Rad Power Bikes Radster Trail Review | Is A Mid-Fat Tire The Way To Go?
This is the radster trail from rad power bikes it’s the latest fat tire ebike from a brand that’s been in the ebike business for over 17 years now it’s got some really cool new battery Tech and an allnew 750 W Motor with 100 newm of torque so what does over 17 years of
Experience and a fresh new look bring to the table for the radster trail take a ride with me and let’s find out hey there friends and welcome back to electric bike report I’m Mike and before we get started look we get it ebike prices are what they are and buying one
Is a big decision so if you can appreciate these reviews and the consistent testing we do on our ebikes to share this important data with you go ahead and like this video to tell the YouTube overlords that people are enjoying our content so more people just like you can get the information before
Their next big ebike purchase so with that out of the way let’s jump into what makes the radster trail stand out so one of my favorite things to do when we get a new bike in for testing is to run online and check out all the specs is it
Fast what kind of motor does it have does it look cool you know the important stuff I was pumped to see that not only did the radster look cool but their latest motor release in this bike was what they call Rad tuned with a torque sensor which is already awesome but also
With a beefy 100 newon meters of torque that’s a lot of muscle on this bike and can only add to its overall performance and can we all just agree we love Tor ebikes I mean they just make everything more fun when you’re riding a bike so
How did it perform in our Hill test well we’ll get to that in just a few minutes and from my rides this week on the radster I can personally say it did not disappoint so stay tuned to see those numbers into the speed range and Hill
Test and that would take me to my next point it just looks good now like you we can all agree not all ebikes are created equal when it comes to the cool Factor right some are just plain oddl looking but when we look at the radster trail
Here it just looks good the new colors the tan sidewalls on the Kendra 27 A2 Offroad tires heck even all the commuter perks like the rear rack with bag bars fenders a sun tour Sr suspension fork and of course turn signals and frankly I wish more bikes would give turn signals
Like the rad did here it’s just one of those really practical commuting perks for those of you who like me commute in traffic to work and finally a huge upgrade in the safety department check this out well we should start by applauding the folks at rad power for
Even having a bike battery that’s ul2271 certified because not all manufacturers do but rad took it a step further in a big way with their latest battery design on this new 15 amp 720w battery Red Power bikes now has added what they coined as safe shield Advanced Battery Technology and
This safe shield Tech is a big step even further into ebike battery fire protection measures so what’s that really mean well in simple terms it means that each individual battery cell is encased in a fire resistant thermal barrier that ultimately makes the battery more efficient better protected against damage and more importantly
Deescalate serious issues by isolating each cell so there isn’t a domino effect should one of them heat up basically this is the same technology that’s already in electric vehicles and it’s now in the radster trail it just shows you a serious safety commitment by Rad Power by going the extra mile and we
Hope to see this as an industry standard in the years to come okay while there’s still plenty of cool new features to talk about those were the big three that stuck out the most to US during testing now I’ll run through the rest of the radster trail specs before we dive into
The testing data the radster trail came equipped with tekro E350 hydraulic disc brakes with 180 mm rotors it’s a fairly middle of the road choice but we found it to produce pretty consistent and solid results now there is suspension on the radster trail in the form of a
Suntour Sr front hydraulic Fork that has 80 mm of travel this bike comes in two sizes a regular and the large the folks at rad power say the regular size frame will fit Riders ranging from 411 to 58 and the large will fit Riders between 57
And 64 there are two color options here we have the copper red and there’s also a fur green to pick from up in the cockpit you have a lowrise BMX style handlebar on the left you have the Pas control buttons along with a power button and display menu controls and the
Turn signal buttons in the center is the full color LCD display where you can check out your speeds odometer pedal assist levels and even lesser scen things like the remaining range estimation and your current wattage usage over on the right is the grip twist throttle and Shimano 8-speed
Shifter and speaking of the cockpit display in the menu you can easily switch between classes 1 2 and three and even more specifically you can set your class 3 to be speed capped at either 25 or 28 mph which depending on where you live could be a nice feature and finally
In a time where everything is kind of hard to tell what each ebike is these days whether that’s hybrids emtbs commuters utilities it’s all kind of hard to tell right they seem to do a little bit of each if we had to classify what type of bike this is we’d call it a
Fat tire ebike mostly due to its 3-in tires as we consider anything 3 in or above to be that threshold for a fat tire ebike but beyond this classification this bike can be summed up in just one word versatility so with all those specs out of the way let’s jump into to our
Testing data all right to give you guys accurate data on braking we use a consistent approach for every bike we review we have the same Rider conduct a brake test by accelerating the bike to 20 M hour and then applying the brakes at a predetermined line and then we measure
That distance needed for the bike to come to a complete stop and to ensure accurate results we repeat this test three times and then we take the average stopping distance from those three runs with the radster trail we got a score of 21 F 8 in and that’s a pretty solid
Number for any ebike and it’s well under our 25 ft safe stop threshold so once again we see the tekro E350 hydraulic disc brakes paired to 180 mm rotors giving reliable stopping power and with that I personally put about 60 M on the bike this week in real world conditions
Where I had a couple unexpected stops and true to the reputation of the Tetro e350s the bike always stopped safely every time I asked it to and I never had any concerns with braking so with that let’s move on to the speed test all right when it comes to our
Speed test the radster trail really let its motor do the talking I tested each of its five pedal assist settings in both Class 2 and class 3 across all five levels of pedal assist on our local multi-use paths so let’s see how it did all right we’re out here on the radster
Trail and it’s time for our speed test so we’ll go through all five levels of pedal assist and see what kind of assist assistance we get from the motor now this motor is a torque sensor so it’s important to note that the harder I pedal or the more feedback I give to
Pedals then that tells the torque sensor to give me more juice and more power so I try to keep it really even and consistent in my pedaling to give a good middle ground but just know that lighter pedaling will get lower speeds and harder pedaling will get faster speeds
Even quicker so with that in mind let’s jump up to level one and see what we get we’re currently about 8.8 and now let’s go to level one very subtle slight bump in the motor looks like 95 10 m hour 102 for level one let’s go to level
Two and that one definitely has a little punch in it we’re at 114 12 and let’s go to level three and now we are definitely picking up a little bit I see 145 15 152 all right level four and now we’re up over 17 18 182 all right level
Five and that’s going to quickly get us up to 20 M an hour maybe so the 20 on the speedometer looks like 196 on the phone so there you go class two speeds met all right out here on the rer trail for the speed test but this time in
Class three so that can carry us up to 28 mph uh with no pedal assist I’m currently at around high8 maybe 9 M hour 8 and 1 half n so let’s go to level one and there is a slight bump up to 10 m hour 99 102 so let’s go to level
Two and now we are up to 13 136 137 let’s go to level three and now we are up to 16 17 7 18 179 I saw this go to level four now we are cruising up over 20 218 level five now we are 26 27 woo
28 so this is a torque sensor I definitely had to give it more Sweat Equity you know leg muscle work on my end but With a Little Help from the motor and my legs no problem reaching the class 3 speeds of 28 all right in
Class two I going to do the same thing we’re in pedal assist 5 we’re going to see how long it takes to go from a dead stop using throttle only to get to 20 M hour on your mark get set go and we are off pretty quickly already at 12 15
18 20 all right so pretty fast beginning with Pas deactivated so Pas zero I pedal the bike by leg power alone and tried to keep a relaxed pace my average speed to start on leg power was about 9 M hour kicking things off in
Class 2 I AC ated pas1 and felt a very subtle bump and assistance that brought my speed up to 10.2 mph as I climbed through each level of pedal assistance my speed increased at an even Pace to 12.4 mph in pas2 15.2 in Pas 3 18.2 in
Pas4 19.6 in pas5 next I changed it to class 3 through the bike’s LCD display menus and yet again pas1 reached 10.2 mph and as I went through the remaining levels I saw speeds of 13.7 in pas2 17.9 in pas3 21.8 in pas4 and finally 28 mph in
Pas5 the way the motor is set up in either Class 2 or class 3 mode is well done good acceleration from point to point and each mode feels distinct you can genuinely get good use out of all five levels in either Class 2 or class 3
And not a lot of bikes manage that well it’s also worth mentioning here being that the bike has a torque sensor in theory your results May Vary a torque sensor measures the amount of force I am applying to the pedals so if I pedal harder it delivers more assistance and
On the flip side if I give less leg power it backs off and gives a less pedal assistance torque sensor and hub motor combos are becoming more common they provide better battery efficiency and a more natural ride feel when done right the feel element can range from
Loosey Goosey to pretty dialed in and the rad here felt like it was on the better end of that delivering speeds when I pushed harder it felt easy to to find just the right speed I also like the drivetrain I found the radster trails 8-speed Shimano to have a
Practical range of Gears that worked well from pas0 manual pedaling all the way up to 28 mph speeds the 50t chain ring paired to the 11 to 34t cassette was a solid Choice overall these results were very solid the radster trail not only boasts big torque numbers but lives
Up to its Class 2 and class 3 classifications having no trouble reaching both class speeds with smooth and even power throughout all five levels all right now to answer one of those burning questions on everyone’s mind for this radster Trail is how far will it go on a single charge well we
Hit the trails and have the data to share for the range test we run it in two sections first we charge up the radster trail to 100% and hit the road in the lowest Pas setting this time pas1 and we see how far it will go then we
Charge it up again in pas5 the highest level ride it again until it’s empty for context the folks over at rad say this bike has a range of up to 65 miles so on the first run in pas1 we managed to ride the bike for a whopping 75.5 mil to help
Put that in perspective that took us over 7 hours at 7 hours 5 minutes averaging 10.2 mph and we climbed a total elevation of 1,638 ft and as you can guess we were impressed that’s more than you typically see on a 720w battery especially on a bike with these wider tires on the
Second run with a freshly recharged battery we covered 34.9 Mi over the course of 1 hour and 53 minutes averaging 18 M an hour and we gained 635 ft in elevation again very solid results overall the radster 720w battery paired to the new rad power 750 W torque
Sensing motor provided to be a great match balancing very solid range range performance with battery efficiency our Hill test is run on our local multi-use path and has been officially named by the city not us hellhole and I’ll let you decide why it’s named that but for some context
It’s a third of a mile long and Carries an average grade of 12% it’s just one of those Hills where you see nearly all cyclists walking their bike up so yeah it’s basically that kind of Hill in order to keep our results consistent we use the same Hill tester Justin for all
Of our Hill tests we run the test in two portions the first is on throttle only letting the motor do 100% of the work where Justin simply steers and observes the performance the second run Justin will activate pas5 and pedal along with the motor to see how the bike Compares between those two
Runs okay we’re out on hellhole and I am very excited to be testing the new rad power bike’s radster Trail now this is a 750 W rear hub motor and rad has stuck to the 750 wats on the max but they’ve increased the torque to 100 newm so
We’re going to see how it goes so right now we’re at 10 m an hour through the steepest section kind of holding solid at 10 down to 9 you can see it is kind of just keeping that 750 W output kind of Maximum right there motor noise is very impressive very
Quiet um can hear it a little bit but not much I actually have a hard time to s tinguishing between the motor and the tires um so 11 mph I’ll let you listen to this motor through this last steep Punchy section here see you notice as we climbed you
Could almost barely hear the motor as we picked up speed it you could hear it a little bit more but very impressed on the motor noise climbing capabilities dropped to 9 miles hour so this I have a feeling this is going to be a decent I don’t know it feels really solid on
Throttle we’ll have to you know check the tape to see how it compares to the Red Rover um and some other pass R but I do think that extra torque is going to help these out so let’s let’s go see the results okay we’re back out now on the
Pedal test with the Rader now one thing that’s a pretty big differen is this one has a torque sensor um so we’re going to see how it goes so far feeling pretty good I’m not pedaling very hard at all down to 14 mph 13 to that section
12 shifted once as all so far D 11 torque sensor feels very smooth and controlled um definitely has more of a natural riding feel as I’m climbing the hill as you can tell I’m not breathing hard I’ll let you listen to this section see I held about 12 13 mph there
Still very natural feeling on that torque sensor I downshifted once shifted very smoothly and overall I can say this is a it’s a pretty easy Hill Climb um yes with the torque sensor you’re going to have to push a little bit but not very much so I think this going to be a
Pretty good result let’s go check the tape okay so as you saw on the first run using throttle only the radster made it up hell hole in just 1 minute and 33 seconds with an average speed of 11.7 mph on the second run when putting some
Leg muscle into the mix along with pas5 the radster trail made it up hell hole again and this time in 1 minute 16 seconds with an average speed of 14.3 mph both of those results represent all-time best for any rad bike we’ve ever received since Justin’s been the sole Hill tester
And bottom line these numbers show the 750 W Motor paired with its 100 newm of torque were more than enough to climb even the meanest Hills here in southern Utah so if you’re looking to use the radster trail in an area with some beastly Hills you can count on the
Radster to get the job done in our final ride let’s take a look at how the radster trail rides and feels we’ll go over the riding position the overall fit the tires and how the motor feels when you’re pedaling it then we’ll head back in here and wrap this
Up all right out here on the radster trail and this is a well the trail version of the radster there’s also a road version but this trail version has some differences it’s got a BMX style handlebar up here and the riding position I’d say is upright however not
As upright as the road version it’s got a little bit slight little bit of a slightly more aggressive posture and there’s no adjustability in the handlebars as far as height goes with the stem but you can loosen the bolts on the clamp for the handlebars and tilt
Them either away from yourself or toward yourself and get a fit that works best for you the seat post is adjustable with almost 9 in of adjustability and when you pair that to the tilt so the handlebars you can really find a fit that works best for you uh-oh looks like
We might had an accident today at the mountain bike park but the bike does have suspension oh and back on the sizing uh rad power bike says this will fit Riders between 57 and 64 I’m kind of right in the middle of that at 5’11 and to me the
Bike feels really good with room to go in either direction whether you’re shorter or taller I think their range is pretty accurate there is suspension on the bike down below we got a sun to Fork that is a hydraulic fork with 80 mm of travel and as you can see I’ve been
Riding on gravel and dirt while I’ve been talking to you guys 10 15 M hour and it’s been smooth doing a good job of eating up the bumps in the road the tires down below are made by Kenda and they’re sized at 27.5 by 3 in which is actually not as
Big as most fat tire bikes go usually they’re like four four and a half but I think that’s a really good balance they’re they have a light MTB tread pattern they got really good looking tan sidewalls and they feel good on and off-road and I think with that 3-in
Width they actually handle better than most 4in tire bikes um the motor is 750 WTS and it is a Cadence excuse me their new torque sensor not a Cadence Sensor and it actually has 700 excuse me 100 newm of torque which is a really good
Amount and it gives you a lot to work with for hill climbing or just getting up to speed quicker the bike bar very confidently accelerates and climbs Hills um overall power delivery with a torque sensor feels really good I mean I’m cruising right now at 18 mph but if
I start pedaling me get to a higher gear here I can feel that torque sensor almost immediately matching my effort if I try a little harder I can feel it give me a little more and if I back off I feel it back off a little bit so their
Rad timed motor with this torque sensor I think feels really really good and probably one of the the most natural feeling ones I’ve rode to date so they did a good job with that all in all the bike is comfortable capable and it’s just a fun bike to take
Around everything from running errands around town to hitting a light off-road Trail the radster trail has been a good bike and so let’s head back inside and wrap this up so as you can see aside from a little tire noise the overall ride quality of the radster trail is
Very good and we like the 3-in Tire Choice over the more commonly seen 4-in Tire it feels a bit livelier in turns but still allows for better overall balance than a thinner Road tire the overall setup from the frame to the fork and tires means you can enjoy some
Off-roading so long as the path isn’t really technical things like light dirt trails around the campground or recreational areas just don’t confuse the suspension fork and tires to mean you can bomb down hardcore mountain bike trails but I think you probably already know that one thing I didn’t go over
Earlier with the LCD display is the key fob which as you can guess is a proximity lock and just an added layer of security for your ebike simply tap the fob near the LCD display when you power on the bike and you’re good to go but remember while the key fob unlocks
The motor in theory someone could still hop on the bike pedal away with no help from the motor so keep that in mind and keep using a bike lock I really like how rad balanced some practical commuter perks into this bike beyond what we normally see sure lots of bikes have
Rear racks but the radster comes with turn signals which is a very nice added feature especially if you’re in traffic every day all right so you might be noticing a theme here and that’s just the overwhelming versatility of the radster trail it just shows from front to back
Sometimes it can be a little challenging to sum up an ebike in just a few thoughts but it’s not with the radster trail I feel like the crew over at rad power knew exactly what they were going for and it shows the newly improved 750 W Motor with torque sensor and 100 NTM
Of torque took us a crazy 75 Mi over the course of 7 hours it’s one of the best hill climbers from the brand yet and still it feels easy to control not to mention the choice of 3in over 4-in tires the full commuter perks including turn signals and even the safe shield
Battery tech the radster trail felt like a refresh take on a fat tire ebike and we think it’s one that many people will enjoy with all that praise we still found a little room for improvement and if I’m being honest it’s a bit nitpicky the current 2 amp charger while
Effective is just slow and love to see at least a 3M charger it’s a solid upgrade that Riders who commute daily and have to charge at work we think will like and we don’t think it’s going to raise prices much if at all and while
The front fender is a nice touch I don’t think it matches the personality of the bike as it’s more of a nod to an emtb style mud Fender and we’d like to see a full front fender that we think most Riders will appreciate more in practicality terms see what I mean these
Are really small complaints bottom line a Cornerstone of the raser trail is versatility it’s a bike that seems built to be ridden for a variety of different ways I genuinely enjoyed my time on the Rader trail and I see this bike having a place in many garages it fits so many
Needs whether you want to commute to the city or hit some mild Trails on the weekends the redster trail has you covered all right folks that’s a wrap for today on the radster trail and if you’re still still here watching hopefully I can convince you to like And
Subscribe before you go so we can keep these lights on and keep these reviews coming we’ll see you next time wo w
For current pricing on the Radster Trail, click the link below:
Radster™ Trail Electric Off-Road Bike
For a full detailed written review of the Radster Trail, click the link below:
Is the Rad Power Radster Trail the ULTIMATE Versatile E-Bike? Full Review + Speed Test
Rad Power Bikes has been in the e-bike world for over 15 years, but the Radster Trail might be their most ambitious ride yet.
In this full Rad Power Radster Trail review, we put it all to the test. We’ll dive deep into the motor’s performance (with a full speed, braking, and range test!), explore that innovative “Safe Shield” battery tech, and see how it handles everything from smooth pavement to bumpy trails.
By the end of this review, you’ll know exactly if the Rad Power Radster Trail is the right e-bike for you. Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe for more in-depth e-bike reviews!
00:00 – Radster Trail Review
00:52 – Radster Trail Overview
06:00 – Radster Trail Brake Test
07:03 – Radster Trail Speed Test
13:30 – Radster Trail Range Test
15:01 – Radster Trail Hill Test
19:27 – Radster Trail Ride Quality
23:59 – Radster Trail Conclusion
#radstertrail #radpowerbikes #electricbikereview
