Early e-bike buyers still energized

Shane and Jill Sentz on their Rad electric bikes

After four years of riding their electric bikes, Jill and Shane Sentz are as enthusiastic as when they bought them. “I love everything about it,” Jill says of her Rad City e-bike. “Electric bikes are getting more and more popular. We see them all the time. At least three people we know bought Rad e-bikes after seeing ours. All three swore, like me, they would never be ‘bike
people,’ and now we’re all crazy ‘bike people.’

“We live in a hilly area,” Jill notes, “and we’re not super athletic bikers. So taking hills, even like Mandana Avenue from Lakeshore to Grand Avenue, is really hard without a throttle (that does all the pedaling) or a pedal assist (that helps the rider).”

“We use our bikes about half the time for shopping and errands and half for fun,” she says. “When my kids were smaller, I took them to and from school in a child’s seat on the back of my e-bike. We attach our cellphones to the bike handle and use GPS to help navigate which streets have bike lanes and the least traffic. Plus, there are hundreds of apps for recreational rides. We never did as much outdoorsy stuff before we got these bikes. They’re addictive.”

The battery range on Jill’s bike is 25 to 45 miles, depending on how much she uses the pedal assist or the throttle.” An LCD display on the bike shows how much battery life is left.

Rad bikes are sold only online at and are shipped partially or fully assembled. They range in price from approximately $1,100 to $1,700.

“Since it’s hard to buy a bike online without actually seeing it, I’m happy to show mine to anyone who’s interested,” said Jill.

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