Hmmm...

Fedex said mine was being shipped from Bordendown, only 32 miles from New Brunswick. Coincidence?
There was no news for a week. Then Fedex said they'd picked it up in Kernersville, 500 miles from Bordentown.

The Fedex guy snapped my picture and ran away before I could offer to carry it up the steps for him. Fedex said it weighed 105.7 pounds, and I wondered why it was so easy to get up the steps. When I opened the box, I discovered that the bike is remarkably light. It's sage, which is supposed to be gray-green but looks off-white to me.

My Radrunner brought me lots of remorse, but not as much as my Evryjourney. It seems Six Three Zero's gimmick is to offer a return period but make it a nightmare to repack, unlike Radpower.

My Radmission was the best of the three. Still, to make it rideable, I had to add a couple of handlebar risers, a layback seat post, a chain guard, and an aftermarket controller.

I believe Ryan first told me about the Aventon Abound. On youtube, a mechanic doubted that the seat could be raised as high as a tall rider would want, and skirt panels on the back interfered with brake adjustment.

Other reviewers said it was a favorite because it was quick, fun, would carry a lot, and had better components than expected. More than one said the seat was uncomfortable and that the steering was squirrely.

A youtube reviewer said he thought the fold-down handlebar stem was flexing. A magazine review said the problem was a lack of offset, which meant the hand grips were too far behind the steering axis.

I was prepared for a bit of remorse. I found that there is no flexing in the stem. It rises at an angle a few degrees forward of the steering axis, and that provides the necessary offset. Handling was excellent "right out of the box." The only way to get a wobble was to shove the bars back and forth. When I felt the wobble, I checked Aventon's tire pressure recommendations. I'd inflated the tires to 30. They recommend 35 to 60. They say 45 to 50 is usually best, but you need 60 for a heavy load.

That was probably why reviewers had found the steering squirrely. Their tire pressure was probably inadequate for their heavy test loads.

The ride was smoother than any other bike I've ridden on the rough pavement around here, and that was before I discovered that the front suspension was locked.

The seat was indeed uncomfortable although well padded. It was tilted back slightly, which I don't like. I could level it but couldn't tilt it forward because the lever for the dropper post was in the way. With the seat tilted forward, you don't need a dropper post because you can slide on and off easily. I removed the lever and tilted it slightly forward. Now it was comfortable. I guess tilting it forward keeps the padding under my sit bones.

The seat rises as high as I want it. The skirt panels would interfere with work on the back wheel, but they're held on by velcro strips.

The angle of the seat post gives me a perfect pedaling position without a layback.

What's not to like? I was so looking forward to buyer's remorse! What a letdown!

The first person to cross North America on a motor vehicle was George A Wyman in 1903. it was an 1100 watt motorbike weighing 75 pounds. The carburetor was a box lined with cotton baffles. When the mix got too lean, he'd open a valve to add 30-octane gasoline to the cotton. It had wooden rims and 28 x 1.5 tires. Most places didn't even have gravel roads, so he rode most of the way bouncing on railroad ties.

The British called these bikes motor bikes. They needed a legal term for the other kind. Before Raleigh made the gearshift affordable, "push bike" was perfect. Pedaling, you'd fall trying to accelerate from a dead stop; so the usual method was to push and jump on. Bicyclists were often seen pushing up hills.

Quote from: Altema on November 26, 2023, 02:57:36 PM

I've heard Eilis use that term, and I chuckle when I hear it. Being an audio engineer, it makes no sense. The bike that makes it's presence known with sound waves? Can you strum it?

I thought "ebike" meant "electric bike," but mine has no jack to connect it to an amplifier. I added a Clarabell horn. Now I can make beautiful music with my acoustic bike.

Quote from: John Rose on October 29, 2023, 01:53:54 AM
Something else I just thought of... If it is deemed to be a motorcycle/moped in England, does that mean he also can't ride The RadExpand 5 on lanes and paths reserved for EAPCs and acoustic bikes?
That would really suck.

["Acoustic bike" - I totally stole that term from Eilis on the Electroheads Youtube channel.]

Since about 1902, the English term has been "push bike."

A guy in St. Ignatius owns one. At 79, he finds it difficult to swing his leg over the saddle.

I had a similar experience when I bought a Radrunner at 73. I figured I'd put a crate on the back and step over the console in front of the seat tube. Uh-oh, the console lid was 30 inches high. Lifting my heel over the lid was harder than lifting my knee over a much higher seat.

I limbered up by practicing on the 30 inch wall around my porch. When I got good at it, I rode to a store. I couldn't dismount because pedaling had tightened my hamstrings. I pedaled home and removed the $100 console.

At 75 I bought a Radmission step-through. I enjoyed it so much that when I was 76 I forgot I wasn't a teen and swung my knee over the saddle to dismount. My knee caught on the saddle and I fell backwards on the pavement with the bike on top of me. It looked worse than it was because I rolled back flat to distribute the shock. I wasn't even bruised because a couple of years of pedaling had given me the biggest butt in town.

I would have cleared the saddle on the bikes I rode as a teen. I tilt my Radmission saddle forward radically, maybe 45 degrees, so the back of the saddle may be 6" higher than normal.

Nowadays they have dropper seat posts. When you stop, you pull a lever and the post slides down several inches. That might be the solution for the guy in St. Ignatius.

I guess you've been told Error 24 means the controller isn't getting a signal from the Hall sensors.

The most vulnerable part of the circuit may be the motor cable connector along the chain stay. Not long ago, my Radrunner wouldn't work after I took the back wheel off to replace the freewheel. I think there was an error code. I'd pressed the motor connector together tight and it looked okay. I unplugged it, looked at the pins, and reconnected it. This time it worked. I guess it hadn't been plugged in all the way. If it happens again, I may rub a little silicone grease into the rubber so it will slide together better.

If that doesn't fix it, I imagine there are ebike mechanics who can check the Hall sensors from the connector using a multimeter and a suitable voltage source.

If the battery is low, I believe calling for power will cause the battery to shut down temporarily. Charging the battery may fix it.

Cheap fuses can fail from fatigue. The bottom of my Radmission battery has markings for the 40 A output fuse and the 5 A charging fuse.

https://support.radpowerbikes.com/Batteries_and_charging/Battery_troubleshooting/Battery_fuse_replacement_guide

Quote from: dcdear on November 19, 2023, 08:43:28 PM

Thanks -- this helps. I'm a 30 inseam.

After I bought my first ebike, I learned that a bicycle inseam is different from a tailor inseam. I wish they didn't use the same word. A bicycle inseam is how high you can straddle. I usually wear 30 inch pants, but I can straddle 35 inches.

I bought a Radrunner 1, partly because I was led to believe the fat tires would be good on snow or mud. It's disgusting on snow or mud. When I steer, the lightly loaded front tire rides up onto the slippery surface and slides sideways. I was able to get by, by reducing the pressure to 10 psi so that the cross section of the tread against the surface was flat instead of rounded. However, Radpower says low pressure is unsafe. It's not good for those tires. The rolling resistance is high and the handling is bad.

Other tires might handle low pressure better, but there's little choice to fit the Radrunner's wide rims.

The Aventon Abound looks very good to me. The tires are 2.4 inches wide, which should mean higher loading and less side sliding. If it turns out that they don't handle low pressures well, there are plenty of options to fit those rims.

The seat tube angles back at 63 degrees from horizontal, which means the seat goes back almost an inch for each two inches you raise it. That helps it fit long and short legs. It has a drop seat, which means you can set it high for good pedaling but immediately lower it several inches for stability. The handlebars are quickly adjustable over a large height range.

It's designed to carry 440 pounds. There are huge panniers to go on the back rack, and it comes with footboards that support the panniers.

It has a 750 watt motor. I thought that was illegal in Canada, but Canadian dealers offer them.

I don't know what I'll do with my perfectly good Radpower bikes, but I think I've talked myself into buying an Abound!

Quote from: John Rose on November 09, 2023, 02:52:17 PM

Quote from: handlebar on November 06, 2023, 08:09:52 PM

QuoteWith the seat high, I found the handlebars on my Radrunner and my Radmission much too close to the seat for stability or comfort. I fixed that by moving the seats back, like the 1885 Rover, the first modern bicycle. Leaning forward put weight on my hands.

That sounds counter-intuitive. Doesn't a longer reach mean leaning more forward?

Yes it does. That can be good.

Consider the stereotypical dunce, on a stool in the corner. His back muscles hold him upright, and leaning forward would put more strain on them. Contrast that to his counterpart at a desk. Putting his elbows on his desk will give him a tripod, taking the load off his back muscles. Depending on the height of the desk, there may not be much weight on his elbows.

Riding a bicycle is like sitting on a stool in a classroom aboard a moving train. Amid the lurching and swaying, the student with his elbows on his desk will be much more stable.

Quote from: John Rose on November 05, 2023, 11:10:03 AM

The only thing I would wish for is to be able to bring the seat closer to the handlebars or vice-versa. I feel like I'm putting a lot of pressure on my wrists by not being able to sit completely upright. I've got the seat as far forward on the post as it will go. Now I'm wondering if a BMX-style handlebar like on the RadExpand 5 (adjustable fore-and-aft) would work better for me?

John, do you ride with the seat high for full leg extension on the pedals? With the seat high, I found the handlebars on my Radrunner and my Radmission much too close to the seat for stability or comfort. I fixed that by moving the seats back, like the 1885 Rover, the first modern bicycle. Leaning forward put weight on my hands. The solution has always been to raise the bars. Mine are about 10 inches above saddle height.

I have never done the job, but I would look  at gear pullers at Amazon or Walmart. You need three legs, and they need to be long enough to reach from the end of the shaft down under the edge of the carrier plate.

Within the first year, I began to see oiliness on the front hub of my Radmission. Grease is 75 to 98 percent oil. To seep past the seals, oil must have come out of the mix. That could result in dry bearings.

With a caliper, I found I'd need a 15mm wrench for the cone. With feeler gauges, I found that it couldn't be more than 3.5mm thick. Amazon's first suggestion was labeled a pedal wrench. However, a reviewer posted a photo showing a caliper on his, reading 1/8 inch. That would be 3.17mm. I ordered it.

I looked online for any advice that might be contrary to my old experience. An Irish professional said always to replace balls. I hadn't thought of it, and it made sense. If you have play, it probably means your balls have worn smaller than the races were designed for.

Internet sources said adjusting bearings on a quick-release axle was difficult. Tightening the locknut would cause the axle to rotate in the cone, changing your adjustment.  If you got it perfect, clamping the axle between the forks would squeeze the axle slightly shorter. The bearings would be too tight. You'd have to remove the wheel and adjust the bearings slightly looser.

One source said he'd made spacers to clamp the axle with the skewer off the bike. I liked that idea. I can feel drag, smoothness, and play better if I move the axle with my thumb and finger than if I move the wheel on the bike.

The wrench was 4mm thick, 26% thicker than the reviewer had measured. I had to do a tedious job of grinding.

I removed the lock nut. Then, for the first few turns removing the cone, I had to use two wrenches, with the thin one holding the opposite cone. I realized the manufacturer had adjusted the bearings with axle and cone threads dry. I got them greasy taking the hub apart. Before assembly, I degreased the cone and axle. Dry, the axle threads had a rough black coating.

That seemed to be the secret to adjusting bearings: friction would keep the axle from turning within the cone as you screwed down the locknut on greased threads.

I measured the balls at 6.34mm. Quarter-inch balls would be 6.35, but I'm sure 6.34 is well within the margin of error for my caliper and the bearing manufacturer. After 750,000 revolutions under my weight on bumpy surfaces, the bearings had no measurable wear.

For assembly, I slid a foot of vinyl tubing over the axle so I could pack the bearings without getting the threads greasy. Flexible tubing tends to tighten when pulled. I had to grab the locknut on the other end so I could twist the tubing as I pulled.

I used a stack of 3/8" flat washers on each end of the axle as spacers to test my adjustment with the skewer compressing the axle. I felt a little roughness when I turned the axle-skewer assembly, proving that skewer pressure really does make an axle shorter. The bearings passed the test after I unscrewed the cone 30 degrees (an hour on the clock).

With seals and dust caps in place, I washed the hub and disk because I want to know if there's seepage in the future.

If it happened to me, I'd look on youtube for how to take my motor apart for inspection.

I don't have any expert tips, but if you put it on the stand with the power off and turn the wheel backwards, does it sound okay? On the stand, does the throttle work? Can turning the pedals get pedal assist on the stand?