Quote from: Kelly_Rollins on March 25, 2022, 06:09:47 AMI read once of someone using a curling iron travel case for batteries. I know they found one that was an exact fit. Here's an example one, no idea if it fits. But it gives you an idea, you could search Amazon until you found one that works I'm sure.
https://amzn.to/3qSFncb

That's a very good idea!  I just rough-measured my battery and charger and the 2-layer version of that bag just might fit very well.
(by the way, you can trim Amazon links to the product ID just past the "dp" in the URL, as above, and it'll work fine - the rest is just your search information)

These won't fit the charger as well, but fit the previous-gen Rad batteries absolutely perfectly, as if they were made for them, were cheaper than Rad's bag and are good quality:

https://amzn.to/38ni6ZK

Last June, I got one Used-Like-New for only $15 sealed in the original bag; the ones listed as New were about $22 at the time but are considerably more expensive at the moment.  If you're not in a hurry, set up a price watch at camelcamelcamel.com to be notified when they hit a price you're willing to pay.

Quote from: Smackums on March 22, 2022, 07:16:55 AMIt's so much fun to ride I absolutely can't stay away from it - I wanna take it out somewhere every day if I could, even if it's just up and down my street just to get the day's stress off of me after work (and what a de-stressor it is!).

Sounds like you made the right purchase; that's great.  Are you satisfied with the CST Big Boat tires on trails?  I am, and was quite happily surprised at how well they handle off-road - like you I was sort of thinking I'd swap them out for knobbies, but after it arrived and a hundred miles later, that thought disappeared.

The guy running the CitizenCycle channel on YouTube has these bikes, and tons more, and has tested them.  Perhaps some of his reviews would mention this difference or if not, I'm sure he'd like to know if it's true.  You might consider dropping a comment on a recent review (so he spots it) or a direct contact to see if he has more info for you.

I don't know if our Overlord Ryan has a Rover 6P or not to test out.

Quote from: Leafy2726 on March 21, 2022, 08:18:14 AM
Yeah.  I heard people have done it BUT I am hesitant.  I just need to find a lighter bike.  I figure the max I can lift up the stairs would be around 50lb.

Leafy, if you want a versatile e-bike at a weight around 50 lbs, you may be forced to look at high-end bikes with graphite frames and other exotic improvements to save weight, at a much higher price than the Rads or most consumer-focused e-bikes.

My recovering-engineer brain loves the clever design of the Brompton folding bikes, for instance, but their electric one starts at 3,000 British pounds and has a small-capacity battery.  But it weighs only about 35 lbs!  Even at that, I'd get awfully tired of lifting it up a flight of stairs on a routine basis, especially considering whatever else I'm wearing or carrying on it.

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.