I have a Yuba Kombi E5. Good bike, though I haven’t pushed the limits of its cargo capacity so far because the compatibility of their stock bags with a child seat seems dubious. I’m reluctant to install the bags until my kid graduates to sitting on the rear rack. But the Bread Basket attachment (must-buy accessory in my opinion) easily has enough capacity for daycare and work bags for the two of us. Drop-off plus commute is about 10 miles each way with a sizable hill, and the range is adequate. It’s possible to do the whole thing on full boost, with the battery pretty low by the time we get home. In practice, I tend to vary the boost as needed on the morning commute, and go full boost for the homeward leg.
Originally Posted by
Darth Lefty
Rad Power is under scrutiny right now due to a lawsuit. You can find the grim details elsewhere. Some bike shop mechanics over on MTBR have been unsparing in their criticism of the handling but I wonder how much of it is just the long wheelbase. Long bikes do handle a lot differently. Some of them blamed the fat tire on a 20" rim which makes no sense because that describes any motorcycle.
Originally Posted by
suprchunk
I've had issues with them as well, so I'm not surprised. Especially from the way they "handled" my issue. I do not recommend them. At all.
R&M is good. Bullitt is good. Urban Arrow, Butcher, and a few others are great bikes. I'd have zero issue recommending any of those. I'm partial to Bullitt, but when you lay out that much cash you should have some bias involved. Though if I were to buy an R&M I doubt I'd say anything different.
It also depends, style-wise at least to me, what you will be mostly using it for. I don't think I could handle a three-wheel version that well, but that's just me.
Rad Power isn’t under scrutiny in any sense that I’m aware of, apart from the civil lawsuit against them for wrongful death (the parents involved are suing Giro as well). Without delving too much into the details this case, my thoughts are 1) I wouldn’t recommend Rad Power to anyone because they spec totally inadequate brakes on all of their bikes*, with the apparent use of quick releases being the poop icing on the poop cake and 2) the reported claims in the suit seem extremely shaky to me, with the possible exception of the bikes being irresponsibility promoted for operation by minors. That quick-releases, and especially QRs with disc brakes are inherently unsafe is technically true, in my opinion, but also a very common spec in the industry with established manufacturing practices to mitigate the risk. Unless Rad Power has truly done something weird, it seems to me that these people have to argue not just against Rad Power’s but the entire industry’s use of QRs with disc brakes.
Personally, though, I recommend a cargo bike be equipped with hydraulic disc brakes and a more reliable, user-friendly wheel retention system. Thru-axles are obviously ideal, but my Yuba has a nutted axle with tabbed safety washers, and I think it’s a good compromise to cut costs.
*Among other reasons having to do with hostility to consumers, but sacrificing safer brakes in the name of cost-cutting is my number one problem.