Anyone else full of Rage over the RADwagon 4 tire problem solution?

[Trogster]

Just received notification from Rad via email that my replacement tires are on their way.  So it looks like Canadians will start seeing their replacement rubber soon (at least on the West Coast).


Curious, has anyone received notification that their RW4 warranty will be extended to compensate for months of downtime?

[RW4ken]

I received my repair kit today in UK I will probably keep the tyres and tubes as spare's. Happy with the mc tyres got on there at the moment. No mention of extending warranty for the 8 months since mine went bang. Just sent phone holder as complimentary.

[Trogster]

Just received an update from Rad.....  all RW4's that have been impacted by the tire (tyre) fiasco will see their bike warranty extended to March 2024.

No action required....Rads files have been updated accordingly.

[ericwn]

Following up on this, while the initial issue was very frustrating, I am more than satisfied with the solution for the moment. Rad shipped the new components to me and the velofix technician came onsite to install them. Great service overall. I had a few warmer days here in Ontario already that allowed me to ride and test and the wagon rides very well now.

[iTGbuDeeV]

Just adding incase anyone stumbles across this well after the recall happened.

I bought a 2nd hand radwagon today.  Contacted customer service through the chat, asked about replacement tires since I had the ribs.  I even told them that I just bought it 2nd hand.

They were very quick to ship out 2 new tires, tubes, and rim tape for me. No push back at all. 

[Tbery]

Yeah, I've nicknamed my bike buyer's remorse. The controller issue which renders the lights unusable; they sent me a replacement controller but it has failed again in less than 6mo. The magnetic disc snapped, looked like when Rad delivered it fully assembled they put it on backwards and the old design had indentations on one side that got caught causing it to snap.

The tire recall I found out about not from being contacted at all but from being on the site for an unrelated issue. Then a few months after getting my bike "fixed" I had a catastrophic blowout and broke my wrist because the inner tube installed was the wrong size causing the Tannus armour to fold over itself and rub a hole into the tires. Tannus was super nice, had no idea about the tire recall but supplied me with replacement liners and inner-tubes of the correct size even though it was Rad's fault.
I also got really upset when I went to replace the chain & freewheel only to realize Rad forgot to mention anywhere that you have to order a special tool from them because the electric cord is too fat to thread a normal tool through.
I would be significantly less upset if they had at any point been proactive and honest, openly communicating exactly what was going on and things to watch out for. Instead you get the hassel of dealing with people who act like they have no idea what you're talking about and make you go through so many unnecessary delays and hoops just to identify and address a problem that turns out to be very widespread and well known.

I have learned you have to become a bike mechanic because you can't trust them and most places won't touch their bikes even if Rad says they will.
I think I can maybe get another year tops out of mine and then I'll buy a different brand. I wish Rad was required to come get their lemon off my lawn at that time.

[greasysmitty]

Yeah, I've nicknamed my bike buyer's remorse. The controller issue which renders the lights unusable; they sent me a replacement controller but it has failed again in less than 6mo. The magnetic disc snapped, looked like when Rad delivered it fully assembled they put it on backwards and the old design had indentations on one side that got caught causing it to snap.

It's funny... every issue Tbery noted, I've had with my bike.  My rear tire exploded (sidewall blew out) due to the tire defect.  Tone wheel broke.  Controller went bad.  Headlight went bad. Bottom bracket, freewheel died and I learned of the joys of the ultrathin, readily breakable removal tool. My front hub bearings just gave up the ghost today and after some painful searching I've located some aftermarket bearing cones to replace the spent old ones and freshen up the hub with new balls.

I've done all the work on my bike and as you said, if you send the bike to Rad (if practical) it would take forever and be expensive... and if you send it to your LBS they're unlikely to have the patience or experience to deal with the quirky costed down Rad parts.

On the whole, the bike has been OK and I've got ~ 5500 miles on mine to date.  What mainly annoys me is that they used custom (and shitty) components that aren't easily upgraded to a nicer, semi standard Shimano equivalent.  The bottom bracket appears to be unobtanium from anywhere but Rad.  There appears to be only one available freewheel, and it's quality is lacking.  Rad certainly hit a low price point but they essentially designed a throwaway bike, and not one easily maintained.