My 2021 radrunner plus has some serious defects. The charging port is prone to weather corrosion. Charging is a risky action that may or may not blow some very sensitive fuses. The mechanical disc brakes suck and are very hard to balance. The discs were supplied warped. I pretty much had to suck that up because of the misery of returning a faulty machine to an online bike company. The seat is a notorious bum numbing pain. The shifters are plastic crap. It rusts.
Fixing a rear puncture was a slow but pleasing experience that seems to be one thing where they’ve optimised for: maintenance.
I’m resigned to it hitting the scrap heap after 3000km. It’s only a matter of time. It’s such a shame that at their price points these devices are basically disposable. Spend 2x the money on something not bought online and you’ll probably enjoy 5x the lifetime.
Thanks for trying though, Rad. I get your passion. It just didn’t work out but maybe you’ll level out into something cool soon. Maybe this trike is it? Heavier, clunkier, even more fixable, and with more bulletproof electronics on the drivetrain and you could win out against the clones, especially if you had a fully fleshed out service partnership in the EU.
Just to add a different anecdote: I have a 2021 radrunner I use daily in Seattle (hilly & rainy), love it, and I have non of these complaints. I have 4 friends with Rads who love them as well.
I don't doubt any of your experiences, but I mention this so readers can get more perspectives.
Perhaps one significant difference between us is that Rad has a showroom / repair shop in Seattle, although I haven't needed them for anything other than easier parts pickup (fenders and break pads.)
Yes I have a 2021 radrunner as well and it's been fabulous. I tow my daughters trailer with it (had to put in a lock washer to keep it all together - $.35) and it's a blast. I've had one slow leak on the front tire, $20 to repair. Otherwise we're approaching 700km with no problems and lots of fun. Couldn't be happier with the build quality.
I bought a used RadRunner. The disc brakes are prone to warping especially if you transport your bike and lay it on its side. Try not to put excessive weight on the discs. I just fix mine using pliers and manually bending back or forward the warp parts of the disc. It's quite simple and YouTube explains it well.
I did replace the front fork because the previous one was bent. I think this happens when you're going 20mph and hit a curb or sharp bump. Replacement part was $60.
Kickstand spring broke and Rad gave me another for $1 along with nuts and bolts that were missing from the previous owner.
Electric motor and battery is doing fine. I purchased another battery for long rides. Because Rad is so popular there are great/cheap OEM options that other e-bike manufacturers don't have.
I think for the price Rad is amazing if you're willing to tinker with it occasionally.
3000km seems ridiculous as the lifetime for a bicycle, and to make it worse an e-bike will be e-waste. That would mean it was trash in a year for my commute alone, and this is in NYC where commutes are pretty short. That doesn’t even account for recreational riding.
That being said a puncture is just a normal bicycle problem. Does Rad offer tubeless compatible components? I’m guessing e-bikers may be less “normal bicycle maintenance” oriented than your average road/gravel/mountain bike owner and tubeless would nearly eliminate punctures.
Replacing the discs on each wheel is straightforward, and the warping your noticing might be due to pressure from the mounting screws that tie it to the rim of the bike.
Have you tried loosening these, applying the brakes fully, and tightening the screws hand tight to center the brake disc and let it relax to flat?
I think the future is dual hub motors with Regen braking. Having tried this on a brakeless bike and a modified scooter, the performance is very good.
I assume "brakeless" means it energizes the motors in reverse when you pull the brake lever. Just no friction brakes. Not a system I would personally use, I don't trust electronics that much.
Me neither. But I'd be interested in having both such that the caliper is backed off a bit so to engage the traditional break you have to pull harder. Maybe after a few years the "brakeless" system could gain my trust.
I really like my RadWagon 4, but several weeks ago, I received a recall notice with their recommendation to stop using the bike until replacements/repairs have been made. I'm really happy they will be making the repairs for me, but since they parts won't even be ready until Feb/Mar 2023 it does me no good since the eBike is my primary mode of transportation.
I know eBikes popularity went to the moon during the pandemic, the global shortages, yadda yadda, but my overall experience from RadPowerBikes customer satisfaction isn't the highest.
As of now, my recalled parts have not failed, and I continue using it, but it's not a good look. I know they have to make those kind of "don't use until repaired" for liability reasons, but man it's frustrating.
Yup, same. I bought my radwagon 4 in august, and then in early september was told I should not ride it. And maybe they will be ready to fix it in Feb/Mar, or maybe it will be later. If it was just me, I would risk it, but I bought it to ferry my kids on so I'm not going to do that. So we got to ride it for 4 weeks, and have had it sitting in our garage for the past 13 weeks, and it will probably be another 13 weeks until it is fixed again if we are lucky. And basically all we get is the bike fixed to the state it should have been in upon delivery, not any kind of compensation for them giving us an unsafe bike and not being able to ride it for 6+ months.
I would not recommend this brand. I guess they decided to do a lot of custom components which is why they have like a 6 month lead time to ship out new non-defective tires (or whatever).
You'll find a lot of love for it online, and I think it is genuine, but I suspect the love for the brand is because it is bought by biking neophytes and makes biking accessible to people who don't want to put a lot of effort into it(nothing wrong with that). So it opens up a lot of possibilities for getting outside and getting fresh air without needing strong thighs or aerobic fitness or getting sweaty, and people associate that with their radwagon, not just generally with an ebike. But there is nothing particularly different about this brand compared to other ebike brands. A lot of ebikes look and function exactly the same as the radwagon, and haven't been part of a longstanding recall.
Hazard: The rim strip on the tires can be misaligned, causing the tube to pop and damage the tire. Additionally, the tires with a ribbed sidewall can unexpectedly go flat, risking serious injuries from loss of control and/or crash.
This is something a beginner can repair. This is normal stuff for those who ride bikes and don't go to a shop for little repairs. Replacing a tube (and fixing it with a small vulcanizing kit) is biking 101, and there they're not even expecting you to repair that. Just check how to replace the tube of a wheel in a youtube video and while at it, check if your strip needs alignment. Tyres often go flat but you normally feel that something is off because it feels "smeary".
The warning is just for those who are not the slightest bit technically inclined and don't feel like doing any of this. To avoid lawsuits.
I bet in the Netherlands any 10 year old kid could check if your wagon is affected and if it is, align the strip.
It’s quite dangerous doing work on the rear wheel. It takes a lot of equipment to get the bike into a stand (ramps, trestles) or on its back. The rear wheel has the motor in it and is very heavy.
Rad designed the drop outs nicely and there’s only a cable tie and a power cable to undo, but I had still had to use a rope as a winch to hold and then lower the wheel out of the frame.
If you’ve done a lot of bike work you’ll know about the danger of crushing your finger between the rear axle fastener and the derailleur body. Now imagine that with a 10lb wheel falling out of the rear dropouts. It’s a pretty dangerous job if you don’t take your time and do things safely and it made me really appreciate how easy it is by comparison to work on a simple, light, mechanical pedal bike.
Yeah, the level of repair for mine is swap a wheel and tire. This is nothing for someone with any mechanical repair abilities at all. As you said, fixing flats on a bike was something I've done since a kid. I have a couple thousand miles on my bike, and I've done all of the maintenance myself. I have tools for it, but for some of these hipster Seattle types that bang out code all day and have never had grease from anything other than their hair on their hands, it might be a bit daunting.
Do you always confidently speak about issues you have no knowledge of? The tires are being recalled and destroyed due to defects. But you think anyone with any mechanical repair abilities can repair them? Why is the company spending millions of dollars on the recall and burning goodwill when they could have owners just pop down to a local bike mechanic(which is something they will have them do regardless with the new tires)?
> the tires with a ribbed sidewall can unexpectedly go flat
If this is the problem you're putting so much weight on, where's the issue with buying new a tire? If you know the parameters, which are printed on the tire itself, you can buy a new one. Once your bike is ready for recall, I'd put on the original set and have it replaced for a new one.
But I myself wouldn't have an issue with just removing the tube once to take a look at it and the tire, then either replace something or just reassemble it and wait until it breaks due to wear, as it will do anyway sometime down the line.
The only difference will be that it will break because of wear (not the companies fault) or because it was of low quality. But I would never assume that this would cause some kind of harm which puts any life in danger, specially because it has 4 wheels.
Do you always talk confidently about emails discussing the recall procedure that you haven't read?
As part of the recall process, they will ship me the replacement parts. I don't live in Seattle for them to make the repair for me. I am free to install these myself, or if I'm mechanically challenged, they will arrange for a local repair shop to make these repairs for me. I'm not repairing the friggin recalled tire. What a moron to make that assumption. I'm making the repair taking the recalled part off, and then placing the corrected part on.
>Yeah, the level of repair for mine is swap a wheel and tire.
What kind of thick skulled imbecile can't understand that?
You responded affirmatively to qwertox who is saying basically you can fix the issue by yourself. The issue at hand with the radwagon4, which is the topic, is the current tires are unsafe, which is why there is a recall and the tires are being destroyed. There is not a recall on the wheels, and there is no need to swap a wheel.
So I still have no idea what you're talking about. But I do have some idea that you're an absolute cock.
Yes, in a response to you acting like you know what your talking about while telling me I have no idea what I am talking about, I was a cock to you.
In my emails, I was told I would be receiving a new wheel as well as tires. So, I have no idea why you would feel necessary to suggest I won't be needing to swap a wheel when they are sending me a wheel. That's okay, sense I don't know what I'm talking about and you do. Have a good life being better than everyone else though.
It must be more than that, since they are recalling the tires and destroying them. They're doing a new run of tires, and having local
bike mechanics swap them out.
And.. what's taking so long? We are not talking about some custom-made part to fix some frame defect or another. Rim strips and tires are plentiful. They could pay neighborhood bike shops a flat fee to get this recall out of the way for their customers.
How should I know? But I imagine with the popularity of the radwagon4, they would get this out of the way quicker if they could and continue selling them. I think they used some weird/rare type of tire - there's talk in radwagon forums of replacing the tires with "moped tires", but I never looked into it. But if this was just a case of sending people to their local bike mechanic who would take a new tire off the wall, I'm sure they would do that, since their process has you going to a mechanic(eventually) anyway once the new tires are in.
What takes anything in today's world to take so long?...It's manufactured in China.
They discovered the problem. Waited long enough to see how extensive the problem was. After whatever investigation process there was, it was determined that they were just manufactured poorly. Design error or manufacturing error? More testing. Now that the true issue is understood, how to fix it. Iterate changes to make new replacement better than original design. Cool. Now, find a factory and get in their queue to manufacture the thing. Receive shipment via literal slow boat from China. Distribute parts, arrange repair mechanic appointments, etc.
I'm not defending the situation I find myself in, but if you honestly can't think of "what's taking so long", then I'd suggest you're just not trying at all. Maybe you have no experience manufacturing something, so that might be out of your wheel house. It's not like someone can just say 'git clone bicycle parts' or 'npm update bicycle parts'
You are kidding, right? As the poster above already noticed, this is a common as mud problem on bicycles and you should be able to replace these parts (and just about any non-electrical part on it) with a variety of choices from a variety of vendors. And "you" being "any bike shop" given this is a recall the vendor is expected to perform (or delegate) and pay for.
If you can't, the reality is you didn't buy a bike, you bought a bicycle-shaped object with proprietary components designed for the landfill.
Overall, I'm quite happy with my bike. It does exactly what I wanted it to when I purchased it. However, it's the company itself that just seems to have it's head insert fully up their backside. It seems to be a Seattle thing, but I feel it would fit in perfectly inside the SV VC world of "disruptors" where a concept that is as ubiquitous as a bike gets updated to be the VC darling of a thing only to realize the updates are so stupid that it devalues the entire thing. Rather than using stock component parts, let's custom design everything!! What could go wrong?
To those who don't know, Juicero's juice pressing machines were notoriously complex and expensive due to extensive use of custom components. https://blog.bolt.io/juicero/
The tires literally are custom for the RadWagon 4. It uses 22" wheels and tires, which is a non-standard size. You can't buy 22" tires from anyone except Vee Tire Co, which makes them specifically for Rad Power Bikes.
I usually recommend electric bikes from actual bike companies, like Specialized, because there won't be any weird surprises, you won't have to assemble it yourself, and it will last forever. But everyone I know, other than myself, has gone with a newer electric-only company like Rad or VanMoof. I assume price is the reason.
What makes Rad not a bike company?
They don't make high end bikes, but they do design and build their own bikes and run a network of shops.
If you go by share of profit from bikes versus other sources I would not be surprised at all if they get more than trek or specialized. Trek/Bontrager and Specialized are notorious in the bike industry for requiring dealers to move accessories if they want to stock bikes. They make a TON of money of accessories at this point
Last time I was given one to ride for a month Rad bikes were basically aliexpress bikes with very crude Bafang electronic assistance which is lightyears behind what Shimano, Bosh, Yamaha or Brose provide.
You don't have to be state of the art to be a bike company. Part of their appeal for me is that they aren't 'state of the art'. They use commodity parts which means that I think they'll be repairable for a lot longer, and they also cost less than half of any of the other brands you mention (just for context, the cheapest Giant e-bike powered by Yamaha costs more than double what a Rad costs, and has a smaller battery).
Kia makes cheap cars using less than cutting edge technology, but that doesn't mean that they are any less of a car company than Mercedes.
Sure, they cater to the low end. But, their designs aren't off the shelf (or aliexpress), they have a network of showrooms and shops, and most importantly there primary business is the selling of bicycles.
I've a friend with an electric Specialized, and while his bike looks cooler my Rad is faster, half the price, with much better millage, and I can still hang it from the wall in my apt.
One thing I've noticed is that pretty much every established bike company is placing the motor on the pedal crank, whereas Rad uses a much bigger (750w in my case) in-wheel hub motor. The acceleration with a hub motor is so much better and doesn't depend on what gear I'm in.
mid-drives are usually a higher-end option for more serious recreational riding where predictability and responsiveness is more important than raw acceleration or long range. Basically the goal of the mid-drive is to make you feel like you are riding an analog bike but as a much more fit rider. Sending the power from the bottom bracket helps to keep you and the motor in sync, balances the weight distribution, keep unsprung/rotating weight low, etc. and the small battery keeps the bike light and maneuverable.
> The acceleration with a hub motor is so much better and doesn't depend on what gear I'm in.
I have a 750 watt radbike and I always find this a little bit bothersome in that I end up in situations where I feel like I'm being dragged forward when I don't want to be because my cadence got just a little bit too fast and the motor starts dumping power. I end up treating the pedal assist as another set of gearing to manage so it doesn't start giving me too much power when I am pedalling in a low gear. Higher end hub drives and pretty much all mid-drives solve this by using a torque sensor so the motor responds to the wattage you are putting down rather than the cadence.
What do you mean about hanging on the wall? One of the things you are getting for your $5k from Specialized is light weight. They have ebikes down to 34 pounds, about half what a radrunner weighs.
Yes, the Specialized is much lighter. I mention still being able to hang the bike because that's the situation where I notice the extra weight the most. If I couldn't, it would have been a deal breaker for me.
But bikes are not rocket science. They can be advanced and high tech, but they can also just be ordinary, well built bikes if using good parts. If the parts are good then the bike is good, the brand matters less for a bike than say for a car.
Well, I just think a real bike company probably has real bike engineers on the staff already and maybe real engineering experience and resources like FEA models and so forth. These new companies make a lot of mistakes, like Yuba with their forks sheering off, and like Rad with their custom, not-available-anywhere tire size. I feel that with a big brand you're going to get a no-surprises bike.
I think what you're going to get from a big brand is a support system for when things go south (ie: a warranty). It used to be that bike shops stocked a few brands of bikes and those brands had a relationship with the shop to provide customer service and a bridge between customer and brand. Less so now after Covid, but it's still a thing.
Bikes are one of those things that are sort of figured out how to make (tho eBikes, less so). You can go to a trade show in east Asia, spec out exactly what you want a run of bikes to be, and they'll do all the hard work for you, and ship you a container full of "your" bikes. Many brands use the same bike manufacturer/factory. Shop for some of them on bikesdirect.com. Many of the "brand" names are just stickers - the companies may have existed as something decades ago, but now live as a name only.
Even a more established brand will send over the cad files of the frame to be built (usually the only really distinguishing thing in most bikes), then spec out the rest of the parts to be put on it. A few visits to the factory from a brand rep/engineer to get details right (welds, layups), then start pumping out orders.
Rad in Seattle for example has a dedicated shop location. I’m not sure what makes it an “actual bike company” vs not but I expect more and more electric first/only brands to emerge over time.
My only complaint against them is I tried to buy a battery tray from them so I could swap the battery between my Rad City and my 48v homebrew bike, and they refused to sell it to me. (Edit: To be clear I went back a couple of months later, told a different story, and got one.)
I also had a battery charging issue after 1000 miles and a winter where it got unplugged from the charger for a couple of months, but I count that as my mistake. I got to take apart the old battery pack though, and one interesting thing I found was that although the power output has half a dozen electrodes on it, only the two big + and - ones were connected to anything.
Electric bikes are an order of magnitude more efficient than cars and several times more efficient than bikes. (Measured as calories/electrical power).
People who ride electric bikes still get the benefits of exercise (elevated heart rate, muscle use) though obviously less than regular biking.
I ride mine year round in Seattle, it's incredible. I deliver cargo, go grocery shopping, visit the library. This should be the default mode.
The problem with ebikes is they cost several thousand dollars and are impossible to secure against battery powered grinders. Cars are relatively hard to steal, and regular bikes are relatively cheap to replace.
Escooters are so popular probably because it's so much easier to bring them inside and on elevators unlike this clunky trike.
Yup I suspect the same thing. I love electric longboards because they're even easier to keep by you at all times, but they're much less safe than an escooter.
When I see electric longboards in the city I am using astounded at the risky maneuvers done by the operators. While I am sure it is a lot of fun, the through of dealing with the serious inconvenience of a broken arm or wrist puts me well off.
The same can be said of the vastly-overpowered e-scooters that seem to be popular where I live (far larger than the usual Segway style e-scooters). All the speed of a small motorcycle (60 km/h+), with far less ability to brake or survive minor potholes.
I've put 250 miles in Manhattan on my E-TWow Booster V over the past 3 months... even lock it up outside with little worry. No one cares, it looks like nothing (yes, I tested this out in sketchy areas watching with a careful eye in cafes I was working out of, not a single person gave it a glance).
Cost $850... goes 23mph, weighs 25 lbs, has about 12 miles of range. Aside from not being usable in the rain, it's the perfect vehicle.
Ya, bicycle theft is why I don’t get a nice e-bike at the moment. I don’t have an enclosed garage, so nowhere to keep it safe. I might get a foldable bike for some bike trips with my 6 year old this summer, but an e bike will have to wait until the current crime wave in Seattle subsides or I have a real plan for keeping it safe.
Where I am, it's illegal for bicyclists to ride on the sidewalk, so you're left with a couple of feet of space beyond the white line, in the unprotected shoulder, with a speed difference of around 30mph, and often a curb to make sure you eat it if you're pushed beyond. With the number of people I've seen weave into the shoulder, biking being the default would be a blood bath.
The theory I've heard is that cyclists being on the road is only a problem when it's the exception. When it's rare, motorists aren't expecting it and are driving in a way that doesn't accommodate it.
If cycling were "the default," motorist behavior would be very different because everyone would be expecting it.
The problem is that the main way to change this is for a critical mass of self sacrificing individuals to choose to put themselves in harms way in order to shift the expectations of drivers.
I don't understand why people don't fight this silly rule about bikes on sidewalks. The number of people being maimed and killed by cars while on bikes is substantially higher than the number of people being maimed or killed by bikes while walking. The difference in speed and mass is orders of magnitude smaller for a bike. Yes, there will always be those clowns like you see on YouTube with bikes going much faster than is safe or sensible, and those people deserve to be punished for their recklessness.
I'm even all for having no limit on watts or horsepower. If I want to haul a heavy trailer with a custom bike that draws 10kW but can't break 20 MPH, I should be allowed to do so. Having the torque to quickly get through an intersection saves lives and impatient drivers are less likely to make dangerous maneuvers if people can get out of their way quickly. Cars don't have HP limits, they have speed limits, and those same clowns who risk themselves and everyone around them for fun are always going to do what they want regardless. I feel it would be better to make speed limit laws stronger and get rid of the laws that pit pedestrians against other pedestrians over antiquated statutes.
One could argue that bikes on sidewalks are dangerous for pedestrians. For example, a person walking on the sidewalk may not be expecting a bike to be coming from behind or from the side, and can be startled or even injured if the bike is going too fast or if the rider is not paying attention. In addition, bikes on sidewalks can make it difficult for people with mobility issues or for those pushing strollers or using wheelchairs to navigate the sidewalk. It may be safer for both pedestrians and cyclists if bikes are restricted to designated bike lanes or roads.
I have mobility issues, and the chances of me dying on the road are amazingly larger than that of a pedestrian dying from me on my bike, no matter how reckless I could possibly be riding. If I have the choice between becoming roadkill or getting harassed by police, I will always choose the latter. It should be the job of the rider to yield to pedestrians the way cars must yield. If a rider isn't paying attention or going too fast for the situation, they are going to get hurt regardless of there being a pedestrian or any other obstacle. There is no danger to the motorist's safety when they mow down a cyclist. Source: I got mowed down by a police officer who buried his head in his laptop and slammed on the gas at the same time, veering uncontrollably. Luckily he wasn't injured. He had no clue he hit me until my bike was completely under his car. Somehow I managed to stay on his bumper and not go under.
This type of thinking, "One person might be frightened, so let's continue to make cyclists pay with their lives" is unfathomable. It's even more incomprehensible that it seems to come mostly from motorists wanting to dictate how all pedestrians 'shall obey' because the are second class citizens. "One could argue" all kinds of things without data and get nonsensical laws passed that affect other people and not themselves.
Furthermore, sidewalks already exist in vastly larger coverage of most cities, where bike lanes do not. Most places don't want to pay for bike lanes, and those that do rarely maintain them in the US. They have never run a street sweeper over the bike lanes where I live, and if they had, they would have hit the concrete spill that's been there for over 3 years and likely damage the street sweeper. It's outrageously dangerous if you don't know it is there because it is between the roadway and a turning lane, so if you get ejected in either direction you are possibly roadkill either way.
Personally, I just illegally ride on the sidewalk. It's unenforced, and it's easy to stop and walk the bike when you see a pedestrian. (Which is even more rare than another cyclist.)
Trikes are dangerous at high speed. Anyone seriously considering this should understand how to properly turn with this style of trike. I'm surprised they didn't do the inverted triangle style.
I understand the market for not DIY, but someone considering this should also consider buying a Schwinn Meridian and a conversion kit (front wheel hub) and saving $1500.
Speaking of which, it would be interesting to see someone bend some copper to use as a frame and use some plexiglass to create a roof to keep rain off you.
Some years ago, I followed a YouTuber who did exactly this and it turned out he had no end of reliability issues with the bearings, wheels, and frame because it turns out pedal-powered trikes just aren't built for the significantly higher speeds and weight of a motor-powered trike, especially when used for multi-mile trips as a daily commuter.
Range was not great either, due to the extra weight of the wooden box he made to hold everything but the rest probably applies to many lower-end two-wheeled bikes too.
I suspect this is the reason that most higher-end electric bikes more closely resemble electric motorcycles than bikes, in terms of wheel size and frame build.
Trikes with upfront single wheel are dangerous; I would any day take a bigger one that has two wheels upfront and is street legal in the EU to use in place of the car for longer trips. Health issues, many steep hills and the need to take highways rule e-bikes out completely. I'm in love with the Arcimoto Roadster which, high costs aside, sadly isn't street legal here.
Indeed, 3-wheeled all terrain vehicles were outlawed after there were a lot of injuries.
An elderly gentleman in my locale made himself a trike with 3 wheels in front. He rode at less than a walking pace, but was out all the time. I made a mental note for if and when I can longer get around on two wheels.
>Indeed, 3-wheeled all terrain vehicles were outlawed after there were a lot of injuries.
I believe you meant to say "after a few injuries and a moral panic originating among demographics that don't tend to expose themselves (moreso their kids) to risk of injury very much."
Nobody cared when farmers had three wheelers. But at some point as they moves in from the rural areas to the exurbs and into the outer suburbs and a line was crossed and they went the way of lawn darts.
I wouldn't want a three wheeler as transportation but as entertainment or a utility vehicle they're fine, not stupid proof but fine.
There's the Mylo etrike, which has a tadpole design (two front wheels), so it's far less likely to tip over than a delta style (two rear wheels). Unfortunately it doesn't have any pedals, so not sure if that's street legal in the EU (also unfortunate if the battery dies, though you can attach two batteries to it.) If I hadn't already bought an ebike earlier this year (not knowing about the Mylo etrike), I'd probably consider it though, as it folds up nicely, can carry a passenger, and seems a lot less likely to tip over (straights or turns) than a regular ebike. Hopefully with Rad making etrikes now, they'll consider something like that but with pedals in the future.
Also worth a mention is Arcimoto's "Mean Lean Machine" (though that's less of highway vehicle than their roadster is). I think they've deprioritized development on the MLM recently though, as they're trying to ramp up production of the FUV.
Thanks, I'm aware of those 3-wheelers like the Piaggio mp3 and others; they however are more akin to motorcycles due to the short distance between the two front wheels, while I was searching for something having better stability to avoid the risk of falling off having already suffered a bad motorcycle accident with lots of fractures and a backbone stabilization. Over here we have street legal CanAm 3-wheelers which are gorgeous, but they're not electric and cost a small fortune as well. Patiently waiting for a full electric alternative.
There are not many companies that make etrikes, especially none remotely as big as Rad. It is quite big news for one of the largest ebike manufacturers to start making one, as it up until now has been a tiny niche with only expensive models from small companies. Doesn't mean that the URL shouldn't be replaced by a third-party site, but I certainly consider this newsworthy.
I recently learned about The Villages, FL, which is a sprawling retirement community, and was the fastest growing metro area in the US over the past decade [0]. This feels like the perfect bike for an aging demographic living in that sort of community. This sort of e-bike will be less intimidating to use for older people, and ultimately it feels like a good move for the company. It's hard to argue with getting more people outdoors and active on bicycles.
Smaller than The Villages, is Peachtree City outside of Atlanta, which is notable for making off-street micromobility pathways a priority in city planning: (relative to the rest of the suburban US)
> They've rallied around golf carts historically but it's a great place to bike.
Yeah. Having spent a decent amount of time in Florida gated communities, I just don't see electric bikes replacing electric golf carts.
You already have a golf cart and the only thing the bike can do is use a bike lane. Sure somebody who likes to bike might get one just like somebody who likes tennis might get a pickleball set but the average person is just going to get an electric golf cart.
If anyone here is from RadPower, please fix the Canadian site redirect. It's SO frustrating having sites recommend we use their Canadian version, only to get redirected to the Canadian home page or be told that that product doesn't exist (yet in Canada, I presume).
This seems like a horrible idea. Three wheelers were outlawed for a reason, motorcycle trikes/sidecars aren't super stable either. I'm surprised someone would opt for this instead of a two wheels up front design.
Yes, that's an interesting choice. I remember when trikes were pulled in the late 80s- very risky. Two wheels up front made a return in the last decade.
I'm going to be following this. I think a Trike will be enormously popular because of the stability, but it has to be stable. Rad tends to design for low cost... I hope this wasn't a terrible choice.....
I have a Rad City 4 and I love it. I commute on it often, it's powerful enough for San Francisco hills, the regen braking is excellent. I'm really happy with it.
This tricycle isn't for me but I get it, I think the niches that ebikes can fill are much bigger than we think they are
I am a decently experienced NYC cyclist. Not Terry Barentsen or anything, but pretty decent at biking both in fitness terms and in practical urban NYC riding.
The biggest problem with e-bikers, and general e-thing riders, as a population, is that they haven’t built the bike skills equivalent to the speed that they can go at. I can ride 20mph if I want to, but it took a long time for me to be able to do that. I had to ride a lot. In doing so, I got a lot of practice.
E-bikes allow you to do that with basically no practice. The resulting behavior is not good. They ride erratically. They ride with AirPods. They salmon. They salmon at night with no lights. They salmon on roads that aren’t even one way! They shoal at every intersection.
So this thing will make them double wide as they salmon… I don’t want to be opposed to e-bikes but the practical effects on cycling, for those of us that were already doing it, since the pandemic explosion, haven’t been great.
There was a recent case that made me think it was just inexperience with speed on an ebike, some of the canyons in southern California are pretty scary even if you are used to racing due to having to worry about a car in the wrong lane on every blind corner or cars pulling out from driveways no matter what a cyclist is doing.
The company's defense is no one under the age of 18 is suppose to use these.
What does 'salmon' mean here? The first time I read it above, I thought you meant 'slalom' but then you repeated 'salmon' several times so it seems deliberate.
Salmoning is going the wrong way. It’s ridiculous in NYC, especially on streets, a street going the other way is almost always one short block away.
Shoaling is cutting in line at lights. Inexperienced cyclists/e-whatever riders are notorious for this. It’s not dangerous but is very poor etiquette if you are not going to absolutely blow away the people you cut when the light goes green.
So, if you cut someone on a Citibike (local terrible heavy bike share bike) on your Specialized Tarmac SL7 in full kit, then, like, whatever. Not that bad. The Citibiker probably doesn’t even realize it’s rude.
But if you cut in front of kitted up people on road bikes on a Citibike, you better have some monster legs.
Anyways I notice this a lot with e-bikes recently. But the thing is that I am actually faster than them, despite riding a “regular” bike. So it’s very annoying.
And half the time they’re wearing AirPods and are just completely oblivious as they do this. Honestly the median Citibiker is not much better, but at least they only go like 8mph.
Ordering Bikes online is something I wouldn’t recommend. My Ribble Hybrid was damaged in transit. The manufacturer agreed to pay for the repairs. No bikeshop was willing to repair it though, since they want to make the sale themselves and don’t want to deal with exotic hardware.
As for trikes, do you really need one if you are not impaired? Bikes are awesome for the city because they are one lane wide. A trike instantly blocks the bikelane, is slow around corners and thus a hassle for anyone else who is trying to get somewhere!
In this case, it looks like the 3rd wheel also substantially increases payload capacity- 415 lbs versus 350 on a radwagon, plus a slightly better cargo set up and substantially better load, unload experience.
Exactly! Easier to get on/off. Easier to load up with cargo. Stopped a light? No need to put a foot down. Super accessible for people with reduced mobility, yes, but also super useful for people getting around the city and moving stuff with them.
Canada Post is currently testing electric cargo trikes for delivery in my city. They're beefier than this, but the same idea. I live near the postal depo, and I love seeing them zip around - feels like the future.
I tried to learn how to drive a 200cc gas scooter so I could save money versus buying a new car, with disastrous effect (broke my leg and arm). So now, what I really want is something in tricycle form, but at a $3k price point. Maybe an electric trike that can go on a town road lane (maybe with a top speed of 40-50mph), and has a roof attachment to protect the driver from rain, etc. Getting the exercise from pedaling would be an added benefit.
I have a Rad Mini 4. Would not recommend. The chain popped off on my first ride on flat ground, had to be fixed by a technician. More recently, the bike just turns off (pretty frequently) mid ride with nearly full battery.
I've got a recumbent bike that I added electric to. I had to redo the setup though because I initially built it with a hub motor which made hill climbing still be a bit of a bitch so I rebuilt it with a middrive motor.
I ride a LongBikes SlipStream and have been considering getting a mid-drive myself. Are you on a LWB or a SWB bike?
Any tips/suggestions?
As a nice bonus, the wheelbase of my bike gives me a TONNE of space under the frame and within the frame for battery packs. So it's a whole project that I'm going to get started on after I move.
FYI - there’s another company called Liberty Trike which specializes in electric trikes for seniors. It’s a quality product for about half the price (and half the range).
Bit of a thread jack but I've been wondering are trikes significantly easier to ride on sand than regular bikes? Specifically thinking of a Kiffy Flash.
The big advantage of a bike is it's faster and can be used for sidewalks and roads easier. A trike is too wide and heavy. You cannot use it for commuting
I’m unsure why nobody releases a compact electric 4 seater car with a 60 mile range for running the kids to school and grabbing some random groceries. Basically a beefed up golf cart. That’s all I need to drop my kids off at school each day which is 95% of my weekday driving.
Because people won't buy it. This is just like the "smaller iPhone" conversation. Even in Europe compacts are disappearing because everyone would rather buy 100% more car for 50% more money.
It's that simple.
EDIT: that said we now have the Dacia Spring which is approximately what you're asking for. Even that is on the chopping block two years after being introduced and selling like hotcakes.
I should note that I couldn't find a route from my house to my workplace that is legal for such a vehicle (They can only drive where the posted speed-limit is under 35MPH in California)
You can't build a compact electric car with 4 seats that meets safety laws. As soon as it's classified as an automobile you're stepping into a new game. That's why existing solutions are essentially mopeds with 4 wheels.
I imagine that in 5 to 10 years we will see more devices such as this on the roads if cars continue to get increasingly more expensive and public transit does not keep up with demand. Especially in more rural locations.
Definitely not. Electrek bought a LEV (Light Electric Vehicle) truck like this and it wasn’t. They’re unsafe for roads due to lack of many safety features
It doesn't surprise me that they are not street legal...but it's interesting to me that in all practicality, they are probably safer than riding a bike; and yet bikes are legal.
Ageist comments always make me laugh. I'm old and let me tell you it's a horror movie to have your body slowly decay and stop working with no hope of repair. If they only knew the shock of a doctor telling you that it's "not worth repairing that" in reference to some important body part, such as a knee or hip. I wished electric bikes fixed this but no, they only make the inevitable easier to take.
I wonder if you could call this an example of Jevons' Paradox. Ebikes get you more distance per calorie, so you spend more calories, because more destinations are within reach.
I have always been a cyclist. Heck I even competed in the Sea Otter Classic mountain bike race when I was 15, where I got to ride my bike on Laguna Seca racetrack, which I think is neat. I am a cyclist even when I am not on my bike.
In recent years I haven't been riding much. A couple months ago I put an electric motor on my bike, and now I am riding it all the time. And I am still a cyclist!
My best friend was just hit by a car on a 40mph road and had to be hospitalized with a traumatic brain injury and seizures that he's still not recovered from (and maybe never will).
I'm not cycling again in my city until we start protecting cyclists here. The roads where I live are absurdly unsafe for cyclists to be on. It's a fucking joke to put a bike lane without a physical divider a few inches next to cars on a 40mph road.
I'll bet your city has a bike advocacy group. Find them and get involved. Even if it just write letters, they need people to put pressure on to get things to happen. They also need people to vote against someone who doesn't help their goals.
Can you imagine how many fewer car crash injuries/fatalities we'll have if boomers turn to these kinds of vehicles as they age instead of driving long past their ability to do it safely? Your reaction time to safely drive one of these can be so much slower, and the damage you do when you mess up is going to be much much smaller. I really hope this catches on.
Fixing a rear puncture was a slow but pleasing experience that seems to be one thing where they’ve optimised for: maintenance.
I’m resigned to it hitting the scrap heap after 3000km. It’s only a matter of time. It’s such a shame that at their price points these devices are basically disposable. Spend 2x the money on something not bought online and you’ll probably enjoy 5x the lifetime.
Thanks for trying though, Rad. I get your passion. It just didn’t work out but maybe you’ll level out into something cool soon. Maybe this trike is it? Heavier, clunkier, even more fixable, and with more bulletproof electronics on the drivetrain and you could win out against the clones, especially if you had a fully fleshed out service partnership in the EU.
I don't doubt any of your experiences, but I mention this so readers can get more perspectives.
Perhaps one significant difference between us is that Rad has a showroom / repair shop in Seattle, although I haven't needed them for anything other than easier parts pickup (fenders and break pads.)
I did replace the front fork because the previous one was bent. I think this happens when you're going 20mph and hit a curb or sharp bump. Replacement part was $60.
Kickstand spring broke and Rad gave me another for $1 along with nuts and bolts that were missing from the previous owner.
Electric motor and battery is doing fine. I purchased another battery for long rides. Because Rad is so popular there are great/cheap OEM options that other e-bike manufacturers don't have.
I think for the price Rad is amazing if you're willing to tinker with it occasionally.
That being said a puncture is just a normal bicycle problem. Does Rad offer tubeless compatible components? I’m guessing e-bikers may be less “normal bicycle maintenance” oriented than your average road/gravel/mountain bike owner and tubeless would nearly eliminate punctures.
Changing a tube on my road bike is like flipping a pancake. Changing a tube on the RadRunner is like flipping a turkey.
Have you tried loosening these, applying the brakes fully, and tightening the screws hand tight to center the brake disc and let it relax to flat?
I think the future is dual hub motors with Regen braking. Having tried this on a brakeless bike and a modified scooter, the performance is very good.
I know eBikes popularity went to the moon during the pandemic, the global shortages, yadda yadda, but my overall experience from RadPowerBikes customer satisfaction isn't the highest.
As of now, my recalled parts have not failed, and I continue using it, but it's not a good look. I know they have to make those kind of "don't use until repaired" for liability reasons, but man it's frustrating.
I would not recommend this brand. I guess they decided to do a lot of custom components which is why they have like a 6 month lead time to ship out new non-defective tires (or whatever).
You'll find a lot of love for it online, and I think it is genuine, but I suspect the love for the brand is because it is bought by biking neophytes and makes biking accessible to people who don't want to put a lot of effort into it(nothing wrong with that). So it opens up a lot of possibilities for getting outside and getting fresh air without needing strong thighs or aerobic fitness or getting sweaty, and people associate that with their radwagon, not just generally with an ebike. But there is nothing particularly different about this brand compared to other ebike brands. A lot of ebikes look and function exactly the same as the radwagon, and haven't been part of a longstanding recall.
This is something a beginner can repair. This is normal stuff for those who ride bikes and don't go to a shop for little repairs. Replacing a tube (and fixing it with a small vulcanizing kit) is biking 101, and there they're not even expecting you to repair that. Just check how to replace the tube of a wheel in a youtube video and while at it, check if your strip needs alignment. Tyres often go flat but you normally feel that something is off because it feels "smeary".
The warning is just for those who are not the slightest bit technically inclined and don't feel like doing any of this. To avoid lawsuits.
I bet in the Netherlands any 10 year old kid could check if your wagon is affected and if it is, align the strip.
Rad designed the drop outs nicely and there’s only a cable tie and a power cable to undo, but I had still had to use a rope as a winch to hold and then lower the wheel out of the frame.
If you’ve done a lot of bike work you’ll know about the danger of crushing your finger between the rear axle fastener and the derailleur body. Now imagine that with a 10lb wheel falling out of the rear dropouts. It’s a pretty dangerous job if you don’t take your time and do things safely and it made me really appreciate how easy it is by comparison to work on a simple, light, mechanical pedal bike.
If this is the problem you're putting so much weight on, where's the issue with buying new a tire? If you know the parameters, which are printed on the tire itself, you can buy a new one. Once your bike is ready for recall, I'd put on the original set and have it replaced for a new one.
But I myself wouldn't have an issue with just removing the tube once to take a look at it and the tire, then either replace something or just reassemble it and wait until it breaks due to wear, as it will do anyway sometime down the line.
The only difference will be that it will break because of wear (not the companies fault) or because it was of low quality. But I would never assume that this would cause some kind of harm which puts any life in danger, specially because it has 4 wheels.
As part of the recall process, they will ship me the replacement parts. I don't live in Seattle for them to make the repair for me. I am free to install these myself, or if I'm mechanically challenged, they will arrange for a local repair shop to make these repairs for me. I'm not repairing the friggin recalled tire. What a moron to make that assumption. I'm making the repair taking the recalled part off, and then placing the corrected part on.
>Yeah, the level of repair for mine is swap a wheel and tire.
What kind of thick skulled imbecile can't understand that?
So I still have no idea what you're talking about. But I do have some idea that you're an absolute cock.
In my emails, I was told I would be receiving a new wheel as well as tires. So, I have no idea why you would feel necessary to suggest I won't be needing to swap a wheel when they are sending me a wheel. That's okay, sense I don't know what I'm talking about and you do. Have a good life being better than everyone else though.
They discovered the problem. Waited long enough to see how extensive the problem was. After whatever investigation process there was, it was determined that they were just manufactured poorly. Design error or manufacturing error? More testing. Now that the true issue is understood, how to fix it. Iterate changes to make new replacement better than original design. Cool. Now, find a factory and get in their queue to manufacture the thing. Receive shipment via literal slow boat from China. Distribute parts, arrange repair mechanic appointments, etc.
I'm not defending the situation I find myself in, but if you honestly can't think of "what's taking so long", then I'd suggest you're just not trying at all. Maybe you have no experience manufacturing something, so that might be out of your wheel house. It's not like someone can just say 'git clone bicycle parts' or 'npm update bicycle parts'
If you can't, the reality is you didn't buy a bike, you bought a bicycle-shaped object with proprietary components designed for the landfill.
Overall, I'm quite happy with my bike. It does exactly what I wanted it to when I purchased it. However, it's the company itself that just seems to have it's head insert fully up their backside. It seems to be a Seattle thing, but I feel it would fit in perfectly inside the SV VC world of "disruptors" where a concept that is as ubiquitous as a bike gets updated to be the VC darling of a thing only to realize the updates are so stupid that it devalues the entire thing. Rather than using stock component parts, let's custom design everything!! What could go wrong?
If you go by share of profit from bikes versus other sources I would not be surprised at all if they get more than trek or specialized. Trek/Bontrager and Specialized are notorious in the bike industry for requiring dealers to move accessories if they want to stock bikes. They make a TON of money of accessories at this point
Kia makes cheap cars using less than cutting edge technology, but that doesn't mean that they are any less of a car company than Mercedes.
Sure, they cater to the low end. But, their designs aren't off the shelf (or aliexpress), they have a network of showrooms and shops, and most importantly there primary business is the selling of bicycles.
One thing I've noticed is that pretty much every established bike company is placing the motor on the pedal crank, whereas Rad uses a much bigger (750w in my case) in-wheel hub motor. The acceleration with a hub motor is so much better and doesn't depend on what gear I'm in.
> The acceleration with a hub motor is so much better and doesn't depend on what gear I'm in.
I have a 750 watt radbike and I always find this a little bit bothersome in that I end up in situations where I feel like I'm being dragged forward when I don't want to be because my cadence got just a little bit too fast and the motor starts dumping power. I end up treating the pedal assist as another set of gearing to manage so it doesn't start giving me too much power when I am pedalling in a low gear. Higher end hub drives and pretty much all mid-drives solve this by using a torque sensor so the motor responds to the wattage you are putting down rather than the cadence.
Bikes are one of those things that are sort of figured out how to make (tho eBikes, less so). You can go to a trade show in east Asia, spec out exactly what you want a run of bikes to be, and they'll do all the hard work for you, and ship you a container full of "your" bikes. Many brands use the same bike manufacturer/factory. Shop for some of them on bikesdirect.com. Many of the "brand" names are just stickers - the companies may have existed as something decades ago, but now live as a name only.
Even a more established brand will send over the cad files of the frame to be built (usually the only really distinguishing thing in most bikes), then spec out the rest of the parts to be put on it. A few visits to the factory from a brand rep/engineer to get details right (welds, layups), then start pumping out orders.
I also had a battery charging issue after 1000 miles and a winter where it got unplugged from the charger for a couple of months, but I count that as my mistake. I got to take apart the old battery pack though, and one interesting thing I found was that although the power output has half a dozen electrodes on it, only the two big + and - ones were connected to anything.
People who ride electric bikes still get the benefits of exercise (elevated heart rate, muscle use) though obviously less than regular biking.
I ride mine year round in Seattle, it's incredible. I deliver cargo, go grocery shopping, visit the library. This should be the default mode.
Escooters are so popular probably because it's so much easier to bring them inside and on elevators unlike this clunky trike.
The same can be said of the vastly-overpowered e-scooters that seem to be popular where I live (far larger than the usual Segway style e-scooters). All the speed of a small motorcycle (60 km/h+), with far less ability to brake or survive minor potholes.
Cost $850... goes 23mph, weighs 25 lbs, has about 12 miles of range. Aside from not being usable in the rain, it's the perfect vehicle.
The theory I've heard is that cyclists being on the road is only a problem when it's the exception. When it's rare, motorists aren't expecting it and are driving in a way that doesn't accommodate it.
If cycling were "the default," motorist behavior would be very different because everyone would be expecting it.
I'm even all for having no limit on watts or horsepower. If I want to haul a heavy trailer with a custom bike that draws 10kW but can't break 20 MPH, I should be allowed to do so. Having the torque to quickly get through an intersection saves lives and impatient drivers are less likely to make dangerous maneuvers if people can get out of their way quickly. Cars don't have HP limits, they have speed limits, and those same clowns who risk themselves and everyone around them for fun are always going to do what they want regardless. I feel it would be better to make speed limit laws stronger and get rid of the laws that pit pedestrians against other pedestrians over antiquated statutes.
This type of thinking, "One person might be frightened, so let's continue to make cyclists pay with their lives" is unfathomable. It's even more incomprehensible that it seems to come mostly from motorists wanting to dictate how all pedestrians 'shall obey' because the are second class citizens. "One could argue" all kinds of things without data and get nonsensical laws passed that affect other people and not themselves.
Furthermore, sidewalks already exist in vastly larger coverage of most cities, where bike lanes do not. Most places don't want to pay for bike lanes, and those that do rarely maintain them in the US. They have never run a street sweeper over the bike lanes where I live, and if they had, they would have hit the concrete spill that's been there for over 3 years and likely damage the street sweeper. It's outrageously dangerous if you don't know it is there because it is between the roadway and a turning lane, so if you get ejected in either direction you are possibly roadkill either way.
This is false, depending on the region.
I understand the market for not DIY, but someone considering this should also consider buying a Schwinn Meridian and a conversion kit (front wheel hub) and saving $1500.
Speaking of which, it would be interesting to see someone bend some copper to use as a frame and use some plexiglass to create a roof to keep rain off you.
Range was not great either, due to the extra weight of the wooden box he made to hold everything but the rest probably applies to many lower-end two-wheeled bikes too.
I suspect this is the reason that most higher-end electric bikes more closely resemble electric motorcycles than bikes, in terms of wheel size and frame build.
An elderly gentleman in my locale made himself a trike with 3 wheels in front. He rode at less than a walking pace, but was out all the time. I made a mental note for if and when I can longer get around on two wheels.
I believe you meant to say "after a few injuries and a moral panic originating among demographics that don't tend to expose themselves (moreso their kids) to risk of injury very much."
Nobody cared when farmers had three wheelers. But at some point as they moves in from the rural areas to the exurbs and into the outer suburbs and a line was crossed and they went the way of lawn darts.
I wouldn't want a three wheeler as transportation but as entertainment or a utility vehicle they're fine, not stupid proof but fine.
https://www.arcimoto.com/mlm
I’ve looked at Arcimoto too, but being in NYC with something like that just seems like asking for a bad time
https://can-am.brp.com/on-road/us/en/models.html
As per the new policy introduced here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33884441, should this url be replaced by a third-party site we just googled?
For example, here's one I just googled which provides useful extra context about the company and the safety record of their previous products: https://www.geekwire.com/2022/rad-power-bikes-launches-radtr...
[0] https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/12/us/the-villages-census-fl...
https://www.peachtree-city.org/DocumentCenter/View/17110/Pat...
(If the map looks a little weird, it's because there's a zillion unofficial paths to connect the dots)
They've rallied around golf carts historically but it's a great place to bike. I use an E-bike and see a lot of recumbent bicycles using the pathways.
Yeah. Having spent a decent amount of time in Florida gated communities, I just don't see electric bikes replacing electric golf carts.
You already have a golf cart and the only thing the bike can do is use a bike lane. Sure somebody who likes to bike might get one just like somebody who likes tennis might get a pickleball set but the average person is just going to get an electric golf cart.
Also, parking and storage. As cost of housing goes up, so too does the cost/size of parking/storage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcVGqtmd2wM
I'm going to be following this. I think a Trike will be enormously popular because of the stability, but it has to be stable. Rad tends to design for low cost... I hope this wasn't a terrible choice.....
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3723640/
This tricycle isn't for me but I get it, I think the niches that ebikes can fill are much bigger than we think they are
The biggest problem with e-bikers, and general e-thing riders, as a population, is that they haven’t built the bike skills equivalent to the speed that they can go at. I can ride 20mph if I want to, but it took a long time for me to be able to do that. I had to ride a lot. In doing so, I got a lot of practice.
E-bikes allow you to do that with basically no practice. The resulting behavior is not good. They ride erratically. They ride with AirPods. They salmon. They salmon at night with no lights. They salmon on roads that aren’t even one way! They shoal at every intersection.
So this thing will make them double wide as they salmon… I don’t want to be opposed to e-bikes but the practical effects on cycling, for those of us that were already doing it, since the pandemic explosion, haven’t been great.
https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Family/parents-file-lawsuit-bike-...
Shoaling is cutting in line at lights. Inexperienced cyclists/e-whatever riders are notorious for this. It’s not dangerous but is very poor etiquette if you are not going to absolutely blow away the people you cut when the light goes green.
So, if you cut someone on a Citibike (local terrible heavy bike share bike) on your Specialized Tarmac SL7 in full kit, then, like, whatever. Not that bad. The Citibiker probably doesn’t even realize it’s rude.
But if you cut in front of kitted up people on road bikes on a Citibike, you better have some monster legs.
Anyways I notice this a lot with e-bikes recently. But the thing is that I am actually faster than them, despite riding a “regular” bike. So it’s very annoying.
And half the time they’re wearing AirPods and are just completely oblivious as they do this. Honestly the median Citibiker is not much better, but at least they only go like 8mph.
(Technically going on the wrong side of the road is also salmoning, but in NYC it was almost always wrong way on a one-way
As for trikes, do you really need one if you are not impaired? Bikes are awesome for the city because they are one lane wide. A trike instantly blocks the bikelane, is slow around corners and thus a hassle for anyone else who is trying to get somewhere!
{shudder}
Assuming LIDAR eventually becomes cheap enough or cameras become sufficient for the job.
Canada Post is currently testing electric cargo trikes for delivery in my city. They're beefier than this, but the same idea. I live near the postal depo, and I love seeing them zip around - feels like the future.
Maybe i'll wait for the second gen
As a nice bonus, the wheelbase of my bike gives me a TONNE of space under the frame and within the frame for battery packs. So it's a whole project that I'm going to get started on after I move.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3eRv_FZjBc&list=PLPqn8bOJKP...
And get a Bafang motor:
https://www.utahtrikes.com/PROD-11620438.html
Also I've got a catrike villager
its easier when it's an E-bike. But they were geared for and used before the electric assist became popular.
It's that simple.
EDIT: that said we now have the Dacia Spring which is approximately what you're asking for. Even that is on the chopping block two years after being introduced and selling like hotcakes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neighborhood_Electric_Vehicle
[edit]
I should note that I couldn't find a route from my house to my workplace that is legal for such a vehicle (They can only drive where the posted speed-limit is under 35MPH in California)
Couldn't find the price.
Like $2-$8k electric car / golf cart-sih cars are already happening!
Basically a fully enclosed golf cart, lead acid batteries and all. Was $1,200 a year ago.
Can it go on the highway? No. Is it crashworthy? No. But neither is an ebike, and this at least keeps the rain off you.
The average electric bike owner gets more exercise than the average cyclist or the average driver:
https://electrek.co/2019/08/11/electric-bike-riders-more-exe...
In retrospect it's not that surprising since the average cyclist doesn't use their bike...
(Refresher: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jevons_Paradox )
In recent years I haven't been riding much. A couple months ago I put an electric motor on my bike, and now I am riding it all the time. And I am still a cyclist!
I'm not cycling again in my city until we start protecting cyclists here. The roads where I live are absurdly unsafe for cyclists to be on. It's a fucking joke to put a bike lane without a physical divider a few inches next to cars on a 40mph road.
https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html