Do not buy a Radpower Bike

[pbirm]

I purchased the Radrover 6 Plus over a year ago and it has been nothing but problems.  The bike worked great for the first several months and then the nightmare began.  Since the bike was still under warranty Rad Power sent replacement parts to fix the bike.  This is included 2 wire harnesses, 3 controllers, 1 battery, 1 PAS controller which was cool but the hours I spent working on replacing the parts and communicating with their customer service isn't worth the cost.  The bike is also not easy to disassemble to replace parts.  The controller is a nightmare to re-install.

Now tonight I went the ride the bike (after riding ok 2 days ago) and it doesn't come on at all.  After some checking, I realized the controller burned up. I removed the controller and there is black soot all over it.  The bike wasn't plugged in.

The bike is no longer under warranty so I'm screwed.  I don't know why the controller burned up which I'm scared it could have started a fire.  I'm not sure I want to spend money to buy a controller because this is the 3rd one that failed.  The bike is garbage.  Now I have a $1,800 worthless ebike.  My neighbor ended up buying 2 Radrover 6 Plus for him and his wife because he liked mine and now they are having problems with both bikes.

My recommendation is do not buy a Radpower Bike, especially the Radrover 6 Plus.  You are asking for problems.  It seems the controller is complete garbage.

[handlebar]

If I were in your shoes...
https://electrobikeworld.com/products/rad-power-6-upgrade-kit

[Radding Along]

The fix is to not screw the controller back into the frame of the bike. If you have a step Thru, just slide the controller into the frame and leave it loose.

If you have a high step, use some foam packing to lodge the controller into the crevice. Not using foam on a high step causes the controller to rattle around as you ride.

Under no circumstances should you use the controller attachment screws on Rover 6+ and City 5+, steps thru and high step bikes.

The Rover 6+ is a great bike. The controller just doesn?t do well when mounted to the frame. Correct that and you will love the bike.

[pbirm]

@Radding Along

How do you know that the controller shouldn't be screwed back in place?  What issues does this cause?

[handlebar]

@Radding Along

How do you know that the controller shouldn't be screwed back in place?  What issues does this cause?

I'm interested, too. I see these controllers are mounted in dead-air spaces. My aftermarket controller cases have cooling fins, and they're mounted in the breeze. Maybe the dead air circulates around these new Radpower controllers better if they aren't screwed down.

[Radding Along]

I am not going to elaborate, but the continued failure of the majority of the controllers are those mounting screws. Take them out!

If you have a high step, the controller is located in the top of the frame near the steering colum. You will need small torx bits. Here are the steps:

1. Remove the battery.
2. Remove the top two screws holding the large silver plate behind the battery.
3. Leave the key in the lock and remove the two screws holding the lock mechanism. Pull the key out and pull the lock assembly out. You will need to pull that silver tray behind the battery a little for the lock to come out.
4. Remove the top two screws at the top of the plastic cable channel on the underside of the bike.
5. Bend the cable channel out a little at the top to expose the two screws holding the controller in. Remove those screws.
6. Put the screws back in the plastic cable channel and tighten them up.
7. Gently pull one of the wires leading to the controller. The controller should slide down. Use a little foam to lodge the controller back into the crevice.
8. Reinstall the lock mechanism and the silver bracket behind the battery. Reinstall the battery. You are done!

For step thru?s the controller is below the battery:

Remove the two bottom screws holding the plastic cable channel on the underside of the bike. Bend it back a little which will expose the two screws holding the controller in. Take them out. Reinstall the two screws that attach the plastic cable channel and you are done.