Quote from: NaturallyRC on March 20, 2022, 04:59:39 AMThanks for the good, clear explanation.

You're welcome.  One possible caveat I didn't think of - I have no idea if Rad uses a different, lower-spec, motor on Canadian and other export models, or just does controller tweaks to limit the power delivery.  If it's the same motor, the Bolton upgrade should provide the same improvements without fear of burning it out per Altema's tests.

If it's a different lower-spec motor, the Bolton upgrade setting C5 can be tweaked to limit the maximum power delivery, I think.  I haven't installed my upgrade yet, so can't confirm. 

Quote from: NaturallyRC on March 19, 2022, 01:24:15 PMNew to ebikes here. What can you tell me about the Area13 35A brain -- ie why you are spending a couple hundred to get one. Is it known as a game changer? Cheers and thanks.

I'm in the USA, so we don't have a silly 500w (or even worse, 250w) limit, but Rad hard-caps their controller's output to 750, period - no "momentary" or "afterburner" boosting as seems to be available from other bike companies.  The Bolton/Area13 35A controller can deliver about 1,600w maximum.  Altema here on the forum did some testing with it, actually attempting to burn out a stock Rad motor with full power (he could sacrifice the motor if necessary, removed and replaced with a different one) - and he was unable to burn out the "750w" motor with over double the power over the stock controller.  It seems to be over-spec'd, which relieves a bit of power anxiety.

So I'm adding the Bolton controller to my MiniST2 to conquer the couple of hills in town I can't manage without a ton of extra effort, which my knees punish me for doing.  Note that stock batteries won't give you higher speed with a controller upgrade; speed increases (beyond unlocking artificial limits in the controller) are achieved with more voltage, not more current.  But about 25mph is plenty for me; I just need extra push now and then on the steep slopes.

Quote from: Si1Dia on March 19, 2022, 11:31:54 AMI had to do some creative splicing and voided my warranty, I'm sure, but this bike runs like a beast.

I'll bet.  And I agree your warranty is poofed, but great job on a very new model.

If you're referring to a horizontal bar to install between the handlebars and the seat for transport, you can find some cheap ones on Amazon, but I highly recommend the well-made one from Hollywood, which was almost impossible to find when I was looking for it a few months ago.  This is probably the one you were looking for?

But I did find it here and they shipped very quickly:  https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories-and-Parts/Hollywood-Racks/HRBA-PRO.html

I modified it with an additional hole to lock the button into place at exactly the right place for my MiniST (it's steel, so if you make a similar mod, be sure to sand the hole edges smooth and touch up with outdoor rustproof BBQ paint). 

Here's a couple pictures, but I'm not sure I really need it for lashing it down from the frame locations I use.  It should be plenty strong to function in a hanging arrangement, but you might want to inquire with the seller or double-check the specs on the Hollywood site here: https://hollywoodracks.com/products/ba-pro?variant=15862482118 where it looks like it might be ok up to 80 lbs, but I wouldn't use it to hang-only, but only with a rack that supports the bike from underneath on the wheels as well.  As you can see, my rack uses ratcheting tiedowns to pull the MiniST down, not hang it.  It's no problem with the static weight of a bike, but what you need to worry about is the dynamic downforce on the rack structure when you bounce a bike or two over a pothole or speedbump.

FYI, the rack in my pics looks crooked, because it is.  These pics were taken before I tightened-down the anti-sway clamps - that squared it up and made it very solid.

There are a lot of variables without knowing more: the slope and length of the hills, how charged-up the battery is (fully-charged pulls harder since the controller manages power to conserve battery life), plus the total weight of the bike, accessories, stuff being hauled and you.  But with a power capability similar to my MiniST, I can tell you I was surprised at how good mine is at experimentally hill-climbing my fat butt all over my hilly town throttle-only, so your odds are pretty good.  The biggest difference is that the larger-diameter-wheel bikes like the City and Rover aren't quite as good at it as the smaller 20" tires of the Minis and Runners.  I think the City's design has pretty-efficient treads with lower rolling resistance than the Rovers, so that helps.

I almost always pedal my Mini though, for a bit of exercise and to get up the hills faster.

Biggest bottle holders I've ever seen - you must get really thirsty on rides.

Nice work!

Quote from: Smackums on March 14, 2022, 09:29:57 AMIt's possible that RAD is just playing it safe in case some lawsuit shuts down that loophole for everyone and Rad won't have to do a recall!

I think your theory is exactly correct; Rad is a pretty big company in this industry now, with lots of visibility, money behind it and exposure so they're reluctant to take chances.  As far as I can tell on my MiniST, Rad's "peak power" is just 750w - I have never seen it go above that figure on the display no matter how high the load.  Depending on the competition's evolutions, they might have to rethink that.

And they don't seem terribly concerned about potential liability with all the batteries being able to be unlocked and stolen with a blank key, or the new models that can't have the power locked out with the key, so anybody can just walk up, turn them on and hit the gas, whether intentionally or not.  My recovering-engineer brain gets all itchy seeing design choices like that.

Very nice job making your mods!

How do you like that YLG seat?  I tried it, but it didn't fit right for me, although it seems to have a lot of positive comments on Azon.  After trying 5 seats, a relatively-flat Cloud 9 worked best for me.  It's like buying shoes to fine a pair that fits and works best.

Quote from: Smackums on March 14, 2022, 06:49:18 AMI agree that Expand5 seems to be a step back a bit, but it also bridges the $500 price gap between the radmission and mini's which may work for many peeps.

That's true, but Rad has discontinued BOTH Minis in favor of the Expand5.  Expect an Expand5 Plus later on with the Mini features restored once they sell off the older inventory.  It was just last November that Minis could be had for just $1,150 each if you bought a pair of them; that's going to seem like The Good Old Days.

And, theoretically, no Class 2 bike in the USA is allowed to be sold with a controller delivering more than 750 watts, because our Rulers know better than we do about what we want/need.  At least we're not strangled with only 500 watts like Canada or as little as 250 watts in parts of Europe, which is monumentally lame.  My Mini's stock controller handles 95% of my town's hills (and a couple of those, just barely), but the Bolton upgrade I'm about to install will knock out that last 5% with ease.

You're right about the Rover; CitizenCycle's YT channel has a hill-climbing test between a Rover and a Mini, the latter made it up and over without too much strain, the Rover couldn't make it to the top.  Same motor, controller, torque output and battery in both, and they both weigh about the same in stock configurations, but force applied at the tire surface is greater for a smaller-diameter wheel, assuming the same torque output from the motor.

Well, you brought it up with suggestions for brewery and band stickers in "funky places" on bikes and skateboards.  That seems a bit juvenile to me, but YMMV ...... and you might be insufficiently celebrating my diversity.

Quote from: Leafy2726 on March 13, 2022, 02:18:18 PMI live in a walk up apartment.  Second floor.  Would there be anyway I could walk this up?

This thread might be of some use to you:  https://www.radowners.com/index.php?topic=1847.msg9418#msg9418

I must be lucky; the CST Big Boats that shipped with my 1-year-old MiniST can go 3-4 weeks and only lose a single PSI from my routine 30, and I just topped up both tires a couple weeks ago after sitting since early November in the cold and snow - they were both low by about 2.5 PSI.

So kudos on your persistence - do you think the wire might have snuck in on its own or is it part of the materials used to make the tire tread?

 

Quote from: jcvdd on March 12, 2022, 06:34:28 AM
Are you saying that ALL RadPowerBike keys are generic and the same key will open ALL the bikes?
If so, where can one buy purchase a spare key? Are the keys able to be duplicated at your local hardware store?

Blank keys will unlock most, if not all, Rad batteries on all models for at least the last couple years (which use that style battery), and maybe older - the new Rover/City bikes use a completely different battery, with the lock in the frame, and they'd be nuts to not have the problem fixed in them, but I haven't seen any reports one way or the other. 

But those new models have their own unique problem - the key will unlock the battery to remove it from the frame, but it is NOT possible to use the key to turn off the battery power as with other models - anybody can just walk up and turn the bike on with the handlebar controller.  Even if the bike is securely locked up, it's a safety and vandalism issue if a kid were to accidentally or intentionally start the rear wheel turning - might hurt the kid, might break spokes if the lock/cable passes through the wheel, or cause other damage.  I'm no lawyer, but I can smell a product-liability opportunity.  Reports from owners of these bikes indicate that when asked about it, Rad says "just unlock and take the battery with you!" - that's dandy when grocery shopping, hitting the coffee shop, going out to dinner or a movie; large 8-lb batteries just love to be walked about and entertained.   

Yes, if they have the blank in stock, any keycutter can make you a spare; what you want is a Honda motorcycle key - Ilco HD74 or X84.  But if a blank key works, why not just get one of those, either from your local store or eBay?  You can buy TWO of them for US$9.49 at the moment on eBay, with free shipping:  www.ebay.com/itm/124705979958  I carry one with me just to demo the problem to other Rad owners who don't believe me when I let them know.

I love my MiniST2, but it's something of a clownshow with keys in RadLand.

Hey, recent Rad purchasers of Minis, Runners, Wagons or prior-gen Rover 5 bikes - have you tried a blank key in your new bike yet?  I'm curious to know if Rad has fixed this problem.

Quote from: santacruzpaul on March 12, 2022, 07:30:13 AM
I think walk mode speed ic controlled by the PAS setting, Am I correct?

No, as stated above it's a fixed speed and I think was set in the controller programming by a speed-walking enthusiast.      Maybe it's the minimum speed the motor, speed sensors and controller will operate under power; dunno.

However, you can blip it for a second or so, walk up a couple of steps to get slightly ahead of the handlebar and blip it again - you just have to wait three seconds between blips to re-engage walking mode; this trick would require some practice on a level surface first, but it should work even for those who can't walk really fast, like me as well.

BTW, for those wondering... I just went out to the garage and confirmed that walking-mode DOES work in PAS 0 setting, at least on my 2021 MiniST2.