Rad’s sleek city commuter is a comfortable and zippy ride with low maintenance thanks to the belt drive.
It’s a quintessential Rad bike; it has a predictable feel that’s true to the bike’s styling with its agile and nimble touch on the roads, but the wider-than-most handlebar gives it a sure feel instead of a twitchy one. You can easily navigate around pedestrians and traffic, and with the lights, fenders, and rack, you have all you need for daily commutes.
The RadKick doesn’t overlean into the city bike attributes, though, and sacrifice approachability; it’s a city bike with characteristics that give it a broader appeal to more riders.
We loved the low step-over height of the step-through frame and the adjustable stem that allows you to be more upright or more forward-leaning and engaged. It’s overall pretty comfortable, especially with the help of the suspension fork. Our specific test model is a single-speed belt drive, so each ride felt actively involved. With no other gears to select and a more subtle motor experience, it felt like a more active ride than many other e-bikes.
The ‘subtle’ remark isn’t a knock to the bike either; the amount of motor power is purposeful and feels great. It’s slight yet effective—like adding a dash of cayenne to the pot of chili to give it just the right amount of “kick.” This bike is meant to be pedaled, and its torque sensor gave it an intuitive feel that enhanced our abilities making each ride fun.
The bike felt simple in the best sense of the word. It’s got a clean look to it, and it operates efficiently. Turn on the power, hit your desired assist level, and ride.
Outside of some of the usual concerns that plague any one-size-fits-all e-bike, Rad did an excellent job of making a user-friendly e-bike for those who want something lighter and more active with fair value.
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