3 ms·
I've a friend with an electric Specialized, and while his bike looks cooler my Rad is faster, half the price, with much better millage, and I can still hang it
by darzu 4y ago
I've a friend with an electric Specialized, and while his bike looks cooler my Rad is faster, half the price, with much better millage, and I can still hang it from the wall in my apt.
One thing I've noticed is that pretty much every established bike company is placing the motor on the pedal crank, whereas Rad uses a much bigger (750w in my case) in-wheel hub motor. The acceleration with a hub motor is so much better and doesn't depend on what gear I'm in.
- jeffbee 4y agoWhat do you mean about hanging on the wall? One of the things you are getting for your $5k from Specialized is light weight. They have ebikes down to 34 pounds, about half what a radrunner weighs.
- darzu 4y agoYes, the Specialized is much lighter. I mention still being able to hang the bike because that's the situation where I notice the extra weight the most. If I couldn't, it would have been a deal breaker for me.
- enragedcacti 4y agomid-drives are usually a higher-end option for more serious recreational riding where predictability and responsiveness is more important than raw acceleration or long range. Basically the goal of the mid-drive is to make you feel like you are riding an analog bike but as a much more fit rider. Sending the power from the bottom bracket helps to keep you and the motor in sync, balances the weight distribution, keep unsprung/rotating weight low, etc. and the small battery keeps the bike light and maneuverable. > The acceleration with a hub motor is so much better and doesn't depend on what gear I'm in. I have a 750 watt radbike and I always find this a little bit bothersome in that I end up in situations where I feel like I'm being dragged forward when I don't want to be because my cadence got just a little bit too fast and the motor starts dumping power. I end up treating the pedal assist as another set of gearing to manage so it doesn't start giving me too much power when I am pedalling in a low gear. Higher end hub drives and pretty much all mid-drives solve this by using a torque sensor so the motor responds to the wattage you are putting down rather than the cadence.
- JKCalhoun 4y agoI'm not a fan of hub motors. I don't like that much "sprung" weight on the wheel.
- jeffbee 4y agoThe one thing they have going for them is true silence.