RadWagon Upgrades

[pearlbeer]

A few cool upgrades on my RadWagon:

1) Twin synced 20W Bluetooth speakers
2) Wide handlebars
3) Led lights rigged off the battery
4) Proper saddle

She's a beast!

 

[AHicks]

Looks like a blast to me. A proper cruiser!

 

[Boatinbear]

Very nice. Looking at getting a Radwagon. How does this feel for pedaling without assist from the motor? I am coming from a 29" mountain bike that is setup mostly as a commuter. I still want to pedal it most of the time for exercise but want the motor assist for hills and added boost when needed. How is the ride with no suspension?

 

[Boatinbear]

I don't have a RadWagon, but I can tell you that from my experience, pedaling without power on hub motor is very heavy.

If you're hoping to use your ebike as normal bicycle when power is out, I'd strongly recommend you getting a mid drive motor.

Thx for the reply. Good point. I mainly don't want have the motor do most of the work. I want to use the bike to get exercise as I have done with my current standard bike with no motor. I don't mind having motor assist but I see some that really rely on motor a lot and use pedal assist only a little bit. Guess I am a little concerned about how much a bike riders bike this is?

Mid drives are very costly and probably out of my price range. I do a lot of shopping with my bike so I am very concerned with theft. The pricier the bike the more I am concerned about it. Loosing a $1600 bike is bad enough but loosing one that is 2x to 3x more cost is too high of a risk for me.

 

[AHicks]

Have both, and here to tell you a gear driven hub drive and mid are both heavy when pedaling with no power.....

Direct drive hubs are like dragging an anchor in back of you with no power.

That said, I don't plan on using either with no power! People can if they want of course, but I think once you use it, you'll find having the power on more often than not will be most normal.

Before her first e-bike, the wife was concerned about the exercise aspect as well. Stating that very CLEARLY, over and over. That was a big concern for her going into this. She soon found, as I did, that's a complete non event. With a half decent bike, you can use as much or as little power as you want. Getting exercise will NOT be a challenge....

 

[Boatinbear]

Have both, and here to tell you a gear driven hub drive and mid are both heavy when pedaling with no power.....

Direct drive hubs are like dragging an anchor in back of you with no power.

That said, I don't plan on using either with no power! People can if they want of course, but I think once you use it, you'll find having the power on more often than not will be most normal.

Before her first e-bike, the wife was concerned about the exercise aspect as well. Stating that very CLEARLY, over and over. That was a big concern for her going into this. She soon found, as I did, that's a complete non event. With a half decent bike, you can use as much or as little power as you want. Getting exercise will NOT be a challenge....

Thx for the reply. I am thinking that maybe keeping the assist level low will work for getting exercise. Speed is not a concern for me. I average about 10 MPH now for a 35 mile trip with some hills. As you said it is probably more of a concern to me because I have not had an electric assist bike before.

Do you find the rider position and ride smoothness OK on the Radwagon?

 

[Boatinbear]

I think mid drive with torque sensor is the way to go if exercise is your concern.

I like hub drive + cadence sensor, because I like zippy feeling bike, I like getting pushed around and like to feel the motor assist.
But people who want to have natural cycling feel will often get mid drive + torque sensor.

Unfortunately though, mid drive + torque sensor is more expensive combo, so I guess you have some decision making to do.

Good points. I think the torque sensor would help but also heard that the Rad programming is very good for only a cadence sensor? Thx

 

[legsofbeer]

Looking at getting a Radwagon. How does this feel for pedaling without assist from the motor?

Data point from a radrover 4, same drivetrain. Pedalling without power (PAS set to zero), my cruise speed was 8 mph and with effort could sustain 12 mph. But, if I'm going to ride without power, what am I doing on a 70lb high rolling resistance high wind resistance bike? My cruise speed on my unpowered road bike is 15 mph. I have a friend with a radwagon who shuttles his daughter to and from school; he says he does it on PAS1 except for the hill at the end.

Update from friend: PAS1 gives him 50w assist on the radwagon, same as the radrover. I've gotten 55 miles out of a RR4 on PAS2 (167w), so assume ridiculous mileage if you're willing to ride around on PAS1 all the time.

On the theft concern get a chain lock and a U lock. I use a moped-quality chain lock as my regular lock, and bring the Ulock too when parking in high risk situations, such as at the supermarket (twice caught skeevy bastards eyeballing my bike, helps that I get in and out in 10 minutes or less).