Rad Power Bikes RadCity 5 Plus: A New Frame and Quicker Motor
Sep 23, 2021
2 Comments
Share
Rad Power Bikes flagship electric commuter bike just got a substantial makeover.
Seattle-based Rad on Wednesday released the redesigned Rad Power Bikes RadCity 5 Plus, giving the bike a new look, a better climbing motor and an overall design that Rad says was built specifically for the company’s European ridership.
According to Rad’s announcement of the redesigned bike, the new RadCity 5 climbs hills 40 percent quicker than the previous iteration of the bike due to a re-tooled motor. The battery on the new bike is also claimed to last 11 percent longer thanks to a set of new custom-made tires that roll more efficiently on pavement.
The new RadCity 5 Plus step-through in charcoal.
This is the second redesigned e-bike Rad’s released in the past two months. In late July, the company dropped the new RadRover 6 Plus electric fat bike, which represented the most substantial re-imagining of that bike since its original debut. Many of the new features we saw in that release of the Rover — including an all-new user interface and the striking new frame design — appear to have made their way onto the new RadCity 5 Plus the company released on Wednesday.
Sponsor
Sponsor
RadCity 5 Plus: A U.S. e-bike for a global audience
Not only is the RadCity 5 Plus a newly-redesigned e-bike, it’s also the first time Rad’s electric commuter bike will be available to European consumers.
“Europe is one of Rad Power Bikes’ fastest-growing markets,” wrote Arno Saladin, Rad’s European business director, in the RadCity 5’s release announcement. “This is the first time we’ve designed a bike with the European rider in mind. We spent years collaborating with our global product development team before this model was ready for the European market.
The RadCity 5 Plus sports a new semi-integrated battery design. It appears to be the same configuration we saw debuted on the RadRover 6 Plus earlier this year.
Keeping with the Euro theme, Rad says its redesigned RadCity has a “Dutched-influenced” riding style with components that emphasize riding in a fast-paced urban environment. New on this bike are hydraulic disc brakes, an upgrade over the mechanical brakes on the previous RadCity, and a semi-integrated battery that nicely blends with the downtube.
The RadCity 5 Plus also gets Rad’s new user interface we saw first debuted on the RadRover 6 Plus, a design that utilizes two handlebar mounted displays — one to control your power setting and another that displays metrics like speed, distance and trip time. The new frame is also more than an aesthetic improvement, it has been redesigned to accommodate a wider range of rider heights from 4-foot-8-inches to 6-foot-5-inches.
The RadCity 5 Plus also comes in a standard frame design for those who don’t want the step-through option.
The bike is available in both a standard frame design and step-thru design. It’s powered by a 750W rear hub motor and a 48V, 14Ah (672Wh) semi-integrated battery. It’s listed as coming stock with a Shimano Altus 7-speed drivetrain but the brand of hydraulic brakes is unspecified, though those brakes will clamp down on a pair of 180 mm rotors front and rear.
The new RadCity 5 Plus is available for pre-order now on Rad’s website with an expected U.S. shipping date of early October. The bike will hop the pond and be available to European customers starting sometime winter 2021/22.
*Please help support our efforts at Electric Bike Report. We work hard to provide the highest quality content, news, and reviews for our readers – and our sponsors make all of this possible. Please visit our sponsors from their ads on our website and let them know that you appreciate what they do for the e-bike industry and Electric Bike Report
Sponsors
Sponsor
WELL ITS A NICE LIKE THE GEARED HUB MOTOR, BUT FOR A CURRENT RADCITY OWNER WHO WOULD LIKE ANOTHER ONE, 3 THINGS WILL KEEP ME FROM NOT BIKING (buying ) IT, COLOR ONLY IN BLACK, GOT A BLACK ONE ALREADY, WROTE MANY TIMES ABOUT COLOR TO COMPANY THEY DID NOT LISTEN (yes, I know step thru is available in white) 2nd ANOTHER REASON I WOULD NOT BUY IT NOW IS THE BATTERY IS NOT COMPATIABLE WITH MY PRESENT RAD CITY AND LASTLY NOT CRAZY ABOUT HYDRO BRAKES MORE MAINTENCE, THE NORMAL DISC WORKS FINE I CAN STOP IT AROUND 4 FEET AT HIGHER SPEEDS, OTHER THAN THAT RAD BUILDS SOLID ELECTRONICS, FANTASTIC FRAME, JUST A GREAT DEPENDABLE BIKE. IN CLOSING 3 THINGS I CHANGED ON MY RAD. 1ST STREET RATED TIRES, 2ND BETTER SEAT WITH SUSPENSION. AND HANDLE BAR POST EXTENSION, WAS HARD THOU, YOU REALLY HAVE VERY LITTLE ROOM IN ELECTRONIC CABLE WIRE. LOVE MY BIKE WANTED ANOTHER SAME MODEL BUT I LIVE IN THE U.S.A. NOT EUROPE, THE OLD RAD IS BUILT LIKE A FORD F150, THIS OLDER MODEL IS THE WORKING MANS TRANSPORTATION,. EASY TO MAINTAIN, DEPENDABLE AND GETS GREAT BATTERY MILAGE, 10,000+ MILES. PEOPLE COME UP TO ME ALL THE TIME AND ASK ME ABOUT RAD AND TALK GOOD ABOUT IT, ITS LIKE GRAPES THEY COME IN DIFFERENT COLORS, BUT FOR A 1ST TIME PURCHASE WHO RIDES ON PAVEMENT AND WANTS TO CARRY GROCERIES, ITS THE BEST ONE YOU CAN BUY FOR THE BUCK. NOW WHAT DO I BUY NEXT???
just bought one Rad city 4…I like the rad city 4 motor better a gearless will always last longer. Rad 5 changed the motor maybe better on hill but like rad 4 better…anything else you can add would be helpfull…wont have mine until after 10/14/2021. thanks