Quote from: Lokote on December 08, 2021, 05:23:19 AM
So I just got my radrunner plus and notice the front seat is just absolutely horrible it hurts so bad to ride with that seat I find my self shifting back and sit in the passenger seat it much more comfortable.
I wanted to know which seat would be best for me since I like to keep the seat as low as possible I'm a short person and having the seat as low I'm already almost standing on my toes.

I bought a suspension post and an Accot wide, padded, sprung seat. It was much better than OEM, but far from ideal. I was more concerned with handling. A rider's spine and arms form a sort of tripod. The base of my "tripod" was too short for stability because the seat was too far forward. I remembered how well my Raleigh Sport handled. I bought a layback seat post to get a similar seat-to-steering-head distance. With my weight cantilevered so far behind the seat tube, I had to cut a plywood triangle for support.

The improvement in handling was all I'd hoped. It felt like my Raleigh in two other ways: pedaling efficiency and comfort. With the seat back a few more inches, I didn't have to bend my knees so far in pedaling. That gave me more power and stamina.  As for comfort, moving the seat back made it natural to ride with most of my weight on the pedals, where my legs could absorb bumps. (The Raleigh Roadster was designed for a cop to ride all day on cobblestones or gravel.)

When something like that happened to my front disk, I assumed I'd contaminated it by touching it inadvertently. IIRC, I fixed it by spraying a little contact cleaner on a paper towel and wiping the disk.

April 4, I told them my front rack had come without screws for the holes tapped in it. April 22, Support told me they were M5 and I should buy them at my local hardware store. That was no help. I knew they were M5 by measuring with a caliper. There is no local hardware store. I would have had to order from Amazon, but he hadn't told me the pitch. M5 comes in two pitches.

If I hadn't solved the problem myself, my Radrunner rack would still be useless. What's more, it wasn't aligned with the length of the bike frame. A couple of washers made it less noticeable.

April 2, I'd asked how to lubricate the rear brake cable, which had creaked since the day my Radrunner arrived. The bot acknowledged my message, and now it's marked solved. However, the customer-service guy acknowledged it in the reply telling me to buy screws. He told me to make a video of my brake cable for him. That's when I saw that the cable has been damaged by heat at the spot where the vibrations occur. I sent a photo and haven't heard a reply about my "solved" problem.

Before I got an ebike, I thought convex mirrors were only for blind spots in the immediate vicinity of a vehicle.

My first Radrunner mirror was a 5/6 reduction convex that plugged into the end of the handlebar. My first day with it, it was about sunset and overcast when I heard a car come up behind me. I studied the mirror and couldn't see it. When it passed, I saw that it was about the same shade of gray as the pavement. I threw the mirror away.

I bought a pair that were advertised as flat but were in fact 2/3 reduction convex. That was twice as big as the first mirror, but I still didn't feel safe.

For about 1/3 of what that pair cost me, I bought this one.
https://amzn.to/3b6KE8b

It provides a full-sized image so I can see about as well behind as ahead. Because of the long stem, it's only about 15" from my eyes. That helps me get a wide view, and I can check outside that field by moving my head slightly. For parking in tight quarters, I can swing it out of the way by pushing it.

Quote from: se-riously on April 15, 2021, 01:45:22 PM
I always thought the stepover height was more of an issue if the lid is on.  With the lid off, isn't it the same height as the rear rack?

You're right. With the top, it's about 17". Without, it's about 12". I could use it without the lid, but it would invite theft of the contents, and they would have no weather protection. I don't know how to make a flat top for it. If I saw an advantage, I'd mount it without the top. It's about 14 x 6" at the top and tapers toward the bottom, which means it won't hold much. Instead, my fore and aft racks have plastic crates of 12x17". Together, they have more "floor" than a cart at the local supermarket. I can haul two cans of mowing gas, limited only by the weight restriction of the front rack. At a store, I leave my scuffed helmet and scuffed work gloves exposed in a crate, as they would be in an open console.

6.  Headlight is so-so.  Tail light is a joke.  I believe in running lights day and night.  The headlight is for you to be seen only (not illuminate the road much) and sadly there's no flash option. 

When I was a kid, a bicycle light had an incandescent bulb and one or two D cells. There were no alkaline batteries, so it was like a birthday candle in brightness and running time. A 6-volt dynamo cost more, and mounting it was a bit tricky, and there was more to go wrong, and it would dim if you slowed down, and you could blow the bulb out going downhill, and it was a drag on the tire.

Still, in my city, riding was pretty safe. Car ownership was half what it is now, so people didn't drive like the privileged majority. Cars were designed for drivers to see before backing up. A driver's only distraction was an AM radio. Almost all bicyclists rode upright, where they could see and be seen.

Not long before I bought my Radrunner, I saw a man walking a dog. The man wore a conspicuous golf shirt. As a motorist, I wished bicyclists dressed like that. When my bike arrived, I had a fluorescent yellow safety vest ready. Drivers I don't know wave. I guess they're glad to see a conspicuous bicyclist.

By day, I'm sure the vest is more effective than lights. At night, it makes a good adjunct to lights. If there's any light coming from the driver's direction, reflective stripes will mark me as a person in the road. Visual obstructions and close quarters can make a parking lot hazardous. A driver may not see bicycle lights a couple of feet off the pavement, but a parking lot should have enough light to see my vest, almost 6 feet off the pavement. (My Radrunner seems a bit like a horse in that I sit taller than I stand. Actually, to pedal with maximum force, I'll lean low ahead of the bars, like a racer, to bring my center of mass ahead of the bottom bracket.)

I bought a suspension post and a comfortable-looking seat. It still rode rough, even when I reduced pressure to 15 psi. There were worse problems. My seating was so unstable that it was hard to make a u-turn on a street 18 feet wide. Taking a hand off the bar to signal a turn was hazardous; I developed tennis elbow trying to steer with one hand. I rode every day, but even after two months, my pedaling was unpleasant and puny.

Why would I have more trouble with stability than some? According to a survey of male bicyclists, my legs are of average length. However, I set my seat high enough that I can touch the ground only with my toes. Above the legs, I'm 2" taller than average. Pavement around here is pretty bumpy.

When I discovered layback seats, I bought one. It extended the distance from steering head to seat clamp to 28", so that my arms and torso can form a more stable tripod. Now I can easily make a u-turn on a driveway 10 feet wide.

I hadn't foreseen another advantage: putting the seat farther behind the bottom bracket. One-handed, you need feet on pedals for stability. Moving the seat farther aft of the bottom bracket improved the stability I could get from my legs.

The ride is much smoother. I normally ride with my center of gravity above the bottom bracket. That means I can take my weight off the seat and handlebars by pressing the pedals. On a bump, the bottom bracket rises only about half as far as either axle, and legs make good springs. On a 3" speed bump, I'll bring the pedals level so both knees can absorb the jolt. For ordinary bumpy conditions, I'll glide as if standing on the pedal at 6 o'clock, knee straight and sole parallel to the ground. It's a relaxed way to ride, and by using my calf muscles to press the ball of my foot harder against the pedal, I can transfer nearly all my weight to that foot, allowing me to float over bumps.

Before I moved the seat back, a 1% grade was about all I could manage without motor assistance, and I didn't want to keep it up long. Now I may be at level 0 half the time, and I don't normally go above level 1. The last 200 yards coming home is a 2.5% grade. I prefer to peddle it without assistance. 10 mph is typical, but I can do 15 if I feel peppy.

The original seat position meant that at the start of the power stroke (top dead center), the rider's ankle was below his hip joint. That explains why pedaling felt like doing deep knee bends. With the seat moved  back, I don't have to bend my knees nearly so sharply. That means less strain and more power.

The seat tube of the Radrunner is only 16 degrees from vertical. The seat tube of a Raleigh Roadster was much more laid back, approximately 25 degrees from vertical. My layback takes it farther, as if the seat tube were 31 degrees from vertical. I got the same effect in 1961 when I flipped the seat clamp to move the seat back a couple of inches. It was an improvement. Fifty-nine years later, the seating position still felt familiar, except that the handlebars on the Radrunner aren't as high, and of course there's no Sturmey Archer gearshift.

Quote from: se-riously on April 11, 2021, 11:47:05 AM

3.  Upright seating position is excellent. Very comfortable for those with back problems.  Reminds me of the banana seat bikes that I had as a kid.



I hated the seating position. The post was only 20" from the steering head. Until I was 18, I rode thousands of miles a year on Raleigh Roadster style bicycles, where that distance was about 26". That's long enough for the arms and torso to form a stable tripod. Better support for the upper body means comfort and allows better steering control.

Quote from: Mkelley444 on April 14, 2021, 12:22:24 PM
Anyone want  a center console for half off? I bought it a month ago but I'm going to use the large basket accessory instead.

I've got a useless center console, too. At 34", it's much higher than I realized. With the passenger seat, I could have swung my heel over the back of the bike, as in mounting a traditional bike with a top tube. That wouldn't work with a crate on the rack.

To mount, I needed to face the bike and raise my heel above 34". It took a week of stretching to learn to goose step that high. Then I rode to the grocery store. Pedaling tightened my thighs so I couldn't raise my heel enough to dismount. I continued back home, managed to scrape my heel back over the console, removed it, and returned to the store.

I wonder what percent of console buyers discover that it's a white elephant for them.

Quote from: ozgurA on April 08, 2021, 07:39:40 AM
Here is the answer from Radpowerbike EU, thanks.

"You have probably informed that Throttle can go full speed, and that is true but here in EU we call that Twist Power Assist.
Twist Power Assist on the European versions of the bikes is limited to 6 km/h. This means the Twist Power Assist on your bike will serve a walk assist function, or to give you a boost when you are starting off. This limitation is done so that the bike can be categorized as a standard e-bike throughout Europe, and does not require any registration or insurance."

I didn't know about Twist Power Assist, but I have noted that my aftermarket controller can be programmed to limit the throttle to 6 km/h. It makes sense. I like a bit of throttle to get started. I have a shortcut across a grassy drainage ditch. Twist Power Assist would help me walk the bike up the bank.

Quote from: ozgurA on April 07, 2021, 11:27:50 AM
Thanks for the answers. This is my first e-bike therefore I have lack of knowledge regarding general e-bike behavior. Let me ask this question first. Does the Radrunner allow riders to go without pedaling only twisting the throttle? If yes then I have a problem. Thanks

If you need to pedal for the motor to run, that's Class i. Adding a throttle makes it Class II.

I unplugged my throttle cable, about 6" from the throttle. The motor would not run unless I pedaled. I have an aftermarket controller. Somebody else would have to tell you if it would also work with the stock controller.

Quote from: ozgurA on April 06, 2021, 09:48:30 AM
I just bought a new one and I think it supposed to move without pedaling on PAS0 mode?

On my Radrunner, PAS 0 let me pedal without engaging the motor. The throttle would give me motor power as needed. When I moved the seat aft, I found that I could pedal harder, and I enjoyed it. As much as possible, I pedaled with only the sound of the tires. On a street with motor traffic, I'd use throttle to get up to 20 mph faster. I'd use intermittent throttle on a grade where I couldn't maintain speed with the pedals, and it was available if I wanted to rest.

I switched to the more powerful controller through Bolton. I love the display but regret the fact that if I want a bit of throttle at PAS 0, first I have to switch to PAS 1. Then I go back to PAS 0 to pedal in silence.

Until I was 49, I had nothing but bikes and motorcycles. IIRC, I used machine oil for cables.

I unboxed my new Radrunner three months ago. Right off the bat, it creaked when I squeezed the rear brake lever. It seemed to be coming from the lever pivot. Apparently it's coming from inside the cable a near the brake, where the cable takes a sharp bend. It seems the steel cable transmits the sound and vibration to the lever on the handlebar.

Nowadays, there seem to be lots of lubes just for bike cables. This cable is mounted differently from anything I've seen before. At the back end, the housing points somewhat upward, with no rubber boot or other protection.

I figured that without a boot, an oily cable would pull dirt into the housing each time I squeezed the lever. I tried silicone spray. It made no difference.

Do modern bike cables need lubrication? What's wrong with machine oil? Is there a way to protect the housing end with a boot? Is this a common Radrunner problem? Can it be fixed by rerouting the brake cable?

Quote from: MillValleyRad on March 25, 2021, 09:47:40 PM
Hi Rad Owners
Just purchased a RadRover5 for myself and a RadRunner for my son.
My other son already has a RadRover.
Since these bikes are so heavy what "repair stand" are you using that works?
Thanks!
Dennis

A few days ago, I installed an aftermarket controller and display on my Radrunner. I removed my old-school mirror, on a long steel stem. That was just a matter of spinning one nut off. I probably removed the indicator/button unit before turning the bike over. I had a couple of scraps of 2x4 handy. I applied the back brake and rotated the bike on the back wheel. When the seat touched the ground, I kicked the blocks of wood under the hand grips. The bike was stable.

Quote from: todkarol on March 30, 2021, 06:00:37 PM

Brand new bike.

Bike standing still, I have three bars.  Under power, it lowers to 1 bar.

Is this normal?

I believe I've seen the OEM led indicator on my Radrunner drop more than one light under a heavy load of more than a few seconds (a hill). A few minutes later, I could do the same thing without losing lights. I think battery temperature is a factor. The first hill warms the battery, so it works better subsequently.

Cranking, a car battery might drop to 11 volts warm and 8 volts cold. When the electrolyte is cold, the ions can't move as fast, resulting in less voltage under load.