Introduce yourself!

[Altema]

Welcome to the Forums! 5'4" is not short in my book; my wife is 5'2" and my best friend is 5'0", and she used to drive a Hummer!
Regarding the bikes, both are good, but with different features like you already noticed. The RadRunner Plus has the integrated rack and a passenger seat, and also has a suspension fork and a 7 speed drivetrain which the regular RadRunner does not have.

It's a nice package, and aside from having to replace the seat post to fit some seats, the only advantages of the mini are the folding feature and slightly less weight, and the ability to add a custom rear rack. If you do decide on the Mini though, have no fear about durability. I ride mine hard and even go on mountain bike trails, and the ability to fold has not shown any weaknesses.

Hey, Thanks Altema. Much appreciated. I'm curious if you or others have any thoughts about the high-rise type handlebars on the Radrunner Plus. I'm so used to flatter mountain bike handlebars. Is the high-rise more/less comfortable than the more traditional bars on the mini? How 'bout maneuverabilit? y, height adjustment, etc? Thanks again.

I'm used to the flatter bars as well, but technically, you can line the high rise bars up so the grips are about in the same position as the RadMini bar. With the high rise, you get a wider range of adjustability, and it's easy to move the grips closer to you. I'd vote them as having the potential to be more comfortable. For maneuverability, I'd say they are equal if the grips are positioned similarly. If you tilt the high rise handlebars towards you, the motion of steering includes side-to-side movement instead of just pivoting around a center point, and that can inhibit maneuverability if you have them tilted towards you a lot. It's usually not a problem unless you have the grips pretty close to your body. For height, the RadMini handlebars go up and down three inches, but can never be moved closer unless you change some parts. I know a few people who have converted their RadMini and similar bikes to the Radrunner style handlebars.

[SwedishChef]

Hi team! I sold my Toyota 4Runner and replaced it with a black RadRunner about 2 weeks ago.

I've always been a car guy, but also been into bikes. With the pandemic having me working from home, the truck just sat in the garage and it became hard to justify the monthly cost.

So, this is really a big experiment for me. So far so good! It's more fun to ride the ebike than to drive, and it has released a bunch of monthly cash, and space in the garage.




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[Altema]

SwedishChef - Yes, the cost is hard to justify if you are not using a vehicle. We have no monthly payments on our older cars, and I'm a former racing mechanic, so maintenance is not an issue, but we are still paying full insurance on a car that sits in the driveway. I asked my insurance agent about that, and he said "You are already getting reduced mileage discounts". I pointed out there should be a near zero mileage discount, but made no progress.

The biggest roadblock to me using my Rad more, is the lack of secure parking at stores and restaurants. Twenty stores, and one rusty bike rack at the far end. A large mall half a mile away, and I can't take my bike there without an elevated risk of losing it. My favorite store has a bike rack that is as far away from the door as possible, and any thief or vandal could just walk away when you come out of the distant door. If I was a mall owner, I'd encourage bike use by providing secure parking with charging outlets.

[david@kingmanarts.com]

Hi, Dave in Oregon here. I am a retired computer programmer with a fine arts degree. I live in the hills Southwest of Eugene, Oregon. I just unboxed my Rad Rover yesterday. We plan on RVing with the ebikes as soon as the Earth is restored to it's axis.


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[SwedishChef]

SwedishChef - Yes, the cost is hard to justify if you are not using a vehicle. We have no monthly payments on our older cars, and I'm a former racing mechanic, so maintenance is not an issue, but we are still paying full insurance on a car that sits in the driveway. I asked my insurance agent about that, and he said "You are already getting reduced mileage discounts". I pointed out there should be a near zero mileage discount, but made no progress.

The biggest roadblock to me using my Rad more, is the lack of secure parking at stores and restaurants. Twenty stores, and one rusty bike rack at the far end. A large mall half a mile away, and I can't take my bike there without an elevated risk of losing it. My favorite store has a bike rack that is as far away from the door as possible, and any thief or vandal could just walk away when you come out of the distant door. If I was a mall owner, I'd encourage bike use by providing secure parking with charging outlets.

[mention]Altema [/mention] , I'm not quite a racing mechanic, but a garage mechanic, and I too know what it's like to be able to maintain nearly 100% of a vehicle. I'm glad to hear I'm not the only car-person here.

As for the lack of secure parking, I'm sorry to hear that. Perhaps a long-ish braided Kryptonite cable could open up new possibilities to secure your eBike. It is not an issue where I live, and now I won't take that for granted.

I still insure the family minivan, which is used by the wife and kids. Nice to have the option  available. They still use it daily, but it would be nice to switch to something a bit more friendly to our planet.

[BoulderJonny]

Hello to all Rad-icle peoples! Jon checking in from Boulder, CO. I just got my Rad Runner 1 (my first ebike) this week.  I found a small window of halfway decent weather and was able to get out and kill a full batteries worth. We have a pretty decent mixed-use trail system around town and with this bike I can get anywhere in our relatively small town (and surrounding towns) very quickly.

I've think in the 6 days (weather delayed) between when I placed the order and when it was received, I think I've read everything on this site so a big thanks to everyone who has contributed here.

Anyway, quick first impression of my Rad Runner 1 are not far from what others have already pointed out:

• Fast delivery, packed well
• Looks great! (certainly captures attention - I look forward to the many conversations this will spawn with strangers)
• Good starting power
• Performed well in slushy snow/mud mix
• Fun as hell to ride (is perma-smile a word?)
• Many options/configurations for luggage/tie-ons (my other bike is a Kawasaki KLR 650, also an erector-set-like platform).

Cons (already well documented):

• Single gear. Initially, noticeable suck when really getting after it (it was new. I was excited), but I was already starting to adjust my style, making this less of an issue ultimately. However, if asked for my opinion for those seeking to buy a new ebike, I would suggest getting one with some gearing. That being said, this one gear still fits 90% of my personal use case.
• While the seat is not the medieval torture device it appears to be, it is not one you'd relish spending hours on. Discussions here lead me to seek an alternative: the super-duper-springy-padded seat offering they had on the RPB site, but as many of you have already discovered, the OEM seat/post does not have an attachment for any standard seat. Awaiting Amazon delivery of https://amzn.to/3K5edIr - It was cheap, so I'm still looking for legit suspension seatpost options.

Obviously, still new and will try to keep up where relevant. Thanks again to all who contribute. I hope you and yours are all healthy and in good spirits. Spring is around the corner! Looking forward to the discussion.

[Ryan]

Welcome to the newest members! We just crossed 2,000(!) members and many more forum lurkers. Glad to see people from all over contributing.

[molsonbike]

Molson from the urban south here. Pre-ordered the Radwagon 4 in September and received in December - just before the holidays. First ride was on Kwanzaa!

The experience has been fantastic so far with 2 young kids in maxi seats on the back. The 3" tires are a wonderful change from previous editions - just hoping the custom 22" size becomes more available.

Look forward to sharing tips, tricks, customizing and so on to make this a true car replacement. Cheers to all the contributors and moderators!

[robzkombi]

Hello all you Rad people out there, just joined this site almost a month ago and I guess I forgot to introduce myself. 

My name is Roberto from sunny southern California and I/we purchased two Rad Rover 5's (son and myself), one Rad Runner 1 (for my wife). We absolutely loved the bikes and it shows so now my older son and daughter just placed an order for another Rad Runner 1 and are on the list for a Rad Runner Plus which should ship sometime in April.

We like to roam around town on weekends and have discovered so many local shops along with small mom and pop restaurants that we never knew existed, it's great. We also happen to live in micro brewery central and have gastro-pubs all within a few mile radius so we get to go out and discover new and interesting brew and enjoy great tasting food.  And to think all this was (discovered) made possible thanks to our Rad bikes!
Thank you Rad power for making an awesome well made ebike!

[Ryan]

Hello all you Rad people out there, just joined this site almost a month ago and I guess I forgot to introduce myself. 

My name is Roberto from sunny southern California and I/we purchased two Rad Rover 5's (son and myself), one Rad Runner 1 (for my wife). We absolutely loved the bikes and it shows so now my older son and daughter just placed an order for another Rad Runner 1 and are on the list for a Rad Runner Plus which should ship sometime in April.

We like to roam around town on weekends and have discovered so many local shops along with small mom and pop restaurants that we never knew existed, it's great. We also happen to live in micro brewery central and have gastro-pubs all within a few mile radius so we get to go out and discover new and interesting brew and enjoy great tasting food.  And to think all this was (discovered) made possible thanks to our Rad bikes!
Thank you Rad power for making an awesome well made ebike!

Welcome Roberto! Sounds like you're having a blast. We too find that ebikes allow us to slow down and explore things in our city we never knew existed.

[Joel52334]

Hey all, it's over 40 finally in Eastern Iowa.  I'm a retired IT Systems & Network Engineer.  "Big-Ten" universities (uiowa.edu). Tertiary Hospital care. World 5 - Siemens. we could design, order/setup, of Major Buss Telematics Systems. Mom & Pop systems & network design, order, implement, complete.  "Servers, Switches, Router setup & deployment"  Actively using Raspberry Pi - ARMHF chips, etc. An endless plugin and additional system applications.  od services, applications.

Oops, the rest of me:  I'm 61, single, I ordered a PW4 in September 2020, final delivery 12/30/2020... I charged the battery, knowing I wanted to keep it in a charging matrix.

OOPS, I charged the dam thing, I can find the charger.  I must be observant,  "difficulty to find" on setting 10. It's hiding very well.  grrr... LMAO.

[wkindred]

Hey all, it's over 40 finally in Eastern Iowa.  I'm a retired IT Systems & Network Engineer.  "Big-Ten" universities (uiowa.edu). Tertiary Hospital care. World 5 - Siemens. we could design, order/setup, of Major Buss Telematics Systems. Mom & Pop systems & network design, order, implement, complete.  "Servers, Switches, Router setup & deployment"  Actively using Raspberry Pi - ARMHF chips, etc. An endless plugin and additional system applications.  od services, applications.

Oops, the rest of me:  I'm 61, single, I ordered a PW4 in September 2020, final delivery 12/30/2020... I charged the battery, knowing I wanted to keep it in a charging matrix.

OOPS, I charged the dam thing, I can find the charger.  I must be observant,  "difficulty to find" on setting 10. It's hiding very well.  grrr... LMAO.

hi Joel52334!

soon-to-retire (june) dhs network admin from des moines here!

the local weather has been mild enough that we've been able to ride several times over the last couple weeks (between snowstorms).     

i'm sure you'll enjoy the new bike - lots of interesting sites throughout our state.

...and as always, ride rad!

     - will

[Mrrpeabody56]

GOOD MORNING. I have been registered for a couple of weeks as mrpeabody56. I forgot my password, and could not log on today. I requested a password reset, using my user name - it never came thru. I next requested a password reset using my email - when I did that I was told "no email/user by that name".

Simply put, I cannot log on under my original user name. Could someone please tell me what I need to do? My pop up blockers, etc are not "on". Thank you for any help/info you might send my way.

[JKS_]

Jeremy S from the Woodlands, TX.  Owner of two Radrovers for a couple days now.  Looked for ebikes online seems like forever and finally pulled the trigger.   Kids love them so far.   I am looking forward to adding some accessories and making them a little more durable for off-roading.   We take them out to the local preserve and we have lots of open pathways nearby.


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[rwquiring]

First time here from Bend Oregon, New RW4 owner. looking forward to learning more. Rode the RW4 into work this morning (20 degrees). The commute is approximately 11 miles,
had it in pas 3 most of the way and only used up 1 bar. I am stoked. Great bikes, now all I have to do is get a Rover 5 for my wife.

Royce