RW4 owners with tire troubles, make yourself heard. This is a serious safety issue even if you have the skills and $ to resolve it yourself.

http://bitly.ws/s67i

UPDATE: Having another look at the tires, i noticed that both beads had split. One split crossways (like perpendicular to the tread) and the other lengthwise, about a half-shoelace width wide. Talked to Rad CS again and they sent me new tires and more tubes. So that was three tubes and two tires lost in the first couple days. Now my assumption is that the beads had split and that was causing the tubes to fail.

I spent most of the Saturday Memorial Day weekend going to different bicycle/motorcycle shops, wheel in hand, asking what they'd recommend. Turns out 18x2.75-3 tubes and tires will fit (it's a moped and older dirtbike size, apparently). Unfortunately, its a rare size these days and only one place had one tube in stock, so I ordered these:

https://amzn.to/3cNkr26

and these:

https://amzn.to/3S80svy

I got those tires because they were available right away- they are heavy (about 7 lbs each vs. 4 lbs for the originals) but I actually like the knobby tread and do have some dirt I will ride on regularly. There are others with street tread that can be had with longer shipping times.

A few days later they came and I installed them at ~35 lbs (what the cycle guys recommended). No problems since and I've put about 45 miles on them in the last week. I have the new tubes and tires Rad sent me under warranty, but frankly I doubt I'll ever use them.

I really like the bike but I'm very disappointed in Rad- the customer service was great, but what good is that if the parts are junk? And what about people without the skills/$ to sort out and find better parts for themselves? It's too bad because people ask about the bike everywhere. I feel like I have to tell them that the bike itself is great but Rad seems to think its customers are part of its QA team.

Thanks for the ideas. I did check the bead on both the F and R installs- though I saw after the last pop that the R bead had split- so that wasn't it, at least initially.

All 3 tubes have split along seams. Different spots (on different wheels, even). No punctures. When I stretch what's left of the tube between my fingers I can see spots open up, like pores, where the rubber seems to have been stretched too much and was about to fail.

I just think Rad tells people to put WAY too much air in these tires. I went to a couple of motorcycle/moped shops today, rim and tire with me, to get advice. They all said that 18x2.75-3 motorcycle/moped tubes and tires should work ok, running about 30 lbs of air. Unfortunately, only one store had one tube in stock, so I'm stuck waiting for some online orders. Should be here in the next week or so and I'll update.

Add: Rad offered to refund my money on the bike, which I appreciate, and is sending new tubes and tires (not sure I trust the parts, though). They've been helpful but it has been very frustrating.

Hi all- I took delivery of a RadWagon 4 yesterday afternoon. Assembled it (the boss for the deflipilator was stripped, but I finished putting it together anyway). All checked out and I was on my first test ride, 1.5 blocks from my house, when the rear tube burst. I had filled it to 55 lbs because I'm a bigger guy. (I also have been working on bikes for 20 years- I'm not a pro, but I'm far from a rookie.)

Luckily I had ordered two replacement tubes 'just in case,' and they were to be delivered today. Then, about 10 pm, as I sat inside, I heard a boom from the garage. The front tube had exploded for no reason as I sat inside!

So the new tubes came late today. I replaced the rear one, filled to just 40 lbs this time (the book recommends 50 and the tires say 35-65), then came inside to eat. As I was getting ready to go out and replace the front, I heard another pop. The new rear tube burst as the bike sat, upside down, in the garage, with only 40 lbs in it!

The tiny bit I rode the bike was great but this is just not acceptable. I have no confidence in these parts and I'm thinking I need to return the bike as long as there is no other source for them. The rad power CS rep I talked to this morning was nice and there are free replacements n the way, but c'mon!