A lot of the roads I ride on have a speed limit for cars of 25mph.  It would really be nice if my bike would go 25 instead of 20mph. I think it would be safer, too.  It almost seems like my bike controls the speed,  Say I was using the throttle and going 20mph, and then started pedaling hard in a high gear; shouldn't I be able to exceed 20?  Barely.  Anyway, it might be harder with a RadCity 5+, but if anyone knows how to tinker with this, I'd appreciate it!

I just got my RadCity 5+  and I absolutely love it!  It's beautiful and works wonderfully. 

I did get confused about a couple of things, though.  Apparently the RadPower owner's manual, the website and even their videos have not been updated yet to reflect how the RadCity5+ is different from earlier versions. 

BATTERY BALANCING: I first really learned - in an online public forum - about the importance of balancing the battery when the ebike is new, and after certain periods of time later. I was surprised that I didn't remember seeing anything about it in the section on "battery information" in my owners' manual.

I looked further and under number 9. "Enjoy Your Ride!" in a list of 10 in a separate leaflet I got called "Congratulations," it said "Read up on battery balancing - those important first three charges - in the owner's manual."

I didn't see anything about this in the owners' manual. In fact, in the manual I read, "we recommend you disconnect the battery from the power source and charger as soon as possible once charging is complete.... This will also prevent range decline from unnecessary charging."

I ended up writing to Customer Support and was told that the new "semi-integrated" battery does NOT require balancing.
There are so many different recommendations online - some conflicting - about how and when and how long to charge your battery, that it can be confusing. I think it's important that you put all the information about battery care - including balancing - in one place in the owners' manual.

KEY:  The information I had said that there was a key to turn the bike on and off.  There isn't.  The key is just used to detach the battery.  That's kind of a big difference.

I'm sure RadPower will catch up and update their manual and online videos to reflect these things.

Quote from: sc00ter on December 30, 2021, 08:07:45 PM
...Whats weird is when I was a kid mopeds didn't require helmets, and all us kids had a moped by the semi-illegal age of 14. And all our mopeds hit 30mph minimum, modded they would do 45mph. A bunch of us kids were out street racing and one of our gang went down,  obviously without a helmet. He was in a hospital induced coma for a week! I bought a glitter blue helmet at a yard sale a few days later and wore it all the time! Everyone else in our 'ped club got helmets as well. Don't worry, our friend recovered.

Yeah, especially those of us who are now "middle-aged" or older; we did a lot of dangerous, boneheaded things when we were young, and I often wonder where the hell my parents were when we were doing them!  Back in the 1960s, my brothers got a mini-bike (I didn't get one and wasn't allowed to drive it because I'm a girl.  I'm still working through this...).  It was the kind of thing you got in a box and assembled.  The fun part was that we lived up a long, steep hill AND the mini-bike didn't have brakes.  You put down your feet to slow and stop it.  Except for the time my brother and I were on it, heading down the hill and suddenly realized we were both barefoot.  In that case, we stopped it by running it into a ditch.  I don't remember there being even any such thing as bike helmets in those days!

Happy New Year, everybody!

I keep reading - from various sources - about battery maintenance and charging; some very specific recommendations about when, how often and how much to charge, etc.  Sometimes there is a difference of opinion (though I trust the knowledge of people on this thread.)  I am still waiting for somebody to tell me that none of it matters, that ebike batteries are designed to compensate for any charging "mistakes" owners make.  My guess is that the majority of ebike riders out there just go out and ride and then leave the battery on the charger until it's full or even until they go out for the next ride.  Or just charge it when it runs out. 

My biggest question is why the advice about balancing the battery is not included in the owner manual, or even on a separate sheet of paper when you receive your bike.  I happened to see it mentioned in the forum somewhere before I got my bike and then had to dig a little bit to find the instructions on the site. 

My bike just arrived and I'm looking for a helmet, too.  I just know it's important that it have MIPS rating.  I want a helmet that sits lower on my head than a regular bicycle helmet, for more protection.  Waiting for advice about brands to try.

So a New York Kryptonite lock would probably be adequate for pretty good protection of the bike.  Do people steal the bike batteries and what is the best way to secure them?  I'm also interested in the GPS tracker idea, for finding your bike if it's stolen.

I have been (im)patiently waiting for my RadCity to arrive, and it is due tomorrow!  That's good because it's supposed to snow on Saturday and it's been cold, waiting out on the porch all night.    I am hoping I will be able to go on rides now with my husband who rides a "regular" bike 35 miles every morning.  Run errands and do grocery shopping on this thing.  Eventually, I'd like to plan out a long-distance tour on my ebike.  If anybody has links to blogs by people who have done this, I'd be interested.  Anyway, howdy!

At some point, someone is going to develop a solar charger for ebikes that is smaller, lighter weight and works better.  That is going to be huge, because then you could actually do some distance touring without depending on charging stops!