RadWagon full rebuild - Sugestions?

[massassi]

Good evening everyone!
I just got myself a RadWagon. The only problem is that almost all of the parts are gone. It was stolen. Located and then returned by the cops. The original owner talked to them and for the price of replacement parts it just made more sense to buy a new one. Insurance did that for him, so he sold it to me. So here I am with a sweet frame, that's just begging to be upgraded.

Bike is a 2019 and  has frame, fenders, handlebars (with nothing attached) cranks & pedals, derailleur, chain, and the left side running board. Everything else is gone.

What on your RadWagon would you upgrade?
What on your RadWagon *have* you upgraded and would totally recommend?
What have you always wanted to see someone do with a RadWagon?
What did you do, that you wouldn't recommend?
Does this orange grow on you, or should I seek paint?
Are the stock lights good enough, or should I be looking at something particular?
I've seen a few people mention going to a front suspension, have you done it? Is the bike better for it?
I have to replace the gears and shifter anyway, are the stock ones good enough, or should that derailleur get tossed in the scrap bin too?


Currently what I'm thinking:
replace the running board with one from RadBikes.
Upgrade to hydraulic or hydraulic/cable brakes
Bafang 1500w rear hub and motor
Do I go crazy and two wheel it up? Is that way overkill?

I have a 30kg Pitbull - any recommendations for traveling with her on the bike? I was thinking some kind of carrier on the running board, a front basket, or a sidecar.

Thoughts please?

[FortunatelyTheMilk]

Did you see this thread already? https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink/topic?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eradowners%2Ecom%2Findex%2Ephp%3Ftopic%3D138%2E0&share_tid=138&share_fid=2118463&share_type=t&link_source=app

Some good info in there.

I'd definitely go with the upgraded motor and controller.

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[Rjbur007]

Check out Bolton EBikes.  They have a color display and controller.  Also, they may have a new wheel / motor soon coming out.  Owner Kyle and his team are great at responding to emails.  They also have a great YouTube Channel.   I have already upgraded both my wife's RadWagon and mine to the new color display and co troller.  Somewhere on here I have a thread about the upgrade I still need to update.

If I keep my RadWagon, I'll be going back to Bolton for the break upgrades and the new rear wheel and motor...

https://boltonebikes.com/collections/brakes/products/juintech-m1-hydraulic-calipers-easy-install-on-most-ebikes

https://boltonebikes.com/collections/motor-controllers-and-displays/products/2019-radpower-upgrade-kit-with-tail-light

I'm planning on replacing the front fork as well... but have not found one yet.

Bolton has not yet released the motor upgrade yet but may soon. Meanwhile I'm investigating options.


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[massassi]

since i have to do all of the electronics one of the motor/controller kits i was looking at:
https://www.alibaba.com/product-detail/Hot-1500W-Bafang-Motor-Kit-Brushless_1600088453008.html?spm=a2700.7724857.normalList.31.3e72569dx08enP
i know 1500w might be overkill, but when the cost of all those parts at the legal 500w is about the same its pretty hard to argue with.

i wonder if there is such a thing as a speed limiter that i can disengage with a stealth push-button

i'd really love to hear from some guys who've done the suspension upgrade to know if its worth the effort.

@Fortunately thats a really interesting thread. thanks. @RJbur you've done some nteresting things there. i like it.

[Ryan]

If you don't have a fork then I'd definitely try to go with a front suspension and report back to us. 

I had done some digging but there isn't a lot of info on what would work (see this thread to perhaps get headed in the right direction: https://www.radowners.com/index.php/topic,298.msg1304.html). Hydraulic disc brakes are a good idea. I personally like the orange color as its the color Rad is known for. Stock lights are sufficient unless you're riding at night frequently. For simplicity I'd probably buy a rechargeable handlebar mounted one. Even the Premium Headlight leaves something to be desired (see the video I did on it).

Please share pictures as you get this going. Should be awesome.

[massassi]

I do have the stock front fork right now. but if you're changing half of the bike anyway, you might as well consider what about the rest should go too? there are a couple of threds on it elsewhere - but i dont even really know much about bike maintenance so most of the terminology is mostly gibberish to me.

mind you, that though process has me wondering why none of the Rads have a front shifter. is it a geometry problem?

the orange is kinda kewl in ts own way. i'll need to see if i can find some touch up paint though, some of it is pretty scraped up. is that a thing Rad sells, or does krylon have one thats good enough, or..?

[RadJohn]

...that though process has me wondering why none of the Rads have a front shifter. is it a geometry problem?...

Probably, to some extent. It's not uncommon for many 21 speed and above bikes to have certain extreme front chainring/rear freewheel or cassette gear combinations that are not recommended as they produce chain rubbing, noise and sometimes "ghost shifts".  Rad seems mindful of the lack of cycling knowledge/experience of many of their users and probably wants to keep things simple.

Alignment poses the most acute problem on shorter wheelbase bikes, which would make the RadWagon the ultimate candidate for a front derailleur. Seems that people have done it, here's a picture I snapped of a RadWagon I ran across parked outside the grocery store I usually shop at.

[massassi]

Oooh, I like it. That looks like three gears there. I really do feel like having 21 speeds would significantly impact trying to make it home on a low or dead battery.

[massassi]

how wide a tire can i put on my radwagon? there are a set of terrene cakeater 26x4.0 tires/wheels up on the local craigslist anologue and they look pretty sick...

[Ryan]

how wide a tire can i put on my radwagon? there are a set of terrene cakeater 26x4.0 tires/wheels up on the local craigslist anologue and they look pretty sick...

I don't know for sure and when I asked Rad this question they wouldn't give me a definite answer but I think 4 inch tires would be much too wide for the rims.

[massassi]

Yeah. I'm pretty sure you could get a 3" tire. And maybe even a but more, but 4" won't fit between the front forks.

[massassi]

so I have the bug... I've been looking at drive trains. since I've had to replace both wheels, and the rear derailleur and shifter I'm thinking about putting one of those big fancy sram eagle setups on the bike. assuming that my hub can accept a freewheel is there any reason why this wouldn't work on a radwagon? then, since many of these groupset kits come with cranks and bottom bracket does anyone know what specs for sizing I would need to look for in order to buy something that will fit in my frame?

I found a pad I'm going to re-purpose for my back rack so that i can haul passengers if i can manage to put together a deck top.

should only be another week or two for my front forks to arrive. I'm stoked.

[RadJohn]

...I'm thinking about putting one of those big fancy sram eagle setups on the bike. assuming that my hub can accept a freewheel is there any reason why this wouldn't work on a radwagon?

Depends whether that freewheel will fit on the Rad Bafang rear hub (unlikely because those SRAMs are cassettes, not freewheels) , the resulting over locknut dimension OLD (will it fit between the rear dropouts without spreading them so they are no longer parallel) and on the length of the cage on the rear derailleur you plan on using, you'd need one with a very long cage (lots of chain "wrap"). Maybe some of the incompatibilities could be resolved by having special axle stubs or adapters machined, I dunno.

You'd have to switch to a narrower 12-speed chain, and probably have to also change your front chainring to a thinner 12-speed chain compatible one.   

It might be extremely difficult to pull something like this off on most shorter wheelbase bikes, but the RadWagon with its long wheelbase certainly seems more doable, possibly the ideal candidate.

[mikesova]

Did this ever go anywhere?

[massassi]

Sort of. I have a pile of parts in the shop, but every step forward is two back. I'm held up on the headset and forks right now, but it looks like I might finally have some progress soon