Rad Power Bikes Radster Road Review, 2024 ($1,999) | What a Nice Upgrade from Rad!
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- čas přidán 2. 07. 2024
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When it comes to Class 3 commuters, many suffer from one of a couple of drawbacks that keep them from fulfilling that speedy commuter role. Some aren’t stable enough at speed, so people slow down until they feel more confident, while some simply don’t have a gear big enough to allow the rider to pedal at 28 mph. Others say they deliver Class 3 speed but don’t have the power to reach 28 mph. The Rad Power Bikes Radster Road nips all of those issues with this excellent design.
Thanks to a 750W brushless, geared hub motor, 29-in. wheels and a 50x11t top gear, the Rad Power Bikes Radster Road can accelerate up to 28 mph with ease and once there hold that pace. Those 29-in. wheels make for a stable, confidence-inspiring ride. The trick to feeling comfortable at speed is for the e-bike to remain calm. It should be maneuverable, but shouldn’t feel twitchy and larger wheels offer a more stable rider because they generate more gyroscopic effect. I loved the handling on this e-bike.
With commuter e-bikes we often see the greatest value near the $1500 price point, but the Rad Power Bikes Radster Road squeaks in just under $2000 and every dollar is well-earned. From the 750W hub motor to the 720Wh Safe Shield battery, to the 8-speed drivetrain and hydraulic disc brakes, this is a well-designed commuter. - Auta a dopravní prostředky
About to pre order this, I was really happy with my rad city st 3 from 2019, but 20k miles later I'm ready to upgrade, I was planning on buying from a different brand because I was just seeing way better value elsewhere. Same day that I was putting the aventon level.2 into my cart, I got an email from rad about this, and I was hooked
Nice! Let us know what you think about it!
Tested this at the electrify expo today and it was so much fun and so comfortable.
Orlando? How was it? Going tomorrow.
@@garypinsker Expo was super fun! I didn't like the IKEA style layout and having to hop around barriers to get between sections instead of walking all the way around, but crowds were manageable and the test rides on bikes and EVs were wild. Get there early to test drive EVs before it gets crowded, especially rivian the f150, and bmw were the biggest lines. Bring your own water unless you are fine paying for water or getting free handouts of water at the few booths that have. Also, rivian will have the R2 on Sunday for show.
The screen and UI looks great and I love that they put turn signal indicators right on the screen.
Screen looks nice, but doesn't align with how the controls are laid out. The +/- pas buttons are vertical so the pas levels should be vertical on the display, same with watts, the throttle is on the right and the watts should be a vertical bar graph on the right to align with how the controls are physically laid out.
Good info thanks. Ive now put this RAD in my top 2 to buy
Nice review bro. When the rad expand plus review coming?
Hi Justin.. Are you the new owner of EBR..? if so i want to welcome you. I was hoping the new owner would do an introduction video to update us. Rob PDX
The clip is probably to keep the cable tucked in so it doesn’t snag on shrubs etc. it hasn’t caused a problem yet, but I notice the rear derailleur cable bows way out on a couple of my bikes. Perhaps someone had a problem or is being very cautious.
Speaking of cautious, besides designing the hub motor to provide the full 100Nm of torque at 750W or less, they provided two class 3 modes as some places have a max speed of 25mph vs the national 28mph cap, so you can operate this ebike legally everywhere in the US.
It’s a nice touch as not every display lets you adjust the top speed to something besides 20 or 28mph. For instance, my Ride1Up LMT’d lets me adjust top assisted speed in 1mph increments. It’s more customizable, but takes a few more button inputs. This is a nice way of doing it.
Nice review! Love the torque sensor, range, and settings for class level options. Would've been nice to see the turn signals from behind. Assuming the rack is up to 55lbs with paniers option and clip on bags? Think all ebikes skould come stock with turn signals as a safety issue. Single Abus key feature for the locks? Is the charging port up high on the right? USB port? Is the kickstand away from pedal lock? Slap guard or sticker on the chainstay? Would love to see this bike with a fully integrated battery. Still waiting for Rad to come out with their first as such. Btw, where is Court?
Shame Rad stopped selling in Europe, this looks a great bike.
Yeah, we would like to see them still in Europe as well.
@@ElectricBikeReview may they can find some dealers in the EU to sell them in the future.
Looks like a very nice bike. Only negative see is that the battery is not integrated into the frame to give it more of a sleek look.
This is why I keep thinking about the priority current
@@GrayWithMe You might want to look at the Euphree bikes or the Ride1Up Prodigy V2
The turn signal light is so small that I doubt drivers would even notice it. It doesn’t help that there isn’t an industry standard turn signal light for bikes that drivers would know to expect and look for. Either need more separation like on a motorcycle or an animated turn signal like an arrow board would be more noticeable to drivers. Because I think it’s unlikely most drivers will notice the turn signal indicator and because the turn sjgnal indicator isn’t visible from the front or sides, you still need to use hand signals to communicate your intention to turn. Until then, it’s kind of a gimmicky feature that takes up cockpit space and one extra thing you have to remember to enable and disable on top of regular hand signals.
Maybe revisit turn signals when e-bikes support Android Auto and Apple CarPlay or a Rad Power Bluetooth connected app and can integrate with your navigation app to automatically enable and disable your turn signal indicator based on the directions on the app, combined with some machine learning of your route to predict whether you’ll follow the navigation route or take your own, or make your turn well before or after the navigation app instructs to make a turn.
You bring up a great point in that the turn signals need to stand out. I will say, when I've talked with Redshift sports (they make a blinking pedal system for commuters that is super slick), they have done some research and blinking does help with visibility. Blinking + movement helps even further, hence why they came out with their pedal system that even though the lights aren't super big, they are super visible because they are both bright and they move.
I think this is a good first step by Rad to add turn signals, even though I'm sure they will get better with time.
And yes, it takes a minute to get used to the buttons (as you can tell when I'm on the GoPro riding around), but that does get easier with time in the saddle.
Luna batteries have been potted for years now.
Awesome bike and very detailed review! The weight is an issue for me as I store mine downstairs and would need an expensive rack for my car. Aventon 500.3 works a little better for my needs.
Yeah it's not as light as the 500.3!
I ended up purchasing the Aventon 500.3 not as powerful as the Rad or cool looking IMO, but it rides well and is well balanced. @@ElectricBikeReview
Love the new battery. But are the old City5+ batteries still compatible with this new bike? I already have 2 batteries for my city5+, and being able to carry them forward as spares would be huge for a potential upgrade to this bike!
Nope, Rad road battery is an UL 2271 certified battery.
The new SafeShield batteries are the same physical size and voltage as the old batteries. They should be cross compatible.
Confirmed with employees at the Rad store, the batteries are backwards (and forwards) compatible between the Radster Road and RadCity 5+.
Great Upgrade! I have a step thru Radcity 5 plus.. I like it a lot...how much better would this Radster be? in terms of the ride itself? It would be awesome to see a head to head comparison..same conditions...same hills!!
I hope you get to do one...did you own a City before? What do you think? Thanks
Great question, and yes - we also have a RadCity in the office. This is for sure an upgrade and a better bike. Nothing against the RadCity, but Rad did take a nice step forward with this bike.
For me, the biggest differences are:
1 - Better handling, feel. This frame is stiff and feels great.
2 - More power, up to class 3. I personally like that a lot.
3 - Better battery
4 - Better components all the way around
@@ElectricBikeReview Fantastic summary...The Radster is definitely a step forward...I was ready to purchase one when I discover a new bike on the market...the Velotric Discover 2!! this one is really advanced -I hope you guys get the chance to review it soon...and compare it against the Radster..I will "survive" with my RadCity for now! Thanks!
The Canada spec bike appears to be limited to Class 2, 20 mph, 500W, but still 100 Nm of torque. I'm guessing that the Canada bike and the US spec are basically the same, with the Canadian bike limited to Class 2 by software/firmware to meet local regs. Can anyone tell me if that guess is correct or not, and is there a pathway to upgrade the controls to get the US Class 3 characteristics? For riding in traffic with cars, being able to get assistance up to 28 mph seems like a good safety feature.
It's a good way to get a ticket, too. If you set it higher, it needs to be registered, licensed, you need a license,, insurance, etc....
@@mtbrdude My only interest in the higher speed is to be able to ride in traffic without too great a speed deficit. Many years ago on my road bike, I used to ride in the city and found that the safest thing was to go at a similar, but slower speed to traffic and take a whole lane. I am no longer that fast on my own.
Great looking bike. The only thing I would say might be an issue is that it does look like a very heavy bike.
It is heavy but easy to manoeuvre.
It would be cool if they made a bicycle trailer attachment point on the rear frame... JS... 👀
Just use the rear axle. Most of the trailers have a coupler that attaches on that way.
I really want to see the hell-hole stats!
Very nice upgrade from the RadCity 5, though I'd rather have a gearless motor that is capable of regen braking like ln the RadCity 4.
I have mixed feelings, since I lomy regenerative breaks on my city st 3 but I'm super excited about that high torque
@asarogers4742 I don't find the difference in torque quite as useful as not using up brake pads every five or six hundred miles like on my current bike. My next bike will definitely have regen, it's worth it to me.
@Kattbirb my only experience is with a bike that has the regenerative brakes, so I'm sure that has something to do with my opinion, and it is true that torque would be less of an issue for me if I actually used my gear shifter. I can tell you that the longevity of the motor is quite astounding, I'm 5 years and 20k miles in and the motor is pretty much the only part on my bike that hasn't been replaced ( I've replaced the front fork, the entire braking system, the motor controller, the screen, the wiring harness, the battery, the lights, fenders, and tires of course, even a few spokes) but that motor is still going strong
@asarogers4742 I'm all for people getting new experiences. Perhaps there's a store nearby where you can get a few test rides?
Riding one is the only way to be sure if a geared hub is right for you.
20k miles on the same motor, that's impressive! I knew that motor was good, but that's phenomenal!
How is the display on sunny days when you're wearing sunglasses?
New E-bike reviews are of little use to people and the reason I say this is because you cannot possibly tell how well it is going to hold up by riding and examining a brand new e-bike. To give a fair and accurate review, you should put a few hundred or even a thousand miles on it first. It could break down on you after 400 miles or something could malfunction . E-Bikes can be whimsical.
Are wheels/tires tubeless ready?
They arent :(
The frame is low so it should make riding much more stable. My Rad Rover 6 plus is very stable riding already 2 year owner
I agree, and I'm a huge fan of what they did with the frame on this bike. It's one of the most rigid bikes we've tested in a while.
Still needs more torque where I live and a mid drive bike
With that long rear tire fender, this would not work with my 1up bike rack.
For that price it should have a larger battery.
Do they have a bicycle for teenagers/kids?
They specifically don't recommend their bikes for kids. Many states have a minimum age for e-bike users.
I like the tech but not Rad's design of having the battery protrude above the downtube
But have they fixed their customer service ? Are they still shipping out bikes with known controller issues ? Are they even able to ship the parts for a warranty ? I’ve had a horrific time with this company. Not sure I would ever buy from them again.
What happened? I would love to know as I am considering buying from them
@@chelseaann9612Couple years ago, the controller supplier of RAD have made an batch of controller that were so bad that resulting many many complains. For the new bike serials, they change to an new controller supplier and controllers from the new supplier is very reliable. RAD raised the warranty duration, which is very good.
@@chelseaann9612they were shipping out lots of rad rover plus bikes with controller issues. Then you couldn’t even get a hold of customer service. Then months later by the time they agreed it was a warranty issue they couldn’t ship the replacement part. I emailed over and over and over and even got attitude at one point. Only reason why I got my controller is that I threatened to contact the credit card company and reverse the charges and turn them into consumer protection and bbb
Does the bike have a throttle
Yes. Twist throttle on the right. He talks about it in the video.
Battery integration like many said is outdated, could be better
That was my first take as well. However, I'll say that the look has grown on me, and I do like how easy it is to remove the battery for charging or travel if I want.
I miss the old reviewer. He always had a good amount of energy, positive, but unafraid to call out even the smallest of faults in bikes.
Not to say youre horrible. It's just not the same.
I love the roadster bikes but the colors i really really don't like. can't see myself riding those
The blue color looks great in person, not a fan of the white though. Agree they could have done better on the color options.
Well, perhaps they’ll be like Tern and switch the color palette every couple years, even if nothing else changes on the bikes.
It would be nice if they offered a wider array of colors like Juiced or Velotric do. They’re not the only brand to offer a limited number of colors.
Rad always make their bikes way too heavy. Clearly overengineered.
i hate how their new bikes look.
REALLY NO DIGITAL BATTERY DISPLAY YET. What a consumer failure
Why is that so important? 10 power levels is enough resolution for a battery
@@C3R341K1LL3R BS. You wouldn’t accept that for your phone. I just bought a new battery for my Rad Rover. It’s got both and a USB port like rad used to do. I have a very small external battery with a digital display that is over 15 years old. It’s not expensive and vital in keeping proper battery health because you should not regularly exceed 80% or regularly go below 20% or there about. Bar layouts give generalities and fluctuate wildly when in use. So the actual energies level on the 10 bar scale can range between almost 10% in one direction or another once settled. The 5 bar were far worse. It could read 4 bars and you might be closer to 100% or 60% for real. Not good for charging before leaving or letting it sit too long with too much energy
I know plenty of ebikes that are way faster and cost half the price of this one lmao.
No metric system measures? Unsubscribe!
Don’t go darling. We miss you already. If I can learn the metric system. You can learn standard American system
I am sorry but you are no Court. No appeal and definitely no camara appeal. You just sound like your not interested in what your talking about. If court isn't coming back I shall be unsubscribing.
Also terrible at framing as well
I am worried about what happened to Court, but it’s not fair to take out your frustrations on this guy. Give him time to get comfortable with being in front of the camera and develops a standard script he follows with each review. He is listening to feedback as he provided more measurement information with this review, which is what some have requested.
Geez give him a break , he's just reviewing e bikes. We don't care if he is not boyfriend material for you
@lizvickers7156 Constructive feedback is good but take it down a few notches. It takes a lot of guts and hard work to put yourself out on CZcams. Your not paying anything to watch but your time, so just move on.
He did a great job. I like him just fine. I think it would be best that you unsubscribed and spared us all anymore of your negative comments.