New 2019 RadRover Ordered

[Kaos]

I ordered last week (Wednesday) and according to FedEx the bike should be here (south Louisiana) tomorrow, exactly a week. I was prepared for a longer wait on delivery, but not complaining. Rear rack came in today.
I already looked over the owners manual and watched the setup video.
Just curios, do they usually ship the batteries charged up or can I expect to charge the battery several hours before I am able to use it?
Also, any other advice for a first time ebiker would be appreciated. To start I will be using on dirt and gravel roads mostly

 

[slayer1962]

Mine came about half charged. I plugged in while doing the assembly

 

[MarkF]

It's actually against the law to ship batteries fully charged. They need to be 50% or less state of charge.

 

[Lord Polymath]

I've been reading up on batteries. I don't own an ebike yet but this is what I plan to do when I get mine -
A new battery will need to go through a break in period in which you need to charge it to 100% for 4 to 6 charges. Doesn't have to be full discharges (I wouldn't go below 20% ever if you can help it), and try to discharge gently in the break in period. Go for a ride to deplete some battery, let it cool and charge again, repeat. These break-in rides will be a good time for taking it easy to make sure everything on the bike performs the way it should.
After the break-in period the battery can be charged to 80 or 90%. Periodically charging to 100% is required to keep the pack balanced. Balancing should be done every 30 cycles or so, after 3-6 months and especially after storing the battery for a few weeks. (All info above taken from: https://electricbike.com/forum/forum/knowledge-base/batteries-aa/20988-faq-charging-batteries )

When storing the battery long-term, store it at %50 charge, and check it once a month to make sure it doesn't go below 20%. Once out of long term storage (months), you'll need to do the break-in charges to 100% a few times for balancing.

Having said all that, most people just plug it in and charge to 100% then ride it and have fun. Batteries are generally very expensive, like half the cost of the bike. A RadRover battery is $550.

 

[Kaos]

Thanks LP for the details.

 

[slayer1962]

LP thanks and yes my charger is red while charging and green when completed . no numbers in between unless you check battery itself

 

[RangerDave]

Just curious.... what contacts on the battery pack are used to check the volts with a voltmeter? I tried several when I initially got my bike and never could find a pair of contacts that gave me an accurate measurement.
This would be on a 2019 Rad battery pack.

Thanks - RangerDave

 

[AHicks]

For absolute accurate readings, just pull the battery. At the point where it plugs into the rack use the larger 2 terminals. A little dielectric grease applied to those while you are at it not a bad plan either...

 

[Kaos]

The RadRover came in, everything looked good. Charged it up and rode it about 15 miles on a gravel road. Sore now, lol.

 

[AHicks]

Congrats on the new ride. Be careful around traffic that's bigger than you are!

 

[emtbdude]

I demo'ed a radrover. It was a very fun bike to ride! It kicks to 20 mph with absolute ease (at the highest level of assist). It's a great climber, too. It can get to 16+ mph on moderate grades with modest effort from the rider (certainly modest compared to a non motorized bike).

I'm curious as to how fast it would be without the 20 mph governor.

No matter, rad is coming out with new models soon anyway. I think they're about due for a class 3.

One thing that was pleasantly surprising about the rad was how natural the assist felt. I was expecting a harsh kick, but power ramps up pretty gradually, almost like a torque sensor.

Some bikes are flat out awful in this regard: the aventon pace 500 is a notable offender.

 

[Tars Tarkas]

The RadRover can easily be kicked up to 25 mph by using the control buttons to access setting on the display. You can cut it back to (I forget) 12 or 15 mph, like if you have a kid using the bike.

TT

 

[jcanavera]

It's actually against the law to ship batteries fully charged. They need to be 50% or less state of charge.

The battery that came with my Rad City was around 75% or so based on the display screen meter. My Brother-In-Law's Rad City and his wife's Step Through also shows around that same amount of power on their displays.