Rad Power Bikes Radster Trail Review

The overall riding position of the Radster Trail is upright and comfortable. The low-rise BMX style handlebars further support the upright body position that I found to have a nice wide view of the path ahead. You still have the ability to lean more into the handlebars for an occasional bump in the road, or when out on a trail ride.

While the handlebars do not have an adjustable stem, you can adjust the tilt of the handlebars towards or away from yourself along with the seat post height to dial-in a fit that you find comfortable.

The cockpit has a full-color LCD display that has a smart take on e-bike security, in the form of a proximity key fob. This adds another layer of theft protection as the bike’s motor cant be activated without either a 4-digit passcode, or a swipe of your key fob.

Aside from updated theft tech, the LCD display shares quite a bit of other handy information. Of course, It can show the basics like current speed and PAS setting, and the odometer, but it shares even more, like current wattage being used and the estimated range left until empty, so you can plan accordingly with no surprises.

The Radster Trail does have a Suntour SR front hydraulic suspension fork with 80mm of travel. I found this fork to feel pretty good when dropping off curbs or going over the occasional rock. However, due to the upright riding position here my center of gravity is positioned mostly on the seat post, it did not offer much shock absorption in day-to-day paved path rides.

When it comes to ride quality of the Radster Trail, it’s hard not to talk about the tires. The tires on the Radster Trail are made by Kendra and measure at 27.5 x 3.0” with an off-road tread pattern. Aside from looking great with their tan sidewalls, the choice to go with a 3 inch tire over the more commonly seen 4.0 (or bigger), in our opinion, was a great choice. The handling of the 3 inch tire just feels better in cornering and handling overall while still being wide enough to inspire confidence when tackling the trail off the beaten path. Sure, there is a little road noise when you are on paved surfaces, but that’s to be expected with any off-road tire.

To be clear, the bike is best suited for the mildest of off-roading, but it does bring the versatility factor of the bike overall up with that 3”-wide, knobby tread.

Hovering over those tires are the front and rear fenders. While we found the front fender to be on the shorter side, likely appealing to its ‘Trail’ designation, it only offers a little relief from the occasional splash, on wetter days, you will likely want full coverage if you’re a commuter.

And finally, you have probably one of the coolest features from Rad Power BIkes in the form of their 15Ah, 720 Wh semi-integrated battery with what they have coined as ‘Safe Shield Advanced’ battery technology. This Safe Shield tech is a big step even further into e-bike battery fire protection measures. In simple terms, each individual battery cell is encased in a fire-resistant thermal barrier to prevent a ‘run off’ of all cells if one happens to catch on fire. Basically, this is the same technology in electric vehicles and it’s now in our e-bikes. While Rad Power is not the first to do this, they are one of only a handful of e-bike companies going the extra mile when it comes to safety and we hope to see this as an industry standard in the years to come.