Rad City and Rad Mini ... Harsh ride

[jcanavera]

Velofix who set my bike up recommended 50 psi on my RadCity. The issue for me is the seat and I also have a vintage Raleigh bike that came with a Brooks seat. I know my local bike shop always gaga's my bike when I bring it in for service and they always comment on that "good" seat I have. After getting the RadCity and then on a recent trip where I used the Raleigh, I understand the importance of seat comfort. The Raleigh has those tall skinny tires. No suspension to really speak of. But the difference when hitting rough spots made me understand how much a seat can make. My Brooks has a couple of coils in the rear and then parallel to the length of the seat were multiple rows of small coil springs are stretched which support the seat from front to back. Personally I think the biggest improvement to the RadCity in rider comfort is probably considering upgrading the seat itself. To me the pounding on my butt with an unyielding seat is the biggest liability my RadCity has.

 

[Tars Tarkas]

New saddles are easy. Not always cheap.... I had a Brooks saddle on a bike that was stolen in the 70s. It was great. Maybe I have an iron butt now but the stock saddle that came on my RadRover isn't giving me a lot to complain about so I haven't bothered to swap it out. Still, it's something I think about whenever I go into a bike shop.

TT

 

[Pragmatic]

@phoenixtoohot , we don't own a RadCity or RadCity step thru, but did consider purchasing Rad Power e-Bikes as good values/a good first, rear hub motor design, e-Bikes. As a prior suspension bike user, you're on the right path questioning tire pressure/considering testing again at a lower tire pressure. As long as you don't run them so low that you risk a rim-tube pinch flat on a harsh bump, you should be OK at a lower pressure for the RadCity or RadCity step thru, and rider combo.

As @AHicks mentioned the RadRover fat tire e-Bike would have a different ride characteristic than the City bikes, and could offer a softer ride, but air pressure and tire size definitely impacts ride characteristics/quality both on pavement and off-pavement capable bikes.

We have non-suspension fat tire (26x4) , mid-drive e-Bikes and can run them anywhere from ~7 psi to 30 psi (mgf spec) as surface/traction/ride comfort require. Running the tires at 15 psi gives a good combination of control and comfort on occasionally bumpy pavement.

We did swap out the regular seats for wide gel cruiser-type spring-suspension seats (wife's request, an easy 10 minute task). Your test ride RadCity or RadCity step thru bikes have a spring suspension with a narrower non-cruiser seat, which should be fine as is, personal preference(s) aside.

@phoenixtoohot You didn't indicate a position on e-FTBs but as a e-FTB owners, before final purchase, we'd suggest looking also at the RadRover option since it's the same price and has front suspension too. The fat tires offer additional ride cushioning and enhanced off pavement traction/use options, albeit at a tire weight and rolling resistance penalty.

We view FTBs as the "Jeeps" of the bicycle community - not everyone likes Jeeps (or Subarus) we're renegades and own/use both... ;-). We also have Road and Mountain pedal/analog bikes (~1.75"/2.5" wide tires).

BTW, we also think the RadPower RadWagon cargo bikes are cool - but don't have a real use for one, since we don't live in an urban/suburban area.

 

[jcanavera]

New saddles are easy. Not always cheap.... I had a Brooks saddle on a bike that was stolen in the 70s. It was great. Maybe I have an iron butt now but the stock saddle that came on my RadRover isn't giving me a lot to complain about so I haven't bothered to swap it out. Still, it's something I think about whenever I go into a bike shop.

TT

I visited a couple of local bike shops today and showed pictures of my brooks saddle and the multiple spring setup and was told that you don’t find seats like that today in most shops. They noted that when riding in a straight up position, most of the padded seats and others they sell will start hurting before you around 16+ miles into your ride. The pain they said, was lack of bloodflow. They said I might seriously consider moving my vintage Brooks seat over to the RadCity or consider, spending a few $$ for a Brooks or comparable seat. At least they were honest.

Here's a picture of my Brooks seat on my vintage Raleigh and its suspension. I'm not sure if Brooks makes anything with those smaller diameter springs that lay under the seat from front to back.

 

[AHicks]

I rarely agree with a lot of what most local bike shops have to say, but on this point, butt burn out at 16 miles, I can verify first hand. It's what limits my butt to about 20 mile rides. In an attempt to increase that, I have tried several Cloud 9 style seats, and currently currently use 1 of them. Would be happy to try others, but this "try it out" gets expensive after 2-3 tries of suposedly popular seats!

 

[phoenixtoohot]

I rarely agree with a lot of what most local bike shops have to say, but on this point, butt burn out at 16 miles, I can verify first hand. It's what limits my butt to about 20 mile rides. In an attempt to increase that, I have tried several Cloud 9 style seats, and currently currently use 1 of them. Would be happy to try others, but this "try it out" gets expensive after 2-3 tries of suposedly popular seats!

"butt burn" is different from "harsh ride", right? Also different remedies? Different saddle and/or padded pants) for butt burn (Monkey Butt anyone? lol) and supension changes (e.g. , supension seat post, tire pressure/volume, front fork springs) for harsh jolts over uneven sidewalk cracks. I only rode the Radcity for an hour, so no problem with butt burn, but very noticeable, jarring impacts through the frame/seat tube/saddle over pretty normal side walks and paved roads.

 

[Pragmatic]

I rarely agree with a lot of what most local bike shops have to say, but on this point, butt burn out at 16 miles, I can verify first hand. It's what limits my butt to about 20 mile rides. In an attempt to increase that, I have tried several Cloud 9 style seats, and currently currently use 1 of them. Would be happy to try others, but this "try it out" gets expensive after 2-3 tries of suposedly popular seats!

@AHicks we went with the Cloud 9 cruiser style seats also. Actually the bikes came with narrower Cloud 9's. They aren't too expensive...

 

[AHicks]

I posted this under "known issues", but it's on topic here as well. Last night while riding over a rougher area of turf (not that bad, as I was still seated), my seat post broke off completely right where it enters the bike frame. This seat post was one of those cheap ones with a spring in it. I will say it was quite the surprise, and although it might have caused a nasty accident, I was able to maintain my balance and composure enough to get up on the pedals with no harm done. Noteworthy is the fact I'm 300lbs, and the post did go 500 miles prior to failing.

 

[Pragmatic]

I posted this under "known issues", but it's on topic here as well. Last night while riding over a rougher area of turf (not that bad, as I was still seated), my seat post broke off completely right where it enters the bike frame. This seat post was one of those cheap ones with a spring in it. I will say it was quite the surprise, and although it might have caused a nasty accident, I was able to maintain my balance and composure enough to get up on the pedals with no harm done. Noteworthy is the fact I'm 300lbs, and the post did go 500 miles prior to failing.

@AHicks - Glad that you were not hurt! Appears that seat tube should have been of greater thickness or a better alloy composition. Be sure to get a quality replacement!

 

[AHicks]

After looking at it a bit, the inside of the post is a hex shape to accommodate a hex shaped "piston" that the seat is fastened to. Hex shape to prevent the seat from turning to one side or the other which it still does to a certain extent and is pretty distracting. Anyway, the hex shaped internal leaves the seat post material on the thin side in 6 places. I'm pretty sure this is where it failed, and once failed, it just tore the rest of the way. No, not making that mistake again. Just wanted to get this out there for a heads up on this design....

 

[phoenixtoohot]

We rode the Radcity today at a place in Scottsdale. I checked the tire pressure this time at 45 to 50 psi, and this time the ride was fine. I believe our first ride felt jolting/harsh because the tires were over pumped ... Probably near 80 psi.

I would still say the bike feels "clunky" (no offense to anyone), and was way heavy. Still not bad for a white label bike.