New Radrover no go

[mrgold35]

I love the throttle attachment from 1859 Northwest:

JA E-Bike Throttle Attachment ** Free Shipping **

Our twist throttle attachment, The JA's Throttle Attachment, is designed to fit on e-bike twist throttles with a diameter of 37mm (+/- 1.5mm). This design allows you to use your twist throttle with ease by using just your thumb - not your wrist. Features a cinch strap that allows for a strong...

1859-northwest.myshopify.com

Makes it so much easier to use the throttle and shift at the same time. It make it easier to get to max speed across intersections using both max throttle+upshifting. Plastic with a velcro strap holing it in place that never moves. Work perfectly in +100 degree summers or below freezing winters with winter gloves and Bar Mitts.

 

[56Steve]

Similar to what I use on my motorcycles, only you use your palm. It's called a wrist rest.

 

[tomjasz]

Yeah, I thought the PAS had to be activated by pedaling for it to power the hub-drive. Perhaps this model will use throttle only, but that is pretty rare.

Actually several lines were sold without any PAS, throttle only! Luna sold direct drive and gear drive kits that were clones of the ebikekit hub motors, throttle only. (and no parts for repairs) But throttle only finished bikes do see as rare as hen's teeth.

 

[56Steve]

Rad is sending out a new motor, wheel assembly. That's pretty good service.

 

[AHicks]

Would you mind posting the video you sent them?

 

[56Steve]

 

[56Steve]

Last Friday I received the new motor and complete wheel assembly , took off the old and put on the new and it works! Now thats good service.

 

[AHicks]

Does point a big arrow at their QC procedures though....

 

[Tars Tarkas]

Last Friday I received the new motor and complete wheel assembly , took off the old and put on the new and it works! Now thats good service.

That's great! Thanks for letting us know! It would be nice to know exactly what the problem was though, just out of curiousity.

TT

 

[Tars Tarkas]

Does point a big arrow at their QC procedures though....

Yeah, maybe. It could be that the bike worked fine when it was shipped and something was knocked wonky in transit. Plus, I wonder how many, or what percentage of bikes are delivered without any serious issues? We hear about the bikes that have problems.

And there are always going to be the occasional problems. Everyone would prefer to avoid the problems, of course, but there is really something good to say about a company that resolves their issues as well as Rad.

TT

 

[AHicks]

Yes, I get the fact there are problems. That's likely why they pay all the money to have a quality tech dept. on board. My question should have been I wonder if that motor was working when shipped? The fact they sent out a new assembly would leave me wondering if they knew it was working when it left their facility. Or maybe another question. Are those bikes packed at RAD, or in China?

 

[mrgold35]

Pretty good out come to get your rover fixed. You get the bonus of spare tire/tube with the old rim.

 

[Browneye]

China bikes are packed in shipping cartons, stacked in containers, and put on a ship. It's hard to say what kind of component testing is done at time of assembly.
IMO it's a good outcome and solid backing for the product. So far I haven't seen anything I don't like about RadPower, other than some more options for bikes. Lots of new peeps coming on board this year and RadPower is a great place to start.

 

[56Steve]

I bought it for my wife so she can go for a bike ride with me, usually 20 miles or so on my road bike. My first mod on it was lowing the handle bars.

 

[DWR]

Hi Browneye,
New to forum, and considering first e bike. Glad to hear you think Rad Power is good place for “peeps” like me to start. Would be interested in hearing more about your experiences with your Rad if you have the time. I am considering RadRover 5 in the very near future. I have a very good e friendly bike shop nearby for support so that’s good. Any thoughts to share? Thank you in advance Dan

 

[Browneye]

Hi Browneye,
New to forum, and considering first e bike. Glad to hear you think Rad Power is good place for “peeps” like me to start. Would be interested in hearing more about your experiences with your Rad if you have the time. I am considering RadRover 5 in the very near future. I have a very good e friendly bike shop nearby for support so that’s good. Any thoughts to share? Thank you in advance Dan

Well, I don't have one personally, but have riding friends that have them - there are four of them in the group, 3 Rovers and a City.
I had the opportunity to try both models, having put some time on our own, and trying out a plethora of others at various shops in our locale.

There are plenty of fans for the 'fat-tire' bikes, these riders like theirs well enough, although one of them has a petite female pilot and it seems pretty bulky for her, but she seems to ride it fine.
I have test-ridden several fat-tire bikes and didn't care for them. They ride fine, but are noisy (tires) and handling feels really lethargic. So I don't know if that's due to the weight of the wheels, or the amount of tread contact, or both or what. They did say they could ride those things right across beach sugar sand, so if that's in your future travels it's a good option. And they have a very good turn of speed, and very good range.

Of all the hub-power bikes I've tried, they all seem more similar than different. And as much discussion and passion there is for more well integrated mid-drive bikes, they tend to be more expensive than hub bikes, which out sell the mids by quite a large margin.

The City is also a good option, it has a 'direct-drive' hub system that is quite powerful. The bike rides great, but they are said to really shine on a bike path or as a commuter - they're really efficient at speed. I have not tried one for hill-climbing, so cannot directly compare direct-drive to a gear-reduction drive. The Rover has the latter.

So, sorry to jack this thread, it's good news OP got his Rover fixed. For more discussion start a new thread and seek more feedback on your purchase options.

 

[mrgold35]

The wife and I have two 16 Radrovers (with +3500 miles on each) and 19 Radcity Step-thru. The Radrover rode and felt a lot better once I exchanged the tires for 26X4 Vee8. Much lighter tires that help in lighter steering, reduced noise levels (no killer bees sound), and better control on paved roads at max speed. Oddly, the rover and the city come in at very close to the same weight; but, the Radcity feels so much lighter/easier to ride and has a much smaller regular bike footprint.

You need A LOT of space to store the radrover. The rover isn't an easy ebike to live with without a platform rack, having to store inside the house, need to place on pubic transportation, or if you need to take up a flight of stairs (helps to use the throttle to help push up stairs). The rover isn't an easy ebike to transport if you are 100% city living with limited storage.

I think the city has almost 2X the range with the newer radcity with larger capacity battery and regen braking (doesn't hurt she is only 130lbs compared to my 290lbs).

The big advantage I like with the Radrover is it can traverse a lot of different terrain from paved road, dirt trails, rocky ground, to sand at higher speeds and be a comfy ride (fat tires make for a smoother ride). I'm 2 blocks away from the Rio Grande river and +30 miles of paved, double-wide dirt, and single track trails. A fat tire bike in 100% paved city riding is the same as having a 4 door with extended bed 4X4 pickup in New York City as a daily driver.

 

[tomjasz]

Cool stuff for Radpower. A battery adapter for aftermarket batteries. And an upgrade to 35A controller, with a new display!

 

[56Steve]

I guess I never did a follow up Rad sent out a whole new wheel assembly and it works fine. My only issue now is that this was the wrong bike for my wife, it is way to big for her, oh well maybe I can sell come spring.

 

[AHicks]

Cool stuff for Radpower. A battery adapter for aftermarket batteries. And an upgrade to 35A controller, with a new display!

This is the kit I've been referring to, and raving about, for some time. It's nearly identical to the way I set my bike up. Biggest difference being it's totally plug and play, using the original wire ends (where the open sourced components would have the wrong ends that would need matching or changing). For those looking for performance increases and/or more user definable controller set up.