Radpower phasing out direct drive motors?

[georgefromvt]

I own an old Radpower Radcity. Very satisfied with it and I prefer direct drive power and Reg braking. Radpower recently reduced their Radcity 4 bikes by 600 bucks. Now out of stock and "won't be restocking". Anyone know if they're phasing out direct drive motors? Thanks. And sorry I missed the sale, would have purchased another. They're solid bikes and built like tanks.

 

[georgefromvt]

Confirmed with Radpower yesterday, yep they're discontinuing their Radcity direct drive series. Bummer, they're decent bikes for fair price. And now getting replacement parts will be harder. I'm not seeing too many bikes with direct drive motors, guess industry moving toward mid drive bikes.

 

[AHicks]

Confirmed with Radpower yesterday, yep they're discontinuing their Radcity direct drive series. Bummer, they're decent bikes for fair price. And now getting replacement parts will be harder. I'm not seeing too many bikes with direct drive motors, guess industry moving toward mid drive bikes.

The RadCity's are STILL a decent bike for a fair price in a lot of opinions.

The reason you aren't seeing many direct drives is that the geared hub and mid drive are FAR more suitable in most applications - especially in stop and go and hill scenarios. Sure there are direct drive fans, but I'm thinking once you've had a chance to get used to either of the newer types, you'll agree they are much more versatile in many more scenarios.

You'll have no trouble replacing that direct drive (DD) if you ever manage to tear it up/wear it out. You can even switch to a geared hub at that point without a lot of trouble.... (been there).

 

[Comrade]

guess industry moving toward mid drive bikes.

Big Chain and [strike]Big[/strike] Small Cog industries lobbied for this.

 

[georgefromvt]

I also own a geared hub motor ebike, the Elux. Elux very comfortable on designated bike lanes. But I prefer my Radcity direct drive for commuting and heavy traffic. Radcity feels more solid; appreciate higher end power and quiet run. The Elux is comfortable but quality not up to Radpower, already had replace a few components. The Radpower is higher quality and I prefer direct drive motors. Sorry Radpower phasing out direct drive motors.

 

[99t4]

...guess industry moving toward mid drive bikes.

What are you basing this premise on? I still see far more hub drives than mid drives; the ratio does not appear to be changing.

And now getting replacement parts will be harder.

Not necessarily. One of the best features (IMHO) of Rad Power bikes is that they do not use proprietary components that are hard to replace with commodity equivalents. There are numerous easily available dd hubmotors to replace yours inexpensively when (and if) it ever fails.

 

[georgefromvt]

My initial comment was Radpower discontinuing direct drive hub ebikes. They offer plenty of geared hub motor ebikes but no longer direct drive systems. I prefer direct drive especially with reg braking, prefer higher end power and smoother deceleration reginerative braking offers. Also, RadPower stopped stocking parts for their direct drive hub bikes. Three weeks ago, Radcity failed. Error 24, trouble shooting lead to faulty connector. I had to purchase connector from Amazon. I'm sorry they're phasing out direct drive hub models.
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