Radbike Riding Comfort. What's Worked for You?

[gregorb]

What riding position do you prefer? Which model Rad? Improvements you've made for a more comfortable ride. The accessories you've added. Suspension seatposts, different seats, stems, stem risers, padded gloves or...? Which brands and models worked for you?

 

[mrgold35]

I perfer to be upright and as comfy as possible since I work commute and trail ride with the rovers at 50-75 miles per week. The wife is a slow cruiser on paved roads only; but, she still perfers a comfy upridght ride. Started out with just whatever came with the ebikes; but, had to add items for comfort, safety, upgrades, or pimp my ride as time went on. I have two 2016 Radrovers and one 2018 Radcity Step-Thru with:

Wheels:
- TRP Spyke brakes (rover)
- Jagwire brake cables (rover)
- Vee8 120tpi 26X4 tires (rover)
- Mr. Tuffy liners
- Stans tire sealant
- Planet Bike Big Buck front fender (rovers)

Seating:
- Cloud-9 11.5X12.5 Cruiser seat
- 350 mm and 420mm Cirrus Bodyfloat (orange springs for me and purples springs for her)

Handlebars:
- Handlebar extender (BM Works for rover, Odier for Radcity)
- Sunlite 0-60 degree adjustable stem (rover)
- Niterider Pro 3600 Rover
- Niterider Pro 1800 lights Radcity
- Vibrelli cell phone holder
- 1859 Northwest thumb throttles (red)
- Topeak Aero Wedge saddle bag (Radcity mounted under handlebar extender)

Rack:
- Topeak MTX rack bag for rover and step thru
- Topeak Uni fat tire rear rack (rovers)

Misc:
- BC MTB wide platform pedals (rovers)
- Light & Motion Vis 180 (rovers)
- Brightz ltd Go Brightz LED (rover for side illumination at night)
- Luna Cycle Triangle bag
- Lizard Skin frame protection in carbon fiber and clear
- Zefal DT Armor MTB frame guard (rover)

Gear:
- Outdoor Master padded bike gloves (half and full fingered)
- Wynd blocker motorcycle goggle (clear for night, polarized for day)
- Northwave MTB Escape black/green bike shoes (his)
- Pearl iZumi W X-Alp Canyon Cycling shoes (her)
- G-Form Pro-X knee and elbow pads (trail riding)
- Fox Flux MTB helmet with Niterider Pro 2200 helmet mount
- Osprey Radial 34 and Comet daypacks
- Arundel Looney water bottle holder (rover only in one each in black & white)

 

[gregorb]

Thanks for the input. Nice upgrades. That 1859 Northwest thumb throttle really caught my eye. Looked it up. Wondering if it's easy to get full throttle rotatation with thumb? Also, is it comfortable to have your thumb in that position for a period of time? Is it noticeably more comfortable than twist throttle? Where did you purchase? Thanks.

 

[mrgold35]

I purchased the 1859 Northwest thumb throttle on-line for $20. It is half moon shaped with a Velcro strap on the backside. Easy to adjust for the right angle to use your thumb only or use by a twist of your hand. It is actually easier to give full throttle rotation or maintain steady power at a lower level. Since it is so easy to use, I can still have my fingers on the brake level while using the throttle if I need to do an emergency stop. I can also apply the throttle with my hand and shift gears with my thumb if I need max speed like crossing a intersection from a dead stop.

I don't like to change the PAS levels for short max speed situations because it can jump several PAS levels and I have to take my eyes off the road everytime double-check PAS level when riding in traffic at 15-22 mph.

 

[Investor9872]

Mrgold. I've been meaning to ask you if the Topeak MTX bag you have requires the Topeak rack as well. I wanted to get the Topeak bag for my wife's Step-Thru, but all the ones I've seen online has a plastic railing on the bottom of the bag to go with their Topeak rack, which are only sold in black as far as I can tell. It would be great if one can attach the bag to the Step-Thru back rack with Velcro instead of having to replace the rack with the black Topeak rack.

 

[mrgold35]

I have two Topeak MTX DXP 22.6L capcity Bags with one having the quicktrack system and the other with velcro strap. I ordered two separate times on eBay back in 2016 for the Topeak bags and didn't pay attention the second order was the velcro version instead of the quicktrack. The Velcro version still secures just as fine as the track. It takes a little longer to put on/off because of the velcro; but, the velcro type doesn't rattle in the metal track like the quicktrack bag can do sometimes. Never had an issue with the velcro version falling off or becoming loose work commuting or single-track trail riding.

The EX (8 Liters), DX (12.3 Liters), EXP 16.6 Liters , and DXP (22.6 Liters) all look the same in the folded/zipped up configuration. I like the DXP 22.6 Liter size bag because of the fold out panniers and pop up top if you need more capacity in a pinch. You don't need the Topeak rack if you go for the Strap type MTX bag (two velcro straps towards the front and two strap underneath).

Toss up between eBay or Amazon for the cheaper price on any given day.

Topeak MTX DXP 22.6 Liter Strap Type Bag:

 

[Investor9872]

I must not be searching right, because I can't find the Velcro strap Topeak bag on Ebay or Amazon. I'm in Southern California, so maybe our Google search results are different than other regions like Canada or other NA countries.

 

[mrgold35]

They are still around the same price as +2 years ago:

Ebay:

Ebay: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Topeak-TT9...3AAAOSwYGFUvCDL:sc:USPSFirstClass!87120!US!-1

 

[Investor9872]

Thank you! You're so helpful with your detailed descriptions. That's wonderful.

 

[starion]

I perfer to be upright and as comfy as possible since I work commute and trail ride with the rovers at 50-75 miles per week. The wife is a slow cruiser on paved roads only; but, she still perfers a comfy upridght ride. Started out with just whatever came with the ebikes; but, had to add items for comfort, safety, upgrades, or pimp my ride as time went on. I have two 2016 Radrovers and one 2018 Radcity Step-Thru with:

Wheels:
- TRP Spyke brakes (rover)
- Jagwire brake cables (rover)
- Vee8 120tpi 26X4 tires (rover)
- Mr. Tuffy liners
- Stans tire sealant
- Planet Bike Big Buck front fender (rovers)

Seating:
- Cloud-9 11.5X12.5 Cruiser seat
- 350 mm and 420mm Cirrus Bodyfloat (orange springs for me and purples springs for her)

Handlebars:
- Handlebar extender (BM Works for rover, Odier for Radcity)
- Sunlite 0-60 degree adjustable stem (rover)
- Niterider Pro 3600 Rover
- Niterider Pro 1800 lights Radcity
- Vibrelli cell phone holder
- 1859 Northwest thumb throttles (red)
- Topeak Aero Wedge saddle bag (Radcity mounted under handlebar extender)

MrgGold,
You mention the sunlite 0-60 degree stem. It comes in 94mm and 125mm versions. I dont know if that refers to handlbar size or not. Which one did you purchase? Thanks.

 

[mrgold35]

I purchased the 95mm Sunlite adjustable stem. I also had to add two 2.5mm spacers for the extra room because the Sunlite wasn't as tall as the original stem. I purchased back in Jan/17 and had zero issues with it other than checking the tq of the screw for the adjustable head every once in a while.

Sunlite 0-60 degree adjustable stem: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006HX04KK/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Wheels Manufactoring 2.5mm spacers: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001CJZBH0/ref=od_aui_detailpages00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The Wheels Manufacturing 2.5mm spacers is a pack of 5 of the same size. I needed four since I had two radrovers I added the adjustable stem onto. I don't know if the 2018 Radrover stem is exactly the same as the previous years.

 

[Andy1450]

What is the most comfy seat for the RadRover

 

[mrgold35]

Depends on:
- type of (e)bike
- PSI setting
- type and sizes of tires
- terrain (single track, hard packed, rocky, sandy, paved, etc...)
- riding style
- max, min, average speed
- body type
- riding position
- weight
- riding experience
- any physical limitations

I can only give you what works best for me, ebike I ride, and riding environment. The Cloud-9 12X11.5 Cruiser seat and Bodyfloat 420mm v2.0 with orange springs feels pretty comfy to me. I'm had experience comparing the original Radrover seat and Suntour SP-12 NCX 350mm/40mm suspension seatpost only.