I'm not answering your questions, but I like my current Rad precisely because it looks like a bike slapped together with after-market parts. If anything breaks and I can't get a replacement, I plan to buy parts from 3rd party vendors. 

After 5-10 years or when I can no longer get parts, I think it is time to retire the bike. I don't like to think like that but that is the way the world is, nothing works forever and bike technology, especially ebike technology, changes so fast. However, considering everything in that old bike seems modular, I find it hard to believe that parts, or 3rd party parts, will no longer be available in 10 years.

I think for bicycles the electric pumps are OK.

I have never had a battery powered pump last when used on car tires. They usually burn out after 6 months if I am working them hard. Working them hard means, for example, pumping up 4 tires of an SUV if they are all low. I am not blaming them, they are made for a lower price point and use tiny, even by hand pump standards, pumps no bigger than maybe 1 square inch or 16 square centimeters. The small pump concentrates the heat.

Something to think about. Why are you using a pump on the road. If your tires are low to begin with, it should have been pumped up to begin with. If you have a leak, a pump can barely help. You need a patch.  So maybe one of those fix a flat things are better.  Are you really going to patch the rear tube on the side of the road? Remember all the work required to remove the rear tire. All the work to fix a flat without removing the rear tire. I use a lot of slime (or whatever alternative) and carry a credit card and plan to use a ride service, maybe hire an SUV, to go home or go to my car if I have a flat. I also carry a cell phone and I don't even carry a pump or a patch kit.  I plan to sit in a cafe, if one is available, and wait for help. But if I am riding in a remote area, I plan to carry a fix a flat type inflation/sealing device.

I suggest getting a cheap wireless charger puck for $10-$15 mail order. Hot glue it to the mount. I use the setup at my desk and it works fine. For a bike, I suggest using one of those mounts with a rubber band backup. The rubber gasket thing will keep the phone in place.

I don't do it myself because:

Wireless charging causes heat which is fine in an AC car. I have tried wireless charging on a bike, in 95 degrees weather with the display on max brightness and a navigation app running, sun directly on the phone, the charger/phone shuts down because of the heat. I suppose if you go fast enough on a bike, maybe the wind cooling would offset the excess heat. I am saying it is not an automatic solution and there is no guarantee it will work in hot weather under the sun.

Now I use two mounts. One for a battery and one for the phone and I use a cable to connect the 2. The one for the battery does not need to point up and is installed upside down, with a rubber band holding the battery in place in addition for security. The temperature of the phone is lower.

Quote from: Radio Runner on March 06, 2024, 10:40:38 AM

Quote from: John Rose on March 06, 2024, 02:03:32 AM
I have doubts about the rear rack on the Radsters.

They say they're "Integrated, 55 lb (25 kg) carrying capacity", but they don't look like they have much (or any) bracing against fore & aft movement. Not like the RadWagon and RadRunner models.
There should be something like a bar going to the seat tube.

Now, with "Full coverage aluminum alloy fenders ...", is the rear fender supposed to be rigid enough to provide that bracing?

Looks like it?s mounted to the fender for fore and aft stability. WHICH IS REALLY DUMB Whoa, no good for a real load.

Probably to stabilize the fender rather than stabilize the rack.  The rack probably do an OK job if you stay within the specs. But a fall puts much more strain on the system if it results in a push towards the back or something.  Like if the rack catches a rock or pavement pushing the rack back.

This is all speculation based on a photo.

I really really like how the seat looks like it can be shortened so much. I am short so this is much appreciated. Thanks Rad.

I agree with others in saying just mount a light with its own battery.  I am afraid if you draw too much power you would burn out the controller or the headlamp section of the controller, and that part is expensive.

I saw a plastic water bottle holder with a hidden compartment for the Air Tag on Amazon.

I second the loose spoke idea.  Just squeeze each spoke together with the adjacent spoke until you find the loose one.  Tighten it up.

I did it on my bike at 300 miles.

Also, even if something else is causing it, it is always a good idea to check and tighten the spokes.  The rear wheel gets more stress with the motor so the spokes there gets loosen first.

I totally see your point and I sympathize. Sometimes you just want a simple bike.  Me too.

But please consider the derailleur is less than $30 and replacing it is probably the cheapest fastest least labor intensive way to go. The gear cluster is intertwined with the electric power cable in the rear wheel so replacing it is not the easiest thing to do.
Also, a real one speed bike still needs a chain tensioner. How would you deal with the shifter, removing it and the shift wire is some work. And if you are keeping it, you might as well get the bike into shift ready configuration just for good looks.

You don?t have to use the derailleur. You can fine tune it to work optimally with the one gear you are using. You don?t even have to connect the shift cable, just use the limiting screws. But as I said earlier, just keeping it working would make your bike look better.

I don?t know how things work with a bike designed for the Canadian market.  This is a summary of my impression from reading a lot of posts.

From my reading, for smoothness, quietness, range and long term battery life, your interest and Rad?s interest align. After all, Rad wants to squeeze every mile out of the battery too for advertising purposes. And Rad don?t want to replace batteries during the warranty period. For this, a Rad controller is the best. Once again, I don?t know if it works with a Canadian bike. Then there is the warranty issue, if you buy a controller from a U.S. friend, you may have to get service from the U.S. friend too. It is unlikely Rad would send a replacement for a bad controller to Canada.

For power, responsiveness, an aftermarket controller is better.  I might get one.

I don?t think you can get more power, longer range, and longer long term battery life all at the same time.

I understand the concern about trolls but I, at least, is not trolling.

Battery fires, electric car fires, and gasoline car fires are real. Without even getting into e-bikes, there were recalls on Tesla (electric cars) and even gasoline cars over fire dangers.  Phones, laptops, vaping machines all have fire issues.

Maybe the danger is low but it is there. There is danger whenever energy is transmitted or stored.

Did you crank the throttle all the way? My Rad Mini ST2 shows 750w all the time if I crank the throttle all the way.

If you want to be ultra-safe, there is no solution. Even Tesla cars gets on fire and I think they use name brand everything and lots of electronics. That is why cars in the old days were stored in garages not attached to the house.

It is the nature of energy storage. Gasoline, or batteries that hold a lot of charge. When these things fail, all that energy is released. Battery powered cars/bicycles are energy efficient, but there is still a need to store a lot of energy. There is no safe way to contain it. Having an electric charger at home means you are slowing filling up a lot of energy.

The other problem is that the electrolyte in the battery is also burnable (inflammable in older English, flammable in modern English usage). This is unlike lead acid batteries or carbon batteries.  With a short and heat, a fire becomes almost automatic. This is unlike a shorted lead acid battery where the acid and the lead would not burn if you cut it open and hold a match to it.  If you cut open a Li battery and hold a match, charge or no charge, the Li battery electrolyte will burn.

The risk is minimized with quality parts. But it is like storing a can of gasoline in the garage for the lawn mower. If it goes, the whole house goes.  It is best to have a shed for this stuff.  The original poster's solution is very good - just make sure you store all your large batteries in it.

Before I got the riser, I reversed the stem 180 degrees.  That brought the handlebar much closer to me.  Maybe this would help in your case.  I think quite a few Mini ST2 people do this.

I got a riser from Amazon for 7 inches or around 180mm. Something like that I forgot the details.

I replaced a mini step thru 2 folding stem which has a 12 inch riser (by my estimate) so I actually dropped 5 inches. No cable problems because of that.

How many inches or mm do you need?

I hit a ditch and flew off my bike once. In a situation like that, the front wheel is more stable turned 180 degrees because of the front rake and my bike wheel turned 180 degrees. I also hit a tree not directly but took it on the handlebar. That also turned my wheel 90 degrees or more. I turned my front wheel over 90 degrees a few times - I am not sure if I did it in a standing (stopped) fall.

I wouldn?t want to have a bike where I cannot turn the front wheel 180 degrees.  All my bikes, electric or not, can do this.  You have to decide what to do for yourself.

Take care.