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Last year I made a video about buying my first e-bike.
Today I'm gonna be telling you about some upgrades I made to it, some things I learned along the way, and even some regrets I might have.
Don't worry though, I'm gonna come back by the end of this video and talk about this rack right here.
Let's go for a ride first.
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Let's start by talking about the RAD letter.
It's still my favorite e bike to ride.
I've written a handful of other ebikes but not as versatile as this one for the price.
I love that it has a twist throttle as opposed to something like a plunger because it allows you to control how much acceleration you give the bike.
One thing I'm not super fond of though is the control pad for the motor.
I don't like how flush the buttons are with it and I prefer something with more of a tactile feel.
But let me tell you about some of the upgrades I made to it.
The one that made the biggest difference is the suspension seat post and the seat itself.
Before I changed the seat, my **** would get really sore after about 20 to 30 minutes.
There were times where I couldn't ride this bike two days in a row because I was too sore the next day.
Let's face it, no one likes having a sweaty back from wearing a backpack, and the basket's made a huge difference.
Plus, it's made it a little easier to film these e-bike videos where I can just toss all my gear in the back and not have to carry it around.
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Let's talk about some things I learned along the way.
First, if you're ordering the bike online and it's being shipped to your house, I highly recommend taking it to a bike shop for servicing.
Chances are along the way parts of the bike either got bent or damaged and the bike shop will have to repair those before you can ride it safely.
Also, if your favorite shop sells E bikes maybe even consider just buying it straight from them that way if there's anything wrong with it, you have somewhere to take it back to.
All right, the next tip is a big one and could save you lots of money so pay close attention.
Tire liners, you definitely wanna buy tire liners or tire slime to protect your inner tube from being punctured.
I must have gone through two or three internships in the first couple months and that adds up because they're about $25 each Tire liners add an extra layer of protection between the tire and the inner tube so that if a thorn punctures the tire, it doesn't make its way through to the inner tube.
My favorite though is tire slime, which is this goo that you pump into the tire itself.
And as the tire rotates, it coats the inside of the inner tube.
So that way if anything punctures it, it instantly seals it up.
Ever since I put tire slime in my inner tubes.
I haven't had to change them once.
those first couple of months though my bike was at a commission more than I Was able to ride it because I was always waiting for new inner tubes to be shipped to my house.
So save yourself some money and protect your tubes.
This next recommendation is a new one that I just recently put into practice.
Make sure you have an emergency kit for when you go on longer rides.
Let's see what's inside mine.
Inside I of course carry a spare inner tube I have a bike pump and a tire pressure gauge but I think I left that in my car.
I've got three wrenches of various sizes, a set of allen key wrenches, some tire wedges in case I need to replace that inner tube.
And something I keep with me almost everywhere I go, which is a multi tool.
I'm still trying to figure out anything else I might need to keep my emergency kit but let me know in the comments if you have any suggestions All right, now let's talk costs between all the accessories I've added to my bike and still plan on adding to my bike.
I expect to spend a total of about three to $400.
If I had just added that cost on to the total price of the bike when I bought it, I could have upgraded to something like the RAD rover or the RAD city and gotten a lot of those features right out of the box.
I still wanna add fenders for $90 because anytime I ride through even a small amount of water, it gets the bike pretty dirty.
Some even bigger expenses that don't even have to do with the bike involve the rack and the rack installation, but hang on, we're gonna get there.
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Before that though, I needed to talk about my biggest concern going into being an E bike owner and that is, am I actually gonna ride this thing around?
Well, the truth is, Yeah, I do.
I don't ride it around to run errands that often but I've become a pretty big biker since buying this thing.
It's become a regular weekend activity for my wife and I had to load up our bikes and go find a new trail to explore.
It's gotten me out of the house floor and introduced me to a new passion I didn't expect to have.
Not only do I plan to keep riding this E bike more and more, but I'm definitely gonna buy another one.
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Finally, let's talk about the wreck.
Easily the most expensive addition to this hobby, but it's allowed me to take my bike places I never imagined.
It's made by Hollywood Racks and designed to carry the weight of two ebikes which is significantly more than the weight of two regular bikes.
I had to install a hitch on my car to be able to use it which cost $300 including installation and the rack alone cost $500.
So, about $800 in total, just to be able to drive my bike places.
Because my bike is a step through, I had to buy this $30 adapter bar so that the rack has somewhere to hold on to.
Well worth it though, considering how much I've used it and how many different places I've taken my bike.
The rack also locks in several places so it's pretty secure if you need to run inside a store or just leave the bike out attended for a moment.
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