Sempervee

I have trickle charger on the MC's also but how do to this with the ebattery? I know to take the ebattery off and bring inside but how do you monitor the rate of charge for your bicycle battery? Is this a guess or SWAG to charge at least 1 time monthly to approx 75-80% without having something to measure it?

2old

Most chargers have a defined rate of charge, and you can determine the SOC by measuring voltage (obviously each size - 36V, 48V 52V has its own curve). FME, as long as you maintain the SOC between 30% & 70%, your battery won't deteriorate noticeably. This was with my first 52V battery which I used for five years, then gave away while it still worked adequately and a 36V battery which is about the same age and still being used by my daughter.

Doc_Wui

Lithium packs will hold voltage thru a winter. I keep them either outside on the deck or in my attached garage where it might get below freezing. They're at nominal voltage, which is 50% of capacity, so 36 and 48v are roughly 50% for a 36V and a 48 V battery.

By the way, your new bike won't get any faster with age. With a 70 pound weight penalty, you have what you have. I'm 200 and my wife is 125, and riding bikes with the same motor, she gets 30-40% more range.

Battery life is a very involved subject. The short answer is that if you follow the owners manual, you should get the 600-800 cycles often advertised. You can get more with more care.

klevin

Bikes from mfgr like Radpower are great starter ebikes for city dwellers, especially for those who want to ride bike paths and aren't in hilly cities. If one decides to do more, say venture into hilly countryside, one can always upgrade. I bet many buyers of inexpensive ebikes never hit their limitations anyway. Mechanical disk brakes? If you're not going down a hill with an 800 foot elevation drop (like I must do on every ride from my house...) who cares?

The important thing is to get out and get going.

Sempervee

Plan on getting the controller upgrade if nothing else. As tested on out steep hill at home my S/O can throttle up alone at her weight where as me at 210lbs cannot. We like peddling but it sure is nice to have that throttle available when needed!
We are physical workout personality types with bicycles now and wanted to go further as we live near some very nice trails. It is just the hills are kicking our ass now. Rad cost and specs ticked most of my boxes doing due dilligence along with living in Seattle area. After 49 years of continuous MC riding I an looking at closing that chapter for medical reasons as I expect to ride bikes longer than riding MC's with just short of 1 million MC miles on road over most states west of the Mississippi and many years MC commuting. It's exciting learning something new. Not quite a MC and more than an ordinary bike. We are excited. I am outfitting mine as a sometime cargo grocery getter and my SO who is 75 lbs less is more into making hers look blingy stylish along with function. What matters is this is fun!

cat0020

What I learned between e-bikes with 20" wheels vs larger wheels, with the same motor output, smaller wheel size generally allow more torque to get up the hills.
If I live in area where steep hills are common on my rides, 20" might be a viable option for rider that require more torque from motor.

Drawback of smaller wheel, less top speed capability; you might be constantly running out of top gear and legs are spinning faster than you like..

Sempervee

Yes I agree with all that logic and the absolute physics of size when it comes to torque - but handling and physical presence on the street goes to larger better handling wheel size. Compromises. As we say in the US Marine Corps, "Adapt, improvise and Overcome" This time with electronics like a controller! LOL

cat0020

Preference for "handling", varies from rider to rider, but need for torque to go uphill is universal.
I'm familiar with (adapted) the "handling" of a 20" wheel bike in the city, such as NYC, Phila. & metro areas in between.
For metro type of cycling, smaller sized target is generally better to survive the traffic pattern among motorized vehicles on public roads.
Isn't there some saying from the USMC about "torque"?

Yip812

When my last car died I opted for the Radrunner, because I wanted a utility bike, but a fair amount of my commute is through sagebrush and over rocks and old bumpy roads. It also needs to get me to the grocery store and typical errands around town. This thing is a beast, it'll carry anything, and go anywhere. I've had it for almost a year, and haven't had any problems.
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Sempervee

My cargo bike as of yesterday.

cat0020

Is that a GIVI case?

2old

BTW, Rad must be doing something (lots of things) right. They got $170 million invested in them during the last year (as reported by BRAIN, Bicycle Retailer and Industry News).

Sempervee

Sure is!

Sempervee

I would agree. Picked mine up in Seattle store a overheard someone say there were 20,000 sold in Seattle alone. Open 7 days a week. Busy like they are giving something away down there!