After living with my Radster Trail for three weeks (125 miles) now, I can confidently say that it was a great purchase for me.  I'm trying to cut down on driving my SUV that gets 20 mpg and save myself about $6/day.  Door to door in the car is 16 minutes and that time is doubled to 32 minutes when riding the Radster Trail.  I have a Lectric One that's supposed to be here before the end of the month and that will become my designated commuter while the Radster Trail becomes the "fun" bike in the house.

Usage: Riding around the neighborhood and nearby gravel roads; commute to work (10.5 miles each way)

Strengths:

• The large bike has great ergonomics for me, a 6'1 guy weighing 250 lbs.
• My partner, who is 5'7', will fit on the bike as well comfortably.
• The contact points are all comfortable.
• The rear turn signals are visible to motorists.
• Tires grip well on the road and gravel trails.  There are a few gravel patches on my commute to work and I can ride through them without fear of traction breaking.
• The build quality is really nice!  I like the color, the welds are solid, and I've heard no creaking or squeaks to date.
• On my commute, there is an incline and the bike handles it well.  I drop the gearing down and can easily maintain 12 mph up a 10 percent grade.
• Level surfaces are cake.  It's easy to maintain 24 mph and not feel like you're working too hard.

To Be Improved:

• Not necessarily a fault of the bike, but I can't use the large rear basket because it hits my tailbone.  That got returned right away.
• Seat post keep slipping down about an inch every 10 miles.  It's a quick adjust, but I wish it stayed in place.  I've bought some carbon fiber assembly gel to apply and hopefully that resolves the issue.
• A couple of days ago I got a flat tire.  Could be a one-off event, but it always makes me nervous when I have a new bike or motorcycle and I get a flat tire within the first hundred miles.  I put some flat-out in the tire and have been solid for the past 20 miles.
• As a bike meant for uneven surfaces, the chain bounces up and down, leaving gunk on the pretty green surface.  I've put some clear 3M on some places, but keep finding new contact points.  A simple rubber or silicone chainstay protector should be included with the bike.
• Front turn signals on a bicycle would be a great addition given that I'm sharing the road with cars and make four left turns on the way in to work.

This one matches Rad specs.  48V (54.6V peak or "float" voltage) 2A 13S (13 cells in series = nominal 48V):

https://www.amazon.com/DC-1Prong-5-5x2-1mm-Universal-Radrover-Interceptor/dp/B0753C35N8/ref=pd_bxgy_d_sccl_1/133-9484705-2351350?pd_rd_w=VTv1y&content-id=amzn1.sym.4e8180d8-1c12-4df8-af99-b6dc78fc0026&pf_rd_p=4e8180d8-1c12-4df8-af99-b6dc78fc0026&pf_rd_r=A4CB87TKTZVN9WH99QYA&pd_rd_wg=WvbbW&pd_rd_r=e87f863c-b5cc-4306-87dc-80037fab3830&pd_rd_i=B0753C35N8&psc=1

Quote from: jimu on May 19, 2024, 08:51:04 AMYou could run into a problem using them in national parks.

I have heard that... just not experienced it as we tend to travel in the towns and cities.

Quote from: JimInPT on May 15, 2024, 01:53:44 PMNot a fan of talking beavers; it's always surprising and off-putting.

I'm quite the fan of talking beavers... especially when they are friendly.

Quote from: Geoffrad on May 16, 2024, 11:16:47 AM... As i read the manual i see that it is probably best to use a RAD charger because it is designed and optimized for the RAD battery. SO i am buying the $70 one from RAD, i guess, if i have to...

That may be your safest bet.
I have a Benchmark electric mower and a Radley drill & impact driver. Both take batteries that look the same, and have the same voltage and Ah spec. They can fit in each other's chargers, but they won't charge. If you swap chargers, one says it's a defective battery, the other doesn't even "see" that there's a battery. The Benchmark battery works in the drill, but the Radley batteries won't run the mower.
I suspect that the BMS and/or the chargers have some kind of chip that prevent mixing the brands, possibly out of safety concerns, or possibly just to force you into brand loyalty. (As it happens, Radley and Benchmark are both house brands of the same company, Radley being the budget brand.)

I have no idea if any brand of ebike battery and/or charger does anything like this, but you never know, unless it specifically says "this charger is compatible with this these batteries ...".

You could run into a problem using them in national parks.

Quote from: Banjopete on April 28, 2024, 08:02:17 AMI'd start there with an multimeter and a coffee.

I agree with this, I see CrappyTire puts it on sale frequently. A simple multimeter will help you isolate where to concentrate your troubleshooting.

How is your riding style? Do you use mainly the throttle? Granted I have very little experience with an e-bike but I assume it will take a lot of effort to burn up a motor.

I may be misreading it but you said you hired a professional to install the upgrade. Therefore when they were done I assumed everything worked fine.

Now that I have a few kms riding my City+, I can comment regarding the hills of Burnaby. I grew up near the Royal Oak hills. And I used to work near BCIT on Canada Way. I have ridden my bicycle on those hills a lot. I now lives in Calgary and have ridden hills comparable to Burnaby and I must say that they are doable with the combination of PAS and the right gearing. I do not mean to compare myself to you but I said it to help understand where the problem is. There is a big area to troubleshoot between the battery and motor.

I liked the guys suggestions to an 80 year old rider re: hills.

Quote from: JoeUtah on February 11, 2021, 08:25:07 AMSitka glad to hear you're still riding at 80!!! As one of the early Rad Riders since 2017 I must tell you that unfortunately the Rad Rover is not a powerful off road hill climber, the hub drive motor cannot compete with mid-drives on the hills. That said I have taken my Rad to some high places which required lots of pedal assist from me with eventually using the "walk assist" function. I'll offer up my best advice to reach the summit and not fry the Bafang rear hub motor (easily done if overheated).

1.Always use the lowest gear! Take your time and enjoy the experience.
2.Any pedal assist from YOU is beneficial and almost mandatory, using throttle alone will overheat on steep hills.
3.When you do use throttle, watch your display, if you are exceeding 500 watts under full load and bogging down, the internal hub is heating up and bye bye motor.
4.When it gets real steep, get off and use the walk function.
5.What goes up must come down. Steep downhills on the way back can literally be your downfall, lower seat and make sure you periodically adjust your breaks (very easy to do with the mechanical, its just a turn of the allen wrench.)

why not use extensions? they are available.

Share a screenshot of your settings- I'm happy with mine but am curious to see what you did. Thanks!

For sale: Brand new condition Rad Rover 6 plus step through controller. This is NOT compatible with the High Step model as the motor cable is too short (the reason I'm selling it). Still in original unopened package- unused and currently untested but buyer can have a live video chat with me showing them it works else they can get a full refund. I'm Eumops-Calls on EBay with a 100% score for references.  Regular Paypal only (it has buyer/seller guarantee, and I'm paying their fee).

$125 shipped to Con US.