RadJohn's 2020 RadMini 4

[RadJohn]

Gettin' there, but still a work in progress on a June 2020 bike.

Major additions/replacements include:

  2nd Battery is a 48V, 17.5ah from BafangUSA Direct. It's mounted where the original Rad Battery was
    on the back of the seat tube, and the lighter OEM Rad 14Ah battery has been moved up to the rack.
    Both battery carriers have Rad harness compatible electrical connectors, presently switched by hand
    but I'm considering easier switching options for a winter project (OEM warranty has now expired,
    no reason not to cut into Rad harnesses now to change connectors to something I like better).
    I have used two different brands of the electronic parallel battery connectors in the past in other
    applications and both failed. I don't need that when I'm 50 miles from home so I'm considering a
    simple, reliable marine grade A-B switch with at last a 50 Amp rating (I believe in overkill in some
    areas). That battery was not the cheapest I could find, I chose it because of name brand recognition
    in hopes they would stand behind the product in case something went wrong (as will happen with
    a small percentage of lithium ion battery packs from even the best manufacturers/suppliers) and
    it has lived up to expectations. Charging it to 80% yields the same ~14Ah capacity as the Rad OEM
    battery and should improve its cycle life (so I can abuse it in other ways).  Unfortunately that
    particular size appears to no longer be available on their website (maybe just temporarily?):
    http://bafangusadirect.com/collections/batteries 

  The swept handlebars are Jones SG  2.5 Loop Aluminum H-Bars in 710mm length (Single Gauge with
    a 2.5 inch rise). Grips are Jones Kraton in standard length (for their 660mm bars), you don't need the
    long ones on this setup, in fact you have to cut down the right side grip. My OEM Rad cables were
    barely long enough to work with the front steering riser all the way up without having to be replaced
    with longer ones. Maximum width is 29 inches tip to tip, way more comfortable than the stock flat bars:
    http://jonesbikes.com/jones-h-bar-sg-2-5-loop-aluminum/
     
The pimped out bike now weighs 120+ pounds (54+ kg) with both batteries on board as I also routinely carry a lot of stuff like trail maintenance gear including folding saw(s), hand loppers and  digging tools. I occasionally add a Rad Large Basket or Platform with plus size milk crate(s) to the front rack when doing more serious trail work to be able to carry two chainsaws (the spare oil, gas, saw batteries and bigger trenching tools get carried in back rack mounted side baskets/panniers to minimize overloading the front rack in that configuration).

Range (I ride for exercise, often on canal and rail trails, so Mode 1 [with occasional throttle blips] suits me fine much of the time):
  Longest continuous run with maximum conservation efforts on the Rad OEM 14Ah battery = 63.5 miles
  Theoretical maximum on both batteries if get the same efficiency out of the 17.5Ah 2nd battery = 139 miles
  Farthest actual one day out & back trip to date = 102 miles   

[sc0pecr33p]

That's crazy cool man! It's a beast. What did you name her?

You have 2 Garmin devices, 6 light sources and some thing I can't identify on your handlebars and a cover for your screen. What's with the box around your screen?

[RadJohn]

No name, yet...

The Rad Display protector came from: http://www.etsy.com/listing/846589238/rad-power-bike-screen-cover?gpla=1&gao=1&

What appears to be the rightmost light is actually a Hornit electronic horn (for when the polite bell doesn't do the job): http://us.hornit.com/products/hornit-db140

The fuzzy thing on the far right is a combination dribble wiper holder (a wrist sweat band) and a soft tip electronic device button pusher for when I ride with gloves on (I made it from a plastic gluing clamp).

On days that hit 90+ºF in the afternoon, I often ride at night instead. Each light has its own strong points, I'm trying to narrow it down to a couple in addition to the stock Rad, which is mounted low and angled down ~20' in front of the bike so I can turn everything else off and not blind people I approach on trails at night (unlike what some a--holes do to me).

[sc0pecr33p]

No name, yet...

The Rad Display protector came from: http://www.etsy.com/listing/846589238/rad-power-bike-screen-cover?gpla=1&gao=1&

What appears to be the rightmost light is actually a Hornit electronic horn (for when the polite bell doesn't do the job): http://us.hornit.com/products/hornit-db140

The fuzzy thing on the far right is a combination dribble wiper holder (a wrist sweat band) and a soft tip electronic device button pusher for when I ride with gloves on (I made it from a plastic gluing clamp).

On days that hit 90+ºF in the afternoon, I often ride at night instead. Each light has its own strong points, I'm trying to narrow it down to a couple in addition to the stock Rad, which is mounted low and angled down ~20' in front of the bike so I can turn everything else off and not blind people I approach on trails at night (unlike what some a--holes do to me).

I vote for Colossus, or Dreadnought!

[Altema]

That's an impressive amount of kit! For the dual batteries, have you tried the Battery Blender from Spark Cycleworks? You can mix different voltage batteries and/or different charge levels. I had one but sent it back because it was only 30 amps, and I needed 60. The stock Rad controller draws 16 amps, so it's fine for that.

[JimInPT]

Bah - needs more headlights.