The Solution series, designed for everyday use, is a long-standing bestseller in the product range of online marketer Radon. The H&S Bike Discount in Bonn, where the brand is based, also sells the bikes over the counter, while around 260 associated service partner shops throughout Europe take care of maintenance and repairs for the mail-order products. The Solution 7.0 is not the cheapest Solution model from the Bonn-based company. Its modern aluminium frame is well made, with contemporary lateral stiffness and robustness. The head tube is butted, which stabilises the frame at the steering head and allows the subsequent installation of a high-quality suspension fork with a tapered steerer tube. The Suntour suspension fork in the test bike works with steel springs and friction-reducing coated steel stanchions - not the lightest, but stable and rigid. The sporty saddle rests on a telescopic suspension support that decouples it from bumps in the road.
The affordable bike in practice
On the Solution, you sit at a sporty angle and rather long, but not too stretched out. High-quality screw grips take the strain off your wrists, while a stable adjustable stem and the slightly offset handlebars allow for a variety of handlebar positions. The drivetrain of the Radon Solution features a complete Deore groupset with 3 x 10 gears. It shifts crisply and precisely, offers a huge gear range suitable for mountain biking and practical gear steps. The shift button for faster gears can be operated with the index finger or thumb in both directions, which helps when accelerating. The button for lighter gears can shift up to three sprockets with one lever movement, which is very convenient, especially on hills.
Schwalbe road cruiser tyres with a width of 42 millimetres are a good choice for a wide range of applications, provided you mainly ride on asphalt roads and paved paths. The stable rear kickstand from Pletscher, long SKS mudguards, a Racktime carrier, the lighting system with Shimano hub dynamo and Busch&Müller lights - the components may not be the respective top models from these manufacturers, but they are all high-quality, trustworthy branded goods with high practical potential and mature functionality.
The Radon Solution 7.0 in detail
Please do not overload!
Only at the rear does Radon sacrifice function for design: a short but invisible strut running under the rear mudguard connects the pannier rack and frame at two points. At the very rear of the pannier rack, the mudguard is fixed by short stub struts. Due to the lateral pendulum impulses that heavy luggage exerts on the carrier, the inherently rigid carrier deflects sideways. Unfortunately, the concealed two-point fastening cannot absorb this and gives way together with the carrier. Result: The stub struts at the rear bump against the tyre with every lateral impulse from a load of around ten kilos. This is irritating and could easily be remedied with a longer, more stable strut. If you only use the Radon Solution as a fast everyday bike or for long tours, it's a great, comfortable and reliable ride. However, rides with pannier rack loads of over ten kilos are definitely not its thing.
Advantages and disadvantages
- Plus: Modern frame; sporty riding behaviour; efficient comfort; top gear shifting
- Minus: Luggage rack over 10 kilos not torsionally rigid, mudguard struts rub against the wheel
The most important details of the Radon Solution 7.0
- Price: 799 Euro
- Frame sizes: Men: 48, 52, 56, 60, 64 cm; ladies: 48, 52, 56 cm
- Test bike weight: 16 kg
- Permissible total weight: 135 kg
- Frame: Aluminium, tapered, disc
- Fork: Suntour NX1, steel spring, stanchions; aluminium stem; disc
- Circuit: Shimano Deore
- Translation: 48, 36, 26/11-34 t., 3 x 10 gears, 571%
- Brakes/ø: Shimano MT200 Disc/180, 160 mm
- Tyres: Schwalbe Road Cruiser 42-622
- Lighting system: B&M Dopp, 35 lux, Toplight 2C; Shimano DH-3D37 hub dynamo
- MYBIKE grade: 2.2
MYBIKE test winner 2/2023
Conclusion on the Radon Solution 7.0
With the middle model of the proven Solution series, direct marketer Radon delivers an (almost) all-round convincing, rideable bike with plenty of everyday and touring potential. The weak point on the pannier rack should be easy to fix.
