Rad City 5 plus - PROBLEMS??

[Rover]

My new RAD City 5 Plus Step Thru has about 500 miles on it. I like this bike more and more all the time (my 6th E-Bike). The initial controller had a problem fairly soon--though it still worked. RAD sent a new one and a certificate to have it installed by Velofix (mobile bike service) at no cost to me. No problems since. Every thing else works fine too. It's a solid bike. Lots of power. Very comfortable. Good balance. It fits me perfectly--better than any of the previous E-Bikes I've owned and 3 were considerably pricier than the RAD. This one is a keeper.

[Camary9420]

I?ve ridden my bike less than 10 times. First time the chain came off and got stuck in the sprocket. Had to take it to a shop to get it fixed. Then my bike started making a loud squealing noise that was coming from the brakes. The only way to get it to stop making the noise was to actually gently push on the front brake. Again I took my bike to a shop and they got it to stop making the noise when I?m riding it. Now it makes the loud squealing noise when I use the brakes. And now after I?ve ridden my bike for a little over 5 miles, my throttle and pas stop working. I have to turn the bike off and pedal like a regular bike. The battery is fully charged. I?m 67 years old and that thing isn?t easy to pedal up hills. If I turn the bike back on, it will work for a little bit and then again I lose all power. I have tried to contact rad power bikes, but I can?t get anybody to talk to. Waited on the phone for over three hours for somebody to pick up. Of course then I read all the reviews about the lousy customer service that rad bikes have and afraid I wasted my money buying this thing. The bike is still under warranty but I can?t get anyone to help me. Anyone else have this problem? Help!

[tomkal]

Just received a RadCity 5 Plus today spent the afternoon putting it together and minor adjustments. Put the battery in turned it on everything looked great, went for a ride and noticed that the motor wasn't working. No throttle, no petal assist.
Went thru the standard troubleshooting steps that others have posted on YouTube no help. Called customer support (They are working this holiday weekend!) They had me go thru the same diagnostic steps with the same results. They are sending out a controller and wire harness and I can improve my ebike mechanic skills.

Discussion Points
* I hope that RAD engineering understands the failure mode (if it does turn out to be the controller) and has implemented some
   corrective action into the "new" controller that will arrive.
*If there is a known bad batch of controllers in a range of bikes, update the stock of new bikes (I know it's expensive but so is a $2k bike for me...) or send updated controllers with the bikes.
*When it was released, it was priced at $1799.00. I paid $200.00 more, and it doesn't work... 
*Maybe this is why they are a direct-to-consumer company. Costco or Walmart would not put up with this reliability.

All of the reviews that I looked at are positive, it has the potential to be a great and popular ebike. I also love the look and features of the bike but... just in case, I've saved the packing material in case I need to take them up on the 14 day return policy. 

[thebadpoodle]

Well, Rad had a  new controller delivered to us within 2 days.  I went out and bought a brand new set of torx screwdrivers and set about replacing the controller. Step on is to remove the Torx screws for the cable cover.  one of the four screws will not budget and i was afraid of stripping it so i stopped and called Rad support to request they send someone out to do the controller replacement.  I called and sat on hold for an hour that day, another half hour yesterday and currently 20 minutes into another call as i'm typing this. I've yet to get through to a human. we also sent two email replies to the customer support team and total silence in response.
i think this company has run into a familiar story.... growing too big, too fast.

[rjp]

You need to use an impact driver to loosen that tight bolt/ screw.

[Gray Beard]

Well I just ordered (2) STs in white for my wife and I this past weekend and I received notice they shipped and will arrive tomorrow.  I'm surprised because I did receive an e-mail stating that living in Charlotte, NC I would see them is 5-6 business days after initial shipment.  Fed Ex tracking shows them coming out of Savannah, GA. I thought they all were shipped out of Seattle???

Regardless, I just found this forum and signed up, and have to say I'm nervous with my decision after reading some of these posts.  Dropping over $4K on what I would consider a luxury item doesn't come easy to me or my wife.  Reading all the reviews on line made me feel like I made a wise choice.  I just pray....

[pjiaria]

https://www.tradeinn.com/bikeinn/en/schwalbe-marathon-e-plus-performance-smart-dualguard-27.5--mtb-tyre/138048579/p

[thebadpoodle]

You need to use an impact driver to loosen that tight bolt/ screw.

after a 4th unsuccessful try to contact support on the phone, i saw this post and decided it couldn't hurt if i mess up the screw. RAD still has to replace the controller under warranty. i didn't have bit for my impact driver so i took the torx-9 screwdriver and gave it a few good wacks with a hammer and "BINGO", it un-seized and i could continue with the controller replacement.

The positive side to this is that it's good to know your bike and there's no better way to get acquainted with it mechanically than to have to strip it down and put it back together.

The wife is happy, I'm only moderately annoyed with RAD. All good.

[tomkal]

Please let us know if the controller replacement was successful. I'm still waiting for my replacement controller ordered on 7/2/22. The harness is on the way but I'll wait until both are here for the replacement. I did a trial run and removed the controller (see attached Photo).
Made in Vietnam, Revision:I, Hopefully you received a different version.

Found that the top battery bracket (with lock) was broken and added this to my service ticket. Haven't heard back. They must be swamped...

B.T.W. have been riding the bike the old fashion way (100% manual) and enjoy it. Get lots of positive comments on the look of the bike.

[thebadpoodle]

Please let us know if the controller replacement was successful. I'm still waiting for my replacement controller ordered on 7/2/22. The harness is on the way but I'll wait until both are here for the replacement. I did a trial run and removed the controller (see attached Photo).
Made in Vietnam, Revision:I, Hopefully you received a different version.

Found that the top battery bracket (with lock) was broken and added this to my service ticket. Haven't heard back. They must be swamped...

B.T.W. have been riding the bike the old fashion way (100% manual) and enjoy it. Get lots of positive comments on the look of the bike.

unfortunately, the controller is on the bike and i didn't take a pic or pay much attention to what they sent me. the bike is working though. the only issue i had is that the connection between the controller and wiring harness was difficult to undo and then it was difficult to get it back together again. i had to wrap it with electrical tape so the connector ends don't vibrate loose.

As for their support, i find it strange that 4 times i called and opted to have them call me back (so i didn't lose my spot in the queue). well, that queue must be very long because i've never been called back. lol

i was really lucky to get through to them when the issue first appeared and got that controller on order right away.

The actual people we've talked to on the support lines when we get to talk to someone have been nice and helpful. I feel badly for them.

[thebadpoodle]

Well I just ordered (2) STs in white for my wife and I this past weekend and I received notice they shipped and will arrive tomorrow.  I'm surprised because I did receive an e-mail stating that living in Charlotte, NC I would see them is 5-6 business days after initial shipment.  Fed Ex tracking shows them coming out of Savannah, GA. I thought they all were shipped out of Seattle???

Regardless, I just found this forum and signed up, and have to say I'm nervous with my decision after reading some of these posts.  Dropping over $4K on what I would consider a luxury item doesn't come easy to me or my wife.  Reading all the reviews on line made me feel like I made a wise choice.  I just pray....

we live in olympia, WA, 60 miles south of Seattle. We ordered a black 5+ and a white one so we could easily tell them apart.  my wife's white one shipped from Seattle and we had it in 2 days. My black one shipped from Georgia and took almost 14 days.
they must have an east coast warehouse.

[Gray Beard]

We received our 2 white step throughs this past Friday. Assembly went fairly easy wit no real insures.  The bash guards protecting the derailleur were pushed in on both, but as stated in the Rad assembly video I simply pulled them out and straightened them.  Late Saturday we finally got a chance to test ride them, that's when I found out the my derailleur had problems.  When I shifted out of 7th gear down to say 3rd there was no problems.  But, when I shifted down to 2nd it continued to 1st and then jumped the chain off and jammed between the 1st cog and the motor and jumped the crank sprocket.  Had a hell of a time getting the chain back into place.  Apparently the derailleur took a pretty hard hit and the bash guard was considerably bent over compared to my wife's bike. 
Met the FedEx driver in my driveway were he had one of the boxes out of the van already and on it's side and was about to roll it over so the box would be up side down.  I ripped him a new one, and he really didn't shit that a $2000 bike was going to be up side down.
Anyway I'll be calling customer service tomorrow and see how they will proceed with getting the derailleur re-calibrated,  my guess would be through Velofix or the like.  Curious to hear if anyone else has had this situation.  Thanks, Chris

[Treefriend]

Mine was delivered a few weeks ago and the battery won't charge.
Customer service took days to respond and then they wanted several
pictures and a video of the defects. I sent all that in but have not heard back from them.

Can't ride my brand new bike because I can't charge the battery.

I will let you know if they eventually send me a working battery or if I have to return the bike and
all the accessories I ordered with it.

So I?ve been considering this new Rad bike. 

But I have read a number of reviews of the bike coming with faulty parts.  Battery not working after 1 use, break line broken, non functional, good for a few spins and then quits.  Replacement parts being sent out and not helping, or waiting for parts to arrive for long periods of time.   But also a number of positive reviews....  but it?s the bad ones that cause concern!   

So my question is...  is there a problem with this new bike?  Rush to produce for high demand equating to more mistakes?  Bad parts due to supply issues? 

What are the thoughts on this?

[Treefriend]

UPDATE: Matter still not resolved.
After days of no communication they had me resend the requested pictures...
...did they lose the first batch or is this a stall tactic?
Still have not ridden my new Rad5

Mine was delivered a few weeks ago and the battery won't charge.
Customer service took days to respond and then they wanted several
pictures and a video of the defects. I sent all that in but have not heard back from them.

Can't ride my brand new bike because I can't charge the battery.

I will let you know if they eventually send me a working battery or if I have to return the bike and
all the accessories I ordered with it.

So I?ve been considering this new Rad bike. 

But I have read a number of reviews of the bike coming with faulty parts.  Battery not working after 1 use, break line broken, non functional, good for a few spins and then quits.  Replacement parts being sent out and not helping, or waiting for parts to arrive for long periods of time.   But also a number of positive reviews....  but it?s the bad ones that cause concern!   

So my question is...  is there a problem with this new bike?  Rush to produce for high demand equating to more mistakes?  Bad parts due to supply issues? 

What are the thoughts on this?

[Rover]

This is obviously a frustrating situation. And anyone with a new piece of equipment?car, dishwasher, mower, whatever?that has issues can relate to your circumstance. I must say the one thing in my experience with RAD buying two bikes in the past year is how responsive customer support is. I?ve never been on the phone more than a handful of minutes before speaking to a rep. Granted not all their representatives are on the A team but that?s true for any company?s customer support. But you seem to be stiff armed by them which is a head scratcher. That?s really unfortunate. Hope things get ironed out for you soon.