Load Capacity RW4

[Fohls]

Hello,

New member, I've just placed an order for an RW4 which should be here in about 5-8weeks all being well with shipping etc.

I've been scrutinizing the specs again and noticed the payload is only 158kg. I weigh about 95kg at the moment (trying to shed some lockdown timber now) my fighting weight is normally about 90kg or just below. I'm planning on taking two kids to school and back on my new bike. They're 8 and 5 and no feather weights.

Should I be worried about overloading the stated payload? Does anyone have any real life experience carrying two kids on one of these?

All the pics I've seen seem to suggest a man and two kids would be fine but now I'm nervous...

[Joel52334]

I purchased my RW4 so I could "haul stuff".  My max trip is ~21 miles round trip.  I have the front basket, the rear large platform. It fits on the back 1/2 of the rack, but you need to cut 3/8" off the front board.  Then it plops down.  I did get the huge insulated bag, I was thinking groceries.  I've not used it yet. I've got the saddlebags, the running boards.  Like Pirates, the weight limit is more of a "GUIDELINE" Just like your car, they state a weight limit.  You won't break the frame.

I'm upgrading my battery to one from "Big Game Bikes".  Check them out!  A higher Watt battery is near the price of an RW-Standard battery (but it's never available).  Gareth from BigGameBikes dot com has batteries directly shipped from China, NO SHIPPING, and he is very motivated to assist.  I've had an absolutely wonderful experience. I know I'll get my 3rd & 4th batteries from him too! 

He's in the UK, his job was a "Covid-19 casualty" he started BGB.  He's a geek, he's passionate, he's willing to share his knowledge.  He has some very informative, lean YouTube videos.  He has a special section of parts/accessories for the Rad line of devices!  I know he has an RW and tries every product on his own Rad bike.

[Fohls]

Thanks Joel. I've seen BGB already. I'm in the UK too so expect I may end up getting the Eggrider V2 to squeeze more power out of the motor and maybe a bigger battery. My use case is quite small. I'm trying to reduce > 3mile car trips by using the RW4. Our kids school is 1.2 miles away but on the other side of a valley so 0.5mile down, 0.2 flat, 0.5 up both ways.

At the moment we drive it which pre Covid wasn't such a big deal as we'd then carry on another 16 miles to work. But now we both work mostly from home. I feel guilty driving it every day. It's too far to walk the kids in terms.of time (45 mins each way) we've done it when we are off work. Riding themselves is not really an option yet as neither are overly competent and there are no cycle paths on the busy road going up to school.

[MN_Drew]

I've been scrutinizing the specs again and noticed the payload is only 158kg. I weigh about 95kg at the moment (trying to shed some lockdown timber now) my fighting weight is normally about 90kg or just below. I'm planning on taking two kids to school and back on my new bike. They're 8 and 5 and no feather weights.

Should I be worried about overloading the stated payload? Does anyone have any real life experience carrying two kids on one of these?

All the pics I've seen seem to suggest a man and two kids would be fine but now I'm nervous...

I weigh just about the same as you, and my wife and I combined put us right about at the max payload. We ride quite regularly together, with me peddaling, and my wife on the back. We also often tow a trailer with our daughter (and sometimes our dog too!) on top of that. We've never had any issues that have made us think we've been approaching the failure point of any components. The one issue would be the frequency with which the brakes need to be adjusted. Keeping on top of having them always properly adjusted was a bit of a pain. We did a hydraulic caliper upgrade from Juin Tech and it has made a big difference. I think that the mass and speed of a fully-loaded cargo e-bike is just really pushing the top end of what mechanical brakes can deal with.

I will say that when I ride alone, the RW totally *zips* up hills like it's nothing, but when we have all three of us, you can tell that the motor is a bit out of its element on big hills and it needs a lot of help. Nothing wrong with that, just recognize that it's a bit slower and will require a bit of work from the peddaler too.