Of course, the more power used, the faster I watched the battery run down on the RadRunner’s massive, full-color display. Hoping to get anywhere near the bike’s claimed 60 miles of range, I did my best to keep the motor set between 1 or 2 on flats and completely off on descents. Thanks to the bike’s manageable thumb buttons, switching between settings became second nature within seconds.
And, as stopping is equally important as riding, the RadRunner’s massive 180-mm rotors, which boast 2.3 mm of thickness and are operated by hydraulic brakes, gave me plenty of stopping power, even as I was rolling down a 12-percent hill one rainy afternoon.
Photograph: Michael Venutolo-Mantovani
On the safety and security front, the RadRunner Max features two major upgrades beyond its new battery. First, its rear light not only boasts turn signals but also radar, which alerts riders to traffic coming up on them within 100 meters, even displaying the vehicle’s speed. It also alerts drivers: Its rear light will blink when it detects traffic.
Second, the RadRunner Max is loaded with redundant safekeeping measures which include a key fob, Bluetooth connectivity to your phone, an option for passcode unlock (and the ability to assign multiple passcodes for multiple users), and even a built-in Apple Find My feature, which will help you track down your bike if anyone lifts it. Me? I’m old-school, so I simply wound my U-lock and cable through the bike’s rear rack, which not only boasts a reported 120-pound capacity but also has an additional battery mount, where a second unit can double the bike’s claimed 60-mile range.
Is the RadRunner Max perfect? Hardly. Then again, no bike is (other than, of course, a hand-painted Dario Pegoretti, but I still can’t convince WIRED to let me test one of those. While it may fall a bit short in height (no pun intended), ride feel (at least for me), and color options (though the hunter green finish with Rad’s signature orange badging certainly pops), the RadRunner Max more than compensates in utility, ease of use, cool new safety features, and, perhaps most importantly, fun factor.