Scratch the "drag free", and it's a Rad City at $2k with a spare 48v.14Ahbattery. The drag is regen capability, and mine doesn't kick until Pas3 or above.
IMO, for the perfect commuter the RadCity has some additional negatives on top of not being drag free (all IMHO):
- the 14-34T cassette (yes you can change it but we are talking stock ebike without having to add additional $$$$ - cause once you start, you can do the same on all of them on the things they are missing). The 14-34T cassette and 46T chainring limit the cruising speed at a comfortable RPM and PAS on the RadCity IMO
- 7 speed (are we still in the 1990s? Minimum should be 9-10 speed, 11speed even better; can't believe there are still 7sp bikes out there and with 1 chainring at that)
- the motor's 40Nm of torque (leaves much to be desired in climbing hills let alone when the competition has 60% - 100% more torque)
- mechanical disc brakes (hydrolic brakes give much better and smoother and easier stopping power - and better stopping power could be also be a safety issue at extreme situations)
- The tail light is not powered by the main battery (come on Rad Power...in an ebike with a big battery you should never have to remind yourself to shut off, turn on, replace batteries etc... of the tail light)
But I would bet some of those things (maybe ALL) will be fixed in the 2019 version (and for the 2018 model at $1499 they all made sense but not at $1699). Other than those the RadCity is a great bike and Rad Power a good company that builds a strong good product.
Happy shopping!
