I just noticed the Rad city. I was going to order a CrossCurrent today but i still don't know what I want seeing this will be my first ebike ever. I love the speed the cross current provides BUT I feel like the whole reason why I want an ebike is so I don't have to work nearly as hard. With the cross current that sounds like what I'll be doing mostly. Working hard. And there is no throttle unless I buy one. That is a huge thing for me. I want a throttle. and the 350w motor seems small. The Rad city has a throttle, a 750w motor, and sounds like I would hardly have to work to get to the 20mph zone. Should I hold off and get the Rad city? What's everyone's opinion?
Rad city.
- Thread starter Josh88
- Start date
mrgold35
Well-Known Member
It really depends on how you going to ride the ebike. I just purchased two Radrovers in Sept/16 for the wife and I. The wife couldn't keep up with me on our regular bikes. The +5000 ft and hilly terrain was starting to kick both of our butts. I also wanted more flexibility riding the 4X as many dirt trails and have the option to commute to work the 13 mile round-trip.
Also depends if the other bike is a Class I (PAS, 20 mph), II PAS+throttle, 20 mph) or III (PAS, helmet, 28 mph, not allowed on bike only paths). Some states have restrictions on class III on what bike trails they can ride while Class I & II can go anywhere a regular bike can go. I don't know how any local agency can enforce the class restriction unless you crash into another bike at +28 mph on a bike trail.
The Radcity weights about the same as the Radrover. It might be a pain if you deck it out with a rack+bag and you have to lift the bike up/down stairs or place on bus bike rack. I like having the Class II PAS+throttle because you can use the throttle to walk your bike up inclines/ramps when needed with zero effort. The throttle comes in handy if you need extra power for a moment and you don't want to hassle with adjusting gears and/or PAS levels (crossing streets, short inclines, riding over obstacles that might catch the pedals, tight corner turns, etc...).
A plus for the Radcity is it really come complete with fenders, front/rear lights, LCD, rear rack, PAS 0-5, full power throttle, 2 USB port on battery pack and LCD screen, and 1 year warranty.
I imagine the gearing is about the same for the Radcity and Radrover (limited to around 20-22 mph in 7th gear if you are peddling like mad). The 750w hub motor is plenty powerful enough to keep me squarely in the 19-21 mph range at PAS 5 with power levels between 200-600 watts (depends if there are slight inclines and declines). I'm 290-300 lbs with cold weather gear and commuter backpack full of work cloths and lunch and ebike+rack+saddle bags+accessories+ more riding gear around 80-85lbs. The 750 watt motor get me quickly up to speed and maintains me there on the 20-25 minute ride home.
I did take my Radrover on an endurance run of 3 hrs and 36 miles at PAS 3 averaging 12-14 mph on mostly level terrain. My legs gave out before the battery; which, still had one solid bar of +20% charge.
Another thing to think about is the ride gets pretty rough on imperfect asphalt on a bike at +20 mph. My 4" fat tires and Suntour SP12 NCX help smooth out the ride a little bit. I'm still doing a lot of dodging and weaving to avoid normal bumps in the road that go unnoticed in a car. A fatter tire does help with that.
Also depends if the other bike is a Class I (PAS, 20 mph), II PAS+throttle, 20 mph) or III (PAS, helmet, 28 mph, not allowed on bike only paths). Some states have restrictions on class III on what bike trails they can ride while Class I & II can go anywhere a regular bike can go. I don't know how any local agency can enforce the class restriction unless you crash into another bike at +28 mph on a bike trail.
The Radcity weights about the same as the Radrover. It might be a pain if you deck it out with a rack+bag and you have to lift the bike up/down stairs or place on bus bike rack. I like having the Class II PAS+throttle because you can use the throttle to walk your bike up inclines/ramps when needed with zero effort. The throttle comes in handy if you need extra power for a moment and you don't want to hassle with adjusting gears and/or PAS levels (crossing streets, short inclines, riding over obstacles that might catch the pedals, tight corner turns, etc...).
A plus for the Radcity is it really come complete with fenders, front/rear lights, LCD, rear rack, PAS 0-5, full power throttle, 2 USB port on battery pack and LCD screen, and 1 year warranty.
I imagine the gearing is about the same for the Radcity and Radrover (limited to around 20-22 mph in 7th gear if you are peddling like mad). The 750w hub motor is plenty powerful enough to keep me squarely in the 19-21 mph range at PAS 5 with power levels between 200-600 watts (depends if there are slight inclines and declines). I'm 290-300 lbs with cold weather gear and commuter backpack full of work cloths and lunch and ebike+rack+saddle bags+accessories+ more riding gear around 80-85lbs. The 750 watt motor get me quickly up to speed and maintains me there on the 20-25 minute ride home.
I did take my Radrover on an endurance run of 3 hrs and 36 miles at PAS 3 averaging 12-14 mph on mostly level terrain. My legs gave out before the battery; which, still had one solid bar of +20% charge.
Another thing to think about is the ride gets pretty rough on imperfect asphalt on a bike at +20 mph. My 4" fat tires and Suntour SP12 NCX help smooth out the ride a little bit. I'm still doing a lot of dodging and weaving to avoid normal bumps in the road that go unnoticed in a car. A fatter tire does help with that.
eobanb
New Member
I don't understand why people consider the RadCity and the Juiced CrossCurrent to be in the same class of bike. The RadCity is a fully-equipped utility/commuter bike with lights, heavy-duty rack, fenders, bell, thick-gauge spokes, fat tires, etc.
The Juiced CrossCurrent is more of a bare-bones recreational toy that goes fast but lacks much of the useful equipment that comes standard on the RadCity and RadWagon.
The Juiced CrossCurrent is more of a bare-bones recreational toy that goes fast but lacks much of the useful equipment that comes standard on the RadCity and RadWagon.
ArmyHokie
Member
Josh, I'm also deciding between the CC and RC. The only thing I really see as more appealing about the CC is its speed. I've heard that the other Rad bikes can go faster than the advertised 20 MPH by changing a setting available through the LCD. Can anyone confirm? I also don't quite understand how much relative effort each bike requires to maintain the same speed. My concern with the CC is all of the commuting accessories I would have to buy to achieve the RC's spec, and its reliability. The CC forums discuss loose batteries and rear spoke issues causing flats.
Ravi Kempaiah
Well-Known Member
- Region
- Canada
- City
- Halifax
That's because, Juiced CC comes with a more refined Torque sensor, whereas the RadCity comes with a simple $10 cadence sensor. The ride experience is vastly different. On cadence sensors, after certain cadence RPM lets say 70, you're just freewheeling and this gives a very un-intuitive ride feel whereas the torque sensor equipped bikes give a very smooth ride feel.
If you're looking to get from Pt A to Pt B, any RadCity, BBS-HD, BBS02 suffices, if you're after refined ride feel and certain sense of finesse, torque sensor is the way to go. On the BBS systems, you can re-program it and can get somewhat better ride quality. There is no doubt that big motors like BBS-HD have a ton of power but not everyone likes to drive a truck. Some people enjoy Lexus...I don't mean to say Juiced CC is lexus among E-bikes, but in terms of experience, it is far better.
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I know they aren't in the same class. It's just the 2 bikes that I am looking at. Along with the Rad Rover. I wish I could test drive one but there isn't any dealers around here. I just really wish I could ride one of each to see how much effort I would have to exert to get it to go up hills and just to keep it at speed. I have bad knees even though I am only 28. I am not over weight at all and my job keeps me super active. I want to get on the bike and just cruise. Minimal effort, throttle would probably be used a ton. I could always get a throttle for the CC, but the smaller motor got me worried about hills. This is where the City/rover comes in with the 750w motor and throttle that it has already. This is my dilemma.
I've also heard you can reprogram them to go a bit faster by holding + and - then changing some settings. That would be fantastic. I don't know how much effort it's going to take either and that's why I am worried about the CC. I don't want to have to put out a ton of energy. I am looking to put minimal effort out. I just want to cruise around and have fun without getting beat to death. Especially with my knees being bad.
Saratoga Dave
Well-Known Member
There's a guy on YouTube with the channel kobEVision. He has a whole bunch of videos concerning his purchase of, commutes on and everything else about his RadRover. Might be worth a look for you. He's very enthusiastic about the thing.
dm nelson
Active Member
Generally I use the throttle to get my radrover rolling from a stop, and gently get power which matches my pedal cadence. Once I'm "cruising", then I'll set in in a pedal assist mode, such as 3, 4 or 5, that matches how fast I want to go. I know other ebikes offer more refined pas experiences. There's plenty of power to get up hills in the rover as long as the battery is charged
Have you considered the Voltbike Yukon 750 Limited? It has everything you want, including the newer Bafang G06 750w motor, full length fender and rack. I also like the new integrated battery design. Similarly priced. It ships directly from a US warehouse for only $70.
I bought mine about a month ago and have already put over 500 kms (310 miles) on it, and I love it.
Here is my thread, with lots of pictures. I like the Rad bikes too, but thought you might like to know another option:
https://electricbikereview.com/forums/threads/new-voltbike-yukon-750-spotted.8120/
I bought mine about a month ago and have already put over 500 kms (310 miles) on it, and I love it.
Here is my thread, with lots of pictures. I like the Rad bikes too, but thought you might like to know another option:
https://electricbikereview.com/forums/threads/new-voltbike-yukon-750-spotted.8120/
thatdude902
Active Member
The throttle is a great feature. Takes away the hassle of having to get your crank into position to start pedaling at stops.
About the 20 mph limit. On the Rover, you can easily change it to 40 kph, which corresponds to 24.85 mph in the settings menu. I think the review of the Radcity also mentioned something like that.
About the 20 mph limit. On the Rover, you can easily change it to 40 kph, which corresponds to 24.85 mph in the settings menu. I think the review of the Radcity also mentioned something like that.
Are you observing actual higher speeds after changing to 40 km/h? I read that setting it to higher speeds has no effect, the controller still limits it to 20 mph.
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thatdude902
Active Member
Yes I have, quite a few times.
Just to be clear, you are able to exceed the 20 mph limit with throttle only (no pedalling) on flats (no downhill)? I know that with pedalling and/or downhill, anybody can exceed the 20 mph limit.
thatdude902
Active Member
Since I hardly ever go throttle-only, I had to go outside and test it just to be sure. Within one block, throttle only, I went a little over 23 mph going either direction. That takes care of any hill and or wind.
It's only barebones in the sense that it doesn't come with all of the accessories the Rad bikes do. The torque sensing, hydraulic discs and suspension fork make for a very good high speed commuting platform. You can add a rack, fenders and some basic lights to the Cross Current for $125-150. And to be fair you would need to get the $1800 Cross Current to get comparable battery size to the Rad City. Juiced also just announced the Cross Current Air cadence sensing version of the bike with a rigid fork and mechanical disks for $1k on pre-order. That ought to give you some sense of how much a manufacturer can save by ditching the torque sensor and hydraulic disc brakes. Like Ravi mentioned, everybody should test ride a torque sensing bike and cadence sensing bike before making a decision.
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mrgold35
Well-Known Member
You have to enter the LCD set-up screen to set the top speed from 32 km/h (around 20 mph) to the max of 40 km/h (a touch under 25 mph). The 7-speed gearing will make it almost impossible to peddle the Radcity at 25 mph under muscle power. You might feel resistance of adding muscle power around 21-23 mph; but, you are mostly just keeping the the PAS engage. You have to use the throttle to get the max 40 km/h speed if you don't want to go through the motion of pedaling.
I added the GOTD Universal Motorcycle eBike Grip Throttle, Amazon, 2 for $5: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LCPFQNM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I had to trim the width a bit to fit around Radrover throttle and cut a little off the thumb pad length to make it easier to reach the gear shift. Way easier to add and maintain the throttle with the thumb pad compared to just a twist throttle.
I added the GOTD Universal Motorcycle eBike Grip Throttle, Amazon, 2 for $5: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LCPFQNM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I had to trim the width a bit to fit around Radrover throttle and cut a little off the thumb pad length to make it easier to reach the gear shift. Way easier to add and maintain the throttle with the thumb pad compared to just a twist throttle.
RyanConway
New Member
I don't know about the fit for motor on the Rover, but on the Radwagon (which looks to have the same motor as the Radcity) it's very easy to swap in a 11-28 DNP freewheel.
On my wagon this is a no-brainer mod IMO. Not only is it geared higher, but the PAS modes make better sense with with the resistance from the pedals especially when you raise the max speed to 40km/hr. On my Radwagon there is a spacer washer and then the torque washer inside the freewheel, for some reason the shimano FW was binding up in there. I initially chalked it up to the drag of a DD motor, but after changing the FW it rolls much better, is faster, more efficient and accelerates faster.
Note- the DNP freewheels don't all space the same from the hub/motor, AND if anyone does this I highly recommend that you put a little thread lock on the locking nut. The first DNP FW I tried (a 11-32) exploded when the locking nut came off on it's own. Also the 11-28 has a built in spacer, the 11-32 maybe needs the spacer that is installed on there stock.
The one thing I will say about the RadCity is if you run out of battery without the small chainring up front you will be walking that bike.
Scottv
New Member
The RadCity comes with a 14-34 freewheel so it is very easy to pedal around in first gear! Going up hills without power is also possible with this gearing. Of course going up hills without power will require some work from the rider, but it's about what you would expect with an eBike.
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