Bike fails to coast

[jmeraw]

Hey! Just got my RAD CITY Step Thru 3 and had it looked over by a bike technician. When I stop pedalling or try to coast (even down hill), the bike slows and comes to a stop. The technician said the brakes were rubbing and the rotor was bent but said he did fix the issue. I rode it home from the technician's shop and it is still not coasting very long and you can definitely feel some type of resistance when you stop pedalling. Has anyone else had this issue? I have also sent in a request to Rad Power (two days ago) but have not heard from them yet. Anyone else have this issue?

[Si1Dia]

that is caused by the regenerative braking.

[orcruiser]

I experienced the same situation. Here is my question to Rad and their response.

I would like your opinion on a question I have regarding my RadCity StepThru 3, purchased this past April.
While riding on a level, and even on a slight decline paved trail yesterday I noticed for the first time that while riding with the pedal assist on, whenever I stopped peddling, the bike would slow down. It wasn't due to the bike needing the peddling to keep it moving. It sounded and felt like the motor was actively slowing the bike.
If I started peddling again the motor sound would stop, even though the peddling was not contributing to the bike movement and I wasn't gaining any speed, just my feet moving freely.
It seems that I need to keep my feet moving even when coasting along otherwise the motor will slow the bike speed. This takes away from coasting and feels odd to have to move the feet freely in order to keep the bike from slowing down when going downhill.
Does this sound normal?
Your input would be appreciated again.

My name is Gil. Thank you so much for taking the time to contact Rad Power Bikes, and for being a part of our Rad Power Bikes community!

I know that's frustrating to go through. Let?s try to offer a couple of explanations that could explain that slowing sensation.

First, you may want to check out https://radpowerbikes.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360045171734-Riding-Rad-with-Regenerative-Braking. And see if this explains the feeling you're experiencing.

When the bike hits the designated speed set forth by the Pedal Assist level, the motor does cut off and what you'd be feeling at that point could be construed as a drag but in fact, is just you feeling the weight of the bike fully without motor assistance.
There could actually be a malfunction in the motor causing an unusual amount of drag, unfortunately, the best way to tell this is by direct comparison to another RadCity3 as those are the only models with the direct-drive motor and the brake regenerative system Rad offered.
You also may want to check and have professionally verified that your brakes are adjusted properly.

[Treefriend]

I noticed drag on my power wagon. I figured a motor is going to add drag when not engaged. It's the difference between a regular bike and an ebike. I guess I could be wrong and the drag could indicate a problem but I never looked into it.

[rjp]

A direct drive motor doesn't free wheel like a gear drive motor. There is always magnetic drag on the motor rotor on a direct drive motor.  The new Rad city bikes now use a gear drive motor, no drag. 

[Rover]

I have a newCity 5 Plus ST. No drag whatever. I coast downhills with other bikers who have the speedy conventional bikes. In fact at times I have to touch my brakes a bit while they don?t need to.

[Packrat1]

Try setting PEdal assist to zero then it will freewheel.