Radwagon dead after 1000 miles

[Ketchikan]

I live in Ketchikan, AK, where we get about 130-160" of rain per year (4 times what Seattle gets). I bought my Radwagon in June, and it is now dead. Put 1000 miles on it, and our three driest months have already killed the electronics. The King Meter when powered up no longer powers up the bike.

Bummed, as I really liked this bike, but now I'm considering getting a warranty replacement and selling it. Go back to my regular carbon fiber commuter with no electronics.

Any other early death Radpower bikes? These things just weren't designed for a persistently wet environment. No electronic devices are, really.

 

[goose2die4]

I live in Ketchikan, AK, where we get about 130-160" of rain per year (4 times what Seattle gets). I bought my Radwagon in June, and it is now dead. Put 1000 miles on it, and our three driest months have already killed the electronics. The King Meter when powered up no longer powers up the bike.

Bummed, as I really liked this bike, but now I'm considering getting a warranty replacement and selling it. Go back to my regular carbon fiber commuter with no electronics.

Any other early death Radpower bikes? These things just weren't designed for a persistently wet environment. No electronic devices are, really.

Sorry to hear about your problems, But Rad Power Bikes say it is not for wet conditions !

If you do get another one use electro grease on all connections !

 

[Ketchikan]

Yeah, but they are sold out of Seattle and marketed in that environment. In addition, when I vetted them for this purchase, they did not say it would be defunct in three months in this environment. That said, I'll hope to get it under warranty and give it another go. Maybe cover all the electronics in sealed bags or something.

 

[Cameron Newland]

Yeah, but they are sold out of Seattle and marketed in that environment. In addition, when I vetted them for this purchase, they did not say it would be defunct in three months in this environment. That said, I'll hope to get it under warranty and give it another go. Maybe cover all the electronics in sealed bags or something.

I'm terribly sorry for your loss. Hopefully the manufacturer will do right by you and you'll be able to get a warranty replacement. I'm a big fan of Rad Power because they offer such powerful bikes at such a reasonable/low cost, however, from what I've heard from owners, there seem to be a lot of maintenance issues with their bike -- a lot of their components are on the lower-end. Perhaps this is more an indication of their large sales volume and not of their product quality (maybe we're just hearing the bad news from unlucky/unhappy owners instead of the good news from happy owners!), but I guess we can't be certain about that unless we had all the reliability data from both Rad Power and their competitors.

I've recently built up a DIY ebike and I'm concerned about water damage, too. I'm running a Bafang BBSHD motor (the same company that makes the RadWagon rear hub motor, I believe), and though they've gone through the trouble of using potting material on the controller so as to make it relatively waterproof, there are apparently some areas of my motor that aren't water-tight and that are susceptible to corrosion if not treated with a spray varnish. Apparently the predecessor (the BBS02) wasn't prone to this kind of water damage. Perhaps the motor manufacturer is hoping to generate more sales via water damage? God only knows.

 

[Ketchikan]

I've worked in bike shops for years as a bike mechanic in my younger years, so I know enough about bike components to say that yes, the Radwagon does have lower end components, but they serve their purpose just fine. I have no problems with the frame, fork, brakes, etc. Just bummed about the electronics thus far. Like I said, another guy on the island has had his for a year, and had one problem with his electronics. I don't know him well enough to know, or remember exactly what his issue was, but Radwagon resolved it and he's on the road again.

This might be an isolated problem.

 

[vincent]

i live in the desert and the electronics getting wet is rarely an issue for me

but we did get stuck in a downpour with my 2015 rad, and got seriously soaked for 45 minutes or more

left it in a warm room with a heater and it has been totally fine

my radmini has not been wet and has had electronic issues

a lot of people chimed in when i was worried about the bikes getting so soaked and said they ride in the rain/snow a lot with no problems..

but eddie on the ktm forum seems only to ride in the wet and mud lol
his bosch ktm bikes seem to do amazing
that being said he seems to know how to take the motors and/or components apart and clean them etc

he might have some good pointers and i am always impressed his bikes never seem to have any problems even in that harsh, wet riding

 

[PRW]

It is not only the cheaper end bikes that can have a problem with rain - read my story with the Stealth Bomber (Stealth section), if you are bored.
https://electricbikereview.com/foru...alth-electric-bikes-and-the-stealth-bomber.34

I have been caught in torrential rain when I first received the RadRovers, and I was transporting the bikes on the back of a truck - I was expecting issues after that, but had none at all

 

[Ketchikan]

But Rad Power Bikes say it is not for wet conditions !

If you do get another one use electro grease on all connections !

From their website.......

The display, motor, battery pack, and throttle are all designed to operate just fine in heavy rain, normal drizzle, or a soggy wet morning commute in Seattle, but you should always take care to dry off your bike and store it properly between use to prevent corrosion.

 

[Ketchikan]

Update: Radpowerbikes customer service is top notch. Placed a phone call stating the issue this morning, sent in pics to show the malfunction, 30 min later new parts are on the way with tracking info. Can't beat that. Thanks Radpowerbikes.

 

[goose2die4]

Good for you. . . . . I have had my ups and downs with RPB not sure if it
is that they are just to busy or just don't care about there customers !

 

[vincent]

i havent gotten the impression they dont care about their customers
think they are maybe just a small company that is really busy