edwong3

If you look at their new 2020 models, I would not place them at the entry level category any longer. They are more like mid range. You want to talk entry level then you would look at models from Ancheer, Swagtron, Sohoo, Ecotric and NAKTO. And even with very low level components, you won't find too many bad things to say about them, especially in the price points they are positioned in.

fooferdoggie 

they just gout outed with saying they have a 750 watt motor it is only 500 and it is over volted. not much changed for the new model. yes they are better then those 100.00 bikes but they are still low end bikes, they are so knurly looking in person.

2old

Their new cargo bike with a massive geared motor for $1500 seems very utilitarian to me. I realize it's not in the $500 - $800 category, but not an outrageous price either.

edwong3

Well that is your opinion and you certainly have the right to express it. But forgive me for saying this but I just can't take this latest post of yours seriously.when you say things like, "yes, they are better than those 100.00 bikes (Show me where you can buy a functional e-bike for $100 bucks)" and, "they are so knurly" which is obviously a subjective statement that is not based on objective facts. Sorry. But hey, have a nice day and keep posting in the forum to your heart's content.

fooferdoggie 

here is the motor strory https://electricbikereview.com/forum...rmation.34104/

Ballenxj

Interesting, so Rad is not being honest about their motor ratings?

edwong3

Maybe the OP in that forum lives in Canada. There, the legal nominal output limit for e-bike motors is 500 watts. Here is a link to the Rad Mini on the Canadian site. Notice that the motor power output is 500 watts.

https://radpowerbikes.ca/products/ra...31380931477591

There is a myriad of possibilities as to why this situation happened and if by any chance, the OP is a US resident, maybe he got the 500 watt version by mistake such as a mix up during shipping. Or if he is in Canada, he was looking at the US website and thought he was going to get the US 750 watt bike. Anything can happen but to accuse a company of deliberately misleading it's customers without conducting a thorough research on the matter is a serious move.

If you can legally spec out an e-bike here in the US with up to a 750 watt motor, and clearly intend to do so and advertise it as such, there is no logical reason to use a lower wattage motor and lie about it as I imagine at the wholesale level, the difference in cost between the two variants is not so great as to motivate a company to do such an act, especially if they are going to be found out. Oh, by the way, you cannot "over volt" a 48 volt motor with a 48 volt battery.

erileykc

I bought a Radcity in the summer of 2018 to make that last leap to being car free. Great form factor as essentially a short frame version of their cargo bike and it allows me to ride places that I wouldn't on my Jamis or Raleigh bikes both in term of range and the capacity for showing up not all sweaty at work or the doctors office. Out of the box the bike had a bad fork and spokes that were only hand tight. Rad replaced the fork promptly after I sent a short vid of the problem and the spokes tuned up without trouble. I expected a 'get what you pay for' bike at less than half the price of the Tern GSD I'd been looking at and figured I'd come out ahead just replacing brakes, chains and other small parts. After 14 months the top of the seat tube broke off at the weld with the top tube. Knowing it was out of warranty I called Rad about buying a frame but they don't keep frames. Best they would offer was to sell me a new bike at 17% off the new price. I cobbled together a solution and continued to ride it. Early this summer a brake lever broke off. Again Rad had no parts, I had to get a 'generic' E bike brake lever from Ali Baba. If you buy from them and you're outside the range of going to their shop in Seattle for support you should be prepared for their support to have some significant limits.

fooferdoggie 

the tern is a great brand man that sucks. I hate when I make a stupid decision.

2old

Have you considered buying a mid-80's to mid-90's steel MTB and transferring the parts?

Moe Zhoost

Wattage is just the product of voltage and amperage. Voltage is normally fixed by the number of cells and amperage can be programmed up or down within limits. If claiming a wattage specification, the vendor should use the nominal battery voltage. Are you saying that RadPower is using the fully charged voltage instead (e.g.. 50+ for a 48v battery)?

More likely they are either using a higher voltage battery for a particular motor (e.g. 48 v instead of 36v) or have programmed a higher amp limit. Either of these methods can work to achieve their wattage claim. It is common that bikes are tuned by such adjustments to meet certain regulations.

fooferdoggie 

the motor is over bolted if I remember right. it is not built the same way as a typical Bafang 750 watt motor is a a smaller motor. it has less torque.

Moe Zhoost

I can understand why folks are focused on motor wattage, but the bottom line is that these numbers are marketing labels more than anything. They are rather ambiguous when you analyse them. Take a look at this discussion for some additional insight.

fooferdoggie 

for sure, the main thing is the motor is not as powerful and the regular bafang 750 watt motor.