Radsails Radbuggy

I am new to the sport, in that I have never, up till now owned gear, I have flown my cousins rig a few times in the past but recently took the plunge and bought the Radbuggy, a PKD buster II, 2m and 4m and a few other bitts and bob's.

I have read a number of reviews on the Radbuggy but most so these are not of the current model. Radsail seem to have problems with many of there new products but do seem to eventually get there finger out and sort these issues.

This I suppose is one thing that sets a budget company apart from an established market leader, they will usually sort problems out before they go to market.

Anyway, the Radbuggy! I bought this buggy only after a good bit of research on Racekites, other sites and asking about. Many of the reviews and blogs worried me. But after I realized that most of the problems were pre 07 and believing the Radsail literature about improvements, I got one.

First impressions, the box is really small and if it was not for the pictures on the sides you would be sure you had been sent the wrong item. The instructions are ok but not great, thankfully building it is an easy task so not much reference required. Also included is a Flight School DVD, spanner, sticker. When built the Buggy looks great.

Happy?......... Yeah!

Things I like..................

All stainless steel build- Now I know if you leave stainless steel covered in salt for any time, it still will rust, but I think it's significantly better than powder coated steel for corrosion resistance.

Easy to build & dismantle- No tools required to build up or take down (after initial, out the box assembly, simple and quick itself) which means if you forget your spanner you don't need to use your teeth. It literally takes 3-4 minutes, from your boot to beach and vice versa.

Breaks down really small- Will fit into the boot of all but the silliest of cars. The back axle splits in two, the two side rails, the front bar and forks and seat, that's it. If you leave the seat attached to the side rails then you have only 4 parts to the buggy.

Comfy seat- High back seat with gel pad for added comfort, adjustable, also has a pocket in the seat back for, emmmm? Well smokes, wallet, supplied spanner that you don't really need unless your wheel falls off or some thing. Not that it's happened or anything but saves the teeth all the same. Also side bars are well padded for comfort and safety.

Easy to steer- I have read about the steering geometry not being great, and while sitting in the buggy at rest, the wheel will not sit straight and flips left or right. But get it moving and it tracks just fine. The steering is good, push the pegs left, it goes left as expected. Decent turning circle, no problems to report there.

Lightweight. Weighs less than 14kg, easy to pull across rough ground on way to beech. Or pick it up stick it on your head (you look silly but gets job done)

Things I don't like................

Seat still may not have enough ground clearance- Better than before, but could be better. Fine for a beech or flat field. On rough ground you may bottom out.

Tires hard to inflate- Tires should come with some air in them but one of mine was flat. Tried to inflate with foot pump and compressor at petrol station but not enough pressure to seal to rim. I tried all the usual bouncing or hitting tire as inflating but air just pissed out the rim. Then took it to my local Quick Fit, they had it pumped in a few seconds, they have the volume of air needed to pop tire on rim.

Foot pegs slippy- Foot pegs have straps and are removable for transport but being polished stainless steel your foot can slip off easily, A piece of grip tape would sort that out.

All I all, I think the Radbuggy is an excellent piece of kit, I think it worthy of consideration for the split axel alone. There have been complaints about axle bending and flexing badly. This appears to be previous models where the shaft had a female threaded insert so you would bolt your wheel on. The New model has a threaded stub axle where the wheel fits on and then it is fixed with nut and spring washer.
This axle has apparently been beefed up and I have to believe that. My 6 foot plenty, cousin and his not so light weight frame, some what over the 110kg recommended limit of the buggy, had a spin round the beech. Obviously not free styling but the shaft only flexed a couple of mm. The shaft is supposed to flex for comfort and simple suspension so no worries there.
Considering you can pick these buggies up at great prices at the moment, I got mine next day from Tesco Direct! for £142 before Christmas.

I would recommend to anyone starting out in Bugging or some one who needs a real compact buggy for storage and transport.

Fly Safe, Fly Responsible, Fly for Fun.

Carbon Neutral sports for Petrol Heads!!!.......Yeah!!!

By : Tartan-Vandal