What is an Electric Family Bike?

An electric family bike offers fun and mobility to you, your children, and other family members. We classify any ebike that offers additional passenger capacity as a family electric bike with models that can carry multiple children or adult passengers as a top demand from our customers. 

We hear from many families who have chosen to ride Rad that our RadWagon and RadRunner bike families are favored by their children of all ages. Making commuting to work, school, daycare and even the grocery run funner and easier! Children are more engaged during the commute to school and day care, they get to learn more about their neighborhoods and be more connected to their parents. 

We also understand that commuting by car or public transport can be impacted by traffic jams and parking shortages, which makes the commute time unpredictable. An electric family bike takes a lot of variability out of your errands and can get you from A to Z, easily and quickly. 

Type of Bike

There are three main types of electric family bikes. 

Standard ebikes with child seats. These are regular electric bikes like our RadCity 5 Plus or RadRhino that have an integrated rear rack where you can mount a child seat comfortably and safely. This bike provides you with a regular bike riding experience with smaller children. 

Cargo and Utility Electric Bikes with passenger seats. Rad Power Bikes offers multiple options in this category including the  RadRunner 2, RadRunner Plus and RadWagon 4. Each of these models is built to carry heavier loads and can be equipped with child seats or adult passenger seats. These bikes are particularly convenient for families as they handle just like regular bicycles with a smooth electric boost for your trips

Bakfiets or front-loading e-cargo bikes are a type of family electric bike most typical in continental Europe and are iconic for their large passenger basket at the front of the bike that can fit multiple small children. Rad Power Bikes does not currently offer this type of electric bicycle.

Design & Use

Our family ebike models come with 250W rear hub motors, up to 75+ km per charge, and a payload capacity between 125 - 158 kgs. We feature step-through frame options to provide easy access for mounting, riding, stopping and managing the weight of your passengers. While riding, our ebikes come with different levels of pedal assist to help you power along your ride at your own pace.. Our fat tires provide increased stability when you ride with your family and precious cargo; making city and rugged terrain cycling a breeze.

Tires & Terrain

Most of our ebike models feature fat tires capable of handling hills, multiple terrains, and longer rides. Models come with tires between 2.3” to  4” wide with a more rugged tread. 

This slightly thinner tire has less rolling resistance and is quieter than a wider tire, while still offering great stability and slightly zippier feel. 

A four-inch wide, more rugged tread provides additional stability for off-road riding while offering more of a fat bike-style ride feel. The 4" width allows for customers to adjust tire pressure to ride different terrain and provides more cushion to a rigid fork ebike setup. Overall, these tires provide a stable and safe ride for first-time riders even when rolling over smaller obstacles.

All our tires are puncture resistant which gives you more of a worry free ride and we do offer a Tannus Tire Armour upgrade on some of our bikes for customers wishing for added flat protection.

Family Ebike Safety & Comfort

Depending on the age of the children or passengers you may be carrying, it’s important to consider appropriate safety gear and passenger comfort accessories. 

For babies and toddlers we recommend mounting a child seat (All Rad Power Bikes ebikes are tested for compatibility with the Thule Yepp Child seat). Our RadWagon long-tail models can hold two Thule Yepp Child seats. For the younger ones; we recommend safety accessories like the Caboose and Running Boards for these long-tail ebikes which provide stability to your precious cargo. 

For slightly older children on a RadWagon, we recommend installing the Deckhand for them to hold on to (as an alternative to the Caboose). Additionally the running boards and foot pegs are required with the Deckpads for them to rest their feet whilst you ride. Our RadRunner utility moped-style ebikes can be outfitted with child bike seats or a stylish, comfortable passenger seat with foot pegs as your passengers get bigger.

We recommend only switching your RadWagon or RadRunner setup from child seats to a Deckpad or Passenger seat with running boards or foot pegs, when your child is tall enough to reach the foot support and can hold on to the handle bars comfortably. 

Additionally we recommend parents to upgrade their bikes with additional road safety accessories like the rear view mirror, the premium headlights and reflective stickers. Ride safely throughout the year and protect yourself and your family.

And everyone should wear a helmet that’s the right size and fit for safety. Rad offers a full line of top-rated and cool helmets for any rider.

Child Seat vs. Passenger Seat (Age Limits)

While there is no exact age when to switch your child from a child carrier to a passenger seat, we recommend you decide this based on your child's ability to hold on and support themselves on their own. Their height should allow them to safely reach the handlebars and the foot support on your bike which is either a running board or foot pegs.

There is no age too old to be a passenger on a Rad ride as long as you follow the weight restrictions of the rear rack and your passenger can wear a helmet, support themselves on the seat and hold on for ride safety.

Limit to number of children seats

Our regular ebikes are capable of safely carrying one additional passenger with a child seat or passenger seat. Only the RadWagon long-tail cargo ebike is capable of fitting two children safely on the back. Please make sure to also check your local government regulations, some countries do not permit more than 1 child per bicycle no matter the capabilities of your bike.

Please also keep in mind the payload capacity of the individual electric bicycle you own, which will help decide the number of passengers you can accommodate. For example, the payload capacity of our RadWagon ebike is 158kg meaning the maximum weight of you, your passengers (1 or 2) and your cargo (groceries/work bag/school bag) must not exceed 158kg. The rear rack is rated for a weight limit of 54kg or under.

Storing & Transport

All Rad Power Bikes are built to the width dimensions of a regular bicycle, therefore they can fit into a shed, garage or even your home easily. In contrast to the Bakfiets style bicycles that are extra wide, with our bikes you will never run into space issues. The RadWagon is our only long-tail bike, so check that your storage can fit the extra length (2m) of this bike. 

Electric bikes are slightly heavier than regular bikes and Rad’s fat tire bikes are no exception. Please note that we do not recommend storing a Rad bike in an apartment or condo as carrying our bikes up the stairs can be difficult.

Rad bikes can be transported like regular ebikes on a vehicle with an appropriate fat tire bike rack and Ebike Adapter Bar for the step thru bike models. At this time the only fat tire bike rack tested and approved by Rad Power Bikes in Europe is the Thule fat tire bike rack collection. 

RadWagon ebikes are extra long, so please check traffic safety requirements if the bike sticks out on either end of your car (in width).

Featured Customer & Media Reviews

Les Numerique review of the RadWagon (FR)

RadRunner Plus review by Selectos (FR)

Ebike News review of RadRunner Plus (DE)

Bright review of the RadWagon 4 (NL)

"Great bike. High quality and well equipped. I've added 2 mirrors and the child seat. Just perfect to go to work, school, around the city, park, wherever." - Cardei, RadWagon 4 owner

"I use my Radrunner for commuting and taking my 8 year-old daughter to school. It does the job perfectly and is a lot of fun! Despite being single-speed it copes with the hills on our journey pretty well." - Matthew, RadRunner 1 owner