200 miles in two weeks!

Altema · September 04, 2020, 08:47:02 PM

203 when I got home, actually, but it's been great fun. Today was my longest single ride, and probably the most difficult. 32 miles over hilly paths, dirt, gravel, grass, and the occasional unwanted mud and muck. Unlike my previous ride where I didn't touch the throttle for twenty miles, I used the throttle whenever I needed it this time, and gave myself a break from pedaling when I felt like it. Considering the usage and terrain, 32 miles is not bad, and the last battery bar was blinking as I approached home at 15 mph on throttle only.

Only issues was a momentary clicking which I believe was a spoke, and a strange sound like a kitten mewing and singing. At first I thought it was the controller, but it seems like it was a ringing vibration of the front fender support or brake disc. It stopped after a mile, but I'll investigate later.

Still loving the bike and making new friends, and I think I've "sold" two Rad bikes so far to people who had lots of questions.

AzRadtrek · September 09, 2020, 09:44:44 AM

Hi there,

Congratulations on the 200 miles in two weeks. That is great. Were you a bicycle rider before or did the e-bike get you out?

Altema · September 09, 2020, 02:01:45 PM

Quote from: AzRadtrek on September 09, 2020, 09:44:44 AM
Hi there,

Congratulations on the 200 miles in two weeks. That is great. Were you a bicycle rider before or did the e-bike get you out?

It was both actually. I used to be a frequent rider a long time ago, but stopped after an incident left me with screws and metal plate holding my leg together. Then my knees wore out and it became painful to pedal even a block. I'd given up, but the e-bike got me back out again and I get stronger each day. My legs are doing better, but now it's OTHER parts that hurt and I need a softer seat!

AzRadtrek · September 10, 2020, 05:14:53 PM

Congratulations on the miles and for getting back out there.

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Ryan · September 11, 2020, 10:34:35 AM

Congrats! Good to hear some real-world ranges too with varied terrain.

Altema · September 12, 2020, 06:21:44 PM

Quote from: Ryan on September 11, 2020, 10:34:35 AM
Congrats! Good to hear some real-world ranges too with varied terrain.

Thanks Ryan! The best mileage so far is 41 miles on one charge, but 30-ish seems about normal for hard riding with hills and all.
I put it in the car today and it fit in the hatch area without folding the car seats down (pics attached). The strap keeps it from flopping back and forth, and I used a piece of foam between the fork and the frame. If I remove the seats, I'd be able to fit three bikes in there. The bike is at 300 miles now and decided to try out some state parks, and my car has a 600 watt pure sine wave power inverter so I can charge the bike in the car on the way home.

Altema · September 19, 2020, 10:08:55 AM

I was trying to get 400 in 4 weeks, but fell short thanks to an unexpected visit yesterday. I was all prepped and ready to put the bike in the car, then someone showed up because her daughter wanted to see me. I tried to talk her into a ride, but had to settle for a quick through through the neighborhood which left my distance short at 371 miles (597 km). It was cold and there was no way she was going to do 30 miles, despite her being less than half my age, so I gave up.

I'm still happy with the miles the Rad has allowed me though. If it was on my road bike, my total miles for this period would have been closer to 4 instead of 400, lol.

AzRadtrek · September 19, 2020, 12:08:24 PM

Get 500 in five weeks and your average will still be secure. Glad you are getting out. That is what I love about my rad. No more excuse for not getting out.

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Altema · September 20, 2020, 01:01:21 PM

Yes, the Rad is a game changer for me. I just got back from a ride which brought it to 406 miles total, so I should be fine. The same girl came over again, and surprised me by asking to go for a long ride. We did about 6 miles and it was her first time on an actual bike path, and she did pretty good. Her bike is a single speed with a hub brake that was kinda sketchy, so our average speed was only 7.8 MPH. I stayed on PAS level 1 almost all the way, which seems to just compensate for the extra weight and rolling resistance of the RadMini at low speed. It still gives me more exercise on level one than my road bike, which goes like the wind, but I can't ride it far.

Altema · October 09, 2020, 06:53:25 PM

Quote from: AzRadtrek on September 19, 2020, 12:08:24 PM
Get 500 in five weeks and your average will still be secure. Glad you are getting out. That is what I love about my rad. No more excuse for not getting out.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks for the encouragement, and I did get back on track tonight: 608 miles in six weeks. I took a ride in the early afternoon, and had to get back for a meeting. I charged it back up and checked the odometer, and it was at 596, so I went back out after dinner. The bike trail was deserted in the dark, so I blasted it, and at one point almost lost control because I hit some branches going 34mph pedaling hard on a downhill! Had too much speed for the curve, lol. Of course I slowed it way down to 10mph or less for the two couples I did see during the 12 miles, but other than that it was a speed run, averaging 14.8 mph which included stops and sitting at traffic lights to and from the trail.

sc00ter · October 10, 2020, 06:55:55 AM

That's great on the miles! You almost make me wanna buy the upgraded display for my RadRunner so I can keep track of that info as well.

Altema · October 12, 2020, 07:27:42 AM

Quote from: sc00ter on October 10, 2020, 06:55:55 AM
That's great on the miles! You almost make me wanna buy the upgraded display for my RadRunner so I can keep track of that info as well.

You can use a smartphone app like Map My Ride. The speed display is a bit laggy, but the distance seems to be accurate. I haven't tried others yet, but there's lots of them.

News:

200 miles in two weeks!