Quote from: rama_nichana@yahoo.com on February 11, 2022, 07:31:02 AMhm! about battery changing, maybe if i bracket it someplace where it fits, easy to change then ? not use zip-ties.

Yes, true; you could use the included bracket and mount where it's easy to access, but I wanted to hide it from potential thieves (I hear they love surprises) and the weather.  Zip ties are cheap and I don't mind changing the batteries every year or two.

I've had one of those on my MiniST for months; it's amazingly good for the price, so I recommend you give it a try.  The remote is a little large, but not too bad.  You can find a few reviews on YouTube.  The motion-sensing works well, but will probably need to have the sensitivity adjusted (which is easy to do) - I've embarrassed myself once or twice by setting it off after forgetting I armed it because it is extremely loud.

As for mounting, I have the rear rack (and small basket) on my Mini, and the alarm is zip-tied underneath the rack just above the rear fender.  Didn't use the bracket, just the slots molded into the alarm's case.  In that location it's almost invisible unless you're looking for it if the rack is black - the basket hides it even more. 

The only downside to this mounting arrangement is that the zipties have to be cut to change the batteries, so I installed high-quality Duracells that should last for years in place of the cheap batteries that were included.

All Rads have Schrader valves.

When I was looking for a high-volume, low-pressure pump for my MiniST2, I ruled out any pumps with a max of over 100psi because I was concerned about accuracy in the low range and low volume per pump stroke.  Pumps in the range of 50psi and below are surprisingly hard to find, but I finally found a Specialized MTB floor pump for mountain bikes.  It's very well made, pumps a lot of air into fat tires with each stroke, has a huge easy-to-read dial with an adjustable ring to put a big red arrow on your desired pressure and maxes out at 40psi, so it's easy to read pressures in the 30psi range.

There is one significant problem with it and similar pumps - the large fitting and lever to clamp it to the valve stem makes it awkward to connect to the tires because of the small 20" wheel diameter, especially the rear where the motor housing also gets in the way.  But it fits and will work; you just have to figure out the process and angles to clamp it on.

Unfortunately, it's still hard to find for some reason and can be expensive ( https://www.jensonusa.com/Specialized-Air-Tool-MTB-Floor-Pump ), but I found one brand-new on eBay for $57 a few months ago - with a little luck and patience you might get a pretty good deal as well.

It works great and I can highly recommend it.

I had my local bike shop assemble my MiniST last Spring as I was in the middle of moving when it arrived.  They asked me to bring it back after about 200 miles, to give the brake cables a chance to stretch out and need adjustment, or any fittings that wanted to work loose again to do so.

I noticed quite a bit of extra slack in the brake cables, as expected, but resisted the temptation to just pull them tight myself, so the bike techs could evaluate the amount of stretch.  All was well and I've since done brake-cable tuneups myself.

I own a MiniST2, love it and am the opposite of a petite woman.  Structurally, the step-through is just fine; a very solid design and my engineer brain is happy with it.  My knees really appreciate the step-through, especially when there's stuff in the rear rack basket.  Other than just trying out the process at first, I never fold it because I have no need to, but nice to know I can if ever necessary.

As mentioned above, it's a bit heavy for smaller and older people to lift, even at stock weight out of the box.  Mine is now about 86 lbs after piling on accessories, but for transport I bought a trailer-receiver hitch carrier with a detachable ramp so I can just drive it up the ramp under power from ground level to both load and unload it.  Easy and no stress, but I expect to ever need to carry it like this rarely.

When considering the purchase, I was wondering if it might be too small and a "girl's bike" making me look like a circus clown or a Shriner in a parade, but the Minis are really about the same size as a regular bike, not tiny at all, but much more accessible than the gigantic Rovers in my opinion.  It's very easy to handle and comfortable once you get the seat and handlebars properly adjusted; I also replaced the seat and added a shock-absorbing seatpost  to eliminate a sore butt after 15 minutes; now I'm good for at least an hour.

I love the hell out of mine and have no plans to do anything but ride and enjoy it until either it or I am worn out.

Quote from: CoolLion on January 29, 2022, 07:47:53 PMJust bought a RAd Rover 6. I scooped up a foldy lock. It's foldable and similar to the kryptonite locks.

Here's a video of the first cracking method for folding locks that came to mind.  Lockpicking Lawyer didn't even need to bother picking it: https://youtu.be/Y3NmIAWRjxI

After spending a few minutes considering the beefier and more-expensive Granit 6500 folding lock from ABUS, then seeing that video, I bought these:

https://amzn.to/3594q35
https://amzn.to/36HHicz

They store neatly alongside my rear basket as shown in this picture:

Quote from: handlebar on January 26, 2022, 01:04:52 PMShould I buy a laser level?

If you do decide to get one, I can recommend this one; works very well especially for the price (snagged a Lightning Deal for $30) - I've so far used it to hang a kitchen ceiling pot-rack and a VR-headset overhead cable-pulley system.  My  touch of OCD insisted on square and centered, or the voices in my head would get annoyed.   

https://amzn.to/34zxgcY

It should be plenty visible during twilight; I haven't used it outdoors yet but it's very bright indoors.

Quote from: Jay West on January 24, 2022, 01:27:24 PM
Look Here  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0z6VF2LzUD8 

Jay, Ryan produced that vid back in September and there seems to be some divergence of feedback and opinion about whether the very-latest-shipped units since November/December or so can still be .... ummm, "improved" or not.  It's possible Rad has somehow put a better lock on the door.  I don't think we have definitive info yet, though.

There's always the replacement controller/display route, hopefully available now or soon for the new models, but unless reversible that would be a warranty voider.

Quote from: Webfor65 on January 24, 2022, 02:21:06 PM
Where does one buy a SMART SWITCH?

What exactly are you referring to as a "smart switch"?  I have a bunch of those both as wall switches and plug-in adapters for my Alexa network to control things, including running my Rad charger for either 7 or 12 hours with a voice command.

If you're referring to a variable-charge-percentage charger controller, just post your interest in this thread; "peanutbutterpope" is working on the first batch and considering doing more later on (see Reply #63), so he's keeping a list of interested people.  The first batch has not shipped yet, so you'll need a bit of patience.

For anybody interested in these 35A controller/display upgrade kits, FYI Bolton Area 13 has just sent me an email that they are on sale for US$199 ($30 off) and they have 1,000 units in stock.  After paying full price and waiting a couple months for my as-yet-uninstalled kit, I'm just a tad envious.

https://area13ebikes.com/collections/motor-controllers-and-displays/products/radpowerkit

Quote from: Airborne_Chemdog on January 24, 2022, 06:11:19 AM
Since this was the first time I have put a bike together and I was doing 4 of them I did buy one, it was not expensive and it worked great.
Here is the one I bought - PRO BIKE TOOL 1/4 Inch Drive Click Torque Wrench Set

I bought one of those sets a few months back; they are very high-quality for the price and beautifully finished.  Not cheap, but if you want a good low-range torque wrench set at a reasonable price, I haven't seen better.

Quote from: Ddaybc on January 23, 2022, 12:41:49 PM
I live in Canada and they have limited our wattage to 500 watts. We don't have an option of purchasing over 500 watts for a cycle that is going to be used on the road.

If I was you, I'd be asking the politicians (they work for you, right?) why they seem to regard Canadians as less competent than Americans when it comes to managing 750 watts, which is roughly ONE whole horsepower?  That's ridiculous; 500w (much less 250) is pitiful for hill-climbing unless you're a featherweight, and even then.  In fact, it's easy to construct scenarios where such low wattage would actually be dangerous for a rider out on the road with other motor vehicles, limiting his ability to get where he's going and avoid sketchy situations on the spur of the moment.  We have a roundabout with an uphill merge from one street; that would not be fun on a low-wattage bike trying to get in there with the cars.

But I don't play well with people who could only get government jobs, yet consider themselves entitled to micromanage the lives of everybody else who pays their income, instead of sticking to naitonal defense, courts, picking up the garbage and filling potholes in the road. 

But that's just me.  And I'm about to double the wattage of my MiniST2 for a bit more hill-busting torque.

I think it was Altema who posted a thread here about experiments he ran on the standard "750w" Rad motor last year (the motor for almost all of the previous models, maybe same motor in the new ones, don't know).  I believe he was boosting both amperage and voltage to hotrod his bike and even though he actually attempted to burn out one of the motors to find its limits, he was unable to do so, even applying a continuous 1,000+ watts, up to 1,600.  Said the motor was fine after the torture testing.

After reading his post, I've come to question why anybody would want to bother with the hassle and expense of swapping to a "higher wattage" motor unless the stock unit just up and dies.

So I have no fear about putting the Bolton 35A (1,500+ watt) controller onto my MiniST soon.  Of course, it will rarely see anywhere near that much current, but it'll be nice to have now and then to assist me on some of the monster local hills where the stock drivetrain struggles.

Yep, that's pretty goofy - you can even see in the promo photo on the Rad sales website for the bike that on a level plane, that light is hidden from view.

But the company would probably argue that nobody is viewing it from an elevation equal to the light; pedestrians, other bikes, cars, trucks and motorcycles would all put the operator's eyes well above that, looking down onto a visible rear light, unless they were at some distance away.

While true, that's not exactly satisfactory IMHO, so remounting would be a good idea.

You might also consider something like this; I added one to the underside of my Cloud 9 seat on my MiniST, even though the brake light was visible both before and after I added the rear rack:
https://amzn.to/3JTrYrI

It's not expensive, super bright, lasts quite a few hours on a charge, has several blinking modes and the best feature is that it's motion-sensitive for both turning on and off so you never have to touch it except when recharging it.  I usually toss both it and my add-on front light onto chargers when I do the main battery.