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).
RadTrike Electric Tricycle
51–60 of 167 posts
Re: RadTrike Electric Tricycle
#52I 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.
Re: RadTrike Electric Tricycle
#53I truly hate these things because I can JUST BARELY convince myself not to buy one. EBikes are so much fun, and in this format are so practical....
Maybe i'll wait for the second gen
Re: RadTrike Electric Tricycle
#54This is in response to the troll who you can see with showdead. 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...
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.
(Refresher: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jevons_Paradox )
Re: RadTrike Electric Tricycle
#55My 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…
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.
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.
Re: RadTrike Electric Tricycle
#56I 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.
Re: RadTrike Electric Tricycle
#57[flagged]
No generational flamewar on HN, please.
Re: RadTrike Electric Tricycle
#58Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
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.
Re: RadTrike Electric Tricycle
#59I'm looking for a tricycle that has a differential for the rear wheels.
Re: RadTrike Electric Tricycle
#60My 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…
Brakeless bike? Are you able to emergency stop?