Considering a fold up

[HDrider]

 We have had full sized Pedego bikes for the last 6 years while fulltime RVing and have had great luck with them, no issues. BUT we are considering switching to fold up bikes so we can start carrying them in our cargo area.
I think my biggest concern is wheel size and ride, we don't do a lot of real off road stuff so maybe my concerns are for not but how does everyone feel about mild trails and the smaller wheels? My current bike is 28" and my wife's is 26"
Oh, new to the forum. 

[SemperVee]

  We have both 26 and 20 inch wheel RAD's and YES, lifetime MC rider.
   
    The folding Mini is a hoot to ride and benefits from more torque from the same sized motor by the sole virtue of being smaller wheels.
The smaller wheels make the steering quicker than the 26 inch wheels but that is also from the rake of the forks being directly below.

Not hard getting use to considering the benefits of  and if you don't know any different
   

[JimInPT]

Hey, welcome to the forum!

I've had a Mini Step-Thru since March and absolutely love it, especially my knees.  Have tweaked and accessorized it to my preferences; the biggest functional improvements have been the Cloud 9 seat (there are many styles, this is the 5th seat I tried, like buying shoes) and a Redshift suspension post to help smooth out the bumps on road and trail.

I don't fold mine, but I think you'd get a lot of benefit from watching this video of RV travelers who do, with two Minis and totes:  https://youtu.be/98AhtVkH7RQ

I usually end up on horse or bike trails, since I'm surrounded by them, and the MiniST handles them just fine, even with the non-knobby stock tires.  It's not meant for full-blown mountain-biking trails, but as long as you're not crashing around with it, trails are no problem at all.  I highly-recommend these smaller-size bikes for the narrow, tight trails I like to ride as well.

I'm about 5'8" and fit the bike just fine; watch a few YT vids on the Mini and you'll see tall people like 6'1" CitizenCycle do fine with it as well, although that's his wife's bike and he has a souped-up Rover for himself.  If you're on a 28" wheel now you'll notice the difference immediately, but I bet you get used to, and like, 20" very quickly, especially if you plan to fold and stow it.

If you're thinking of two new bikes from Rad, now is the time - you can get $300 off a pair of Minis (which were already reduced by $200 each this summer) until Nov 29th IIRC (that would make each one $350 less than I paid, and a screaming deal), and please check out Ryan's link to Rad bikes below, to help this forum with a little kickback to him at no cost to you if you decide to purchase.

P.S.  if HDrider means H-D, yay for you.  Have a '97 Fat Boy in the garage alongside my MiniST.

[HDrider]

 Thanks for those replies. I have one more question. I test rode a Lectric fold up of a friends and I had to at least have the pedal assist on one in order for the throttle to work, it it the same on the Rad? On our Pedego's we can have the pedal assist on 0 and the throttle will still work.

Thanks again

[JimInPT]

The throttle is available at any PAS setting, all the time, but I believe there's an optional setting to turn it off at PAS 0; I just can't remember if that's available with the factory controller or is only available in the 35A upgrade controller from Bolton and elsewhere.  (I have one of those on order but won't receive it until Jan or Feb)  Anyway, out of the box the throttle is always available IIRC.  I'd go test it for you right now just to make sure I'm remembering accurately, but it's 46F, raining hard and dark so prolly not the best time to head out.  These are the conditions I recall when I see e-bike ads claiming it'll replace my car ....... yeah, sure.

Hopefully somebody else will drop in to this thread to confirm or refute my ever-aging memory.

[HDrider]

Thanks Jim. I think we are about ready to pull the trigger on two. I just have to wonder if there might be some sort of Black Friday deal ready to pop up. Hard to say.

[JimInPT]

Thanks Jim. I think we are about ready to pull the trigger on two. I just have to wonder if there might be some sort of Black Friday deal ready to pop up. Hard to say.

You're very welcome.

IIRC, the $300 discount for two bikes is available until Nov 29th, past most BF sale announcements, but please check the Rad website to be sure.  If that's the case, I think it's unlikely they'd offer additional BF deals on top of that - perhaps as an alternative, for free accessories or something, but remember the Minis were $1,499 at this time last year and now with the price cut and discounts until end of the month, they're about $1,150 each for a pair and it's possible it may be a "while supply lasts" conditional offer as well (again, check with Rad).  On top of that, waiting a bit longer might put you in a future delivery batch of shipping containers, so be sure to check their estimated delivery date on the bike's page(s).  Take that with a grain of salt, though; mine was quoted about 6 weeks out and showed up in 5 days, actually causing me a bit of a headache as I was in the process of moving and had factored the 6 weeks into that.

On the other hand, the $200 discounted price was supposed to expire at the end of August; instead of that happening, they made it permanent, at least for the current Mini models.  So there's a possibility of a wildcard, but the current 2-fer deal is pretty amazing.  Even so, I like mine enough to have zero regrets about paying $1,450 for my MiniST back in March - I had a great spring/summer riding period of fun and useful transportation and won't be riding much until March or so when the weather begins to warm up a bit.

Bottom line?  If you've made a decision to buy, I wouldn't wait, maybe a few days to push the billing into the next credit-card cycle or something if that's a factor. 

BTW, have you watched that RV-stowage video?  If so, did that address your folding questions?

Oh, one more BTW, below is a pic of mine (click on thumbnail to embiggen it), tricked out a bit with stuff I added; I don't think the step-thru model is "girlie" at all (before I ordered, I had a few fleeting thoughts of "Shriner" or "circus clown" which disappeared the day I got it because it's definitely not a tiny bike), and is fantastic if you have joint problems or don't want to swing a leg over a back rack with a big box on it or something.  I can vouch for the ST frame being as tough as nails in design and fabrication as well; the mechanical-engineer in me is very satisfied in that regard.  Personally, I see no reason to buy the stepover regular Mini unless you've really got to have it in black or really like the looks better.

Good luck!

Oh, one more thing - this just doesn't stop, does it?  I just checked out the throttle for you at 0 PAS setting - it works fine from a dead stop at PAS 0 and no pedaling, as I thought.  So you're good. 

There is also a little known walk-along feature in these bikes - hold down the down-arrow PAS button for about 5 seconds and the bike will roll forward under power at a brisk-walking pace as long as you hold down the button.  Useful for walking the bike when not sitting on it, so you don't have to push it manually up ramps into trailers, with a flat tire, etc.  Less risky than using the throttle off-bike, where an accidental overtwist might send the bike off on its own short-lived unmanned adventure.

[HDrider]

 That's a great looking bike you have there Jim and once again thanks for the information. I found a fella in the RV park we are currently in that has a Rad and he let us ride it. Nice bike for sure. I felt like I had to lean forward a bit so I would certainly have to do something about the handlebar situation with my somewhat bad neck But I see that people have changed out handlebars so that shouldn't be earth shattering.
I'm sort of researching the Espin Nesta as well and only because of possible power differences, it's not uncommon for us to do 50 mile rides on our current Pedego's (not using power all the time of course) and we want to make sure by switching bikes we don't loose that option.
But like I said, the riding posture ,y be our stumbling block right now.

[HDrider]

 OR, I saw a video where they reversed the handlebar stem or bracket which would maybe be the best option for me and my wife. Any thoughts on that?

[crorris]

I wanted my handlebars on my Rad Rover 5 higher and more forward. I installed this. You should be able to use it and turn it around to move them closer.

https://amzn.to/3x6kYT6

[JimInPT]

OR, I saw a video where they reversed the handlebar stem or bracket which would maybe be the best option for me and my wife. Any thoughts on that?

I was able to adjust the stock bar height to fit without any issues.  As crorris said, there are some options for you to pull them back; you'll probably be limited a bit by the cable lengths, but there is some slack in them even with the stock bars at max height, more slack if they're not at full height of course.

[SemperVee]

OR, I saw a video where they reversed the handlebar stem or bracket which would maybe be the best option for me and my wife. Any thoughts on that?

  I know you HD guys....   "Ya need some "Ape Hangers"... LOL

[HDrider]

 LOL,,, I could handle some ape hangers but I'm more of as beach bar rider LOL!!! I think my wife has decided with the handlebar options you guys have mentioned the Rad MIni is going to be right for her. I need to decided now between the Rad Mini and the Espin Nesta.   

[JimInPT]

I need to decided now between the Rad Mini and the Espin Nesta.

I've never heard of the Nesta, so I went to their webpage and am having some trouble seeing the advantages or value over the Rad Mini.  I like the look and it's very similar in design from all appearances (the handlebar stem looks identical, but can't be sure without a closeup photo), but more expensive and almost 30% less battery capacity.  And don't forget your wife's bike would be $150 more without the buy-2 discount.  One other lesser feature; if you and your wife have the same bike (or at least same brand), one of you could go on a longer solo ride by taking the other bike's battery with you.

Is it the appearance of the Nesta, or the geometry would be a better fit for you - what am I missing?

[HDrider]

 Decision made and order placed,, 2 Rad Mini's. Let the wait begin. I guess I may as well start ordering parts, suspension seat post, new seat, rear luggage rack, handlebar riser with offset, saddlebags ect.
Thanks for the comments and help.