PB’S RADON RENDER 10.0
MONTH 6: PB’S Render gets 10 out of 10 for reliability, unlike his eyes...
If you’ve ridden an e-bike with a Shimano system you’ll know it has a little display mounted behind the handlebar that shows average speed, battery life, distance travelled, that sort of thing. Bosch also has a handlebarmounted display, and my Radon Render 10.0 uses the Kiox unit, also mounted behind the bar. Granted, it’s on the opposite side of the stem, but has a ton more features, including navigation and heart rate functions.
That said, I just like to know how fast I’m going and how much battery life I have left, so I don’t really use the ‘sporty’ functions. However, the problem I have with the battery life indicator is it’s a tiny percentage figure in the top corner of the screen that I can only see if I’m wearing my reading glasses. This means on most rides I actually have to ask my daughter or someone else to tell me what it says!
I like that the display quick-releases from the mount and that turns off the bike, which sort of acts like a security feature. Obviously, someone could still steal your bike at the tea stop but I think you’d catch them easily – even the fittest crim isn’t going to get very far pedalling a 50lb e-bike with no juice. This crim also won’t be able to steal your expensive Bosch 625wh battery because it’s locked in place in the Radon Render 10.0 down tube. To remove the battery, you have to unhook the lower rubber band, slide the cover downwards and then insert the key. It’s a little stiff but the battery will eventually unclip from the frame for safekeeping or home charging. I initially thought the rubberised cover would fall out while riding (the rubber band isn’t very substantial) but I’ve done over 500 miles on this bike and it’s not happened once. I also thought dirt would get into the frame but again after months of riding it’s as clean as a whistle.
Another component I thought might eventually break is the little flip-up cover over the charging port but again this is still intact. I actually prefer this design over the rubber bung you see on a lot of rival e-bikes, especially when washing the bike because those bungs can end up getting knocked open with a cleaning brush causing water to get inside. Being able to remove the
Kiox display is also a big advantage when cleaning – I had the Shimano control unit on my previous longtermer replaced twice due to water ingress.
There is a little bit of wear on the control switch on the Radon Render 10.0 from flipping the bike upside down, as it sits on top of the handlebar. According to the Bosch website this controller is actually supposed to be orientated like a shifter pod to stop this happening, but seeing as most riders have a dropper post remote in this position, it’s a compromise.
By this stage in my previous e-termers I’d had several issues with the bike not starting up or dropping out mid-ride. That hasn’t happened with the Radon Render 10.0 and that’s due to the durability of the Bosch system. Sure, the controls don’t interface very well and aren’t particularly sleek, but they’re way more reliable and, for me, that’s top of my list when owning an e-bike.
Frame
Fork
Motor
Display Wheels
Brakes