Some of the older forum members will know that we started with a 2018 RadWagon, put 4,000 miles on it, and eventually "upgraded" to the RadWagon 4 which saw little use. Now years later there are a ton of competitors but we've been living with the RadWagon 5 now for over 2 months, putting on lots of miles. My wife is a huge fan which is saying a lot for someone who has ridden every competitor's cargo ebike. Though just keep in mind she isn't weighing in price but we are using this as our primary cargo ebike this summer. We use our RadWagon 5 as a vehicle replacement, trips of usually less than 10-15 miles around town hauling two kids in the Thule seats.
We actually plan to do an accessory video showing how we use our RadWagon 5 with our two kids which should be live in a few weeks. The Aventon Abound is probably the closest competitor here but didn't fit our needs with the two Thule seats as the rear rack isn't as long (the front child is way to close to the rider).
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Here are our thoughts on the RadWagon 5:
Pros
- Motor power is much improved over the previous generation (even while loaded)
- Torque sensor is well thought out as it's not too hard to get power from the motor
- Accessories (more on this soon but the Conestoga, front rack/basket allow for lots of capacity even with kids in the rear)
- Class 3 speeds. While I think 28 is probably too fast for those with precious cargo, it's nice to be able to go 21-23 mph if you're comfortable.
- Kickstand is much better
- Standard size tires
- Geometry. The RadWagon 5 is lower to the ground than the RadWagon 4
Cons
- I wish they put the same horizontal display with RFID tags on the RadWagon 5 like they did with the Radster models. Not sure why they did this.
- Battery is just average and no option for secondary battery
- Wheel tension issue, clicking while riding. This is being addressed by Rad Power Bikes and is a known issue
- Price. At $2,399 it's on the upper end of its competitors and sure it offers some features others don't some might not value these benefits that much
Curious about what everyone else thinks. Is it worth the premium price?