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Archives for May 2018

Dunlop Golf Balls Review

May 30, 2018 - Updated May 30, 2018

The next golf ball brand up for review are those made by Dunlop. Each and every model of a Dunlop golf ball I review will be found on this post. Keeps things tidy.

As with all of my reviews I play one round of golf at Rackham Golf Course near my house in Huntington Woods from the White Tees.

At the end of the review the golf balls score is added to the leaderboard.

Dunlop DDH Deep Distance Golf Ball Review

Dunlop DDH Deep Distance Golf Ball ReviewRackham Golf Course

5-25-18. White Tees.

90 Degrees. Some Wind. Sunny.

Before I play a round I do a little research on each golf ball. When I went looking for the DDH Deep Distance I could not find a thing. It appears there are no more Dunlop golf balls.

Sumitomo Rubber Industries bought the Dunlop name and decided to make golf balls under the XXIO and Srixon names. You can find a DDH Deep Distance for sale on the internet as retailers are basically giving them away to move inventory.

Dunlop DDH Deep Distance 15 Golf Balls

And the reason behind that is the DDH Deep Distance has to be at least ten years old. Yes, that means I found another unopened box of golf balls in my Dads old workroom that have been sitting around. If you’ve been reading any of my other reviews you’ll pick up that nearly all of them are “Distance” golf balls.

There is also a picture of 3-Time World Long Drive Champion Sean “The Beast” Fister on the box from when he looks to be in his mid 30s and not him at 53 years old.

Dunlop DDH Deep Distance New In Plastic
Still in the plastic!

So these golf balls are old. But they are new and have never been played which passes the entry test. I remember playing DDH golf balls back in the day when I’d find one so maybe there would be some comfortability.

Dunlop didn’t over market or over promise on what the DDH Deep Distance can do. On the box it claims “The new DDH Deep Distance features a larger, high velocity core as the engine of the golf ball, offering unbeatable distance for players who prefer a firmer feel and who have a medium to high swing speed.”

And that’s really it. Straight to the point and simple. So lets see how we did.

Off The Tee – Hit the fairway six times which is about average. Pushed one drive to the right. Outside of that I’d say it was a very average day of driving the ball. No draws but a lot of straight drives (good thing).

There were no booming drives and was very little roll out. But in almost every situation outside of one there was an opportunity to go at the green from an ideal spot on each hole. And with these golf balls designed for medium to high swing speeds I did not have to over swing.

Trajectory was mid to high in every drive.

Fairway Woods & Hybrids – There was a tendency for the DDH Deep Distance to fly inside out but it did fly. On many shots it made that nice “crack” sound.

Hit an amazing 5 wood from 200 yards out on the Par 5 14th to within 8 feet of the pin. This happened after over swinging and duffing my 3 wood from 250 yards out. Was just setting myself up for the ideal shot of course. Made the birdie putt too!

Dunlop DDH Deep Distance 5 Wood
Lets call it 8 feet out. 5 Wood from 200 yards.

Didn’t hit a hybrid today but did chip with it.

Irons – The DDH Deep Distance produced 7 Greens In Regulation which is about average. Was read hot on the front nine with 6 GIR’s.

And that front nine was impressive. Put both approach shots to the Par 3’s within 10 feet and just about everything else had makable putts from 25 feet or less.

What surprised me was the staying power and spin created from the DDH Deep Distance. This golf ball was hitting the green, jumping once or twice, and stopping.

Dunlop DDH Deep Distance Backspin
9 Iron. 8 Iron. 7 Iron.

Wedges – With me being fairly on with irons on the front nine there were not that many wedge opportunities. On the back nine there was a few including two times hitting out of the sand.

The DDH Deep Distance did not check up once on shots from the sand or within 25 yards of the green. Which was odd because of the spin created on full iron swings. I was thinking there would be at least some spin. Alas, I was wrong.

Putting – And this is where the DDH Deep Distance blew it. It did not have a nice feel coming off the putter face. The scorecard says there were 36 putts which is a couple above average.

What is most disappointing about the DDH Deep Distance is it had the chance to make 6 legitimate birdies on the front nine and did not make one. Heck, it 3 putted twice from 20 feet. It did make one birdie on the back nine but man it could have done so much better.

Durability – Barely a blemish. And that’s after smacking an oak tree on a one hop to the trunk with a 5 wood on the Par 3 13th. Many more rounds of golf could be played with it.

Dunlop DDH Deep Distance Durability

Score – 89. GIR – 7. Putts – 36. Fairways – 6

Dunlop DDH Deep Distance Score

Seeing how this golf ball is a decade old and not technologically advanced as newer golf balls I’d say it performed ok. In many ways I was most impressed by the spin created with irons and fairway woods.

A comparable newer golf ball to the Dunlop DDH Deep Distance would be the Titleist NXT Tour. Both are rather ho-hum and since you cannot buy Dunlop golf balls anymore you’d have to go the NXT Tour or stay within the Sumitomo family with an XXIO or Srixon.

My guess is I’ll never play another Dunlop golf ball again.

Top Flite Golf Balls Review

May 24, 2018 - Updated June 19, 2018

Up for review are Top Flite golf balls. Every time I play a Top Flite golf ball I will write my review here and add the results to the golf ball leaderboard.

I used to play Top Flites a lot when I was growing up in the 90s. Wasn’t that when they were really popular? It seemed to be the brand of golf ball my parents would buy and my brother and I would take a sleeve when needed.

Just as I do with all of my reviews I will play one 18 hole round at Rackham Golf Course in Huntington Woods, MI near my house.

Top Flite XL 3000 Super Long Golf Ball Review

Rackham Golf Course

5-24-18 – White Tees

80 Degrees. No wind. Sunny.

Why on Earth am I playing a ten year old golf ball? Well, if you’ve been reading some of my reviews you’ll notice I’ve been working through many different golf balls I found lying around in my dads old workshop.

These Top Flite XL 3000 Super Longs have been sitting around for at least a decade and were unopened still in the wrapping. After talking to Mom this past weekend we believe Dad won these and other golf balls at outings. Ending the thinking that he liked buying distance golf balls. I swear, every single golf ball I found has “distance” or “long” in its name or slogan.

I do not remember playing the XL 3000 Super Long as when they came out I think I was in a Callaway and Slazenger phase. There was something about the Top Flite logo and font that I did not like. It looked cheap in a way.

Top Flite really sticks behind their golf ball. There is a “100% Satisfaction Guarantee” on the box stating “If you are not completely satisfied with the them to return the unused golf balls, package, and receipt for a full refund.” Now that’s some marketing.

The XL 3000 Super Long is a two piece golf ball built around its “Revolutionary S.O.A.R (Scientifically Optimized Aerodynamic Reaction) Dimple Technologies Generate More Surface Turbulence To Reduce Drag And Improve Aerodynamic Efficiency.”

Umm…ok.

And the XL 3000 Super Long is able to do all of those things with its Beta Titanium Cover and Tungsten Core. Beta Titanium is of course, added to the cover for superior distance. And the Tungsten Core is of course, a very dense material which minimizes the need for fillers and provides a soft, responsive feel.

Dont you just love Marketing? All of that is hilarious. But what if their right? Let’s find out.

Off The Tee – Hit 7 fairways with driver. This was a very good ball to hit driver with. Outside of two drives that sprayed to the right I hit the XL 3000 Super Long dead straight or a baby draw with very good distance.

There were no “Super Long” drives. And the ball didn’t roll out either. What I did experience just about every time I hit a good drive was my typical high launch angle (which Top Flite says will happen with the XL 3000 on the box) resulting in one or two hops and a stop. In some cases I was even getting backspin with the driver.

Sending Driver!!!

Fairway Woods & Hybrids – Just great. I was picking the XL 3000 clean off the fairway and rough with these clubs. What was most surprising is the height and spin I was able to create with the 5 wood.

On #11 I hit a towering approach from 200 yards with my 5 wood hitting the green and backspinning a foot. And then with the 3 wood it flew at mid height trajectory with little spin.

5 wood from 200 yards. Sorry about the picture. Very poor cropping. Its about 15 feet away.

There was just a comfortability hitting fairway woods with the XL 3000. Did not use my hybrid.

Irons – Started hot and fizzled out on the back 9 with the irons. The XL 3000 Super Long surprisingly had very good control even though it is a distance ball. Had two above average tee shots on both far 3’s on the front nine.

One landed four feet from the hole and backspun. The other landed fifteen feet from the hole bounced once and stopped ten feet from the hole.

9 iron. 8 iron. 7 iron.

Distance did not feel any longer with the irons but contact felt above average which was unexpected.

Wedges – And this is where the XL 3000 Super Long started to go down hill. It blew a number of easy approach shots from 70 yards out. Hit two very good but went over and two others that came up way short.

There was no spin nor did the XL 3000 check up once from shots around the green. Which I guess was to be expected.

Putting – The scorecard says there was 32 putts which is decent. Unfortunately none of those five 1 putts were for birdie or even to save par. There was one 3 putt which was just sad.

Out of the 6 GIR’s there were 4 legit birdie putts which missed by enough that they weren’t close. Did tap in for par on those but the story really is that the wedge game wasn’t great resulted in shots from the fringe or just off with the putter. I used putter from off the green at least five times.

The XL 3000 Super Long was just not a great ball to putt with. It was average all around.

Durability – Did I hit a tree or two? Yes. But the tree did not leave a mark on the ball. What did leave a mark on the ball was it hitting the cart path after being thrown by the guy I was golfing with.

Yes, the guy I played with picked up my ball from the green and threw it some 20 yards to the next tee box but it came up short and bounced off the cart path twice.

He had played two balls on the 17th hole after duffing his approach shot. He played another one and sculled it over the green. Being the gentlemen I am I went and picked up his sculled ball over the green as mine was just over the green too. I rolled it near his ball he played onto the green which he did not see me do. While he was walking up I putted the XL 3000 Super Long near the flag.

He had a brain fart. Picked mine up and chucked it in discust thinking it was his sculled ball. It was quite funny.

Score – 85. GIR – 6. Putts – 32. Fairways – 7

Doing some preliminary research for the Top Flite XL 3000 Super Long I found out the Top Flite brand had been sold to Dicks Sporting Goods. Which I thought to be odd. But sure enough there was no TopFlite.com. Everything points to Dicks now.

Seeing how this golf ball is at least ten years old I know it doesn’t have the performance of newer golf balls. But it was still a pretty good golf ball.

It might have been “Super Long” a decade ago but it’s very average now. Possibly below average in some aspects. I still can’t get over the logo and font.

A comparable newer golf ball to the XL 3000 Super Long would be something like the Titleist Velocity.

Luckily for the XL 3000 Super Long the course was playing better than the Schwetty and Pinnacle Long Drive I played the previous two weeks and it benefitted from it.

Wilson Golf Balls Review

May 18, 2018 - Updated May 18, 2018

Wilson golf balls are the next brand to be entered into my quest to find the best golf ball. Whenever I play a golf ball from Wilson I will post my review here.

Just as I do with all of my reviews I play one round at Rackham Golf Course near my house in Huntington Woods, Michigan.

I will admit up front to never buying Wilson golf balls in my golfing career. Maybe I’d play one I found but never had I bought some.

Wilson TC2 Tour Golf Ball Review

Rackham Golf Course

5-17-18 – White Tees

72 Degrees. Sunny. Light Breeze.

The Wilson TC2 Tour is another golf ball my dad had laying around his workshop. And again, its a ball made for Maximum Distance and Maximum Control. We know from my dads other five golf balls I’ve tested so far that he has a thing for distance golf balls.


I don’t know if he bought these as there is a Mt. Clemens Lions Club logo on them in recognition of their annual golf outing. My guess is he played in it and won these at the banquet or as a door prize.

Saying that, it should be noted that the TC2 Tour golf ball was last produced over a decade ago. That means dad never thought about putting these into play and probably should have walked to the river behind their house and dumped them in.

I mean, there are 15 brand new golf balls sitting here. And he never thought about using one ever. There is no manufacturing date on them and after doing some searching the last mention of the TC2 Tour on the internet is in 2010. So lets say these were made in 2008. Making them a decade old when I put them into play.

Onto this two piece golf ball. The Wilson TC2 Tour has a “Resilient, cut proof ionomer cover (Really? Great!!) with a high powered core for maximum distance with optimum spin for maximum control.” YIPPEE!

Off The Tee – I thoroughly enjoyed hitting driver with the TC2 Tour. Distance was very good when I made solid contact and ok on mis-hits. Hit 6 fairways which average. What I liked is I was able to hit my subtle draw with it. It really seemed to work well with my swing speed.

On my mis-hits I did push the ball leaving me in some precarious spots. Had to punch out three times. Ball flight was mid trajectory which is a nice change of pace as I normally hit high.

Fairway Woods & Hybrids – Accuracy was not great but it made one hell of a cracking sound. Used my 3 and 5 wood a number of times due to the slight breeze and the course being wet limiting balls rolling out.

Distance was good. Had a green in regulation on the Par 3 13th hitting a towering 5 wood onto the green. The TC2 Tour had a very comfortable ball flight with the fairway woods. Didn’t have any full swings with hybrid, only punch outs.

Irons – I was thoroughly surprised with the distance and accuracy I was getting with the TC2 Tour. I do not know if I was making better contact then normal but if I wasn’t on the green with my approach shots then I was just off. Had 5 greens in regulation with at least five other approach shots landing a foot off the green.

Spin was non-existent. Not once did I see it check up. There was a considerable amount of rollout. But contact felt great.

I typically share pictures of divots and where the ball ends up. And I did take a few pictures but this one says it all. The TC2 Tour hit pin high from 120 yards and rolled out 30 feet. Kind of sums up how it went all day. And that shot was with a 9 iron.

Divot bottom left. Ball top left center. Why couldn’t you stop where you landed? ANSWER ME!!!

Wedges – Not bad actually. With spin being next to null I had to play a bump and run on every shot. And thats what I prefer to do in most cases. Outside of one bad approach shot on #17 (short par 4) I’d say the short game wasn’t all that bad.

Putting – And this is where the TC2 Tour struggled. One four putt. Two three putts. It did have six one putts which might sound great but I used my putter from just off the fringe, on the fringe, or from the fairway six times. I had 34 total putts but you could say I used the putter at least 40 times.

And the TC2 Tour had a good feel as it left the putter face. Which kind of surprised me since this is not a premium golf ball even for mid 2000s standards.

Durability -There are two small scuff marks which might be from the one tree I hit. Otherwise it is good for another couple of rounds.

Score – 87. GIR – 5. Putts – 34. Fairways – 6.

I actually liked the TC2 Tour. The font has a Terminator 2 look to it. Putting line with Wilson in it is simple. Not once did I think the TC2 Tour was a piece of crap. It was a decent all around golf ball.

Its too bad that Rackham still had water everywhere from rains a couple of days prior. And that they had not cut the rough yet which made getting out harder than normal. The greens were extremely slow. Like, really slow.

Over the river and through the woods of Huntington we go to the 14th green.

The morning of was the first time they cut the fairways this year. It made so much more of a difference then when I played the Schwetty and Pinnacle Gold Long Drive the two weeks prior. Its mid-May. Says a thing or two about the weather we’ve had in Michigan so far in 2018.

Who knows, maybe in mid-July the TC2 Tour could put up a better score. And we will never know. Because that’s not how this works.

I would play the TC2 Tour again though. It reminded me of the Vice Tour. A well rounded golf ball for a decent price. Correction, I don’t know how much they cost. Their 10+ years old!

RadWagon Electric Cargo Bike Review: Its Awesome

May 16, 2018 - Updated April 20, 2021

The amount of times an ad pops up and gets me thinking that I need to have something is zero times. A Lamborghini would be nice but I do not need a Lamborghini. Even if I could afford a Lamborghini I have no use for one.

And how many bikes do I need to own? I own a perfectly good 2006 Specialized Rockhopper with 3000+ miles on it. Outside of changing a set of tires it still has the original brakes and everything else on it.

With me working from home the past decade I rarely have use for a car. We have a need for 1.5 cars and since they don’t make .5 cars we own two. But now we have kids and need 1.75 cars. I do not see this number going down until they are no longer needing car seats.

But what if we had a bike that could replace a car?

One that could get me from A to B quickly, along with being able to haul cargo and a baby or two. How awesome would that be?

RadWagon Review
Just another Saturday in the park.

When I saw the video of the RadWagon I started talking myself into why I needed one. When I was on RadPowerBikes.com I watched videos for their other bikes (RadRover, RadMini) but I kept coming back to the RadWagon.

(**Hey. That link above is my referral link which I get to send to friends. That’s right, we’re friends. They have a Refer A Friend program where YOU and I both get a $50 Amazon gift card when you buy a bike via my link. We’re welcome.**)

I never want anything. If I want something its because I see it having a purpose. When I mention something a couple of times it means its probably the best thing you could ever buy even if I don’t own it.

Andrea watched the video with me a couple of times and laughed when she saw the couple taking the RadWagon to the farmers market. It looked fun and funny at the same time. Thats kind of what we do.

Of course I did not need one but as I watched the video over and over and thought about how it could do all the things a .5 car could do I started doing the math to see if it would make sense to own one of these and a car instead of two.

The math did work out but we still need two cars. Damn you Michigan winters!

I could not justify spending $1600 on an e-bike just yet.

But Andrea could.

And for my 36th B-Day I was pleasantly surprised to see the RadWagon hiding in my brothers garage for me to find. Well played Andrea.

Without me knowing, she bought the RadWagon and had it shipped to my brothers house. It had been quite some time since I was surprised with a gift, especially one like this.

RadWagon Shipping Box
Awww. He’s smiling.

She knew how cool I thought the RadWagon was but how I could not bring myself to buy it. It was one of the few things that made me smile during an otherwise sad time. Forty-five days prior to my 36th birthday I lost my dad.

The RadWagon was a gift for me for our family. I could not wait to get it back to our house to put it together. And thats where the nuts and bolts of my RadWagon review begin.

Assembly Process

I knew ahead of time the RadWagon shipped mostly assembled with a few finishing items for the owner to do. The pedals, seat post, front headlight and wheel, running boards, and front parking spring needed to be installed.

I believe the directions said it would take an hour to do. Anytime I am doing something like this for the first time I multiply the “about time” by three to set the right expectations for myself.

It took me around two hours to assemble the RadWagon. Kept having issues with the seat post and getting the headlight to line up straight.

RadWagon Assembly Process
Just about put together.

First Ride

While I was being overly cautious assembling the RadWagon I had been charging the battery. You bet your ass I was taking this thing for a ride immediately after I got it assembled.

Press the power button. Turn the key. Hold the menu button down. Put it in the “1” setting. And away I go.

Its been so long since something brought a genuine smile to my face. And that’s what happened the second the hybrid motor kicked in. I had moved maybe eight feet and pedaled one rotation before the electric boost kicked in.

I was smiling and laughing my ass off as I gained speed hitting 20 mph in less than fifty yards. Did a couple high speed passes as Andrea and my brother watched from the driveway. It makes it even better when you say “OMG I am going so fast” as you pass them.

Up and down the street I went testing out all the speed levels, brakes, throttle, and lights before I let Andrea and my brother go for a ride.

Genuine smiles from both of them too. It got even funnier when I gave Andrea a ride followed by my brother. It was just too funny.

We all agreed the RadWagon was a big heavy bike but the electric motor over compensated for that. You didn’t even notice how heavy or big it was once you got moving.

I also renamed the RadWagon the B-RadWagon (you see what I did there). Not gonna lie. First thing that popped into my mind after seeing the companies name was my name. When you’re name is Brad, you will be referred to as B-Rad at least one thousand times in your life.

Accessories

After a few weeks of owning the RadWagon I knew I had to get accessories to get the most out of the bike. Why own the bike if you’re not going to try and use it for the cargo bike it is?

Its going to get a little expensive when you add all the costs for those accessories but I feel a year and half later those costs to be worth it.

RadWagon Aluminum Accessory Deck – You have to have this to attach accessories to the RadWagon. It replaces the wood deck that comes with the bike. $59.

Deckhand – If you are going to give people rides then it would be nice to give them something to hold onto. It securely attaches to the accessory deck. $65.

RadWagon Rear Deck Pad – To keep butts comfortable when going for a ride. (I bought another one in 2018). $25

Ballard Cargo Bag Review
You meant “Boots” plural.

Ballard Cargo Bags – I bought two of them. These bags are huge. Rarely do I need to use both of them. One will do just fine. You can fit so much stuff in the bags that I only keep one attached to the bike.

Like the one time Andrea told me to pick up some boots she dropped off to get fitted for her. I thought she said boots, not boots plural, or however you say “two pairs of boots”.

When I saw the owner of the store bring out two boxes I got a little nervous since I was one mile away from home with one bag on the bike. Fear not. They fit.

The Ballard Cargo Bags come in quite handy for making beer runs. Two twelve packs, a bottle of wine, a fifth of gin, and some limes have all fit into one bag. $119 x 2 = $238.

Thule Yepp Maxi Child Seat Review
My youngest at 2 years old.

Thule Yepp Maxi Child Seat – If you have a kid and you have a RadWagon then you have to get the child seat. It makes getting a toddler around that much easier than a trailer when they are sitting behind you instead of in the trailer.

It might be a little un-nerving at first thinking about what happens to your kid if you fall over. They fall over too. They also fall over if you parked the RadWagon sideways on a slight decline. This almost happened to me.

The child seat and child add some weight to the bike. If you are concerned about not being strong enough to stabilize the bike after kicking the kickstand up then make sure you have someone around the first time you put them in the seat. Its awkward at first but you’ll get used to it.

But the kids have so much more fun in the seat over a trailer. And why wouldn’t they? They are doing 18 mph and seeing everything you see instead of being six inches off the ground with fabric blocking their view.

I did have to put a sweater on the seat to get my then 1.5 and 2.5 year olds heads above the back of the seat so their helmet would be above the back of the child seat. Otherwise their heads would be leaning forward. I’m sure somebody would tell me thats a no-no but I made an executive parenting decision and rolled with it.

I did put my youngest on the seat when she was one year old but decided against taking her for a ride. She was too small still even with the sweater. Had to wait a couple of months before I felt comfortable with her in the seat. $165.

Yepp Easyfit Adapter – You can’t use the child seat without the adapter. It attaches to the accessory deck in a way which allows the child seat to securely work with it. $39.

***Update May 2018***

I have added a couple accessories since early 2017.

Top Tube Bag – Bought in 2018. So much nicer to put my cell phone, keys, and sometimes wallet into versus my cargo shorts.

The top is clear so you can keep your cell phone in and easily view a call, text, etc. Much better than trying to get a phone out of a cargo short pocket at 15 mph.

I also keep a bunch of referral cards I printed out in there for when people ask me about the bike. $39

Caboose – Bought in 2018. My kids are almost 3 and 4 now. I have wanted the Caboose since getting the bike. They are big enough now to hold onto the rails. The farthest I’ve gone with them so far is 2 miles and I believe they like it a whole lot more than the trailer.

With them both being up higher and seeing everything I hear “Da Da – look at that” like all the time.

And I like it more than pulling the trailer. Doesn’t feel like a long haul semi-trailer now. The RadWagon is definitely top heavier with them in the Caboose so I go a little bit slower.

I doubt I’ll ever use the Yepp Maxi Child Seat and adapter again as they had to come off when the Caboose went on. The Deckhand came off but might go back on after the kids want to start riding their own bikes.

After having the Caboose on I kind of wish I would have skipped buying the Yepp Maxi Child Seat, used the trailer exclusively for another year, and then bought the Caboose. $150.

Rollout! Rollout! Rollout!

Accessories Total – $795. Including the cost of the RadWagon at $1600 we are $2395 into the bike.

You can buy all of the accessories for the RadWagon at RadPowerBikes.com. The Yepp Maxi Child Seat and Adapter are available on Amazon for a few dollars cheaper if you have a prime membership.

Pictures

RadWagon Pulling Trailer
Well somebody has to ride in the trailer.

 

RadWagon Electric Bike Royal Oak
Heading out to Royal Oak for dinner.
RadWagon Beer Run
I’m not at the liquor store picking up wood.
Ballard Cargo Bag 12 Pack Beers
Ballard Cargo Bag showing what it does best.
RadWagon Electric Cargo Bike With Accessories
All shined up and ready for a family ride.

Improvements

After 500 miles on the RadWagon there are a few things I’d like to see improved on.

  • Seat Post – The plastic coupling cracked on me during assembly and you never know when the seat is going to fall down. I really have to crank it down to get the seat to stay in one spot.
  • Front Fenders – The fenders have been a pain in the ass since almost day 1. The second you hit a bump of any sort they start to come lose and rub the front tire. I am at the point where I’m thinking about removing them all together. There has to be a better design then how they tighten.
  • Bike Trailer Mount – There is no good place to attach a bike trailer. I managed to tighten it to the running board but it is not directly behind me. Its not a big deal but it would be nice to know the kids are directly behind me and not off to the side.
  • Built In GPS – I’d pay another $100 to $200 more if GPS was built into the frame somehow. I’m not impressed with the bike GPS options available and it would be nice to know GPS was hidden so a bike thief wouldn’t know where to look.
  • Better Accessory Deck – Since I installed the accessory deck I have not taken it off. We use it too much with the kids. It would be nice if the accessory deck (or even the bike frame) was built in such a way that I would not need the Yepp Easy Fit Adapter. Just drop the Yepp Maxi Child Seat into the deck, lock it in, and go. Getting the seat on and off is fast and easy. Taking the adapter off is not fast and easy as it involves tools. And with it being raised you have to take it off if you’re giving rides to anyone older than six. It just takes up too much space. (***Update*** This is built into the 2018 RadWagon frame.)
  • Make Accessory Deck Standard – Why would anyone buy the RadWagon and not put the accessory deck on? Yes, the wood board plank it comes with is nice but its sitting in a closet. Kind of wasteful. Or at least an option when you buy it. Oh, and can we get it in black? (***Update*** No more accessory deck on 2018 RadWagon).
  • Different Spot For The Key – It would be great if the key was repositioned to the front of the battery so it hid under the frame. With the key sticking out I have snagged my cargo shorts at least five times. Its not a big deal but I’m concerned about snapping the key.
  • Suspension – I get it. The length of the bike frame absorbs and disperses the bumps. But man, there are so many bumps and pot holes here in Michigan and you cannot avoid them all. Maybe with a front suspension it wouldn’t rattle the front fenders off.

Battery

I have not yet tried to see how far I can get on one charge. The farthest I have gone so far on a full charge is 8 miles and the screen said I still had half a charge left. And thats after a lot of starting and stopping in and around Royal Oak.

Only one time did I go out with one bar showing and it was for a 2 mile round trip. Made it back still on the one bar.

I can’t say for sure if I can make it over 20 miles on one charge but my guess is yes. Its just that every time I see it with half a charge remaining I bring it in and charge it all the way up.

Ownership

  • Customer Service – I contacted Rad Power Bikes with a question once and they responded within 24 hours. They will answer your questions.
  • Check Your Tires – The reason I contacted customer service was because it felt like the RadWagon was going really slow which had me concerned about the battery. Turns out the tires had lost a lot of air around the sixth month of me riding it. My guess is from all the bumps in the roads and weight of the bike. I pumped them up and the RadWagon was back to normal.
  • Water Resistant – I found myself stuck in a rain storm with shelter a mile away. I rode home as fast as I could. The battery, wires, hybrid motor, LCD screen, etc. were all wet. I was freaking out that I broke the bike. I was wrong. It worked fine all the way through the rain storm and after drying out it fired right up.

Where To Buy

Unless you live in Seattle where they have a store than you have to order it at RadPowerBikes.com. When Andrea bought the RadWagon in May 2016 it cost $150 to ship it. No longer. They now offer free shipping on all of their bikes.

(**Like I stated at the top. That’s my “Refer A Friend” link above. That’s right, we’re still friends. If you so choose to click on it and buy a bike YOU and I both get a $50 Amazon gift card. We’re welcome.**)

Rad Power Bikes is a direct to consumer company out of Seattle. They explain the cost savings in this business model on their website and I agree with their claims.

From time to time I pop into the bike store near my house and see e-bikes from Trek and Specialized going for over $2500. If you are looking to get your first e-bike without spending over $2000 than do yourself a solid and get one from Rad Power Bikes.

Since Andrea bought the RadWagon for me they released the RadCity to go along with the RadRover and RadMini. For 2018 they introduced the RadCity Step-Thru. There is something for everyone.

Summary

I really like the RadWagon. Its so much fun. It feels like cheating when you’re biking. You do not realize how fast 18 mph is when you’re barely pedaling and looking at everything go by.

Rarely do I see the need to use any setting higher than the lowest setting of “1”. Pedaling at a leisurely pace in the first setting results in a average speed around 16 mph. Anything higher is almost unnecessary as you hit 20 mph quickly. From time to time I’ll put it in “2” when I’m towing both kids in the bike trailer.

Sometimes I’ll put it in the “0” setting (hybrid motor off) which turns the RadWagon into a regular pedal bike. Talk about a fricking workout pedaling a 75 pound bike plus my weight. My legs are burning after a hundred yards.

I really enjoy when I get to an intersection and somebody in a car waves me through. I throttle all the way and stare at them. All of their faces are saying “How is he moving without pedaling?” Its hilarious.

I don’t see the need to get into all the specs and technology of the RadWagon. Thats not my thing. Lets assume the battery will get better. The bike will get lighter. Rad Power Bikes will see my improvement list and be like “that Brad guy is right”.

I’m more of a “Does it do what it claims to do?” sort of person. And the answer is yes.

I could see somebody replacing a car with the RadWagon. I can see somebody saving a lot of money on their transportation costs with it. Lets assume it can in fact do 20 mph for 20 miles on one charge. Do you know how far 20 miles is? Its really far.

After owning the RadWagon for a year and a half now I see how e-bikes can change transportation. I almost said “the world” and I know I have before. When I read politicians say we need to expand roads and build more parking structures I think how we’re missing it.

What if we had designated bike lanes and allowed e-bikes to do 30mph instead of being governed at 20 mph?

The sad thing for me is I live in Metro Detroit where there are no designated bike lanes. It sucks. And I probably live in the most bike friendly area (Huntington Woods, Royal Oak, Berkley, Ferndale, Pleasant Ridge). Oh, there are bike lanes but they go nowhere.

So when I saw the first video of the couple on the RadWagon going to the Farmers Market in Seattle on a designated bike lane I kind of got jealous. I cannot think of one road or even a sidewalk where I can get up to 20 mph for more than a sixteenth of a mile without having to stop.

And there is the guy on a bike painted in the streets telling you its ok to ride in downtown Royal Oak but nobody besides a biker sees it. And its confusing to say the least. Do I stay in the middle? On the side? Can I use the turn lanes? When can I not ride in the streets?

I kind of feel like I can’t get the most out of the RadWagon due to where I live. Its like I own that Lamborghini (LOL) and its my only car here in Michigan. Good luck not hitting a thousand pot holes or having to abruptly stop for them in that thing.

The RadWagon gets a lot of attention wherever I go. I tell people its kind of like a Tesla. You don’t get it till you ride it. I tell anyone who takes it for a ride at my house that they will have a smile on their face in eight feet when the electric boost kicks in. As soon as it kicks in they look back with a big smile on their face.

Oh geez. Look at what you made me do. I’m just rambling on now. Lets finish this.

The RadWagon is awesome.

Pinnacle Golf Ball Review

May 11, 2018 - Updated May 11, 2018

Pinnacle will be another brand added to the best golf ball leaderboard. Being upfront here I have never bought Pinnacles.

I’ve played them over the years if I found them on the course or in the Clinton River behind the house I grew up in (Rammler Golf Course was on the other side of the river from my house). So there will probably be some sort of back story for each Pinnacle I play.

And I write all of my reviews for the brand here instead of separate posts. Like with all of my reviews I play one 18 hole round at Rackham Golf Course near my house in Huntington Woods. All of the golf balls played are either brand new or never been played.

Pinnacle Gold Long Drive Golf Ball Review

Rackham Golf Course

5-8-18 – White Tees

70 Degrees. Sunny. Breezy.

I’m really starting to learn a thing or two about my dad and his thought process of buying golf balls. The Pinnacle Gold Long Drive is probably the fifth golf ball of his I’ve played that is designed for distance. My dad was a big guy (6′ 3″ – 240 lbs) and didn’t need the distance. What he needed was a game.

If you’ve been following along with my reviews you’d pick up by now that I found a number of brand new (never played) golf balls in my dads workshop and have been putting them to the test. And that brings us to the Pinnacle Gold Long Drive.

There is no manufacturing date on the date box so I cannot say for sure how old these are. But after doing some searching it appears they were discontinued in 2007. That means these fifteen golf balls have been sitting around unused for 11 years.

The first thing I notice on the box is 10 thick dudes wearing the same shirts. It’s because the Gold Long Drive is the official ball of the Pinnacle Distance Team. It also the ball they used for the RE/MAX World Long Drive Championship. That’s how you know these golf balls are old as RE/MAX no longer sponsors the World Long Drive Championship. That goes to Volvik now.

Right from the get go my expectations are a bit hampered because experience tells me that distance balls are fun to hit if you can swing really fast. I don’t. And that they really aren’t that great of a ball to play.

Reading the rest of its stats it claims to have a “Soft, high velocity core. Resilient, low spin Surlyn cover. 330 Icosahedral dimple design (whatever the hell that is).

And because of those the benefits you should receive are “High initial velocity for the longest distance possible. Low spin for straight ball flight. Long distance trajectory.”

Sounds great. Lets see what it can do.

Off The Tee – Hit 4 fairways. Hit zero draws. And for the first time in a while I sliced the ball. When I did hit it straight it got up in the air. I hit a high trajectory drive as is but the Gold Long Drives were noticeably higher.

Distance was average on the holes where I did not slice. Maybe one drive here or there ended up further down the fairway than normal.

After a couple of drives it became clear that I do not swing fast enough foe these. It sounds silly but I believe it to be true. I know this to be true because I drove the 8th green which would have been great but I was playing the second hole. FORE RIGHT!!!!

I’m actually playing to that green straight ahead. Not the one I drove.

Fairway Woods & Hybrids – Same thing here. Just about every shot sliced which is not normal. I was just not generating enough speed to get the most out of the golf ball. It started to become comical.

Irons – Had 4 Greens In Regulation which is way under average. And I believe it starts with the driver. Due to my slices I had a couple of times where I had to punch out into the fairway.

Hello tree I’ve never noticed before.

But again, I do not generate enough club head speed to control them. Whats funny is I did hit both of the Par 3’s on the front nine which I rarely do. Not sure I was pissed off and swung harder as both went straight and did have a bit of spin on them.

9 Iron. 7 Iron. 5 Iron.

Outside of those shots I found the Pinnacle Gold Long Drive much harder to hit with irons and control to be minimal. On almost every iron shot I was thinking “wonder where this ones gonna end up?”

Wedges – LOL. Just rolled off the back of the green. Never checked up. No spin. Did have one nice bunker shot with a lot of green to play with. It was a guessing game the entire day. To be fair, the course was not in great condition including the greens. They’re still brown-ish.

Putting – Crappy. 37 putts. Ridiculous. It was a horrible golf ball to putt with. Zero feel. Again, the greens were not great but that might have been my worst day of putting ever. Three 3 putts and two 1 putts.

Durability – Exceptional. I think I hit two trees and there is barely a blemish on it. It still looks brand new.

Score –  91. GIR – 4. Putts – 37. Fairways – 4

On the cover of the box it says “Distance Doesnt Have To Be Hard”. They’re right. You just have to have a swing speed of like 200 mph. That’s what it felt like to me. I had to swing so much harder to take control of the ball.

And that’s just not what I do. The one time I tried I duffed it 50 yards. Who knows, maybe if I could swing much faster the results would have been better.

But man, a 91. That is my worst score since I started reviewing all these golf balls. It might be the first time I’ve shot in the 90s in years. And I was feeling ok. Even worked out in the morning.

It’s hard to compare the Pinnacle Gold Long Drive to another golf ball because of how it’s designed. Best one I can think of is a less technical XXIO golf ball.

Maybe I’ll take a sleeve of these with me to one of the golf scrambles I play in the summer and let my buddy who swings very fast have a go with it on the long drive holes. For me, I see no reason to ever play this ball again.

Schwetty Golf Balls Review

May 2, 2018 - Updated May 2, 2018

Continuing on with my very scientific experiment to find the best golf ball I will put Schwetty golf balls into the mix. Currently there is only one Schwetty Ball but if they make a different type I will update it here. Like if they make a “Soft Schwetty Ball”.

Just like with all of my reviews I will play one round from the white tees at Rackham Golf Course near my house in Huntington Woods, MI.

Schwetty Balls Review

Rackham Golf Course

5-1-18 – White Tees

75 Degrees. Sunny. Windy

Lets get this out of the way right now. I played with my dads old Schwetty Balls.

Laugh it up clowns. But for real. I did. His right Schwetty Ball to be exact.

These golf balls are apart of a random collection I found in my dads workshop that I’ve been putting to the test. I am not sure if he bought them or was given them as a gag gift from one of the various leagues he played in over the years.

What I do know is these Schwetty Balls are at least 10 years old but probably closer to 15. There is no manufacturing date on the sleeve so I cannot tell for sure. But they are new (never played) so they are worthy of being tested.

My balls say Schwetty R (Right ball) or L (Left ball). And they have <— Stroke It —> to help for alignment when putting. New balls have that plus a…well…ball sack. Plus the new ones come in pink or blue. That’s right, you can buy blue balls. And even a ball sack for your balls. They’ve thought of everything.

Back to the Schwetty Balls. Expectations were low as these are gag gift golf balls. And their a decade old. But on the sleeve they claim the Schwetty Balls to be “The Perfect Feel In A Titanium Ball”. I cannot remember the last time I played a titanium golf ball. If ever. And also to be “The Hottest Balls In Golf!”. LOL.

Of course their hot. And of course they come in a two pack.

The back of the sleeve reads like a baseball card. Dimple Pattern: 432. Compression: 85. Trajectory: Mid-High. Cover: Mixed Surlyn. Ball Size: 42.7mm. Ball Weight: 45.66g.

Enough about the stats and hilarity of the Schwetty Balls. Lets get into the review.

Off The Tee – Hit 4 fairways. Hit zero draws or slices. Pretty much hit the Schwetty Ball straight or with a slight fade all day. Ball flight was in the Mid-High range on the 13 times I hit driver.

But man, the Schwetty Balls flew.

To be fair the winds were gusting up to 20 mph and on the holes where I had the wind at my back resulted in some booming drives. And I’ve been battling some sinus stuff resulting in me missing over a month of working out. I have not been feeling all that strong lately.

So when I’d walk up to the ball and see it in a spot further down the fairway or about where I normally end up with the other balls I’ve tested says this thing is built for distance.

Fairway Woods & Hybrids – Hit one of the better 3 woods of my life on the long Par 4 10th hole. Was 235 yards out into the wind after a very good drive. Played it into the left to right wind and magically bounced it up onto the green.

The Schwetty Ball had a very stable flight with fairway woods (did not hit hybrid this day). I can’t think of one bad shot I hit with these clubs and distance was ok too.

Irons – And this is where things start going downhill with the Schwetty Ball. This might be the worst golf ball I’ve ever hit with irons. There was no feel. No feedback. No spin.

Every shot felt clunky. Distances were all over the place. Only had 4 Greens In Regulation which is well below averages.

Again, to be fair to the Schwetty Ball. The wind was howling. And the greens were basically dead.

Every “green” was brown.

Typically I post photos of the divots my approach shots make but there were zero divots. Same thing from the other 3 guys I played with.

Greens were just not friendly. Nothing was holding.

But man, you’d expect some sort of stopping power with a nine iron landing on the green. Not today. The Schwetty Ball bounced right off the back of the green at least six times.

Wedges – Deplorable. Outside of one very good chip shot on #2 (bounced through everything ending ten feet from the hole) the Schwetty Ball was impossible to chip.

No spin. Not even one “check up”. It was brutal.

Putting –  Sloppy. Had 32 putts which is about average for me. 1 three putt and 4 one putts. It was one of those days where I said “of course I’d make that putt” six times after messing everything up before that putt.

Either way is good.

The Schwetty Ball was really clunky coming off the putter.

Durability – Not good. It started showing wear and tear around the 8th hole. Text started wearing off and the seam showed up. Once I noticed the seam (two piece ball) I began to worry it might explode.

After one round. Notice the seam on the far right.

Score – 87 GIR – 4 Putts – 32 Fairways – 4

Was it funny when each of the guys I was paired up with looked at the ball and said “Are you playing a Schwetty….(insert laugh)”? Yes, it was.

Was it also funny reminding them I was beating them with a Schwetty Ball versus the ProV1 and Bridgestones they were playing? A little. I was just a little bit better than them so it wouldn’t have mattered what ball I was playing.

But man, the Schwetty Ball sucks. It just does.

Around the 14th hole it felt like it was starting to die. It was like it lost a gear. My favorite hole on the course is the Par 5 14th which I occasionally reach in two.

With a 20 mph wind behind me I’m thinking I’ve got a very good chance to get on in two as long as I put my tee shot in the fairway which I did. I was still 260 yards away. Usually I’m about 230 out.

Took out 3 wood and smoked my second shot. It came up 45 yards short. Disappointed to say the least especially with the wind behind my back.

Again, I did not feel my best and the greens were not in good shape. Still, it was noticeable how much different the Schwetty Ball reacted to shots. Best ball I can compare it to is a poorly built Nike Mojo.

So yah, I’ll probably never play the Schwetty Ball ever again. If somebody buys the new ones for me as a gag gift then fine. Who knows, maybe the newer balls are better than these ten year old ones.

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