Rad City 5 reliability?

[Harhir]

There is a Rad City 5 bike for sale in my neighborhood. Less than 20 miles on it  and seller is asking $1k. Also comes with a front basket.
Seller got this bike from Rad for an online review and Rad did not want the bike back. He is trying to sell it now.
Anyhow I am trying to find out how reliable they are since I will not have any warranty. I have read that there have been issues with the controller and mushy hydraulic brakes. Plus as I understand Rad uses a proprietary battery on that bike. I am just not a big fan of any form of proprietary stuff on bikes.
I am just trying to find out what to expect and if there could be any expensive traps. I always buy used bikes and always fix them up myself but my experience with e-bikes is limited so far.
Thanks

[ChrisB]

I purchased two RadCity5 plus ebikes (a standard and a step through) last year and am generally happy with them. The retail price here in Canada is $2300 but they can be had for $2000. I believe the sale price in the US is $1700. So for a $700 discount, I would definitely consider buying it. The only issue I have had with my bike (the standard model) is when the usb adapter I installed failed, the controller stopped working. When I removed it, the bike came back to life. I put almost 1000 miles on the bike this year with no real troubles.

[Mr.Bill]

Did you end up buying it?  If so, was it reliable?

[SemperVee]

 You are getting it at 1/2 price.. worth taking the risk in case you have issues,...  It is a $2000+tax  bike.   I would at that price and I 
purchased and put together 4 RAD bikes

[oldtexasdog]

For me it has been a very bad purchase experience.

[Missycat]

Mine has been until about a week ago - now have no idea what is the issue and cannot get in touch with Rad support. NO SUPPORT - very concerning

[oldtexasdog]

Still a bad purchase experience for me. Bike repair Teck got a new controller and battery mount in . Installed the parts and error 21 went away but now it's showing error 30??!!! Damn thing is over a month old and I have gotten to use it for all of 5 min. Should have just bought lottery tickets with the money!

[david.platt@mac.com]

This is our second season with two of the rad city 5 + high step.
The battery?s are removable so you can keep them from freezing or getting too hot.
We use the battery terminal cover. The battery is 675 watts which is not bad with decent range and is also of good quality.
The motor is max 500 watts but cadence triggered throttle assist cut off can be raised from 25 Kmph to 40.

I can?t imagine for that price you could do much better.

We really like ours.

We ride ours up and down hills and find the disc brakes adequate.
It would be simple to upgrade them.
If you can get the seat post shock and get some SCHWALBE tires.

There is a Rad City 5 bike for sale in my neighborhood. Less than 20 miles on it  and seller is asking $1k. Also comes with a front basket.
Seller got this bike from Rad for an online review and Rad did not want the bike back. He is trying to sell it now.
Anyhow I am trying to find out how reliable they are since I will not have any warranty. I have read that there have been issues with the controller and mushy hydraulic brakes. Plus as I understand Rad uses a proprietary battery on that bike. I am just not a big fan of any form of proprietary stuff on bikes.
I am just trying to find out what to expect and if there could be any expensive traps. I always buy used bikes and always fix them up myself but my experience with e-bikes is limited so far.
Thanks

[Naranja_CT5+]

While awaiting for my bike to be delivered. I have been stalking this board for helpful information from people that have already experienced headaches. And from what I have read, the product is reliable enough mechanically. And most of the complaints are directed towards the electrical or software.

Which is fine by me. I am comfortable dealing with anything electrical/software.

[Kel-b]

While awaiting for my bike to be delivered. I have been stalking this board for helpful information from people that have already experienced headaches. And from what I have read, the product is reliable enough mechanically. And most of the complaints are directed towards the electrical or software.

Which is fine by me. I am comfortable dealing with anything electrical/software.

I love mine, only issues I had was from a bad wreck.  Tearing the hydraulic line just enough to need to bleed them all the time.  I reached out to rad support and had an agent in a few minutes.

Been using mine to commute back and forth to work twice a week since summer.  Only have about 300 miles on it but no signs of having any issues.   

If you live on a 3rd floor apartment they are great for strength training as 80lbs is no light carry for a bike.   .

[Naranja_CT5+]

If you live on a 3rd floor apartment they are great for strength training as 80lbs is no light carry for a bike.   .

I have no intentions on carrying it anywhere :-) .
Although I will take it inside LRT trains but transit buses has a 75lbs limitations.

[Bobk]

I have had a Rad City 5 Plus Step Through  for just over two years and I am approaching the 4,000 km mark. I am happy with it. It is a solid bike. As far as maintenance goes, I follow the manual routine maintenance schedule. So far, I have replaced the brake pads twice and bled the brakes. I had the front brake replaced under warranty as the motor disconnect was faulty. I upgraded the derailleur to a Shimano Acera, which in my mid performs better.

The Rad City 5 plus is a heavy bike and one must perform regular maintenance. I do not rely on bike shops for this. The information on the Rad web site maintenance  section is excellent.

In summary, the Rad City 5 Plus Step Through is excellent value for money.