RadRover 5 questions before I buy

[Jgreen92]

I am having trouble deciding between the Radrover 5 and the Ride1Up 700 series ebike. For the Radrover I am drawn to the increased stability, off-road ability, and just how it looks. But I am drawn towards the higher top speed of 28 mph for the 700 series. I have been doing research about these bikes but I honestly can't find much information so I have some questions.

Would a 6'1 tall person be comfortable on the Radrover 5? I know they say to 6'2 but it is close so if anyone is 6'1 and has the RadRover 5 is it comfortable?

Does the RadRover have the issue that some ebikes I have heard have that the motor keeps going on/off when your going at top speed?

Is the peddle assist granular enough to where you don't have the issue of too much assist or too little? I know there is 5 levels but that doesn't mean a lot without experiencing it.

Also I have read that the Maxxis Hookworm 26x2.5" tires that have 65 max PSI are compatible with the Radrover 5. If they actually are that make it roll more easily and probably make a difference in battery usage.

How much can you upgrade the RadRover 5? I have seen that Bolton sells an upgraded controller/display but how feasible would it be to upgrade the motor/battery to increase the top speed to 28 mph+?

Are there any other details owners of these bikes have noticed that made you regret or satisfied with your choice?

 

[Tars Tarkas]

I'm about 5'11" and the Rover is plenty big enough for me. As for speed, it's a simple push of a few buttons to increase the Rover speed to 25 mph. It's not 28 mph, but probably not something you'd notice except by looking at the odometer.

I run my stock 26x4 tires at 20 psi most of the time. If anything, I air them down instead of up. Max pressure is 30 psi, which is pretty hard for a 4" tire. Personally, I don't think I'd like the idea of 2" tires on a Rover. Are you sure they'd even fit on the 4" rims? 4" tires have a "footprint" so much bigger than 2" tires (about 4x bigger) that they don't need the same pressure as 2" tires. Same deal with 1.25s needing 90 to 100 lbs. Maybe the additional pressure in your 2" tires would help with the battery, but I think it would be marginal except maybe under Tour de France kind of situations.

I've been really happy with my Rover.

TT

 

[Jgreen92]

Thanks for the input, if the tires are pretty rigid at 20 psi then I guess much higher psi might be a bit jarring.

 

[rich c]

The motor has no issue or control over top speed. The exception is if it’s too small to shove you through the air. The controller is programmed to set top speed.

 

[AHicks]

My advice would be to buy the bike and ride it for at least a month so you get to know it and have a chance to come up to speed using the gears and PAS levels together in a manner that starts becoming efficient. If this is your first e-bike you're gong to be all over the place. Give yourself a chance to come up to speed.

At that point, if the bike doesn't seem like it has enough punch for you, look into Bolton's kit. A lot of guys that have tried it really like it. There will be no longer be a factory imposed speed limit. Bolton's kit allows whatever is available to get to the motor (one of the reason's his kits are popular).

From there, you can go with a bigger motor using the controller that comes with Bolton's kit.

The stock battery is fine until you decide to go really crazy. I've used it with 1500 watt motors without issue.

Oh, and RAD is going to hang up on you if you tell them the bike has been modded in any manner. BUT, what they don't know won't hurt you. Shouldn't be hard to get coverage on anything but the Bolton components. Not as big a deal as that might seem as Bolton uses components that easy to source - assuming you ever have the need.

 

[smorgasbord]

You can easily program via the display settings to up the max speed to 40kph (almost 25mph). This is just as easily programmed back, btw.

 

[AHicks]

That's the upper limit with the stock controller. The Bolton kit will allow 70kph if I remember right, but that doesn't mean the bike will actually ever go that fast.

 

[Jgreen92]

I think I will go with the radrover then, it sounds like it has everything I am wanting. Thanks everyone for the responses.

 

[CashMoney]

My wife has a Ride1Up 700 (the step-through) and I have a 2017 RadCity I bought used recently. In my opinion, the Ride1Up 700 is a much better bike; hydraulic brakes, better tires, color LCD display, thumb throttle, cleaner wiring. Before I bought my used RadCity, I bought her new 700 after researching and comparing the 700 and the RadCity; I concluded the Ride1Up was a better value, and I was right. It's a nice bike for the money.

On the 700, you have 9 levels of pedal assist; but you can change that to 5 or 3 levels if you don't want so much fine-tuning of the assist.

 

[TMH]

Don't know whether you are looking at the step-over or step-thru frame on the 700. If you are looking at the step-thru then be very aware of Ride1Up's rider height recommendation of 5'-5'11", especially if you choose the swept back bars. I'm 6'4" and really can't ride my wife's ST 700 with swept back bars (at least if I want to be able to steer it!)

No experience with any of the Rad bikes, but have definitely been pleased with the spec, quality and performance of the 700 (although we don't have too many miles on it yet).

 

[AHicks]

There are a LOT of Rover drivers/owners that are pretty happy with their bikes. I wouldn't be too quick in getting caught up in the internet hype. Ride it stock for a while, knowing full well just about anything you decide you don't like about it can be changed fairly easily and inexpensively .....

 

[mrgold35]

There wasn't a lot of affordable choices in fat tire bikes back in 2015/2016 when I started looking. Sondors, Rad, and Volt were my top choices at the time I was looking. Not too sure if I've would have gone with Rad Power Bikes now with so many choices today?

I was really surprised on how much I liked my 16 Radrover and how flexible it was from single track trails to high speed 20-24 mph paved road work commuting on the same ride. What I liked about the Rover was it was a regular fat tire bike with ebike components added. Make it extremely easy to mod and fix since parts are interchangeable with regular MTB and the ebike electronic are modular plug-n-play components.

My rover was about a 6 out of 10 out the box for my needs. Being able to mod and upgrade the Radrover makes it a 8.5 to 9 out of 10 now; even with +3500 miles on each rover. Originally; I was planning to replace my rovers with a mid-drive after 2-3 years. I have zero reason to replace now and probably ride my two rovers and 2019 radcity another 2-3 year before I think about replacing (6-7 years total for all 3 ebikes).

I would double-check to see how much long term maintenance needed, standard warranty, and ease to add upgrades (brakes, racks, suspension seatpost, tires, etc...).

 

[Explorer-1]

I would also look at DJ Bikes, very similar to the Rad bikes, but I prefer some of the components on the DJ Bikes and often they are better value.