My Comuter/Grocery Getter

[JedidiahStolzfus]

I got a RadRunner 2 a little over 2 weeks ago for getting myself to my work 10 miles as well as shopping trips to my local grocery store 2.5 miles up, farmer's market, 6+ miles, a[/ind to Costco 6 miles.   

This is as it came while I waited for all the accessories I ordered to arrive, it took a while to get them, due to RadPower choosing FedEx ground as their shipping partner.



First addition was a horn, that also operates as an alarm, they're available on Amazon for around $55.




Eventually (about 2 weeks), the rest of the parts arrived, the large rear basket, the upgraded headlight, upgraded control panel and fenders.



I didn't like the basket mounting across the frame, so I 3D printed some brackets to hold it inline.  I used ABS which I then smoothed with acetone, and they work, but I suspect they're not going to last forever.  I contacted a machinist friend and sent him the STL file of the parts and he's going to make them on his CNC.  I'll then have them anodized.

I ordered a trailer, since I'll need that for grocery store and Costco runs.  It's mounted to the rear axle after I drilled out the mount to fit the axle, and inserted a lock washer into the recess, which is great for holding the original nut on and not letting the trailer bracket loosen it.



My first grocery run with the trailer, a water melon shifted against the wheel, and it promptly ate a hole through the nylon bag and left black tire marks on my melon.  I tossed the bag, and cut some black acrylic to fit as the walls, and 3D printed some brackets to slide onto the uprights and hold them in place using M4 nuts and button head bolts.

The tops of the trailer are/will be wrapped in Armaflex pipe insulation then wrapped in hockey tape, since I sometimes take the kids to the park in it.



The last mod was completed today.  I found with the rear basket on or when the trailer is attached, it throws off the balance with the kick stand, and it wants to rest on the rear wheel instead of the front.  This allows the front wheel to pivot around and smack the headlight out of alignment on the frame.

I grabbed some more black acrylic, cut and drilled it to mount to the front basket bolts.  The Headlight is attached to that using another M4 bolt and nylon lock nut.



The bike fits perfectly in the back of a Ford Transit van. 



Anyway, that's my first post here.

[AtLarge]

Nice work. Welcome aboard.

[Tree]

looks awesome!

I've got the Rad Rover 6 Plus, with some panier bags and a small insulated trunk bag for small grocery runs. I've got a milk crate I strap to the back for bigger/taller/deeper stuff, but I'd be out of luck at Costco.

Is that headlight the upgrade Rad one with your own mods, or something else entirely?

[JedidiahStolzfus]

looks awesome!

I've got the Rad Rover 6 Plus, with some panier bags and a small insulated trunk bag for small grocery runs. I've got a milk crate I strap to the back for bigger/taller/deeper stuff, but I'd be out of luck at Costco.

Is that headlight the upgrade Rad one with your own mods, or something else entirely?

looks awesome!

I've got the Rad Rover 6 Plus, with some panier bags and a small insulated trunk bag for small grocery runs. I've got a milk crate I strap to the back for bigger/taller/deeper stuff, but I'd be out of luck at Costco.

Is that headlight the upgrade Rad one with your own mods, or something else entirely?

It's the upgraded light from RadPower, just mounted to a black acrylic plate instead of the forks.

I think I saw you mention a crate in another thread.  Be wary of using a "marked" crate.  Meaning a crate that once belonged to a dairy or other business that uses them.  Many states have made mere possession of marked crates as illegal, because if it's marked, and you're using it, it was stolen.  Not saying you stole it, as you can get marked crates from other sources, just saying that's the assumption when you're found with one.

Back when the law in PA was passed in the mid 80's, there was a big uproar in the Mennonite community because so many of their bikes had crates strapped to them.  Now they use cardboard boxes, even though unmarked crates are readily available.

[Tree]

looks awesome!

I've got the Rad Rover 6 Plus, with some panier bags and a small insulated trunk bag for small grocery runs. I've got a milk crate I strap to the back for bigger/taller/deeper stuff, but I'd be out of luck at Costco.

Is that headlight the upgrade Rad one with your own mods, or something else entirely?

looks awesome!

I've got the Rad Rover 6 Plus, with some panier bags and a small insulated trunk bag for small grocery runs. I've got a milk crate I strap to the back for bigger/taller/deeper stuff, but I'd be out of luck at Costco.

Is that headlight the upgrade Rad one with your own mods, or something else entirely?

It's the upgraded light from RadPower, just mounted to a black acrylic plate instead of the forks.

I think I saw you mention a crate in another thread.  Be wary of using a "marked" crate.  Meaning a crate that once belonged to a dairy or other business that uses them.  Many states have made mere possession of marked crates as illegal, because if it's marked, and you're using it, it was stolen.  Not saying you stole it, as you can get marked crates from other sources, just saying that's the assumption when you're found with one.

Back when the law in PA was passed in the mid 80's, there was a big uproar in the Mennonite community because so many of their bikes had crates strapped to them.  Now they use cardboard boxes, even though unmarked crates are readily available.

There's also a lot of companies that now sell branded crates for cheap enough.

[tacomanatx]

I didn't like the basket mounting across the frame, so I 3D printed some brackets to hold it inline.  I used ABS which I then smoothed with acetone, and they work, but I suspect they're not going to last forever.  I contacted a machinist friend and sent him the STL file of the parts and he's going to make them on his CNC.  I'll then have them anodized.

1. Is that the RAD Branded Large Basket?
2. How noticeable is it when riding to have that basket right against the seat?

[JedidiahStolzfus]

I didn't like the basket mounting across the frame, so I 3D printed some brackets to hold it inline.  I used ABS which I then smoothed with acetone, and they work, but I suspect they're not going to last forever.  I contacted a machinist friend and sent him the STL file of the parts and he's going to make them on his CNC.  I'll then have them anodized.

1. Is that the RAD Branded Large Basket?
2. How noticeable is it when riding to have that basket right against the seat?

Yup, it's the RAD basket.  I have the seat up just a bit over the top of the basket so that I don't really notice it there too much.  If it gets to be too bad, I can slide it back on the brackets I made. 

I also ordered a pair of motorcycle cargo nets to hold my daily bag in there as well as my 40oz coleman tumbler.  Today I carried an inverter and charger with everything else so I could charge while I was driving around. 

[JedidiahStolzfus]

Puppy pouch showed up today.  Only took 10 days.

This is my puppikins from the day we got her back in april.  She's bigger now, but fits in the bag if she goes in butt first.  She was a little scared at first, but she enjoyed her first ride around the park.

[Radio Runner]

Looks your going to be mostly on pavement. Do yourself a favor and order some CST Big Boats. They are so much smoother and don't sound like a swam of angry bees compared to those battery draining knobbies.

[JedidiahStolzfus]

Looks your going to be mostly on pavement. Do yourself a favor and order some CST Big Boats. They are so much smoother and don't sound like a swam of angry bees compared to those battery draining knobbies.

Well, not mostly, I'll be up and down farmlanes too.  Most of them are made from milled asphalt.  Besides, I like sounding like a swarm of angry bees.

[JedidiahStolzfus]

It also just barely fits inside a Mercedes Sprinter.



I just got done upgrading it to the 35A controller and color LCD display.  Speed is cranked up to max, but it still only went a little more than 25mph.  Definitely more torque off the start though so that's good.

The only hard modification I had to do was drill one hole in the metal plate the controller mounts to.  It would have been nice if they gave just a little bit more wire for the motor and battery connections though.  It's a little snug under there.

[JedidiahStolzfus]

Just got back from a 10 mile test ride.  The extra torque is nice for getting across busy intersections.  Did a few miles of paths, but mostly secondary roads and some main roads.  Went through two covered bridges.  It's working well.  Still not seeing a speed greater than 25mph though unless I'm going down hill.

[JimInPT]

Still not seeing a speed greater than 25mph though unless I'm going down hill.

Right, you won't see a speed increase with just the controller/display upgrade - it provides more torque for acceleration and hillclimbing, but without higher voltage from the battery you won't get more speed.  Even a battery upgrade alone won't do it (although the new controller can handle at least 52V setups), because the Rad factory motor has speed-limiting internal circuitry.  You'd also need a motor swap for more speed; I don't think I've heard of anybody figuring out a way to defeat that circuit.

I do love the 35A controller on my MiniST2 and 25mph is fine for me under motor power - I can hit about 36mph downhill with pedaling and that's approaching scary for my bike's geometry and my age.  I once took one of my motorcycles up to 137mph one time (certified by Oregon highway patrol radar - he brought his along on our group ride so everybody could see for sure how fast they could go, heh-heh) so I've gotten the 2-wheel need for speed out of my system some time ago.

And that's a cute pup.

[JTK77]

Still not seeing a speed greater than 25mph though unless I'm going down hill.

Right, you won't see a speed increase with just the controller/display upgrade - it provides more torque for acceleration and hillclimbing, but without higher voltage from the battery you won't get more speed.  Even a battery upgrade alone won't do it (although the new controller can handle at least 52V setups), because the Rad factory motor has speed-limiting internal circuitry.  You'd also need a motor swap for more speed; I don't think I've heard of anybody figuring out a way to defeat that circuit.

I do love the 35A controller on my MiniST2 and 25mph is fine for me under motor power - I can hit about 36mph downhill with pedaling and that's approaching scary for my bike's geometry and my age.  I once took one of my motorcycles up to 137mph one time (certified by Oregon highway patrol radar - he brought his along on our group ride so everybody could see for sure how fast they could go, heh-heh) so I've gotten the 2-wheel need for speed out of my system some time ago.

And that's a cute pup.

There is absolutely no speed restricting circuit in Rad motor. Its just the KV of that motor. Only speed limiter is the limit set on display.
Higher voltage increases no load motor rpm linear with voltage.

[JedidiahStolzfus]

Got a Garmin Edge 520 Plus to install today.
I don't just ride in my local area, I take it with me and I might be hundreds of miles from home.  In many places there isn't cell phone service.