I've been very happy with these on my MiniST2 for almost a year now:  https://amzn.to/3wjocUy I wanted a grippier feel over the stock faux-leather grips and these work very well for me and have some shock-absorbing ability as well.  Very comfortable; the palmrest is nice.

The split line shown is the perfect place to cut down the right grip to clear the throttle and if you clean the bar and the inside of the grip with rubbing alcohol, then let dry and spray the bar with heavy-duty hairspray, the grip will NOT move once that dries (takes a day or two to fully set up).

Pic below; I can see behind me with both mirrors; had to turn the right mirror inboard to clear a trailhead entrance between a tree and a fence.  Can still see the pretty girl on the sidewalk I just passed.   

Quote from: seanerino on April 30, 2022, 10:56:26 AMI locked up my bike a couple of times today while running errands around town. I used the Abus frame lock with the additional chain. This was the same lock I used with a different e-bike a few months ago and I really liked it.

What helmet are you using? I was looking at some with Bluetooth bone conduction for phone calls and podcasts. I also saw some helmets with front and rear lights and even turn signals! Cool.

I thought it would be cool if the battery had some kind of arm strap so you could more easily carry it around. I wonder if that already exists.

I think ABUS is a good choice; cafe frame locks aren't available for the Mini's frame - I use their 6500 folding lock for quick lockups (it stows nicely in its case bolted to the water-bottle mount) and also carry their Granit 540 U-lock and ABUS cable on my rear basket for more-complicated situations.  Any lock can be defeated with the right tools and enough time - the trick is to make them realize this won't be easy nor quick, so best move on to a dumb-guy's bike.  ABUS products are tough.  For really short/quick coffee stops etc. I just hit the remote button to enable the motion-sensitive alarm hidden under the basket above the rear fender.

I use this Sena R1 helmet:  https://amzn.to/3LmoZIB  and got a good "Used-Like New" price on it (it was new).  Great helmet and the audio integration is fine except the audio has no bass, to be expected from the micro-speakers built into the frame - but I listen to podcasts, not music, so don't care.  Have had people tell me they didn't notice I was on a bike when taking a call; the microphone is apparently pretty good as well.  If you end up with the R1, be sure to order the optional sun visor; the helmet frame doesn't help shade eyes at all.  It's cheap, and included with some higher-end models.

A big advantage of helmet audio is that one's ears are still fully exposed to the world so you don't lose any situational awareness.

FYI, somebody posted on this forum about a week ago finding a carrying case that fits those batteries almost perfectly and I think it had a handle, so you might want to poke around for that info.

Found it!  Has a carry handle and shoulder strap - here you go:  https://www.radowners.com/index.php?topic=2072.msg10816#msg10816

Nice writeup; thanks for taking the time to do it.  I have a MiniST but always interested in the details and satisfaction with new models from actual owners/riders.  I'd appreciate some feedback once you've settled in about Rad's removal of the keylock's ability to disconnect electrical power - from all I've read, the key simply locks the battery in place and there's no way to "turn off" the bike completely except by removing the battery, right?

A little feedback about the lights, if I may, since they appear to be essentially unchanged from my bike when it was stock.  I like the blink option at the rear as well and like you, would occasionally forget to activate it.  I added one of these; it's strapped under my seat and sits above the rear rack and basket: 
https://amzn.to/38CeYcN

It's a fantastic little light, especially for the price; you have to charge it with USB now and then, but it runs many hours in the blinking mode (I think it has 3 or 4 modes) and is very bright and visible from a long distance in daylight, but the best part about it is that it's motion-activated, so that it starts up blinking as soon as I climb on for a ride and shuts down 2 minutes after the bike sits still - no more worry about remembering to activate the rear blinker.  Very rugged and well-made, it hasn't failed me a single time.  Comes with a nice, rugged rubber mount which it just clips to securely for remove/recharge.

At the other end, if you haven't owned a Rad before, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed with the headlight, unless it's been redesigned.  I just hated it, because while bright, it only casts a tight little rectangle at some distance ahead, rather than lighting the roadway.  In my rural area when it gets DARK at night, that's quite dangerous since critters and potholes don't become visible until you're about to hit them.  I tried the "Premium" Rad headlight and ..... it's not premium.  In fact, it's just as bad a beam; I left it on the bike simply because it looks better than the stock light, can be useful for visibility to others during the day and might serve as an emergency light at night.

Here's what I replaced it with:  https://amzn.to/3PotMwh

This is a phenomenal headlight, with a great beam pattern and several operating modes.  I normally ride in daylight hours, so I set it to slow-stobe with a recharge life of about 15-18 hours, but the regular steady beam (two or three brightness levels) is fantastic in shape and evenness of illumination, and is lensed to avoid blinding oncoming vehicles.  Highly recommended.  It also needs recharging, but lasts a long time and so I just toss it onto a charger along with the taillight and my helmet (which has Bluetooth speakers for intercom, podcasts and phone use) all at the same time whenever I recharge the main bike battery.

Thanks again and cheers!

Quote from: jclin10 on April 29, 2022, 01:00:31 PM
What is the real world capacity of a rad runner? The website says 300 pounds and 350 pounds for the rad wagon, but they look very similar to me

The Runner and the Wagon are quite different structurally, with different frames, wheel sizes and tires (in fact, IIRC the Wagon's tires are pretty unique and hard/impossible to find elsewhere - somebody please correct me if I'm wrong here).  The Runner is rated for a slightly-higher load capacity than the Expand/Mini frames due to that horizontal member the optional bucket bolts to - that stiffens the center of the frame against bending.  I'm sure there's a safety factor built into the quoted figures allowing higher loads, but the engineers who designed and tested these bikes didn't just pull those figures out of the air.

The recovering mechanical engineer in me says those are numbers that Rad's warranty and product-liability-lawyer departments are ok standing behind for all-day usage without getting sued or losing money on warranty claims - I bet you could go 25-30 lbs over them easily as long as you didn't abuse the bike and avoid potholes.

Since they carry squishy people, engineers are required to design far beyond the ratings marked on the product before they fail (things like elevators and lifting cranes are 4x - 10x, going from memory; I never worked on products like that), so I'm guessing that you could put at least 400 lbs on either one and not break the frame unless you drove off a curb or something as long as the tires and other components are in good condition.   I'd be more concerned about snapping spokes or bending wheel rims.

Just remember you could buy an entire second e-bike to carry more people for far less money than a single trip to the emergency room.   

I do agree with the points made earlier that the Wagon's longer wheelbase would be more of a handful for making tight turns, but I consider it's intended to be the suburban minivan of e-bikes, not the commuter or trail-buster. 

Thanks SV, I know; I have one of those, the round style, in my bike's toolkit.  I carry it there because it's small and can handle any size, so might be helpful for somebody else on the trail.

For tuneups at home, it's the right tool for the job whenever possible - the Park Tools are very well made and precisely sized, so I want the one size I need with a buy-once-this-lifetime purchase.  And they're only 10 bucks.

For carrying one bike, this solution works very well for me, includes a ramp and cost about $130 delivered (hunt around for discount coupons, they offer them regularly):  https://www.harborfreight.com/400-lb-receiver-mount-aluminum-motorcycle-carrier-62837.html

Here's a forum post I made about it, with some photos of my MiniST2 loaded up:  https://www.radowners.com/index.php?topic=1079.msg7366#msg7366

It's designed for dirt motorcycles, so handling the weight of an e-bike is no sweat.  Requires a 2" hitch receiver; with the anti-sway bolts locked down tight, it's very rigid.

I added the reflective tape for safety and the trailer-lights.

UPDATE: I remeasured it with a micrometer instead of calipers for better reliability.  Looks like these are 3.95-4.00mm across the flats, which means the SW-3 (blue) tool should be the correct size and that's what I just ordered.  Will update again if it's not correct.


Can anybody please confirm the correct size spoke wrench needed for my MiniST?  I think I've measured 4.36mm across the flats but I'm not positive that's accurate (aging eyes). 

Planning to order a Park Tool u-wrench that fits properly and not sure if it's maybe SW-2 or SW-3.

I've had emails take quite a while for a response last year, but eventually they did respond.

Try giving them a call; I've always gotten through very quickly and in each instance, including fixing a squeak I couldn't find while being walked through diagnosis and repair on the phone, everything was fixed fast and by the first person who answered the phone.  Bonus: in perfect English, too!

Man, that's a lot of kids - when do you find the time to ride?   

Quote from: sc00ter on April 27, 2022, 11:34:25 AMNow reduced to $400 FIRM.

Might be a good idea to update this thread's subject line to reflect the new price.

Quote from: Eric7 on April 27, 2022, 11:11:20 AM
Thank you.  I read it with interest.

So basically it is a direct replacement and everything continues to work.  I mean all the Rad functions are still there like front light, back light etc.  Plug, program, and play?  Just confirming.

How do you plan to permanently mount it to your Mini ST?  I heard that it is does not fit in the controller box (or am I wrong) and you have to fabricate something.  Or does it just drop into the Rad controller box?  Thanks.

You're welcome.  Yes, it IS a direct replacement, plug-and-play, all connectors match and are even colored the same inside - just be careful when plugging back together, some of the molded alignment keys are small and hard to see - a head-mounted flashlight is tremendously helpful here.  The one front wiring-harness connector is inside the downtube; pull the grommet aside from the frame hole (a hairdryer to soften it up helps if it's cold), turn the front wheel all the way to the right for maximum cable pull, push that cable into the downtube up front as far as you can, and then carefully fish it out at the bottom enough to unplug it.  Not hard, but you don't want it disconnecting inside the downtube, so fish it out intact first.  If the new controller's wiring-harness connector was an inch longer, this one would be a lot easier, but it's just barely long enough and the others are no sweat. 

I was NOT able to push the wiring-harness connector back into the downtube because the new controller's wire is a bit too short, but I've moved the handlebars lock-to-lock and it doesn't disturb the connection .... however, I have not tested folding, which might be an issue, but I never fold my bike.  More dextrous people might be able to finagle it. 

If somebody could please identify that wiring-harness cable connection (pic added below) and a source for an extension cable, I'd be much obliged and would probably order/install one, because my slight touch of OCD won't leave me alone about stuff like that.  Update: looking closely at the photos of the connectors on the Bolton website, I think it's the 10-pin cable, which I can't find yet but I've sent an email to Bolton support to see if they can sell me one or point me to a supplier  ..... nope, they replied that they have no source for Rad cabling and that most people cut/splice additional wire to achieve a longer result - not easy to do for this one.

All Rad functions are retained in this latest version, including the taillight (which still flashes as a brake light and can still be set to flashing mode with the button on the bottom of the lens) and headlight, except that the lights are turned on now with a long-press of the PAS-Up button, instead of a 2-button press, which is nice.

There are new features too, such as battery voltage, ambient air temperture, a trip odometer that doesn't clear to zero if the display times out; the values stick until you clear them manually  ..... AND you get a cruise-control too!  That's nice for tooling along a long straight stretch; just push and hold the down-PAS button until it kicks in (it automatically shuts off with throttle, brake and I think PAS change too).

My mounting is crude, but it works; pics attached below.  I used UV-resistant heavy-duty zipties with self-adhesive heavy-duty velcro between the controller and the frame to keep it from shifting.  The contact patch is narrow on the round tube, about 1/2" x 6", but plenty strong anyway.  The schmutz you see on the controller is Flex Shot sealant I applied to the gasket seams before fastening down.  When it's fully cured in a day or so I'll rub off as much of it as I can.

As you can see, my dashboard is crowded, but everything fits.  The new controller mounts are spread apart a bit more than factory, probably about 1/2" across their full width.  Not much, but enough that I had to slightly bend out the mounts for my accessory bar, which couldn't quite fit on the bar in between the new controller and the handlebar mount.  But, it works!

Let me know if you have any more questions, and I'll update my post at the top if I tweak anything else.

Cheers!

I originally posted this in the original thread over in the RadWagon section, but thought some Mini owners might find it useful and not notice it over there.

Update 25 Apr 2022 - revised a couple of controller settings for mo-better smoothness etc - see below
-------------------

Mine has been sitting in its box since late last year, but I finally got it installed for testing today on my 2021 Mini ST2 (did the Area 13 hydraulic brake calipers this week too; they work great), leaving all the stock equipment in place, but disconnected, just to make sure the new setup works.

And man, does it ever seem to work!  Connecting all the cables under the crank was a little finicky due to the short length of some of the factory cables on the frame and stiffness of some, but it all hooked up with a little patience and a pair of pliers to firmly hold one side of the connector in a couple cases.  All the right cables you'll need on the controller are there and the pinouts correct, so just be careful to align them properly before pushing them together and it should be fine.  The current kit includes a tail/brake light connector that functions just like the factory controller, so everything back there works normally.

I have attached below a screenshot of my initial settings (far right column), derived from the kindly-provided spreadsheet from Ray StDenis here on this forum; I started with these and it works great, but I might tweak things here and there as I gain experience with it.  Note my tire diameter of 23" for the 20"-wheel bikes and the CST Big Boat tires - I still need to compare against my GPS speed to see if this needs tweaking for accuracy within the limits of update rate and data input, this is the correct size; my GPS matches the display, but note that P1 needs to be set to 103 as well for best accuracy.  Both DIM and P1 values will change with different size wheels/tires and motor design, but these work great with the Big Boats on a Mini with the stock Rad motor.

There are several new features included with the new controller, including ambient air temp (which matches my Thermoworks calibrated thermometer), cruise control which I haven't tried yet, trip timer and a GIGANTIC feature that Rad has never yet implemented - the Trip Time and Trip Distance do NOT zero out when the display is turned off!  That was one of the first things I checked because it always pissed me off to have them clear when stopping for lunch on a ride when the display timed out; now they don't zero unless/until done manually and intentionally, although the display still times out and shuts down after 5 minutes of inactivity, which is great.  Even turning on the headlight is easier; long-press the PAS-up button instead of the two buttons needed by the Rad display.  This controller has an option to display motor temperature as well, but the stock Rad motor doesn't provide that data - if you activate the setting, you'll just see a constant 59F reading, so best to just keep this setting at zero.

And holy crap, this performs as advertised - like a booster rocket's been added under my butt.  As expected without a voltage change, top speed still maxes out at around 25 mph with the motor only (the controller's limit setting is about 42 mph), but that's fine - I wanted acceleration and uphill grunt torque, not more speed.  Have only ridden a couple miles, but ran through all gears and PAS settings, taking it up to a little over 1,500w without any complaints, and it was still climbing when I ran out of road.  Such a great improvement to my bike, just what I was expecting and hoping to see.

A word of caution: this new controller pulls immediately and strongly like a farm tractor with factory parameter settings, so don't blip the throttle unless you're on the bike, the rear wheel's off the ground or you're prepared to let off the gas and hit the brakes immediately - it literally felt like it could pull right out of my hands if I hadn't been prepared to stop it.  It seems that out of the box, the controller disables the throttle in PAS 0, but that may be just when not pedaling for safety, not sure yet, and I need to review the settings to see if this is changeable.  In PAS 1 or above, it leaps instantly when standing alongside the bike at a stop.  Update: I have set C3 (power-up PAS setting) to 0, so that throttle is not available at startup, for safety.

There is a "walking mode" just like Rad's controller, activated by holding the PAS-down button for at least 3 seconds; I tried it with the rear wheel off the ground to confirm it works, but haven't tried it on pavement yet to see if it's faster or slower than Rad's (which everybody seems to think is too fast, including me).

Aside from the display being fairly dim, but still readable in direct sunlight, I have no complaints (although playing with the C6 parameter might help that - UPDATE: it did, although just slightly, and it's now 4 instead of 3) and now have a project to remove the old display and controller from the bike and get the new stuff laced up properly for the long term.  Will probably apply Flex Shot to seal the controller seams just in case, although I avoid riding in wet weather and the Mini ST has a pretty-protected controller mount location.  The box seems to have a gasket in the seam, but Bolton / Area 13 states that it is NOT advertised as waterproof.

Overall, definitely and highly recommended on first impression.

New brakes, new rocket boost, new riding season - good to go!

UPDATE: the chart below is revised - I left my initial settings from 23 April in there, so you can see the few changes I made today.  C5 is confusing, because as near as I can tell it does different things from 0-2 as it does from 3-10.  I changed it from 10 to 0, and this solved the problem I had of the throttle lighting off 100% immediately and a jumpy start; now it ramps up fairly smoothly and works a lot better from a full stop, more like a Rad controller.  It does NOT limit the power to the motor as settings 3 through 10 do - it still ramps up to 100%, just more gradually.  Setting it to 1 or 2 instead of 0 seems to ramp up faster.

I also tried messing with C14 (PAS tuning) which regulates how much "oomph" the motor will provide during pedaling.  Default is 1 (low) and I tried 2 (medium) and 3 (high), ending up leaving it at 1 to let me put some effort into it.  For those with weak legs or other problem who want to rely on the motor more, try increasing it to 2 or 3.

The full manual where I found these extra details can be found here:
https://ebikeescape.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Bolton_Controller_Manual_Rad_Power_Bikes.pdf

This is linked in Part 2 of the controller-upgrade vids from forum owner Ryan and his brother.... worth watching over at https://youtu.be/fsbcY91alf0

Quote from: Ddaybc on April 26, 2022, 09:31:11 AMIf you wish to see what the real world can offer then, on this forum, look up posts by Altema where he tried to burn out a Rad hub drive and was unable to. Unfortunately I don't know how to look up specific posts so I don't have the link for it.

I remember that post, and Altema has confirmed several times that he was unable to burn out the stock Rad motor after trying to do so with up to 1600w for sustained periods of time.  (The motor used was surplus after a motor swap, so he was willing to find its limits to destruction, but never did.)

Here's a link to another one of his posts with a lot of detail about these motors where he reiterates the extra power is no problem: 
https://www.radowners.com/index.php?topic=726.msg3576#msg3576

I'm thinking you misjudged the precise location of the blades when cutting a wiretie? 
Do I win?   

Update 25 Apr 2022 - revised a couple of controller settings for mo-better smoothness etc - see below
-------------------

Mine has been sitting in its box since late last year, but I finally got it installed for testing today on my 2021 Mini ST2 (did the Area 13 hydraulic brake calipers this week too; they work great), leaving all the stock equipment in place, but disconnected, just to make sure the new setup works.

And man, does it ever seem to work!  Connecting all the cables under the crank was a little finicky due to the short length of some of the factory cables on the frame and stiffness of some, but it all hooked up with a little patience and a pair of pliers to firmly hold one side of the connector in a couple cases.  All the right cables you'll need on the controller are there and the pinouts correct, so just be careful to align them properly before pushing them together and it should be fine.  The current kit includes a tail/brake light connector that functions just like the factory controller, so everything back there works normally.

I have attached below a screenshot of my initial settings (far right column), derived from the kindly-provided spreadsheet from Ray StDenis here on this forum; I started with these and it works great, but I might tweak things here and there as I gain experience with it.  Note my tire diameter of 23" for the 20"-wheel bikes and the CST Big Boat tires - I still need to compare against my GPS speed to see if this needs tweaking for accuracy within the limits of update rate and data input, this is the correct size; my GPS matches the display, but note that P1 needs to be set to 103 as well for best accuracy.  Both DIM and P1 values will change with different size wheels/tires and motor design, but these work great with the Big Boats on a Mini with the stock Rad motor.

There are several new features included with the new controller, including ambient air temp (which matches my Thermoworks calibrated thermometer), cruise control which I haven't tried yet, trip timer and a GIGANTIC feature that Rad has never yet implemented - the Trip Time and Trip Distance do NOT zero out when the display is turned off!  That was one of the first things I checked because it always pissed me off to have them clear when stopping for lunch on a ride when the display timed out; now they don't zero unless/until done manually and intentionally, although the display still times out and shuts down after 5 minutes of inactivity, which is great.  Even turning on the headlight is easier; long-press the PAS-up button instead of the two buttons needed by the Rad display.  This controller has an option to display motor temperature as well, but the stock Rad motor doesn't provide that data - if you activate the setting, you'll just see a constant 59F reading, so best to just keep this setting at zero.

And holy crap, this performs as advertised - like a booster rocket's been added under my butt.  As expected without a voltage change, top speed still maxes out at around 25 mph with the motor only (the controller's limit setting is about 42 mph), but that's fine - I wanted acceleration and uphill grunt torque, not more speed.  Have only ridden a couple miles, but ran through all gears and PAS settings, taking it up to a little over 1,500w without any complaints, and it was still climbing when I ran out of road.  Such a great improvement to my bike, just what I was expecting and hoping to see.

A word of caution: this new controller pulls immediately and strongly like a farm tractor with factory parameter settings, so don't blip the throttle unless you're on the bike, the rear wheel's off the ground or you're prepared to let off the gas and hit the brakes immediately - it literally felt like it could pull right out of my hands if I hadn't been prepared to stop it.  It seems that out of the box, the controller disables the throttle in PAS 0, but that may be just when not pedaling for safety, not sure yet, and I need to review the settings to see if this is changeable.  In PAS 1 or above, it leaps instantly when standing alongside the bike at a stop.  Update: I have set C3 (power-up PAS setting) to 0, so that throttle is not available at startup, for safety.

There is a "walking mode" just like Rad's controller, activated by holding the PAS-down button for at least 3 seconds; I tried it with the rear wheel off the ground to confirm it works, but haven't tried it on pavement yet to see if it's faster or slower than Rad's (which everybody seems to think is too fast, including me).

Aside from the display being fairly dim, but still readable in direct sunlight, I have no complaints (although playing with the C6 parameter might help that - UPDATE: it did, although just slightly, and it's now 4 instead of 3) and now have a project to remove the old display and controller from the bike and get the new stuff laced up properly for the long term.  Will probably apply Flex Shot to seal the controller seams just in case, although I avoid riding in wet weather and the Mini ST has a pretty-protected controller mount location.  The box seems to have a gasket in the seam, but Bolton / Area 13 states that it is NOT advertised as waterproof.

Overall, definitely and highly recommended on first impression.

New brakes, new rocket boost, new riding season - good to go!

UPDATE: the chart below is revised - I left my initial settings from 23 April in there, so you can see the few changes I made today.  C5 is confusing, because as near as I can tell it does different things from 0-2 as it does from 3-10.  I changed it from 10 to 0, and this solved the problem I had of the throttle lighting off 100% immediately and a jumpy start; now it ramps up fairly smoothly and works a lot better from a full stop, more like a Rad controller.  It does NOT limit the power to the motor as settings 3 through 10 do - it still ramps up to 100%, just more gradually.  Setting it to 1 or 2 instead of 0 seems to ramp up faster.

I also tried messing with C14 (PAS tuning) which regulates how much "oomph" the motor will provide during pedaling.  Default is 1 (low) and I tried 2 (medium) and 3 (high), ending up leaving it at 1 to let me put some effort into it.  For those with weak legs or other problem who want to rely on the motor more, try increasing it to 2 or 3.

The full manual where I found these extra details can be found here:
https://ebikeescape.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Bolton_Controller_Manual_Rad_Power_Bikes.pdf

This is linked in Part 2 of the controller-upgrade vids from forum owner Ryan and his brother.... worth watching over at https://youtu.be/fsbcY91alf0