ST Flat tire....:-<

[wkw]

Hello everyone,

First time in this forum

It was quite an adventurous Saturday when, after riding my new mini ST locally for a few weeks, and took it for a 50 miles trip. All went well until 1/2 way back, I heard an ominous pop. I looked and the rear tire went flat.  So after dragging the heavy bike to a safe place to lock it up. I called an uber, then metro then my car to drive back to location and haul the bike back home. It is still sitting in my garage. I will attempt to learn online how to change the rear tire. Then may have to call the local rep to help.  BTW: I was hoping the flat was caused by a nail to explain the disappointing incident for a bike with less than 100 miles odometer.

One observation on this ill fated long trip is: Mini ST is good for local city run around. But for long trip I need a trekking bike like the Radcity 4.   If there is a good explanation for my flat tire, I will look into Rad city for 2nd bike or otherwise I will listen to my friend to get a mid-drive motor like Bosch road ebike.  (Question - I heard my friend said mid-drive motor can not have the throttle, a feature I dearly love, is that true ?)

With that said, I am pretty impressed with the ST. Very solidly build but very heavy ( I have to build a 6' X 12" ramp to get into my Honda element.) Very smart bike and good customer support.  I just hope this flat tire incident is just a fluke and nothing indicative of the Radpower's product quality. Looking at glass 1/2 thru, this give me a great chance to hands on radbike maintenance.

Wil

[sc00ter]

I hate flats. They put a damper on your adventures. The flat could have been a defective inner tube. It happens. I bought a bunch of the Performance brand inner tubes when they were going outta business for analog/regular bicycles. Those tubes were prone to fail at where the valve stem meets the tube. Ended up recycling the rest. Horrible quality tubes. If it wasn't a defective tube and you ran something over consider adding something like a Mr. Tuffy or a Tannus liner. I've had good luck with both so far but have ran Mr. Tuffy liners for years. The Tannus liners are new to the flat prevention game so I'm trying them as well. Quick note. If you don't have a spare inner tube on hand for the 'Mini you'll need to track one down. If you run Tannus liners you can usually find the "new" Tannus tube size at most Wally World or better bicycle shops.

And welcome to the Rad family!

[Jman]

Rad tires are notorious for being made out of gummy bears. Their "puncture resistant" tires are a joke and must be reinforced before riding to prevent flats.  I second the suggestion of using Mr Tuffy liners.  I use Mr Tuffy liners and slime and have not had a flat since they were used.

[wkw]

Thank you so much for the great advise. Definitely will use Mr. Tuffy as added defense. I want to upgrade the tires to top rated brand.  I think this is great investment. (Last Saturday I was lucky to be close to a gated community to lock my bike, otherwise I would be dragging the big anchor for miles).

Questions

1. What are the top rated tire/tube brand to get ?  (What I have now is CST B/G Boat 76-406 20x3.00), are CST and Kenda the "notorious gummy bear" tires Jman referred to ? 

2. Shopping for a trekking bike - the mini ST is a lot of fun but probably not for long trip.  I am researching for a long distance bike, thinking about RadCity 4 (go Rad again simply I like Rad tech support, design and price is decent). My friend recommended German made eBike like bulls (price is very intimidating !).  I like to hear discussion on trekking/road bike choices.

3. Throttle feature - is that true that throttle feature, for design restraint,  is only available in Hub Motor ebike and not in mid-Drive Motor eBike

Thanks for this forum, great place to learn

Wil

[Jman]

1. I'm not sure what are top rated, I still use stock tires and tubes on my Rad bikes and they have held up fine after using liners and slime.  I use the K Rad tires that normally come on the Radrunner, on my Rad Mini ST.  I find the K Rad to be the happy medium between street and trail tire.

2. Not sure what Trekking involves but I would assume if you are comfortable on the Mini then it would be fine.  I have a suspension seat post in addition to the front suspension and it makes it pretty comfortable.  I also changed out the handlebars for riser bars so I could have more reach adjustment which adds comfort.

3. From what I've seen most mid drive do not have throttle unless you want to get a Baffang Brand.  There are some nice Baffang mid drive bikes but they cost significantly more than Rad hub drive bikes.

[Mooree]

Learning how to pump up a road bike tire is crucial for any bike enthusiast. Having so is beneficial to maintaining your machine, especially for convenience, whenever you need to inflate your bike, which will help to ease the cycling experience. You can effortlessly pump air to your bike tire with the right tools and knowledge to get you started. Identify your bike valve type and choose the pump head that would work well with it.

[Eric7]

One observation on this ill fated long trip is: Mini ST is good for local city run around. But for long trip I need a trekking bike like the Radcity 4.   If there is a good explanation for my flat tire, I will look into Rad city for 2nd bike or otherwise I will listen to my friend to get a mid-drive motor like Bosch road ebike.  (Question - I heard my friend said mid-drive motor can not have the throttle, a feature I dearly love, is that true ?)

I am a big fan of the Rad Mini ST2 - the tires are as good as any and it has HILL CLIMBING ABILITY like no other Rad bike. It is a hidden fact Rad does not want to acknowledge because it upsets the price/value structure - meaning a lower-priced bike has better performance than their top bike.  The only downsides (1) the small wheels have trouble jumping some big obstacles (2) possibly slightly reduced range due to the wheels being fat. Conversely, the cushioning by the fat wheels is good.  On the road, there is no problem.  Off the road, personally, I prefer a bike that can climb well like the Mini.

The money you saved from buying a mini ST instead of a more expensive rad can buy you an extra battery.  With that setup, you pretty much have top of the line performance compared to any other rad bike.