LeftyLoosey
New Member
Disclaimer: This is my first ever Ebike, so my expectations may be unreliable. If so, feel free to tell me off so I can make better purchase decisions in future.
After spending weeks researching on BBSHD conversions, I got lazy and picked this bike because it looked cool, EBR seemd to like it, and the specs looked great for the price.
Model: 16"
Use: Bought this bike for a sweatless daily travel of 18 miles to and from work. Route is pure tarmac road/trail, with the exception of this particular 100 yard stretch with tree roots cracking open the trail path. Slight up/down gradients no more than 6 degrees (calculated using my Runkeeper elevation chart) along the way making up about 5% of the trip.
Delivery:
Free shipping is great. Delivery was prompt and fast. However, the UPS people dumped the box on first floor. Had a fun time hauling the 70lb package up the stairs alone. The plastic handles on the cardboard box are not reliable, do not use them to pull. Mine gave way causing the box to cut up my knuckles. Wear gloves and pull on the plastic straps, get help if possible.
Assembly:
Followed the assembly video on the Rad website. It was really frustrating to assemble alone, mostly due to the weight of the frame causing it to constantly want to tip over and smack my face. The overly tightened disc brakes made installing the front wheel (the first time) really painful, and the rear wheel rotor kept squeaking.
The rear derailleur is okay. Not tuned out of the box so it can't go below gear 5. I don't use anything less than gear 5 so didn't bother indexing it. Both disc brakes are overly tightened, I highly recommend tuning them before first ride and get the rear wheel removal pain over with ASAP.
Bike Weight:
I severely underestimated what 60+lbs meant.
If you stay on any floor other than level one, you're going to have a fun time. I don't lift, but have sort of decent upper body and leg strength. This bike is very unwieldy to carry up and down the stairs. After a few times of experimenting and eventually injuring my wrist+elbows, I found the most efficient and least painful method to carry it.
Squat down to wrap the upper frame bar under your armpit with the saddle above your shoulders. Grip the lower frame bar directly beside the rear hub motor and lift it up with your legs, with your other hand holding on to the handle bar to prevent the heavy fork from giving you a bitch slap. This method gives you enough height clearance (I'm 5'5" 150lb so YMMV) to go upstairs without the front wheel bouncing off the steps, while relieving stress on your joints.
First ride impressions:
It was really awesome to ride. The heavy frame makes the bike really stable. The large rear rack welded to the frame made carrying all sorts of cargo really easy. The throttle was great and the cadence sensor was quick to respond. Again, this is my first ebike, so not sure how responsive candence sensors should be like. Motor was very quiet; all I hear is the rolling of the tire treads. Free toolkit was a nice touch.
Impressions after riding the first 10 miles:
Ride quality is generally smooth until you hit the bumps. Get a suspension seatpost if budget allows if you don't enjoy having your crotch violently punched by a 60lb frame.
The 20mph limit was extremely irritating. From what I learnt on YouTube, I thought a 20mph limit meant that the motor will only assist up to 20mph, and speeds beyond that require extra effort to pedal. It didn't really feel that way with this bike. At 20mph, the motor actively kicks with its regenerative braking to stop you from going faster. It activates unpredictably causing really unnatural feeling. The closest analogy I can give is driving a car while someone is randomly tapping your brakes. Or if you drive a Nissan Leaf, imagine randomly lifting off your foot from acceleration while driving on ECO.
That said, you are able to enter the metric-based settings mode to increase the speed limit from 32kph to 40kph (~25mph). That made the ride a lot more natural, with short bursts of ~23mph going down gradients, but averaged at 20mph on flats with minimal pedalling.
Impressions after 100 miles:
This may be an issue of bad luck. Rad recommends 50-60psi, so I kept both wheels at 55 psi. My front wheel got a puncture less than 50 miles into riding the bike. A week later at 100 miles, my rear wheel got a puncture on the way to work. The culprit was a tiny piece of rock not more than 2mm wide embedded into the tires. For comparison, my $300 hybrid bike hasn't had a puncture in 7 years, of which 1000+ miles were put on this exact same route.
The rear wheel is tightly bolted down. The EBR YouTube review glosses over this, but mark my words you'll want to throw the bike into the ravine when you get your first rear wheel flat if you didn't do prior preparations to the rear wheel (anti-seize, grease etc.). The spanner provided in the free tool kit is way too short to loosen the bolt, so you'll need to hammer it to make it work. For me, hammering didn't work as the free spanner was chipping before the bolt would budge. I just ordered a new spanner set with a larger spanner instead. The free screwdriver provided was undersized for the bolt washer plate, causing stripping to the screw. My rear wheel bolt dust cover also managed to slip off while riding, so that sucks.
During the rear wheel tube patching, I realized the Rad team installed the tube valve incorrectly. The Schrader valve was only threaded halfway through, so the rim hole had been slicing into the valve. Didn't want to risk another rear wheel removal, so used a new tube instead of a patch.
The Rad rep stated that consumables are not covered under their limited warranty, which I can totally understand. But it'd be nice to at least cover the first 100 miles in case of assembly errors on their part.
I intend to swap out the Kenda K905-007 tires for maybe Schwalbe tires to prevent more commute pain. In the meantime, also budgeting for a BBSHD to convert my hybrid before selling this bike, purely due to the bad taste in my mouth.
Radcity Prep Kit before hitting the road:
1. Your typical bicycle multitool.
2. A screwdriver that won't strip the washer screw. (+$5)
3. The free toolkit (after applying anti-seize/grease to the rear wheel bolts)
4. Patch kit, granted this is required for any bike. (+$5)
5. Wire cutter (to cut zip ties during rear wheel removal) (+$5)
6. At least 2 backup tubes, given the high failure rate I've experienced. (+$18)
7. Change the damn tires for decent puncture resistant ones. (+$100)
8. Tape down the rear wheel bolt dust covers, or just don't use them at all.
Who this bike is for:
1. Heavyweight and strong riders.
2. People who need a strong sturdy frame to carry heavy cargo.
3. People who already have a decent tool set in their house.
4. Riders who can store the bike on ground floor.
5. Riders who are less whiny than me.
Summary:
From my understanding $1500 is considered entry-level pricing for an ebike, but the price point still makes me sort of expect more from the product, considering the same price can get me an excellent 2017 Trek Emonda ALR5. At the very least, don't have the bike break down every 50 miles. What I got was a lot of buyer remorse and extra hidden costs that came with PITA bike maintenance. If you do intend to buy this bike, just budget a bit more to upgrade the parts, prep the bike before your ride, and you should have a better time than I had.
After spending weeks researching on BBSHD conversions, I got lazy and picked this bike because it looked cool, EBR seemd to like it, and the specs looked great for the price.
Model: 16"
Use: Bought this bike for a sweatless daily travel of 18 miles to and from work. Route is pure tarmac road/trail, with the exception of this particular 100 yard stretch with tree roots cracking open the trail path. Slight up/down gradients no more than 6 degrees (calculated using my Runkeeper elevation chart) along the way making up about 5% of the trip.
Delivery:
Free shipping is great. Delivery was prompt and fast. However, the UPS people dumped the box on first floor. Had a fun time hauling the 70lb package up the stairs alone. The plastic handles on the cardboard box are not reliable, do not use them to pull. Mine gave way causing the box to cut up my knuckles. Wear gloves and pull on the plastic straps, get help if possible.
Assembly:
Followed the assembly video on the Rad website. It was really frustrating to assemble alone, mostly due to the weight of the frame causing it to constantly want to tip over and smack my face. The overly tightened disc brakes made installing the front wheel (the first time) really painful, and the rear wheel rotor kept squeaking.
The rear derailleur is okay. Not tuned out of the box so it can't go below gear 5. I don't use anything less than gear 5 so didn't bother indexing it. Both disc brakes are overly tightened, I highly recommend tuning them before first ride and get the rear wheel removal pain over with ASAP.
Bike Weight:
I severely underestimated what 60+lbs meant.
If you stay on any floor other than level one, you're going to have a fun time. I don't lift, but have sort of decent upper body and leg strength. This bike is very unwieldy to carry up and down the stairs. After a few times of experimenting and eventually injuring my wrist+elbows, I found the most efficient and least painful method to carry it.
Squat down to wrap the upper frame bar under your armpit with the saddle above your shoulders. Grip the lower frame bar directly beside the rear hub motor and lift it up with your legs, with your other hand holding on to the handle bar to prevent the heavy fork from giving you a bitch slap. This method gives you enough height clearance (I'm 5'5" 150lb so YMMV) to go upstairs without the front wheel bouncing off the steps, while relieving stress on your joints.
First ride impressions:
It was really awesome to ride. The heavy frame makes the bike really stable. The large rear rack welded to the frame made carrying all sorts of cargo really easy. The throttle was great and the cadence sensor was quick to respond. Again, this is my first ebike, so not sure how responsive candence sensors should be like. Motor was very quiet; all I hear is the rolling of the tire treads. Free toolkit was a nice touch.
Impressions after riding the first 10 miles:
Ride quality is generally smooth until you hit the bumps. Get a suspension seatpost if budget allows if you don't enjoy having your crotch violently punched by a 60lb frame.
The 20mph limit was extremely irritating. From what I learnt on YouTube, I thought a 20mph limit meant that the motor will only assist up to 20mph, and speeds beyond that require extra effort to pedal. It didn't really feel that way with this bike. At 20mph, the motor actively kicks with its regenerative braking to stop you from going faster. It activates unpredictably causing really unnatural feeling. The closest analogy I can give is driving a car while someone is randomly tapping your brakes. Or if you drive a Nissan Leaf, imagine randomly lifting off your foot from acceleration while driving on ECO.
That said, you are able to enter the metric-based settings mode to increase the speed limit from 32kph to 40kph (~25mph). That made the ride a lot more natural, with short bursts of ~23mph going down gradients, but averaged at 20mph on flats with minimal pedalling.
Impressions after 100 miles:
This may be an issue of bad luck. Rad recommends 50-60psi, so I kept both wheels at 55 psi. My front wheel got a puncture less than 50 miles into riding the bike. A week later at 100 miles, my rear wheel got a puncture on the way to work. The culprit was a tiny piece of rock not more than 2mm wide embedded into the tires. For comparison, my $300 hybrid bike hasn't had a puncture in 7 years, of which 1000+ miles were put on this exact same route.
The rear wheel is tightly bolted down. The EBR YouTube review glosses over this, but mark my words you'll want to throw the bike into the ravine when you get your first rear wheel flat if you didn't do prior preparations to the rear wheel (anti-seize, grease etc.). The spanner provided in the free tool kit is way too short to loosen the bolt, so you'll need to hammer it to make it work. For me, hammering didn't work as the free spanner was chipping before the bolt would budge. I just ordered a new spanner set with a larger spanner instead. The free screwdriver provided was undersized for the bolt washer plate, causing stripping to the screw. My rear wheel bolt dust cover also managed to slip off while riding, so that sucks.
During the rear wheel tube patching, I realized the Rad team installed the tube valve incorrectly. The Schrader valve was only threaded halfway through, so the rim hole had been slicing into the valve. Didn't want to risk another rear wheel removal, so used a new tube instead of a patch.
The Rad rep stated that consumables are not covered under their limited warranty, which I can totally understand. But it'd be nice to at least cover the first 100 miles in case of assembly errors on their part.
I intend to swap out the Kenda K905-007 tires for maybe Schwalbe tires to prevent more commute pain. In the meantime, also budgeting for a BBSHD to convert my hybrid before selling this bike, purely due to the bad taste in my mouth.
Radcity Prep Kit before hitting the road:
1. Your typical bicycle multitool.
2. A screwdriver that won't strip the washer screw. (+$5)
3. The free toolkit (after applying anti-seize/grease to the rear wheel bolts)
4. Patch kit, granted this is required for any bike. (+$5)
5. Wire cutter (to cut zip ties during rear wheel removal) (+$5)
6. At least 2 backup tubes, given the high failure rate I've experienced. (+$18)
7. Change the damn tires for decent puncture resistant ones. (+$100)
8. Tape down the rear wheel bolt dust covers, or just don't use them at all.
Who this bike is for:
1. Heavyweight and strong riders.
2. People who need a strong sturdy frame to carry heavy cargo.
3. People who already have a decent tool set in their house.
4. Riders who can store the bike on ground floor.
5. Riders who are less whiny than me.
Summary:
From my understanding $1500 is considered entry-level pricing for an ebike, but the price point still makes me sort of expect more from the product, considering the same price can get me an excellent 2017 Trek Emonda ALR5. At the very least, don't have the bike break down every 50 miles. What I got was a lot of buyer remorse and extra hidden costs that came with PITA bike maintenance. If you do intend to buy this bike, just budget a bit more to upgrade the parts, prep the bike before your ride, and you should have a better time than I had.
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