Rad Power is arguably the largest Ebike seller in North America and you wouldn’t be wrong to expect them to produce some of the best electric bikes ever.
Now, if you were looking forward to owning their Radster Trail, you might have been excited by the video reviews.
However, it’s also worth mentioning that those affiliated reviewers received perfect ebikes that passed through rigorous QC tests before getting shipped. Again, such rides were tested while brand new, which means it’s hard to get to know any design flaws or common problems too soon.
As such, we decided to do the dirty work for you and compile this list to help you know more about this ebike before spending on it. It’s crucial to say that upon our research, many Radster owners had positive things to talk about this e-bike.
Now, upon our hours of intensive research, these are the reasons to avoid the Radster Trail based on owner reviews about the bike and the brand as a whole:
Problematic Tires
For a trail ebike, you wouldn’t be asking for too much while expecting your e-ride’s tires to last longer.
However, according to Jeniffer who rated this bike a 1-star on the official site, she said, “I got three flat tires in the first week. This was primarily on asphalt roads. A bike advertised as a “trail” bike should have better tires. I just paid over $600 for tire inserts on my three brand-new Radster Trail bikes. Disappointing.”
Fenders Rubbing The Tires
Many owners on social agree that the front fender rubs the tire as they sit close to each other.
According to Malone, “Got mine directly from the Rad store two weeks ago and had this same problem with the front wheel rubbing against the fender. My front fender seemed slightly bent, so it would rub on one side of the tire.
I was able to fix it by inserting some unused ~1/2″ (edit: 5mm) spacers (that came with Rad Fat Tire Wheel lock) at the lower attachment points between the fender and front fork, which increased the distance between the fender and the tire and it seems to have resolved it.
However, I was a bit annoyed that I paid for the $160 “pro assembly” (directly from Rad no less) and still ended up with this specific issue.”
Several other comments on that thread confirm that this is a common issue about the Radster Trail. For reference, read [1], [2], and [3].
Poor Customer Service
Many Rad Power e-bike owners confirm that the customer service isn’t what it used to be before they grew too fast.
Manualist had this to say about Rad Power, “I bought a couple Rad bikes in 2021, had a few questions along the way, called in and emailed various times, always thrilled with every interaction.
Recently had to call in again, a bit of a different experience.
Multiple disconnects in the process of getting through.
First person had a questionable attitude from the moment she picked up the phone, then gave me incorrect information with regard to the recall. I asked if/when I should hear back, since I was impacted.
She said I wasn’t impacted because my bike was sold in 2021, I said that was odd because the email stated a larger timeframe and I did have ribbed sidewalls. Then—-disconnected.”
At this point, it’s worth it knowing that it might be a hit or miss when you expect to get in touch with their customer service after buying the Radster Trail electric bike.
In Summary
While many Radster Trail electric bike owners praise it for being the best bang for the buck, it’s worth knowing the complaints about this relatively new e-bike in the market.