What Criteria Should I use for Selecting a Ebike?

[AHicks]

I see, that was one of my concerns with the Rad City Step Thru is it's motor ,that it will only be efficient at speed, with minimal stops. The thing is I'm not sure how often traffic is stop and go in the valley. So how often is to often?

I think the answer to that, and whether or not the bike will have sufficient power to keep you satisfied, may come from your experience level. To a newby, you have no performance expectations to compare the new bike to. You may feel the City has plenty of power. I came from a more powerful bike and bought the City thinking I would be OK with it. That was my mistake. I wasn't. It's not that the City is a bad bike, because I don't believe that at all. I just had to get the level of performance from it up to meet MY standards/expectations.

Bottom line, you're the only one that can answer your question. My point was regarding some caution when considering a direct drive hub for a drive system.

 

[Feliz]

Lots of good advice here! I guess what I would say is don't buy a bike you can't try out, it's a recipe for disaster. In my first post I said I had a few bikes, well the reason I have a few is in the beginning I purchased lower end bikes online......MISTAKE. I ended up giving some away or selling them. Now it's name brand bought at the LBS. I have a variety of bikes through necessity and grandchildren.

 

[locator 3]

Lots of good advice here! I guess what I would say is don't buy a bike you can't try out, it's a recipe for disaster. In my first post I said I had a few bikes, well the reason I have a few is in the beginning I purchased lower end bikes online......MISTAKE. I ended up giving some away or selling them. Now it's name brand bought at the LBS. I have a variety of bikes through necessity and grandchildren.

Perhaps, I just tried a Magnum Metro and pre 2018 Rad City at a LBS and I liked the magnum more but to be fair the City was the 19" model which didn't really fit me that well.

 

[locator 3]

The RadCity motor has 40Nm of torque. You can calculate the slope it could drive by itself:
Force = Torque / tire_diameter / pi = 40Nm / 0.7m = 57N
Slope = Force / mass / g * 100% = 57N / 100kg / 9.8m/s^2 * 100% = 5.8%
Speed = Power / Force = 400W / 57N = 7.0m/s = 25km/hr = 16mph

I chose 100kg weight somewhat arbitrarily. Add up your and the bike's weight. With that weight, the motor should be able to drive up a 5.8% slope, or steeper if you are pedaling.

I chose 400W of power because RAD doesn't recommend using more than 500W of power for a long time and the motor won't be more than 80% efficient. It will be less efficient at lower speeds. (I might be a little bit optimistic with the speed. Even so, it should still do a decent clip at that slope.

The OP reported 1.5-3.2% hills, so the Rad City should be able to handle them.

Finally, Rad City's range should be decent due to the large battery. Electricbikereport.com does a standardized range test. You can see the Rad City's result at https://electricbikereport.com/rad-...ric-bike-review-part-2-ride-range-test-video/. Its 40 mile range (at max assist) is longer than any of the other 14 bikes I looked at in that web site.

So, I expect the Rad city to do fine for the OP's hills, although it won't fold and is rather heavy (so I am not sure it meets all of his requirements). Also, it probably wouldn't be a the best bike to take into the mountains surrounding Salt Lake City due to the greater slopes and longer distances.

Edit: BTW - These calculations are probably optimistic as the motor torque would only be 40mn at zero speed (although it should be near it at low speeds) and maximum assist levels. The speed calculation would be especially optimistic. On the other hand, I tested out the Rad City in Seattle and rode up a slope near their shop that appears to be about a 5% slope in PAS 3 (out of 5) without too much effort and at a good (>10mph) speed. So I still believe the bike would work well for SLC's hills, but not the mountains.

I think so having tried out a older Rad City today at a local bike shop, the motor was more responsive than I suspected but no where the zip of the Magnum Metro but the fork wasn't that good on the rad maybe it wasn't adjusted properly I don't know