RadTrike Electric Tricycle • Hacker News Board

Re: RadTrike Electric Tricycle

#101

Post by dylan604 » Tue, Dec 06, 2022, 11:50 PM UTC

stefan_ wrote: post #96

googlryas wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

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'

Re: RadTrike Electric Tricycle

#102

Post by Kalium » Tue, Dec 06, 2022, 11:50 PM UTC

simfree wrote: post #15

gorgoiler wrote: post #3

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…

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 m…

Is there a company offering dual hub motors and regenerative braking commercially?

Re: RadTrike Electric Tricycle

#103

Post by analog31 » Tue, Dec 06, 2022, 11:50 PM UTC

squarefoot wrote: post #84

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.

Re: RadTrike Electric Tricycle

#104

Post by googlryas » Tue, Dec 06, 2022, 11:53 PM UTC

stefan_ wrote: post #96

googlryas wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Re: RadTrike Electric Tricycle

#105

Post by dylan604 » Tue, Dec 06, 2022, 11:54 PM UTC

qwertox wrote: post #75

googlryas wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 u…

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 k…

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.

Re: RadTrike Electric Tricycle

#106

Post by ericsilva » Tue, Dec 06, 2022, 11:59 PM UTC

stefan_ wrote: post #96

googlryas wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

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.

Re: RadTrike Electric Tricycle

#107

Post by somerandomqaguy » Tue, Dec 06, 2022, 11:59 PM UTC

sf4lifer wrote: post #4

Why hasn't anyone slapped on a gyroscope and just made an electric bike self balancing?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VH60-R8MOKo Honda and Yamaha have built technology demonstrators motorcycles with self balancing systems in them.

Re: RadTrike Electric Tricycle

#108

Post by Gigachad » Wed, Dec 07, 2022, 12:06 AM UTC

mgrthrow wrote: post #39

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 t…

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.

Re: RadTrike Electric Tricycle

#109

Post by blamazon » Wed, Dec 07, 2022, 12:16 AM UTC

lesuorac wrote: post #93

blamazon wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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) 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…

> 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 av…

One crucial detail in my eyes - e-bikes are almost always going to be cheaper. That is meaningful, to some, and may become meaningful to more.

Also, parking and storage. As cost of housing goes up, so too does the cost/size of parking/storage.

Re: RadTrike Electric Tricycle

#110

Post by seventytwo » Wed, Dec 07, 2022, 12:17 AM UTC

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).