RadMini Step-Thru or Electra Townie Go! 8D?

[kloxxe]

I am debating between these two as our first ebikes (I need two of them for my wife and me). I am a heavy rider (300 pounds), she is normal built. Comfort is important. We want to use the bikes for recreational city rides, bike lanes/some hard packed trails, nothing extreme, no big hills to climb (Toronto, ON)...

- The Rad Mini Step Thru is C$1899 (after C$200 off from two bikes)

- The Electra Townie Go! 8D is on sale now for C$2549 (that includes local pre-delivery service + one free tuning)

Both have their own advantages:

- the Townie is a nicer bike, engineered/made to specification by Trek, local service/warranty support is available and of course it has a refined Bosch mid-drive power train (250w Active Line Gen3)

- the Mini Step-Thru built upon off-the-shelf Chinese components (not saying they are not good), but better equipped (lights) and has it's portability advantage (fits in the trunk of a regular car when folded - I hope)

https://www.cyclepath.ca/product/electra-townie-go-8d-step-over-350464-1.htm
https://radpowerbikes.ca/products/radmini-step-thru

Which one would you recommend and why?

Thanks for any advice!

 

[harryS]

I'd suggest a long test ride at your Toronto shop. Make sure the frames fit. My wife's first ebike was a cruiser with 700cc wheels. We liked it at the shop, but two years later she ditched it for a smaller bike where it's easier to get her feet down. Perhaps that's not a problem with the Electra as it had more forward pedals.



We do ride at a relaxed pace. Average speed yesterday was 12 mph. Sometimes, we'll ride a gravel path, and often there is traffic or some sharp turns. Maybe a car barrier post in the middle of the path. My wife never liked the above cruiser for riding in tight places. For country roads with no cars though, it's great.

Don't own a Radmini, but just picked up a similar 20" fatbike, except it has no front suspension which I plan to add later. After some ride comparisons, we both feel it's a heavy riding bike. More of a brawny bike that needs added assist than our lighter skinny tire folding ebikes. Ours has the chunky tires though, and I'm changing them out. The step-thru you are considering has smooth tires. The tradeoff on the mini fatbikes are they are heavy and can't fold down like a folder should. I won't be carrying ours inside our Jetta Wagon. I might just set this bike up for street riding and give it to my son, who needs a heavier bike.

 

[ebikemom]

If you can afford it, the nicer bike that has local service, and that you can test ride may be a better choice. And as @harryS points out, taking a longer rather than shorter test-ride is a good thing, and then seeing at the shop if the bike fits well.

I also have noticed that there isn't much talk about folks replacing/upgrading stuff on the nicer ebikes that come equipped with better components. I have not test-ridden Electra ebikes, but did see them in my LBS when I was shopping (I wanted Class 2--20mph assist AND a throttle--so didn't test ride the Class 1 Electra ebikes). The bikes looked really nice. I have not spent much time looking at Rad bikes, but I do see them pedaling by from time to time in my area.

Happy shopping!!

 

[XyloSesame]

If you have the opportunity, check out the Giant stepthrough as well. My wife ended up preferring the Giant (Yamaha) assist to that of the Electra, to both our surprise.

 

[ebikemom]

YA-MA-HA! They make great flutes, too!

 

[kloxxe]

Giant has a step-thru model only at this price, with battery on the rear rack (don't like that solution) I didn't see anything else comfort-bike within this budget (~2500 C$ / bike)...

 

[XyloSesame]

Giant has a step-thru model only at this price, with battery on the rear rack (don't like that solution)

That almost caused us not to take it for a test ride; we really liked the lower center of gravity with the battery on the downtube. Once my wife was on the Giant, she said she didn't notice any extra top weight, even at stop, when compared to the Electra (our LBS did remark that they have had seniors who could feel it).

What won my wife (and myself) was the way in which the SyncDrive assisted as compared to the Bosch. Both were fantastic rides, our preference just leaned to the Yamaha.

 

[ebikemom]

A rear battery is not a problem, IMO, for a bike to do city, suburban and bike path riding. I have no problem with a battery in the rack.

 

[kloxxe]

I just don't like that design, looks like someone just modified a regular bike with added stuff...