Radcity ebike how to#
Radcity ebike full#
Radcity ebike plus#

It has a comfortable design, plenty of power, and a multitude of mounting points for things such as baskets and child seats.

Radcity ebike plus#

My bike might be ugly as sin with all the wires and clutter of a BBSHD kit all over it, but it's like a reliable old modded Jeep or F150 farm truck and way more bike than a ready to ride Trek/Bosch ebike.For the vast majority of riders, the Rad Power RadCity 5 Plus will be the best electric bike. Yeah, that's up there with a brand new Trek/Bosch ebike, but my DIY bike will totally smoke those in total power, range, speed and cargo capacity and it's going to last a lot longer because I can do all of my own repair work. Good touring bags range from like $50 to $200 each. Good touring grade cargo racks are like 150 new. The same BBSHD kit and battery is like $1500-1800. Just a brand new ready to ride Trucker is like $2k before taxes right now. If I had to build my current Surly Trucker + BBSHD setup from scratch at retail prices including all the racks, bags, accessories, lights, good rims and tires and so on it would probably push 4k to 4.5k USD.

Radcity ebike how to#

You can build a DIY ebike on a sturdy old steel MTB or touring frame picked up for super cheap prices and easily compete with the price of DTC ebikes, but that takes work and bike wrenching skills and how to build or restore a bike from a totally bare frame and fork and then put a good DIY kit on it.Īnd even with skills, a good steel DIY ebike can easily end up costing like $2-3k USD. It's just the reality and limits of bicycles. It's not actually an elitist thing at all.

Radcity ebike full#

Decent analog bikes start at like $1000 now, and if you're getting a full ready to ride ebike for that price they're cutting corners all over the place. This is why all of us old school analog bike nerds have been warning people about all of these affordable $1000-1500 USD DTC BSOs (bike shaped objects) for years now. At best they're built for light duty commuting with very light cargo loads like lunch and a change of clothes. They aren't designed for cargo-capable car replacements.

Unfortunately we're going to be seeing a lot more posts about frame failure because so many affordable DTC ebike companies are using the cheapest aluminum frames they can source and people are pushing them to their limits with cargo, heavy rider weights and modding/boosting them for faster than stock speeds. Aluminum frames really don't like the stress of cargo and ebike power. I personally ride steel because I have had several aluminum frames fail on me in the last 15+ years, especially due to cargo loads with the additional stress of an ebike as well as being a heavy rider. No headset, no components, no wheels, no brakes, no components at all - nothing. The handful of companies left that are making new steel frames mainly cater to the bike touring, adventure cycling and 'all road' segment of the bike industry, which is companies like Surly, All City, Crust, Rivendell and a few others.Īnd the MSRP for brand new bare frame/fork sets for something like a Surly Trucker is about $900 USD just for the bare frame. There's only a handful of companies left still making new steel frames and they don't generally make ready to ride ebikes. Most entry/mid level analog bikes in general use aluminum now, too. If you have an ebike link, message the admin to have it added here. forum Ebike battery life estimatorĮstimate how long your battery will last Friends: With video too! EBike Schoolįree information designed to help beginners learn about the world of electric bicycles. Electric Bike ReviewĬomprehensive reviews of many of the commercially available ebikes.

What more could you ask for? Ī good source for reviews, information, and insights into the community. The accurate, helpful, and laboriously constructed using real world testing. Electricbike-BlogĪ great source of technical information for kit builders, often relating to electric fatbike builds.

Oh, and they love helping people build interesting contraptions. The huge user base ranging from highly experienced engineers to casual DIYers means you'll likely find the answer to your question. Other lightweight electric vehicles are welcomed too :) Subreddit rules Seller guidelines Wiki sections Wiki main page (kit intro info, sources, FAQ) Installing BBSHD and BBS02 mid drives Comparative list of prebuilt ebikes Ebike friendly local bike shops Ebike brands to avoid Useful links Electric bicycle laws Endless-sphere forum All things electric bikes from motorcycles to pedal assist.