step thru 2 that I purchased recently, from Rad Power Bikes. I really love my Mini and purchased it for it’s 750w Bafang motor, but it just won’t climb the steeper hills here in Asheville, NC.

It clearly states, on the Rad Power Bike website, that the Mini has a 750W brushless Bafang geared hub motor with 80 Nm of torque, 5:1 planetary gear reduction and that’s also confirmed in your video review. When I ask Rad about this, the answer is that the motor is rated at 750W continuous. I don’t think that’s the same as a 750w Bafang motor. When I emailed Bafang the serial/model this was their response;

We have check the serial number 20-1909161399-1 This is a 500W motor.

I’m looking forward to your response and keep up your great work!
 
Sidthesurf said:
Hi court,

I’m a new guy here and have really enjoyed your ebike video reviews!

Why do you think ebike companies mislead us with their motor specs?

I have a RadMini step thru 2 that I purchased recently, from Rad Power Bikes. I really love my Mini and purchased it for it’s 750w Bafang motor, but it just won’t climb the steeper hills here in Asheville, NC.

It clearly states, on the Rad Power Bike website, that the Mini has a 750W brushless Bafang geared hub motor with 80 Nm of torque, 5:1 planetary gear reduction and that’s also confirmed in your video review. When I ask Rad about this, the answer is that the motor is rated at 750W continuous. I don’t think that’s the same as a 750w Bafang motor. When I emailed Bafang the serial/model this was their response;

We have check the serial number 20-1909161399-1 This is a 500W motor.

I’m looking forward to your response and keep up your great work!
Click to expand...

Join the club! There are numerous threads here regarding this very issue, just search for them. Bad business practice by an otherwise good company. They have handled this very poorly and everyday more and more people are getting pissed off. If you pay for a 750 w motor (nominal) then that's what you should get. Radpower should fix this and get their heads out of their asses. Best of luck with them.
 
jaizon said:
Join the club! There are numerous threads here regarding this very issue, just search for them. Bad business practice by an otherwise good company. They have handled this very poorly and everyday more and more people are getting pissed off. If you pay for a 750 w motor (nominal) then that's what you should get. Radpower should fix this and get their heads out of their asses. Best of luck with them.
Click to expand...
I agree! I think it’s a great company too and I love my Mini, but I need the extra power of the 750w motor as promised. Thanks for your reply!
 
jaizon said:
Join the club! There are numerous threads here regarding this very issue, just search for them. Bad business practice by an otherwise good company. They have handled this very poorly and everyday more and more people are getting pissed off. If you pay for a 750 w motor (nominal) then that's what you should get. Radpower should fix this and get their heads out of their asses. Best of luck with them.
Click to expand...
On the rad Power bike site, it States 750 W motor power, It does get up to 750 w, but it’s kind of sneaky because you would think it’s a 750 motor. My guess is they wouldn’t get the miles like they get if it was an actual 750
 
BTfl said:
On the rad Power bike site, it States 750 W motor power, It does get up to 750 w, but it’s kind of sneaky because you would think it’s a 750 motor. My guess is they wouldn’t get the miles like they get if it was an actual 750
Click to expand...
You are correct. A 750w Bafang motor will not have the range of the motor that’s on the Mini, but I need the power of the 750 watt motor to climb the hills around here. The point is, Rad, on it’s website, states that it is a 750w Bafang motor. When I emailed the serial number of the motor to Bafang they have confirmed that it’s a 500w Bafang motor, not a 750w motor.
 
How can one say it's a great company when they sold, charged for and misrepresented what the person was buying? I mean if addressing the problem is to now be truthful by changing the specs? Pretty low bar to be considered a great company. Anyway the value of having a forum that posts experiences that are verified by other folks is it saves the people looking to make a choice some serious money.
 
I test rode an Aventon Pace 500 up a 15% grade with no problem. I was stopped at a light at the bottom and the intersection was pretty flat but it started climbing almost right after I cleared the intersection. I had it on the highest assist level and it was in a low gear at the light, I think it was second. I was doing about 8 mph when I got to the top and I was peddling pretty hard. I was rather surprised because I have bad knees. The Pace weigh about 49-50 pounds and most people complain about how quick it gets up to 12 mph in the lowest pas level, so this might have contributed to it doing so well. The Rad Rover weighs about 20 pounds more, but it is suppose to have a lot more newton meters (80) compared to the Pace (50).
 
GypsyTreker said:
How can one say it's a great company when they sold, charged for and misrepresented what the person was buying? I mean if addressing the problem is to now be truthful by changing the specs? Pretty low bar to be considered a great company. Anyway the value of having a forum that posts experiences that are verified by other folks is it saves the people looking to make a choice some serious money.
Click to expand...
I don’t believe it’s misrepresented it does go to 750 w, With the Bolton kit it can go up to around 1600 W, I don’t understand what the problem is when most of the time you’re riding around 500 W or less
 
BTfl said:
I don’t believe it’s misrepresented it does go to 750 w, With the Bolton kit it can go up to around 1600 W, I don’t understand what the problem is when most of the time you’re riding around 500 W or less
Click to expand...
So, based on some fuzzy logic, if I purchase a 750w hub motor on-line that's priced higher than a 500w or 350w it's ok if Im actually paying for on over volted version of a smaller motor? Seriously??
 
Timpo said:
I guess technically, it is not a misrepresentation because the motor is set to drain 750W of electricity.
But I guess he is having a problem because it's an over-volted 750W motor.
Click to expand...
Got it. What I think rad was going for is longevity, and reliability,
 
Timpo said:
I don't think over-volting 350w motor to 750w would contribute to reliability..

I'd think using more heavy duty 750w and keep it there would make bike more reliable.
Click to expand...
I own two rad power bikes, I have not read in recent years about Geared motors burning up on their bikes, nor have I read anything about a Bolton kit, burning them out, so they seem OK with the added power, For $1500 in my opinion they do what they say they will.
GypsyTreker said:
So, based on some fuzzy logic, if I purchase a 750w hub motor on-line that's priced higher than a 500w or 350w it's ok if Im actually paying for on over volted version of a smaller motor? Seriously??
Click to expand...
 
Black47 said:
On this video at about the 7 minute mark the rider compares the Rad Rover to a Giant LaFree climbing a hill from a dead stop.
Click to expand...

Thanks for sharing the video... there is really no comparison between a Rad hub-drive and a Giant/Yamaha mid-drive motor. ;)

Love the commentary... he keeps saying that the Giant climbs like a mountain goat when compared with the Rad rover which stalled.
 
This gets me to wondering if my Juiced Rip Current with an advertised 750 Bafang is actually a 500. Has anyone checked this out?
I have no trouble at all with any hills but the real size of the motor still makes me wonder if it actually is what is advertized.
 
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