Anyone else full of Rage over the RADwagon 4 tire problem solution?

[Trogster]

Replaced my RD4 tires yesterday with the spares I purchased with the bike.  Odd how the bike was delivered with ribbed tires, but the spares I purchased were smooth.

Now, what to do with the old tires?

[Vehicle Nanny]

I bought my RW4 in July and only put 50 miles on it before getting the "stop riding" email. Based on the estimated time to get new tires and tubes, I requested a return of the bike.  Rad Power Bikes approved the request, even though I was well beyond the 14 day window, and started the return process.  Because of this, I ordered a RadRunner Plus (nice bike) and used that box to return the RW4.  I had to lengthen the box by 8", but it all worked out.  Fedex picked up the RW4 this morning.

It seems they are very willing to accept returns, which is the right thing to do.  If you don't have a box to return your RW4, it may take some added time as they don't have a plan yet to get a box to you.

[ericwn]

When submitting the form, did you get any kind of acknowledgment email? I didn?t and contacting Rad on this also led to no response after more than two business days.

[Trogster]

All I got was a confirmation auto-reply once I completed their on-line form.

[JBLee]

Anyone on here had their tires pop? Does this really happen suddenly or is it a slow steady leak?

It goes BOOOOOM!! Then you are riding on the rim and hoping the tire and tube don?t wrap around the wheel and gear cassette locking up the rear tire. Like mine did.

[Eric7]

Anyone on here had their tires pop? Does this really happen suddenly or is it a slow steady leak?

Not on a Rad but I have had it happen.  It is really loud - like the popping of a firecracker.  And then you are suddenly riding on rims.

[Trogster]

Perhaps now we'll see some action on the defective RW4 tires:

https://www.geekwire.com/2022/rad-power-bikes-ceo-mike-radenbaugh-replaced-by-former-sony-leader-phil-molyneux/?fbclid=IwAR0D-pm_JICjKGOYzWXNVgJ2_oNRJ6iSHf_s8laMNcGCE6rbc3rAh3SwyO4

[RadMig]

Don't hold your breath..I responded to your other posts and of course I noticed your tag and numerous different posts regarding this concern but you were one of the lucky ones who had purchased replacement tires before this whole thing happened from what I can remember

[Trogster]

I'm riding on the spares now...I don't like being in a position where I'm one tire failure from having the bike up on blocks.

Rad best come through soon.

[RadMig]

Update January 2023 I was sent two emails from the company's customer service. The first one is announcing the shipping of the replacement tire and tubes which I should have here in the next day or two. And the second email that I got just this morning direct me to a local bike shop for free warranty appointment. I am down here in sunny Central Florida between Mickey mouse and the buccaneers. My assigned bike repair shop looks like it's a mobile service and so that's good. Will update again in the next week or so to let you know. However like the previous post I have not been riding this bike since the safety recall went out. So I too am looking forward to being able to ride a bike I've been paying for for nearly 6 months. Hang in there kids it looks like the company is making good on their promise to take care of this concern.

[BeachWagon]

I just received my tire replacement kit. The new tires are Radwagon branded, have a different tread pattern than the original, and say they were made in Indonesia. The tire pressure limits are the same as the original tires.

I haven't opened all the boxes, but it appears the kit includes new inner tubes, tire levers and new spoke strips.

[Harhir]

I strongly recommend not to use any of these rubber rim strips. Get yourself two rolls of the fabric rim tapes such as the Velox rim tapes. They come come in different widths. I have been using these for almost 20 years on all my bikes . They don't slide, don't tear and are much sturdier than any of these rubber strips.

[BeachWagon]

Thanks for the advice Harhir. I believe some of the flats were due to the rim strips being moved during tire installation. This was the initial claim by RPB before they examined the damage to some of the blown tires and noted that there was an unexpected failure in some of the ribbed tires.

The smaller box included in the repair kit was a small top tube bag.

I'm most likely going to replace the tires myself this weekend, or I might wait until I've received some velox rim tape if I can source some that is the same width as the red plastic tape included in the kit.

RPB doesn't want you to replace your own tires, but since I've done all the maintenance on my bicycle myself, I will replace the tires and make sure everything it done properly. Most likely I will keep the new inner tubes as backups if the current ones look good.

[BeachWagon]

The replacement rim tape is by my measurement 34mm wide while the widest variety of Velox I can find online is 22mm. After I remove the tire, I will see how the tape is currently fitted and the width of the spoke holes.

[WagRagon]

Quick learning:
Be the squeaky wheel to get your bike fixed.

Here's What I did that Worked to get my repair done in under a week:
I first made an appointment using the 'Beeline' mobile repair service. I used the link they sent to my email to book the next available opening. I then contacted Radpower via the website chat and notified them that I had a scheduled repair appointment (Tuesday, 1/31, 9am) and that I hadn't received the replacement tires yet. They seemed to immediately send the tires upon request and they were delivered today. It feels good to know this will be over on Tuesday...