Radwagon 4

Recently got a Radwagon 4 from RadPower to haul the kiddos to and from school, do grocery runs, etc.

It is at the top of the list for pretty much every review guide for "Best Value Electric Cargo Bike" it's built super sturdy, has everything you need. Starts at $2k + tax and accessories. The "Best Overall" Tern bikes start at $5k, so based on budget it was an easy choice.

They have show rooms in a few places and do demo rides in many others so we were able to test it before getting it. Rear wheel drive, 750watt motor. Love it. People generally say mid drive is better, but you don't get a throttle with mid-drive and having both pedal-assist and throttle on the Radwagon 4 is great. With kids on the back the balance is a little tricky until you get going, so in tricky situations it is super nice to just twist the throttle and start moving and then sort out pedals and gearing.

For anyone wondering the stock, top, seat post is 30.4 mm, so if you want to get a seat post with some suspension in it, you will need it to be that size or get shim from your new post size to 30.4mm.

The kick stand works as expected, one thing I didn't like is there is no protector on the bottom, just metal. This tends to leave little marks on the concrete and pavement when you are putting it up/down. I got some chair leg protectors (https://amzn.to/35bdfJQ) and drilled tiny holes in the bottom drain water, and put them on. Not sure how long they will last but seems pretty good so far.

It is straight forward to get into the controller settings and change the speed limiter to 25. Search the web for instructions. Don't actually get going that fast very often so not much of a point other than because I could.

The motor is 750watt rear hub, so good power, but not as efficient as a mid drive since you don't get the gearing, but with me lightly pedaling (can talk to the kids without labored voice, etc) I can get two little kids up the 15% grade to our house. If I were not pedaling I don't think it would make it on it's own. That is just about it's limit.

I got an xtracycle bag for it (rfa-cargobay) because the radpower one doesn't seem like it works with the deck pads installed (and costs way more) Since it is for a different bike there are some tweaks to get it to work. The velcro strips to attach it are not quite long enough for full coverage, so if you had lots of groceries in there it could slip. I got some heavy duty zip ties (https://amzn.to/3Df4TgJ) and used those to put it on. Seems fine thus far, but not quite as 'clean' as if it were really on an xtracycle

The lights are fine, but I wouldn't go that fast at night. Great front beam pattern, but needs to be stronger. RadPower does make a premium upgrade but haven't heard particularly great things about it. Not sure if I will get that or use the separate battery powered one I have for my road bike which is massively brilliant (https://www.outboundlighting.com/products/road-edition)

Running errands you have access to lots of storage options, what you do depends on what you like. If you have the caboose accessory (sort of a must for the little kids) then the bars that run the length of it are 16mm wide, this fits both brands of pannier bags I have from back when I commuted to work a lot. Had to take the inserts out, but work fine. There isn't anything to hook the bottoms to though, so they will sway a bit if you don't bungee them to something, or have something else there taking up space. The rfa-cargobay bag I have is strapped to the frame, and holds 2+ bags of groceries. Fun fact, the distance between the middle setting for the interior length wise bars is 13.25", a milk crate is 13" square. So I can just pop two milk crates inside the caboose and they won't go anywhere. (Do you own measuring before purchasing anything of course.) The back of the caboose has screw holes where it seems like it would be fairly easy to manufacture a 12 to 16mm bar that screws on, and then you could hang a pannier across the back. Handy for when the kids are taking up all the space back there. The front basket (separate accessory) can hold maybe 2 small bags of groceries or 1 big one. It is interesting in that it doesn't turn when you turn the front wheel, which has some advantages but a big disadvantage is you can't put panniers on it because the turning wheel runs into them. In theory if i used all the available space I had with two cargobay bags, 4 panniers, 2 milk crates, and the front basket I could get 11 bags of groceries home from the store. Not sure if I'll really try that or not though, haha.

I made a little DIY pannier rack for the rear of the caboose so I can fit one on the back which is handy when the kids are riding.

I have a safety light pole for it, that I had from the kids previous trailer https://www.proglowsports.com/products/flare-pole which is pretty cool. Would be nice to get one that just plugs into the power system though and is brighter. Had to jury rig a pole holder to the caboose (standard one for bike axle plus zip tie)