0:05 Rad Mobile Service delivery, 9:19 Rad Mobile Services details 12:23 Cadence sensor and motor controller, 13:16 Battery pack details 17:45 Display panel overview, 20:00 Ride test begins, 23:22 Judy takes a test ride! 26:06 Frame drivetrain shots, 33:01 Battery removal, 34:38 Loading bikes on car rack
What I really like about this bike is that it is so simple. Less things to go wrong and pretty light compared to others. Another great review. Rad keeps the company at the forefront in the ebike market.
Have owned a Magnum Ebike for a few years...at the time a $2000.00 bones ebike. People are always asking me details about ebikes. Biggest dead end for most people is the price. Rad Power is on the leading edge. Get the price down with relative quality. Will definitely recommend this one for those on a tight budget. Way better than those similarly priced cheap Chinese ebikes on eBay. Hats off to Rad Power! Cort your best reviews are the best bang for the buck innovative brands in my opinion. Slowly but surely this technology is getting out to the American public. Your reviews have always been top shelf and I forward them frequently....Thanks again Cort!
Hey Tom! Thank you so much. I love the technology, am very aware of the high prices (my first ebike was $2k+) and I just try to cover a variety and be constructive but THOROUGH so people can see the trade-offs and make the best decision for themselves. I think Rad has done a great job, and this is another exciting bike from them :) I hope your week is going well!
I am trying to be so patient as I wait for mine! I ordered the same grey one but added the kickstand and fenders (a must in the pacific northwest). Can't wait to zip around! The many hills of Seattle will no longer be my enemy!!!
Just hope Rad reads this.This is by far one of the finest most minuscule excellent descriptive reviews I've ever seen on a bike. Ive been researching an e-bike.for the last seven or eight months I have been doing my research and homework but this young gentleman did an excellent job with every facet of this company and I hope Radbikes sees this and knows this and compensates this man handsomely because this was a fabulous review and if I get this money together in the next few months I am going to buy a Rad mission. What I really like is that you have these trucks going around now to help. Again you should get in cahoots with this young man fabulous review.
I pre-ordered the grey and am looking forward to it. I got the Runner back in April and really have had fun and had to do some mods of course - larger tooth chainring, etc.. I look at the Runner as my mule to haul stuff and this will be more of a sports car. Very thorough review!
That sounds awesome! Glad to hear the RadRunner has been working well for you, Don. It's fun to customize a bit, and cool that you're technical enough to change out the chainring. Hope you enjoy the RadRunner, and I welcome your comments someday once you've got it and ridden for a while ;)
Same. I'd like to get one at some point. My wagon is a freaking beast and i want something fun to ride around with my husband on. he's got a fixie standard road bike and I'd like to have something closer to his when we ride together. The wagon has a much larger turn radius than a regular bike so if he makes a sharp turn i have to go down past him, turn around and come back lol.
@@TravisG The bike itself was great - unfortunately, the size was a bit too small for me. That's one of the problems with single size bikes. You can only adjust seatpost, handlebars so much. If you look at higher end bikes, they come in sizes and I needed an XL (6'1" +) But if it fits, you can't beat it for the money.
Cool, just reserved one after your review. I was initially worried the mixte would be too large for my 5’1 wife, and the unknown brand hub motor would be too weak for the hills in Victoria BC. Your review adressed both of my concerns. Thanks. This bike is going to replace the need for a second car for commuting, and my wife can go on long recreational bike trips with me on the weekends when it gets delivered in October.
That sounds awesome! I'm so glad it helped :D I really want to visit Victoria again, it has been years and I love the town. Maybe I'll see you two out there, climbing some hills together ;)
Just came back from riding the radmission, it’s freaking awesome 😊 took me 45 minutes to assemble. I love it so far! I bought two bottle holders and the kick stand. I’m happy with my purchase.
I just bought one and I'm just waiting for it to be put together at the shop for me. I'm planning to mount my folding lock on the bottom spot and I have the midstep so I was wondering where the the second bottle holder that you mentioned would be?...is it a handlebar mounted thingy?...where I'm gonna have my water is the only thing I've really been worried about hehe😊...it should only be a few more days and I'm stoked as I did test ride and know how great it is!
@@Catfish238311 ah cool, appreciate the tip. Today at mec I found a water bottle holder that can be velcroed to the downsloping toptube so I grabbed that. It has little sorta clamp thingies that look like they'll conform nicely to the tube and grip with rubber and then the velcro to hold it tight...we'll see if it's as good as it looks hehe...
@@johhny2301 I get about 25miles on a charge. I seldom use the throttle, and mostly use full assist. I've also ridden in the snow, moisture wasn't a problem, but handling was. Of course, that should be expected in 6-8" of snow.
I live in Vancouver and fortunate enough to have a rad showroom and dealership here so a few days ago I booked an appointment for a test ride after watching many videos. I'm about 5'6 and 190lbs (looking to reduce that!) and rode the midstep and found it very comfortable for me and loved everything about it. I'm fine with the single speed and practiced getting rolling a little with the throttle first and then pedalling using mostly assist 2 for tooling around on flat ground at pretty much the same pace that I would normally ride my non power hybrid. I'm not a speed demon at all and when I did crank it up to 4 and go for it I was going every bit as fast as I ever need to with very minimal effort. And throttle alone was lots of fun but I really doubt that I'd use it on throttle only very much as I want the exercise to try to get in better shape eventually. I love riding my regular bike but my knees aren't what they used to be and I can't go the distances I used to anymore, twice around Stanley park and then another 15 km or so along beaches and urban seawall was a normal length ride and I miss that desperately. I don't have any really huge hills to worry about and the ones that I tried on the test ride were pretty typical of what I'll be tackling weren't much of a problem at all. They weren't entirely effortless nor would I want them to be, I wanna still work a bit but just not as much. I want a bike that I can still feel like I'm working and burning calories and strengthening my muscles but can decide when and where I want it to be easier for when I just wanna play tourist for a few hours and this bike is great for that. And I don't haul any more than a backpack around so I love how minimalistic this bike is, it really feels and handles alot like my hybrid and not a cumbersome cargo bike. Easy controls and good brakes and decent lights are great bonuses too although I have high power rechargeable cygolites that I'll add because I enjoy night riding too. So at the end of the test ride I had decided to go ahead and order the midstep and it really was my lucky day because they had one there at the store in a box and ready to go in red so I purchased it immediately!...I opted to have them build it for me as I'm just not great at that kind of stuff and want it done right and that will be a bit of a wait as they have bikes ahead of it to put together. But I don't mind waiting as it's still quicker than if I had to order one and wait for shipping. I'm seriously excited and can't wait to get back out there and ride like I used to!...
Just an FYI for any Canadians reading this but those discounts are only for the US site and it doesn't work on this model. I wasted 30 min filling out forms to find out the hard way.
Hahaha! I wanted to do an overlay picture so bad, but couldn't find one that was royalty free... and sadly, I don't have any kittens of my own at this time :/
@@RHAMBO293 Nice! I really like that one. Super excited for you two. Thanks again for your kind words and positive feedback! Please say hi and thank you to your wife as well. She seems like a great lady, you're a lucky guy and I'm sure you're great too :D
Thanks for all you do for us in the electric bike world, Cort! I’ve been watching you for years now, and you’ve really helped out a lot in making good, well informed decisions about e bikes. I’m an e bike commuter who has logged thousands of miles now over the last 6 years, and I’m on my 3rd e bike. I would never buy an e bike that didn’t have hydraulic disk brakes due to being in traffic and dealing with other slower pedestrians. Being able to stop quickly should never be compromised. I feel that manufacturers who are only offering mechanical disk brakes are, in a way, “tricking” a less informed consumer, who can see that there are disk brakes that look good on the outside, but are not really the best offering available. Also, you’ve mentioned in the past how it’s a “nice safety feature that there is a motor cut off in the brakes”. This isn’t really an option, but a legal requirement in Europe and the US. Once again, love the videos and thanks for all you do. Keep the videos coming!
Me too, it actually exceeded my hopes and ideas in many ways... like, I knew they had to be working on a simple city bike for $1k but I expected black and white, one frame size, that sort of thing. They've done a great job these past couple of years standardizing all of the accessories and growing the team :)
Great review by EBR, as always. One thing I will say about Walk Mode (On my Radrunner). It does seem fast when you’re on flat ground but in that scenario you can just push the bike forward easily by yourself. On an incline though, same power but the speed is reduced and then it feels just right.
Thinking about get the RadRunner. What’s your experience on hills that are around 12 degree or higher inclines? Does the runner struggle or can it handle them with reduced speed?
Great, thorough review. We just bought 2 Radmission bikes. The mid and the high. The baskets and mirrors are currently out of stock, but hopefully they will have them soon This was very helpful and much appreciated - thank you!!
Rad has good bikes and the Mission looks to be one them. I had the RadRunner and it was fun but the $$$ spent for accessories with Rad starts adding up and then you realize you could have gotten a much better bike for the same price. But at least the base price is low so you can add things as you go. I really like that bike rack though! Thanks for showing it since it’s such an important consideration. Most ebikes are heavy and a pain to lift. The Mission is a reasonable weight for one person to lift.
You’re welcome! Yeah, I do agree about price. Sometimes companies really make up for accessories, but it was cool to see that the nearly fully kitted RadMission is still only $1,300 vs. $1,500 for a RadCity. You don’t get suspension or gears, but it’s a lot lighter and I like the planetary geared motor here.
Hi Sheila, I love your name! Okay, so I think Judy is around 5'5" but I didn't actually measure. She told me in centimeters and we did a rough conversion... she is probably a little shorter than 5'5" based on other friends (and my Mom) who are closer to the 5'3" mark. Hope this helps!
I think single speed is actually good. One less point of failure, less cost, and the electric drive has enough torque to compensate. Same reason EVs are single gear. Seems like this is an excellent e-bike from a reputable company, and they didn't compromise on any of the components but instead just gave you less frills to achieve the low price. I was going to get the Ancheer which is cheaper and has fork suspension, but I think I'll go with this instead. If *only* it had suspension for $100-150 extra, I would pay that. I don't want to go all the way up to the $1600 RadCity and it's smaller.
These do use enough standard sizing to replace much of the bike down the line. You can swap out the bars, forks, seatpost and even change the gearing on the rear. Really only the basket hookups are proprietary.
Awesome review. I am a Rad Power Bikes fan. This is a pretty solid e-bike for $1000. If I didn't already have a Rad City, I'd get this one. I'm thinking of getting one for my wife. She doesn't do gears, so this would be perfect for her. She loves the basket too. Thanks for posting. :-)
Sure thing Chris! The RadCity is a great bike, glad you like it. I can see how the RadMission would be perfect for your wife. My girlfriend also loved the basket... it’s like the first thing she noticed and commented on :D
Do your research before buying your E-bike. My wife and I wanted to ride bikes in our retirement years. We live on a slight hill nothing crazy just a small hill and wanted to use the electric bike to help get up the hill on the way home. So we purchased 2 Voltbike Interceptors. Turns out my wife was not comfortable riding the bike so hers sat in the garage while mine got a couple of rides for the first year. The following year placed the bikes on charge and the next morning unplugged the charger but nothing so I checked the other bike and the same thing. I contacted and a short conversation Voltbike and they told me the battery packs were not charged during the time period (it was my fault) they sat for the winter and that caused the failure of the packs. Of course, we went back and forth for a very long time with no solution. They wanted to sell me two new battery packs at the cost of 1200.00 dollars and that is without shipping or taxes. They pawned me off on some guy in China with the pretense of help but that was a waste of time. So no pack just two bikes in the garage not ridden anymore and life lesson learned, at the cost of over 3000.00 dollars. Pick your vendor carefully or you might end up in the same predicament.
Here’s my main highly important question before I hit purchase for this beast: Can you do a burnout with the throttle? I mean on gravel, light sand, etc…
Ha! What a great review! When I say great review I mean in terms of the word "review"... I read reviews on amazon, and, of course, watch here on youtube, for all potential purchases or just interested scenarios. You just demonstrated ALL attributes of a great review in my hopefully humble opinion. I watched due to a friend's circumstances and planned on skipping through, especially when I saw the total time. Couldn't skip. Could not do it. All info was pertinent and needed. Thanks. Really cool review. Absolutely forwarded to my friend who is a legitimate potential buyer.
Yeah, it grew on me... and it works very well with the front basket option :) what do you like about it? The paint matched color is nice looking vs. the choppy look of suspension.
Yeah, I like the way these look a lot, especially with the new color options. If you take the battery pack off, the bike drops all the way down to 41.5lbs, which is what I do for lifting onto racks or servicing :D
I'm a bit tall (6'7) and I was wondering if this could work for me? I know it wouldn't be perfect as I'm a bit tall, but if it could work better than others I'd be interested!
The stem is short on that bike and the handlebars are curved backward a bit, you could get a stem 3-4 inch longer and even different handlebars, pretty cheap parts
Hmm, it's a real trade-off. Depending on your weight and ride style, I think this could work... but I'd seriously consider spending more for the RadCity if you're used to gears and enjoy pedaling fast like I do. Personally, I would get the RadCity even if there weren't a lot of hills because I enjoy the suspension fork, upright body position, and larger battery pack.
Good review, the only thing he didn't mention was his height. I'd like to know how tall he is to compare and decide whether to get the high-step or mid-step.
@@luckypennybenny - Your response is several months later, but thanks any way. I actually went ahead and bought the high-step. And no, the chart isn’t too accurate because I’m 5’7.5”, the chart suggests the mid-step. I can sit on the seat with booth feet planted on the ground. I’m soo glad I did my own measurements using the bike height information and dimensions given on the site or I would have been upset. This is my second bike, my first was the Rad Runner Plus. The RadMission is cool, but I wish it was a 6 speed and had a bit more torque. Aside from that, pretty solid design and a simple bike to just pick up and go. Oh, and the battery life is pretty amazing before needing recharge, too bad they couldn’t get it right on the Rad Runner Plus.
Thanks for another great review! One of these days, it would be nice if you could do a video about the degree of inclines on hills you're riding up. Then you could refer back to that video in future videos. Because it is nearly impossible for the viewer to know how steep the hill actually is. (This is a common problem in ebike video reviews, not just yours.) BTW: Shouldn't you have a red flag on your bike rack? I think that's a safety requirement (in my state) whenever you have something sticking out of the back of your car.
Thank you very much, I do my best and try to go deep. Hope you're having a good weekend Bglen :) ps. my grandfather's name is Glen, if that's your name.
Five colors, not six; right? I heard six in the preliminary review as well which has me wondering if I'm missing something. This is a fantastic review and I'm so super excited for October to get here so I can try mine out. 😊
Hi Eli! There may be overlap of one color scheme between the two frame types. I've listed all of the detailed specs back on the site here: electricbikereview.com/rad-power-bikes/radmission/ what I got for color options is Steel Blue with Red Accents, Black with Tan Accents, Gray with Black Accents, White with Gray Accents, Red with Blue Accents (so yeah, 5 colors, but 6 bike+color combinations). Thanks for the feedback and correction help ;)
Hats off of for the affordability. I just REALLY wish they could pump up the jam and get more creative with the battery aesthetics. A big dumb ugly brick resting on the frame looks lazy and like an afterthought. Either way I am interested, looks like a great bike!
Nice review, thanks for sharing your thoughts and impressions! I recall you were initially looking into the mid step version from the announcement preview video on the RadMission - Are you still leaning this way after seeing the bikes firsthand? I feel the mixte would allow more room for the suspension seatpost upgrade without it being too high while being a bit easier on the stop and go situations as well.
Hi Mike! I think that a suspension seatpost would work alright with either bike frame. I'd probably go with the high-step now that I've seen the two size options. It just fits me better because I have long legs and appreciate the extra reach. That said, I felt fine on the mid-step as well, and appreciate the approachability of the frame :)
It looks cool, but for 100 dollars less at 899$ the Lextric XP is a much better deal. I have over 300 miles on mine and it is awesome. Rad in my opinion is overpriced, but if you have the money and are having fun that is what matters! Thanks for another great review.
Court, I appreciate the review as always but the timing of this with Rad's promotional email makes me think this should be EBP, Electric Bike Promotions. That being said Rad makes bikes that are hard to compete with in price and I love that they have a lightweight option and all of the attachment points. I am also a former fixie rider and like the simple drive-train, can you clarify if the throttle is available in assist level 0 from a stop, I would see that as a need with this bike.
Yeah! The throttle does work from zero. Thanks for the feedback, I think Rad is doing a good job organizing their communications. I’ve launched SONDORS reviews before bikes were available, BULLS, Specialized, and evening Trek from special ride events. I think many of them also did email blasts or tweets etc. but maybe it wasn’t as big as Rad? I don’t really get involved, and I try to be very transparent about what is going on... like they bright the bikes for me to test, I rode them for a week, I created a review and then waited for the green light like I do with everyone (unless the bike is already available). They told me it could go live today, so I published. Now I’m off to the next bike ;)
I want one of these soooooo bad. But I'm in NYC and don't know enough about bikes to feel comfortable building one out of the box. I hope they bring their mobile units here in the near future.
I pre-ordered the bike before watching this video. Everything was like I expected but no kick stand, really? Why couldn't they include a $15 kick stand?
I purchased a RadMission 1 and waiting for October delivery, I'm just wondering how tall are you? I prefer a larger frame but the high step may be a little too tall for my height and the RAD sizing chart shows I might be out of my comfort zone for a high step.
@@TravisG The RadMission is a great bike! I put almost 750 miles on it the past year, I haven't had anything break and it still rides like new, I've added a front suspension fork which makes it even better, highly recommended e-bike.
@@peteyquickk hey. sorry for bringing this up after so long, but can you tell me your height or bike inseam? and how comfortable it is riding the high step?
@@CurtainCallX I'm 5'7" with a 29 inch inseam, I have the mid step which is very comfortable for me, I think the high step would have been too tall for me.
Great job with your channel! Wow, lots of awesome videos :) I’m just using the latest GoPro Hero 8 on standard vs wide with stabilization enabled. I also glue or tape on some synthetic fur to reduce wind noise. They sell some on Amazon called Micover cover. It would be fun to collaborate sometime! Where are you at? Feel free to text me 650.930.0342
Great review on what looks like an awesome simple commuter. It would be nice to have a standardized hill route to test the bikes. Burnaby mountain to SFU or 4th or 10th Ave to UBC. It would be great to see how the Single speed fares on those grinder hills.
I agree, and I'd guess that they will swap out those gearless motors for geared at some point... that's what I'd do if it was me. I also like that they used the smaller sealed 14-pulse cadence sensor with this bike ;)
@@YouCantSeeMeENT I have the 2019 Radwagon, which has the same motor as the City. While I'm very happy with it, I do wonder why the bike did not come with the higher torque geared motor, especially on a cargo bike. I'd rather pay an extra $100 to $150 for for the higher torque motor!
I bought my Lectric XP in January 2020 to get rid of excess weight. I ended up losing 77 pounds, and my legs are like tree trunks. I have 2 batteries and have travelled 65 miles round trip. I currently have 2400 miles on my ebike. Life is great... or, was great. Last week, at 2400 miles, the bike broke down electronically. Left me stranded, twice. Had to walk home several miles. Lectric company says it’s still under warranty, but will take a long time to get the part needed to fix. Coming from China and from I got from the tech, this prob is happening to thousands of Lectric bikes. So, I stop riding for how long? A month, maybe2 or 3.... I don’t think so. I am going to buy another bike from another brand cuz this one is no longer reliable. It’s just taking up space in my bike barn. The unfortunate part is I just finished building my solar bike barn so my bike is propelled by sun and keto... I hope Lectric realizes that my warranty is on pause until it is fixed. They can’t take a month or several months and expect the warranty to keep running. So, if u want this bike, I totally recommend it. Just have secondary transportation and Uber on stand by. P.s. no public transportation where I live. ur on ur own here
Great Review! Thank you. The Bike has Spanninga Axendo 40 headlight which is listed as 6-36V DC. So does the battery/controller step down the voltage from 48V to 36 ?
Thanks for the review! Really helpful. I’m looking to get an e-bike for an 18km uphill commute to work in Toronto and this seems like a good option. I just want to make sure I’m not sweaty by the time I get there. Do you think this would work, even with the 1 gear? Thanks in advance.
22:36 I see a lot of ebike reviewers speaking about the lack of accessories like this part here and I agree with you. Personally I think even lights are a little unnecessary since any cyclist considering a single speed would already have them. I rather spend less money on a bike and buy accessories as I need them.
This is a little better than i expected from the ad when thet intro'd it. However im hoping that at some point thet get it together and make a mid drive.
I do have a feeling though that they may end up having to release a differently equipped version of this like they did with the runner. I think people are gonna want standard fenders, lcd display and kickstand. They dont want to have to order those seperately and install them.
Joe Bruce the rad rover is fun and you will want to ride it as much as you can. Just remember to not let the battery run out when you are riding far away from your house because pushing it with no power is very difficult.
Just wondering if you have done a review of the RAD Runner Plus? My wife and I just ordered two for ourselves. Love your reviews. I have watched the RAD Runner review. It made the Runner Plus sound like the bike for us. We'll keep watching for any new reviews. Thanks for all your input, it is much appreciated. Woody
I like what Rad has done regarding single speed. I have a Rad-Mini, and leave it on one speed. I just change pedal assist as my gear change option when and if needed. I just had my bike serviced by Velofix. The mechanic mentioned that he has set up loads of Rad bikes, and personally feels that for the money they are the best out there. To change the subject some, I have discussed numerous times with Rad regarding colors. I like bright colors, that's me, and that grey model you are viewing is truly ugly. Drab would be the best to describe it. Of course the smaller framed version comes in red, but how many men, shorter men, will ride it because they will conclude it's a ladies bike. I've mentioned to design bikes that are non-gender specific, and to add bright colors, like the red one there, for example, to all of there models. I would like a Rad Rover in a color like that. Rad's color schemes are really drab in comparison to other manufacturers. Great review. Mahalo.
I like the red one, so i can use that while I'm racing with the professional cyclist ascending and descending on a mountainous area. When this bike available in the phils?
Hi Court, Hope you’re well. Your reviews are the best and a source of escape in these times (never knew i’d say that one day, lol) anyway, i’m torn between Core 5 and RadMission1. you haven’t reviewed Core5, but have done their other bikes like 500. what are your thoughts between Ride1Up Core 5 and RadMission1? same price doesn’t make it easier.
I planned on an ebike purchase back in 2014, but the price isn't justified. This at $1400 is pretty affordable and the frames are much better looking these days but it's still a little steep..
dude there are sooooo many e bike brands i am really confused which one to buy. but i guess i will prefer something like this, not very expensive not chinese product.
hmm how come the compatibility listed on the website for the higer capacity battery says not for radmission, however, you already used it on a radmission!
This review was awesome! Thanks for this! Isn't there any change of having a comparison with the EU version, where the HUB Motor is 250w instead of 500? Specially with the hill test!
Judy is great, she's like shy... but also full of energy and says what is on her mind! Unfortunately, she just booked a trip to China to be with family and I have no idea when she is coming back!! I'll definitely include her again in the future when she's back :D
I bought this bike (radmission) based on this video. My bad. It's not that it's poorly made or poor quality. That's not the problem. I wanted a road bike that when struggling with the steep hills that I would normally do 7-10 mph I would crank the throttle. That part's fine but the normal riding isn't. There's not a high gear basically. If you're on a flat road you can pedal fast but it's not going to make the bike go faster as in a normally geared road bike. That part really sucks and I wished I never bought it. I don't know what this bike is made for. It's overpowered imo for the city. This would be a good bike if there were higher gears for road riding or cut the price in half and reduce its power. 10 mph max in the city is plenty.
You wrong. I know of at lease 2 people that have this bike. Both had the front rack mounts break.. If the rack was mounted to the fork. They would not break. And can hold more weight!