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.

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.

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.

Good to know, Harhir.

I'll probably change out the tires myself. It's a little more work than just replacing a tube, but not a lot more. And best to practice removing my rear wheel in the garage than on the side of the road.

My replacement tire delivery was delayed, but I've gotten an update that shows the delivery carrier actually has them.

I just got the email for shipping of the replacement tire kit. Still hasn't shipped. I'm in California. It will be interesting to see what the new tires look like and how quickly they arrive. 

I've been riding my bicycle the whole time and now have about 1750 miles on it. Hopefully I can find a local shop for the replacement. I can easily replace the front tire myself, but I don't really want all the hassle of removing the rear tire.

Yeah, I think you could create storage space under a raised basket.

Have you ever seen the Tales on Two Wheels website? That guy does crazy mods when building e-bikes. He's modified a number of cargo bikes to have a raised deck above the rear rack. I've included a link to a modification to a Surly. I used his instructions on making big bags to design my own side bags. If anything, they're probably too big most of the time.

https://talesontwowheels.com/2021/01/19/add-a-flight-deck-and-a-hangar/

Let me state that I have neither the large basket nor the Ballard Cargo bags. However, I have both a basket and side bags installed on my RW4.

I made a wooden 'I' that bolts on, replacing one of the wooden slabs on the back of the bicycle. I then zip-tied a wire basket on top of this wooden structure. That provides me with enough lift to be able to attach a side bag to the metal tubing of the rack in back, as well as hook some luggage straps to compress the bag.

Finding something to act as a spacer between the basket and the attachment point on the rear rack would probably work. 

I agree with you that Rad didn't really figure these obvious things out. For instance, why isn't the headlight compatible with a front rack? Doesn't anyone at Rad actually use a RW4 to haul a bunch of groceries and other things around?

Where I live, RW4s are quite common. I think it is great that another tire is being made, as the odd wheel/tire size has been the main knock against the RW4.

I'm interested in hearing how these tires do when someone has more mileage on them.

A huge, established brand like Specialized should have much better parts availability and access to local shops if something goes wrong.

I find it a good sign that there's a new tire available for the RW4. After spending a fair amount of effort on building giant rear bags and rigging up baskets, I don't want to have to mess with another cargo bicycle for a while. Having the ability to haul a mess of groceries has really improved my health and made shopping more fun, and I live in a climate where I can ride year round.

The length of the delay (March) doesn't surprise me, unfortunately. They've been slow on getting the tires made. 

Rad really botched this recall. I filled out their form before October and never received anything from Rad confirming they had received my request for new tires. Who is in charge of their customer support? Would it have killed them to send a confirmation email? So I've filled it out again...?

I've got over 1250 miles on the ribbed sidewall tires now, so I'm just being cautious and continuing to use the bicycle. Hopefully they'll survive until the replacement units arrive. The main thing I've done is drop the tire pressure down to between 35-40lbs (was running 50 before) and am cautious about high speed runs going downhill.

Trogster, your new bicycle looks like it should be very nice, but I'd expect it cost a bit more than a RW4. I'd like a lighter/faster runaround e-bike, but the hauling capacity of the RW4 has really been practical for me.   

I bought some square chair/table leg protectors to stop the scratching up the garage floor problem. I've only had them for a short time, so I don't know how durable they'll be. Rad should have put some sort of protector on the kickstand from the start.

I prefer the double-kickstand for loading the bicycle full of groceries, but I can see if you don't need the stability why a lighter option could be good.

Quote from: Stiles on September 20, 2022, 01:35:10 PM
Did anyone get any sort of confirmation email after submitting a request for new tires?

I haven't. I was going to follow up, but I have a suspicion they haven't sent them out yet. I was getting a lot of promotional emails and they've gone silent since the tire email.

Quote from: Radio Runner on September 04, 2022, 10:36:43 PM
Hmmm? I'll go out on a limb and say a major redesign is happening. Poor decision to ever use a non standard wheel size. This has been an issue with almost every bike manufacturer to try doing something "fresh". When it comes to tire supply you stay with what is standard. There is a reason XtraCycle choose 20" as the rear wheel.

This is an interesting idea. I could see the RW5 having 20" tires; they could potentially drop the rear rack height even lower.

However, the RW4 has been extremely popular. Where I live, it isn't unusual to see multiple RW4s in the wild when I go on a five mile ride. Those riders are going to still want tires. Making a 22" tire that doesn't pop under normal conditions isn't a major technological hurdle. Rad better get it right this time.

My tires are subject to this recall. I've got just over 1000 miles on them in under a year. Mostly short trips.

I'm not carrying a kid on the bicycle, but I still use it often for shopping trips and short distance commuting. I guess I'm going to monitor the tires and risk it until the replacements arrive. I'll reduce my speed on downhill runs.

I knew that the odd tire size was a risk, but my concerns were allayed by the huge number of Radwagon 4s I see in my town. I hope this is resolved fairly quickly.