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Tools required for assembly for Rad Mini 4

Started by senorfrisk, July 29, 2021, 02:57:29 PM

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senorfrisk

I was wondering what extra tools do I need for assembly for Rad Mini 4?  I have allen wrenches...  Do I need a torque wrench or can I use just the allen wrench?  And is there anything else? 
I just ordered the Rad Mini today and I want to be prepared.  Rad website says it will ship August 6, fingers crossed.

FortunatelyTheMilk


JimInPT

#2
Quote from: senorfrisk on July 29, 2021, 02:57:29 PM
I was wondering what extra tools do I need for assembly for Rad Mini 4?  I have allen wrenches...  Do I need a torque wrench or can I use just the allen wrench?  And is there anything else? 
I just ordered the Rad Mini today and I want to be prepared.  Rad website says it will ship August 6, fingers crossed.

I have a MiniST from back in March - did you get the new $200 discount?  Hope it's a lot of fun for you.

You can assemble it with the included tools, but I never touched them.  Better to have a set of quality metric hex and allen wrenches and a low-range torque wrench set is a good idea to properly tighten the smaller fasteners to spec without breaking them.  I spent a lot of time loosening/tightening the handlebar, seat and seatpost fasteners (I ditched the quick-release clamp and added a tamper-resistant Torx bolt to a regular clamp, to help protect my seat and suspension post from theft) to get those dialed in to fit me properly; it was really nice to be able to set the proper torque every time and not worry about it.

I bought this one and it's very nice quality for the price:  https://amzn.to/2XNlsQr  According to the Camels, this essentially never goes on sale, so it must be pretty popular with others as well.
Shucks Ma'am, I'm no "Hero Member", I just like to wear this cape.

Altema

#3
Quote from: JimInPT on July 30, 2021, 10:15:29 AM
I bought this one and it's very nice quality for the price: https://amzn.to/2XNlsQr According to the Camels, this essentially never goes on sale, so it must be pretty popular with others as well.
That looks like a nice one, and certainly easier than cobbling together adapters to use my automotive torque wrenches.

coallen

#4
Having just recently received my Radrover and Radmini, I completely understand the excitement of the new purchase and the desire to be fully ready to assemble when the bikes finally arrive : )

While I think the bike could have been put together with the included tools, I used the following instead:

Venzo Torque Set ($59.99)
https://amzn.to/3mk9gAX
- I chose this over the "probike" branded set because the Venzo set torqued to 24NM instead of 20NM. I believe it is also slightly smaller.  There were some recent negative reviews on the probike set and a Youtube review I watched on the Venzo set convinced me. While I haven't used the probike set, I am really happy with the Venzo one.  I should note that while I fully intended to torque every bolt to the exact specifications, I didn't do this...I just tightened to what seemed reasonable. That said, the torque wrench was still very helpful because some of the bolts are quite long and would have taken a long time to tighten with only the included hex tools.

Bikehand Pedal Wrench ($17.98)
https://amzn.to/3mkWx0G
- This was inexpensive and had a lot of good ratings. I watched the rad assembly video and it mentioned using a pedal wrench. I didn't actually notice whether or not the included toolset came with something that would work.

I did try a couple of the wrenches Rad sent with the bike, which left me underwhelmed. One of the smaller ones wouldn't even fit the nut for attaching the light. So I ended up purchasing replacement "stubby" craftsmen wrenches from Lowes.  Lowes sells them individually so I was able to buy the same size wrenches mentioned in the assembly video.  Since they are stubby, they fit in the tool bag from Rad (which I kept) and are much better quality.

A nice pair of snips are also handy to have on hand as there are A LOT of zip ties to cut. I bought a dedicated pair to carry with me while riding in case I need them.  Here are the ones I bought for $9.99:
https://amzn.to/2XAqTSz

While on the topic of tools, the last item I purchased, was this multi-tool from Crankbrothers for $16:
https://amzn.to/3gm9nrW
I bought this one because the tools are a bit longer than the other ones they sell, which gives you better leverage for those stuck bolts (not that there were any on a new bike, but I am thinking ahead : )  While the hex wrenches Rad sent were just fine, I wanted something compact that would easily stay together in a bag while riding.

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