Purchase rad mini

[dmann]

About to pull the trigger on a rad mini, few questions to those who own 2020
What size and type of tires are on newest version., and are they tubless. Is slime recommended in these type tires. I see the tires now come with K shied Puncher protection, is this performing well?
Is charging recommended after each time you ride, regardless of amount of battery used. Seems they go through brake pads quickly, does buying better grade of pad help any.
Iv seen battery performance rated at 800 full cycles, is this a real expectation, saw some say they noticed the performance slowly degrade at 2-3000 milles which would be well below 800 cycles, does age have an impact on this performance, it would seem reasonable at 5 years of certainly less that 800 cycles you could be nearing the end of battery life.
Are spokes failing a regular issue, have seen several posting vids of this, im sure type of riding and user weights have a lot of bearing on the spokes.
Are there known wire harness issues.
Thanks all for any advice and or tips, info.
I've already decided to go ahead with purchase of a mini, just getting ahead of these general issues, always been a mechanical kinda person and like to get up on staying on top of such items, i have seen a general feeling of good strong quality at this price point, if it takes a little bit of maintenance thats expected!!

[Veggyhed]

You have asked some pretty controversial questions.
I do own a 2020 mini I bought in January.
The tires are not tubeless and I run 4 oz of slime in each tire. I have had a couple of flats but have never had to repair them since the slime has taken care of that for me. For the most part if you have slime in your tires and you end up with a flat you can generally inflate it and spin the tire and the slime repairs itself.

I have had to tighten the spokes on the rear wheel several times. But please understand I am incredibly fat and my bike is my primary transport. I have panniers which I fully load with groceries so my bike does carry a lot of weight. I have never snapped a spoke yet. I've not had to type in the spokes in the last 300 miles.

The brakes are mechanical disc brakes and will need frequent adjustment. Again due to my weight I may need to adjust my brakes more than others. In fact I just recently bought new pads which I will be replacing this week.

The battery is lithium-based and therefore probably should not be taken down further than 50%. There is a lot of info out there about not charging to 100%, but rather to 80%, to also increase the life of your battery. Another important thing to remember is to try and keep your battery at room temperature which may also help increase the longevity. They say not to store your battery for extended periods of time at 100% charge it would be better to leave your battery at 55 to 60% of full charge for long-term storage. My battery is still doing great. Treatment of your battery you will find will become controversial and there will be many people telling you what is right and what is wrong.

I have not heard of any wiring harness issues with the bike. Nor have I had any problems with the wiring. I just recently bought a rack for my bike and I need to run an extension for the tail light which I will probably also do this week. These are aftermarket products.

The thing that I hate about my bike is the fat tires. Because I am a commuter trying to find a place to lock it up can be a nightmare. Most bike racks do not accommodate those tires and you're stuck using the ends of the bike rack which are not always available. Finding locks to go through the wheels as next to impossible.

What I love about the bike is it's upright Riding geometry. When you're in traffic being able to sit upright makes for a far greater awareness of one surroundings. It's also very comfortable.
The bike can handle some serious weight I don't think it's the prettiest thing in the world but damn it can get the job done and like I said it is my primary form of transport.
The 20-in wheels make for a great mechanical advantage and also makes this a great workhorse. The lower center of gravity makes it ideal for carrying heavier loads.

I also should add here that I almost never use my bike pedaling. I always use the throttle.
You could greatly increase your battery mileage by going in and adjusting the bike to never exceed 15 mph. I have played with this and have left my bike at the factory settings which allows me to travel at my weight and average of 19.7 mph. Many people go in and adjust it to remove the limiters which is very easy to do which will give you a top speed of around 25 mph.

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[dmann]

Thanks so much for your detailed response, im seeing a great deal of opinion
On how to treat battery charging so i guess we all do the best we can in maintaining it. I do find it hard to believe when I've read that Rad is suggesting the battery is capable of 800 cycles, at even 3 times a week for someone using as a recreational type bike, that would be over 5 years of performance??? Anyway im sure I'll read plenty of opinions on this topic, thanks again for your info.

[Veggyhed]

I guess it depends what is considered a cycle. If I look on my laptop and go into a certain section on my pixelbook I can see how many deep cycles it has had. I believe a cycle is being charged from below 50% but I am not positive on this as only what I have kind of seen and read. The same kind of charging and cycling also replies to everyone's cell phones or any other lithium storage system.

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[sc00ter]

My RadRunner 1 has the same wheels. I've gotten 1 flat in 1500 miles. I'm adding Mr. Tuffy liners to my tires. But generally the OEM tires are pretty reliable. Flat protection has been discussed in another thread.

Battery. I ride mine everyday and run it down to 2 bars. I charge it when I get to work then charge it again when I get home. I have a good system when I rarely ever leave it fully charged unless I'm ready to ride it within the hour. Follow the charging instructions in the manual and you'll get your moneys worth out of a $500 battery. You could buy a fancy battery charger if you want but I just use the supplied charger and follow the directions.

I've yet to have any loose spokes and I'm not the nicest rider. I go down curbs, blast over rough surfaces and run 30psi. I plan on having it serviced soon and if my ebike shop adjust the spokes then fine. The wheels are strong for a 220 pound rider carrying a bit of weight on the rear rack.

Next, brakes. Easy to adjust and once done you'll be fine. Cables stretch and pads bed in. Still on the OEM pads but I have extra pads on standby. Also have 2 extra tubes and a extra tire.

Finally, my Rad has been bulletproof! I technically "downgraded" when I sold my Pedego for the 'Runner. I just wanted something smaller and easier to handle with wider tires. Buy it, ride it and enjoy it-it's that simple! Great products for a honest price. I'm going out for ride soon myself before a storm moves in later. Oh, and I've ridden in super strong storms and never had a issue.

[dmann]

Wow, thanks for the info, I've definitely already decided to go with the mini, and your comments run with so many I've seen. Im a mechanical kinda guy so i don't expect to have any troubles keeping it running strong. On your one comment im curious  how you time your charging to not charge to full charge, just monitor it or what, or is fully chsrging it really a issue. Thanks for all your input

[sc00ter]

It takes about 4 hours to charge when I get to work. I start charging it about 4 hours before going home. Then when I get home I charge it for around 2 hours before bed and restart the charging around 2 hours before leaving for work. People say to not leave the battery fully charged if your'e not going to ride it. I have a pretty good grip on my batteries charging needs and how far I can go with X number of charge lights lit. I also don't worry about having all the bars charged when heading out. You'll figure it out as well.

Now I did notice my battery using an extra bar when going to work, then using an extra bar when going home. Found out my tire pressure was at 15psi! As it gets cold tires naturally  loose a bit of air. Since I ride it everyday and its slowly been getting cold my pressure eventually dropped from my normal 30psi slowly down to 15psi. Funny part is I check my car and motor scooter tire pressure every weekend. Never thought to check the ebike.

[Altema]

The tires on mine are Kenda K-Rad 20 by 3.3 inch with a puncture resistant casing. I'm not sure if mine have the liners or not, as I've gone 1,700 miles without a flat and have not had the tires off. Fortunate I guess? I run my tires at 18 PSI for a softer ride (lots of tree roots on our bike trails), but they tend to get mushy feeling at 15 PSI.

I would not recommend topping off after every ride. I'll charge the battery partially if it is very low after a ride, but under normal circumstances, it's charge before riding. I charge to 80% for typical rides when I know range will not be a concern. If I know it's going to be a long ride, or plan on going exploring, then I'll top off to 100%.
A charge cycle is the equivalent of charging 0% to 100% once, but be aware that 0% is actually 39 volts, and is the programmed cut off point for powering the motor.
The lifespan of a lithium ion battery is determined by the total power flowing though it. So, running the battery down to 50% and recharging it to full is equal to half a charge cycle. Your range will gradually decrease with use.

I'm still on my original brake pads, but, I coast when I know a stop is coming up and use my brakes lightly. This saves pad wear, and coasting saves battery as well!

I have had no spoke issues. I weigh 180 pounds, but I ride the bike hard and take it on mountain bike trails. No issues with the wiring harness, except for accidently unplugging the cable connection under the main frame tube that comes from the front of the bike. It turns out the holding the bike in front of the connector while unfolding the bike can put enough tension on the connector to pull it apart. It only happened once, and I just plugged it back in.

[dmann]

Great, thanks for the info, guess ill get thr hang of this Charging as to only go for a full charge if you're planning a undetermined long travel or exploring, otherwise just shoot for 60-80% chsrge for low pedal assist rides of 15 to 25 mile rides!

[Altema]

Great, thanks for the info, guess ill get thr hang of this Charging as to only go for a full charge if you're planning a undetermined long travel or exploring, otherwise just shoot for 60-80% chsrge for low pedal assist rides of 15 to 25 mile rides!

Just remember to have fun and don't sweat the charging too much. I don't think there's an advantage in charging to 60 instead of 80, and nothing zaps the fun out of an enjoyable ride like wondering if you can get back home. And like you mentioned; you'll get years of use from the battery. Maybe by then, we'll have solid state batteries that are better anyways 

[Veggyhed]

100% degree with Altema. Just get out there and have some fun.

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