$1499 for Rad Mini Step Thru from $1299.  This time the price increase is real.

Rad previous said the "sale" on the Mini was over Sept 1.  That passed and the price remained the same.  But this time the price actually increased.

I wanted to buy a barrel adjuster for my Rad Mini Step Thru brake lever. I think all the Rad bikes uses the same brake lever? 

I have a micrometer and I measured 9.17 mm which I have difficulty understanding.  I look online and I see 7mm adjusters, 8 mm adjusters and 10 mm adjusters but no 9mm adjuster and I am not even sure if a 9 mm adjuster would fit since I am measuring 9.17 mm.

Does anyone know which size I should buy? Is it some uncommon and not easily found size? It seems to be a tektro CL530 lever.  I just want to buy a few spares.

"I seem to recall that throttle-only performance is somewhat dependent on the pedal-assist setting even if not pedaling, but I'm not certain.  Need to test that out for myself someday."

I checked and found that there is no speed limit for the lower assist levels.  To prove it to yourself, put on the kick stand.  Tilt the bike so the rear wheel is no longer on the ground.  Use assist level 1 and crank the throttle.  The bike will easily reach 20 mph quickly - with the rear wheel spinning freely.

I totally agree with the warranty issues.  Your point is correct.  I am waiting for parts too.

I am just saying, as a separate issue, if things are not working out, we should budget some money to keep the bike running for our own enjoyment of the ebike.  Many minor parts are available through mail order with 48 hour delivery if you pay.

I am throwing this out in case you are concerned about range and run time.  I have two phone mounts.  On one mount I mounted my phone.  On the other mount I mounted a portable battery.  Wires connect the two so my phone battery is always 100% charged.  The battery in my arrangement can be wired to constantly charge rechargeable headlights.  This may give a rechargeable headlight with enough range for your needs.

Just an aside.  I've ran over some giant potholes in my life in the dark that have destroyed my bikes and destroyed my car tires.  Think about whether it is worth it.

I am not taking sides.

As an owner and considering the supply problems, if something goes wrong, you are on your own and should try to fix it yourself. The alternative is to allow the bike to sit while waiting for parts.

Throttles, brake levers, tires, tubes can be mailed ordered and takes about 48 hours to arrive. You need to do some investigating - but many parts are readily available on the major mail order sites and are cheaper too. I wait for Rad to send me the genuine original spare parts and, when it gets here, I put it away as a spare.  I think of it like running my own business, I have to be able to second source the parts when I can. 

Things like controller, wiring harness, battery, and wheels - you don't have a choice if you want to keep the bike stock.  Luckily those have not broken for me.

If I were not doing this, my bike would have been down (not working) for a long time.  Yea, it cost money, but I have the parts and I keep exercising instead of letting the expensive bike sit in the garage depreciating.  As a long time regular bike commuter and bike owner - it is a hobby or lifestyle that requires continued investment and a supply of spare parts. You need spare parts to ensure you can commute daily.  Things constantly break if you use the bike a lot. All the parts are exposed, constantly subject to vibration, and built to be sort of light weight. Any biking will require monthly money so it is good to have spare parts so your bike would not be down during a major event (holidays, biking with friends etc).

Giving everyone an update.

I am getting some "misc hardware" sent to me with a list price of $1.  I think I'll be OK when it gets here.  I just want to get a nut - to save me having to fish around in the hardware store for a one-month-old bike. And I am not sure if the nut was there to begin with.  Since the list price is $1, I think it is most likely a nut or a few nuts. 

I'll definitely locktight/threadlock/glue the nut to the bolt/screw.  I think this is a weak point but in a non-critical part.  Small nut.  Not much extra thread on the bolt.  Any loosening will lead to the fall out of the nut.

While more hardware like a new mount would be nice, I don't want to take advantage of the company.  So, hopefully, all ends well when the stuff gets here.

Just sharing my experience.  Many panniers are smaller on the bottom than on top.  I don't think many of us has experience with this type of bag.  I did not.  During riding the contents will bounce around and go further and further down the bag (the funnel) until they are all tightly squeezed on the bottom.  Maybe this is good for camping.  But hardback books, paperback books, notebooks, phone, iPad, laptops, calculators, papers, work stuff, will all get scrunched and wrinkled. Book covers will get dented and dog-eared.  Clothing should be packed on top or they will be super wrinkled. I am not much of a camper anymore and I use the panniers mostly for work.  I would definitely get something with a square bottom like a grocery bag-type pannier to keep my laptop and papers from getting scrunched.

Panniers are like rock tumblers.  You put a bunch of stuff in and over the course of a ride they all tumble and shaken. Your keys will scratch up the camera exterior.  The phone will scratch the laptop etc.  The loose fork will scratch up your food containers.  The extra battery will scratch up your headlamp. Even a wrench or socket set, unless tightly packed, will come out looking well used.  Lots of people do it but be careful when packing to avoid this.  You will soon learn.

<edited to add info>

Thank you for the info.  Much appreciate it.  I'll web order it if I don't get the part soon and I'll definitely use some thread locking type glue on it.  I think this is a part that can be easy to lose.

Nice tip on where to put the lock.  I had not noticed it.  Great idea.  Thanks.

The minis are great bikes.  They are so relatively cheap right now.  A mini with an extra official battery is less than some other models.  I would suggest that a mini with an extra battery will outrun any other rad bike. 

You can have double the range of any bike.  Really good hill climbing even with one battery.  And, if you don't care for the extra range, you can use power assist at level 5 for 40-50 miles (2 batteries) outdoing whatever bike with a single battery can do. 

Maybe you can be a little slower in the initial 10 to 20 miles but the speed limit is 20 mph so not much.  After that, the mini with 2 batteries will outrun every one battery bike in Rad's lineup.

I am glad they seem to have kept the current not in frame battery in this latest model.  This means they would probably stock the current not in frame battery, hardware, connectors, for a few more years in stock.

I don't know the thread size for the nut. 

I have a digital micrometer.  On the remaining nut, I measured 5.6 mm (5.59 actually) across the flats of the nut.  The screw is 2.88 mm outside diameter so I guess it corresponds to a 3 mm thread? So maybe it is an M3 screw and nut??? M3 is supposed to be 5.5 mm across the flats but maybe I measured wrong due to the angle I had to use to make a measurement while the one remaining nut is still on the bike. It is not a 5 mm nut because it would not fit a 5 mm socket.  It is not 6 mm because the 6 mm socket was too big.  I ended up tightening using an English (inch) based socket.

Does anyone with more experience/knowledge know the nut's identity based on this measurement?

As you can see from the picture, it is much smaller than the other bolts holding the mount to the frame.  Without the nut, the plastic part of the mount wiggles in relationship to (1) the bike and (2) the metal part of the frame.  The battery mounts to the plastic part. 

It seems that the bike is functional without the part but you might have trouble inserting the battery.  I think it can be fixed by pushing against the plastic part during insertsion.

Rad says they did not have the part but that they would contact their showroom to get the part for me.

The problem is that I cannot get the screw/bolt out unless I take the mount off.  I don't want to take the mount off until I get the part - because it is some work and will leave the bike in a nonworking condition.  I can still ride the bike fine right now.  It is a busy time of year for my work.

When the nut gets here.  I plan to take the whole thing apart and locktight the two screw/bolts.

If Rad fails to follow up (which is very unlikely), I have a plan B.  I will take the whole mount off and get the nuts and bolts and go to a hardware store and try to fit it.  I don't know how to measure a screw or nut to figure out the thread info. 

It is something I can fix.  But since I just got the bike less than one month ago, I figure Rad should at least give me the part.

I was cleaning up my bike, checking everything.  I noticed one nut on the battery mount is loose.  One nut was missing.  I want to point this out to everyone because the nut is small and flush with the bolt thread. Meaning any further loosening will cause the nut to be lost.  See enclosed picture.  So I am just suggesting everyone take a look and tighten theirs.  I plan to use some sort of thread lock/locktight stuff on it.  I don't want this nut to come loose again.

It is a small nut but I don't know nut sizes so I rather not spend an hour at the hardware store trying to figure out a replacement.

I am going through the bike double-checking every bolt and nut.  Everything else seems fine.

Rad is taking care of me.  The service is impressive.  Very impressive.

How did it go?  Are you two enjoying yourselves?