Radwagon 4 or Yuba Kombi E5 - please help me deciding

[amz]

Hello there,

so, I need your help as I am undecided between the Radwagon 4 and the Yuba Kombi E5.

The thing is that I can get them at approximately the same price as my employer has a cycle to work scheme (I am based in London, England) that would apply to the Yuba but not the Radwagon (as it is not sold by a participating dealer).

I think the Radwagon 4 looks cooler, but the Yuba seems to have better specs, but how much better? I know the Shimano Steps motor but have never used anything like the Radwagon motor. Consider that in Europe power is 250w and no throttle. My kids are getting big so I may carry both of them from time to time, but not that often.

I previously had an Urban Arrow with a Bosch Active Line motor, and thoroughly enjoyed that.

Thanks and all the very best.

A.

 

[Dewey]

I'd recommend the Yuba Kombi, it has relatively modest power (40nm) on the Shimano E5000 mid-drive compared with the Bafang G060 hub motor on the Rad (80nm) but because the Shimano is a mid-drive it utilizes the bikes gearing, whereas with the Rad's hub motor you have just the one big gear/wheel ratio albeit a more powerful motor laced into a smaller wheel size which provides mechanical advantage. I would expect the Yuba should have sufficient power to assist your pedalling when climbing hills, you may get more of a workout with the Yuba as the Shimano E5000 uses a torque sensor which, like the Bosch system on your Urban Arrow, rewards pedal effort so will be more bicycle-like to ride than the on/off 12-magnet cadence PAS sensor on the RadWagon. The Yuba uses a standard 24" tire size vs the Rad Proprietary 22" tire size so it will be easier to get tubes and tires for the Yuba - important given global supply constraints. Perhaps the biggest trade off is the smaller battery on the Yuba 418wh vs 672wh on the Rad.

 

[ElevenAD]

get the Yuba! if you can snag that for the same price as a Rad Wagon you hit the lottery!

 

[amz]

I'd recommend the Yuba Kombi, it has relatively modest power (40nm) on the Shimano E5000 mid-drive compared with the Bafang G060 hub motor on the Rad (80nm) but because the Shimano is a mid-drive it utilizes the bikes gearing, whereas with the Rad's hub motor you have just the one big gear/wheel ratio albeit a more powerful motor laced into a smaller wheel size which provides mechanical advantage. I would expect the Yuba should have sufficient power to assist your pedalling when climbing hills, you may get more of a workout with the Yuba as the Shimano E5000 uses a torque sensor which, like the Bosch system on your Urban Arrow, rewards pedal effort so will be more bicycle-like to ride than the on/off 12-magnet cadence PAS sensor on the RadWagon. The Yuba uses a standard 24" tire size vs the Rad Proprietary 22" tire size so it will be easier to get tubes and tires for the Yuba - important given global supply constraints. Perhaps the biggest trade off is the smaller battery on the Yuba 418wh vs 672wh on the Rad.

thank you very much, very useful, people who have reviewed the Radwagon in the EU doubt the 80nm claim for the Bafang motor but indeed it is difficult to compare it with the corresponding measure of the more popular Bosch ones here, so would you say that on a flat terrain the Radwagon feel a bit more powerful?

 

[amz]

get the Yuba! if you can snag that for the same price as a Rad Wagon you hit the lottery!

thanks! that's a very convincing argument

 

[Dewey]

I trust Justin’s motor simulator https://ebikes.ca/tools/simulator.html?motor=MG60_500&batt=B4814_EZ

At 25kmh/15mph the Bafang G60 500w hub motor with a 48v battery and 20a controller is generating 36nm, on a 25a controller its 43nm

 

[indianajo]

Radwagon has more than 13 pages of known problems/solutions on the brand forum. One lady in Scotland in introductions replaced one spoke at a time, 4 times, under warrenty. The spoke was free, the wheel truing by the shop was at her expense.
Yuba has one entry. I didn't like the seat on my bodaboda. I'm not female.

 

[Widgets]

The Yuba forum has 12 threads with 30 posts, dating back to 2014. Not much activity, and not a valid sample size for statistics.

The Rad forum has 1.1k threads with 14.1k posts, dating back to 2015. Much more activity, and a better sample size for statistics.

You should spend some time reading the forums for the bikes on your short list. What percentage of the posts on the problems/solutions thread are problems vs solutions?

Remember that we are all just anonymous people on the internet. If you make your choice based upon our input, we may not be around to help you when you have a problem.