Ii am the proud owner of one of these fine bikes. I have owed three of rad brands. Two rad runners, and now a 5 expand. I love my expand. It has taken me where others fear to go. I am sorry to hear of your miss hap. I would buy another 5 expand and tell others it is the best in its class. I hope Rad reaches out to you and the two of you can come to happy meeting place.
Hey... I just assembled one of these for my mother and there isn't an concern at all with the stem or riser securement top or bottom... Twist test is a pass. I can move the handle bars, but it's well within a reasonable amount of force. Are you absolutely certain these bars rotated on you and didn't actually push forward or pull backwards instead? Are you sure the off center bars were not a result of the crash? These things can happen quickly and more often than not, bars get turned a bit when you take a fall. Be happy they do, landing on a rigid handle bar that isn't willing to rotate from your rider weight falling on them is a good recipe for a big injury. 1. I agree the brakes are underpowered for the weight of this machine. I noticed this immediately and am hoping that they may 'break in' a little. Yours shouldn't be making noise and screaming at unless they're contaminated. Are you sure the pads are installed correctly? Even $1000 hydraulic Shimano brakes while howl if they're contaminated, but they should still bring you to a stop immediately. 2. I can't tell in the video how hard you're pulling on the bars side to side for the 'twist' test but it is normal for a bike to have some give there. The manual states 20 lbs pulling/pushing per arm. If bars are not freely rotating at about that force, you should be fine. I've never owned a bike that I couldn't re-center the bars to the wheel after a crash for example. It looks and sounds like you're pulling pretty hard. If that's the case, are you sure it isn't the stem that is actually rotating? There are two screws at the TOP of the riser that may need to be snugged up. 3. That said, nothing wrong with these tires at all, IMO. They're robust and the tread is exactly 'off-road', if you're slipping on gravel or wet wood like tree roots, no tire is going to help with that. It's operator comfort and skill set that gets you through those kinds of obstacles. Large treadblock tires like these are for maintaining grip on soft surfaces and soil while giving up some traction on paved roads/trails, with additional noise. On the other hand if you're feeling that you're bouncing or floating over gravel and the bike doesn't feel settled, you likely have your tires over-inflated for the conditions. I would NOT ride these on a single track trail and expect a comparable amount of performance and handling vs a trail bike, it just isn't going to happen. Gravel roads are fine. My suggestion would be to reduce air pressure and take it for a ride. If the handling characteristics are not more confidence inspiring to you, let me know. I came here looking for information on loose handlebars... The stem faceplate doesn't seem to making a good grip to the bars. I tightened to 9 NM as per the manual and then beyond. No matter what the bars will push forward without much for resistance. I have removed the plate, and noticed that the paint from the bars is galling up under inside of the clamp. Re-righted the stem plate and worked the bars forward and backward, each time able to get more from each bolt... This doesn't seem typical in my experience with bikes.... I've snugged them up as tight as I feel those bolts are good for before they yield the stem face plate or themselves... I might have my mother reach out ( its her bike )to Rad Power, or remove the paint from the bars and try torquing them dry.... Seems weird your stem riser is rotating, but keep in mind movement at a certain amount is totally normal. I'm wondering if you had a spill and noticed if your bars were crooked and then blamed the crash on the clamp. Not sure. As others have mentioned, remove the bolt, clean it and reassemble dry. They overlubricated some of these by the sounds of it - also your torque wrench might not be giving you the torque you need...
Yes, threadlocker such as Loctite is well know to increase the clamping force between two objects... Better yet, it can be used to semi-permanently maintain insufficient clamping force between two components. Gotcha!
As of today, February 24th, 2023, Rad Power Bikes a month shy of the warranty expiration, made a bad faith effort to cure the problems on my bike, The 'Customer service team' asked for medical bills, photos and movies on my bike, and then said, "nah, it isn't worth it to the company" to pay for medical expenses, which they asked for a broken wrist I suffered when the PIN made out of plastic on the riser, gave way, the wheel, heaviest on the right side due to brake went left, while the handle bars slipped right. and 75 lbs of moving metal came down hard on my body. It was not a wipe out and it happened once in June 2022 at a stop sign when I used the throttle. This last month, they ran me around, but never sent anyone over to inspect the bike. The road was not slick 41 degrees, and the bolts tightened just once. I hope those who wondered what happened if this happened to them, even if they were slightly injured, should have the handle bars examined, and demand their money back at the least, The bike is overrated and hazardous. The company showed me today that they do not even care for their customers or safety. I hope an attorney sees this thread and has a recommendation about a bike did not stay upright for 6 months or is controllable. That the company really won't honor their warranties, which is printed in China. And I am out $550 for a new battery that does not have the range printed on the book or website, $400 in parts that has to be replaced, so far $ 600 in medical bills. I asked for a brighter light, I got the same exact headlight that is on the bike now. Thank you. Mike Niemi
After so much time has elapsed, an attorney finally has read your comment. My advice is to speak to an attorney in your jurisdiction to see if anything can be salvaged from this case after a year. You may still be within the statute of limitations. The evidence will need to be examined to see if it still has any probative value. Don't delay. Pain and suffering could be compensated in your situation. Let a competent attorney look things over and best of luck.
As much as I would like to agree (being a dirt biker, myself), riding a dirt bike on a sidewalk where I live would probably result in a life sentence, but if it has pedals and a battery you are hailed as a world savior
Jan 15/2023 Update. I received the white version and upon close inspection they've seem to fix the problem-the folding stem components are all metal. No plastic. The instructions also updated with required torque ratings. The company listens to customers and responds accordingly. This should be acknowledged and rewarded. I am happy with my purchase and I may purchase a 2nd black version after using it over this summer.
I have the same issue with my radexpand. The "Updated" manual suggests to torque the stem to 23nm if it's still loose at 18nm. However, my Torque wrench also only goes to 20nm so I'll have to end up going to a bike shop. I see you torqued your black one to 20nm, wondering if you're able to torque it to 23nm as that sounds like the sweet spot. I called Rad and they would replace the stem but are out of stock and suggested to get it tightened at a bike shop. Wondering how the situation is with you? Thanks for the video!
I tried a slightly higher torque as you mentioned (on the white bike), but the screw began to strip so I stopped (and I was worried about cracking the plastic). I just returned both bikes to RadPower and they just sent 2 new bikes. Instead of replacing them with the same model, we agreed to try the RadRover 6 Plus model (which doesn't have the same handlebar stem). This all just happened so I haven't had a chance to update. Thank you for your comment and good luck at the bike shop!
@@ilovetreesvideo Bike shop was able to figure it out. They took the stem out to get a better look, cleaned it out and relubricated. In conclusion it looked like the stem bolt screw was over lubricated causing incorrect torque values. Came up to $20.00 which was covered by Rad. All is good now hope you're liking the Rad Rover.
