Quote from: Amocat07 on March 30, 2022, 01:06:57 PM
At 70-100% charge, my radcity 5 plus standard frame has no problem going up 300' fairly steep hill to my driveway.  Can reach 9 - 11 mph, in 3rd gear and cadence of 60-80.  Came home this AM, battery showed 30% and bikes max speed was 4-5 mph in 2nd gear and cadence easily 100. Does that seem right to anyone?

I don't know about the City 5+ specifically, but as I recall Rad programs its controller to reduce maximum power to the motor, to a more-efficient operating level, once the charge level gets down to the range where you had a problem, in an effort to provide max range at lower power to hopefully make it back home.  So I'm thinking what you observed is within spec.  One way to test that is to make the uphill ride at 70% charge or higher and note the maximum wattage on the display, then repeat exactly the same but with a 25-30% charge level; I believe you'll see a lower maximum wattage as the controller programming throttles it back.  "Slower, but further" seems to be the design goal near the end of the charge.

I never let my MiniST2 get below 3 bars without putting it on the charger - if it hits 2 bars it's charged back up; this battery chemistry operates best and for maximum charge cycles when operated between 20-80% and I wouldn't go below 25% ever, unless it was at the tail-end of an unexpectedly-draining ride.  They don't have a "memory" like old NiCd cells used to have, but they do need a little TLC for routine charging and usage.

Quote from: Sammy11 on March 27, 2022, 02:50:39 PMJust hope the guys at Rad can repair...

Well, if they can't promptly repair a new bike, you need to insist they give you another new one. 

Quote from: rjp on March 27, 2022, 11:14:46 AM
I have spent a lot of time reading about the up grades for power products from Bolton ebikes , now called Area 51. Seems to me that I read That changing the motor alone won't work without changing the controller along with the 750 motor. You can just change the controller and screen and that will work. But if you change the motor you also need to change the controller and screen also for it to work correctly.     

Yes, that's true; if you just swap the motor, the stock controller still limits the maximum power output, so you'd gain nothing.

But in addition, Altema (here on the forum) specifically set out to burn out one of the stock 750w motors (he'd replaced it) with the Bolton 35A upgrade and was unable to do it under heavy load and current for a long time.  The stock motor is apparently a lot tougher than one might think, so I don't see any point in swapping in a "bigger" motor unless you're taking drivetrain upgrades to an extreme or push the motor to its limits on a regular basis.

Sammy, I think it would be a good idea to contact Rad before you do anything or take it to a mechanic shop for repair, if you want to apply for warranty coverage on the fix - give them the opportunity to approve the work before it's done, otherwise they might refuse to cover it.

Good luck!

Good catch, RR.

Somebody in Marketing really screwed up at Rad, if that higher price was really necessary due to increasing costs so soon after launch - they probably figured sales would be zero if the Expand was the same price at the Minis, but they do want to clear out Minis, and pricing the same would have done that.  But having introduced Expand at $1,299, they should have also planned to hold the intro price for at least a few months and eat the costs if necessary to get the new model out there without making potential new buyers mad. 

The "Expand" is really a "Contract" compared to the Minis even at $1,299, now embarrassingly so at the same price.  Now they're going to be saddled with a newly-pricier bike that is obviously inferior in pretty much every way to the Minis.  I bet they're thinking "well, with the Minis sold out, what are the alternatives?"  At which point, 'Lectric and other competitors say "hold my beer."

I can't wait to see how the several "reviewers" in the tank for Rad and who soft-peddle every disadvantage, handle this.  I bet they just ignore it.  (I don't consider Ryan one of those; he doesn't seem to compromise to get pre-release bikes just to have vids on release day - by comparison, the "review" from EBR made me cringe while watching.)

Quote from: Leafy2726 on March 13, 2022, 08:53:14 PMDamn I want an ebike so bad BUT like others I am not sure about storage.  I have two sets of stairs to get up going in opposite directions.  Meaning I need to turn the bike halfway up. . And not sure about folding then lugging 60 lbs up and down the stairs is something realistic.  I might have to ask the landlord if there is another option to store the bike.  Maybe a separate room from the bike room.  The bike room is a nightmare and too small for an ebike.

Leafy, honesty, if you haul a Mini or most any e-bike up the stairs you've described, you'll do it only once unless (actually, more than) 60 lbs is nothing to you - my MiniST2 is now about 86 lbs with accessories, including battery.  The next time you think about it, the thought after that will be "ugh" and you just won't bother - that will severely curtail the fun and usefulness of owning an e-bike.

Just tell your landlord that, if he doesn't want to expand or add another bike room, you'll be requiring an elevator.   

Thanks for the details, Dday.  When I tested PAS 0, I just leaned it up on the kickstand and didn't even think to try other settings, assuming "walk mode" was walk mode, programmed into the controller at a fixed speed.

Quote from: Radio Runner on March 25, 2022, 05:12:07 PM
I got it as well. Pretty foolish decision if you ask me. The expand5 is a poor replacement.

I agree; dumb decision - the Expand may have a place in the lineup but is a very noticable and significant step backward from the MiniST2 and when you could get two for $1,150 each last fall the Mini was just a screaming deal. 

Now I'll try even harder to keep my ST2 running forever!

Quote from: Ddaybc on March 26, 2022, 10:04:24 AM
Santacruzpaul, thank you for the information. In another thread JimInPt confirmed that walk mode does work with PAS 0. We are both of the opinion that walk mode is brisk but he wasn't testing it for speed, rather he just wanted to see if it worked on PAS 0. I'm going to try it today on PAS 0 as PAS 1 is too brisk for me.

I'd never heard it was adjustable either - thanks, santacruzpaul!  I need to try that next time bike is out. 
Ddaybc, did you notice a difference in walk-mode speed at various PAS settings, or are they all similar?

Quote from: Kelly_Rollins on March 25, 2022, 06:09:47 AMI read once of someone using a curling iron travel case for batteries. I know they found one that was an exact fit. Here's an example one, no idea if it fits. But it gives you an idea, you could search Amazon until you found one that works I'm sure.
https://amzn.to/3qSFncb

That's a very good idea!  I just rough-measured my battery and charger and the 2-layer version of that bag just might fit very well.
(by the way, you can trim Amazon links to the product ID just past the "dp" in the URL, as above, and it'll work fine - the rest is just your search information)

These won't fit the charger as well, but fit the previous-gen Rad batteries absolutely perfectly, as if they were made for them, were cheaper than Rad's bag and are good quality:

https://amzn.to/38ni6ZK

Last June, I got one Used-Like-New for only $15 sealed in the original bag; the ones listed as New were about $22 at the time but are considerably more expensive at the moment.  If you're not in a hurry, set up a price watch at camelcamelcamel.com to be notified when they hit a price you're willing to pay.

Quote from: Smackums on March 22, 2022, 07:16:55 AMIt's so much fun to ride I absolutely can't stay away from it - I wanna take it out somewhere every day if I could, even if it's just up and down my street just to get the day's stress off of me after work (and what a de-stressor it is!).

Sounds like you made the right purchase; that's great.  Are you satisfied with the CST Big Boat tires on trails?  I am, and was quite happily surprised at how well they handle off-road - like you I was sort of thinking I'd swap them out for knobbies, but after it arrived and a hundred miles later, that thought disappeared.

The guy running the CitizenCycle channel on YouTube has these bikes, and tons more, and has tested them.  Perhaps some of his reviews would mention this difference or if not, I'm sure he'd like to know if it's true.  You might consider dropping a comment on a recent review (so he spots it) or a direct contact to see if he has more info for you.

I don't know if our Overlord Ryan has a Rover 6P or not to test out.

Quote from: Leafy2726 on March 21, 2022, 08:18:14 AM
Yeah.  I heard people have done it BUT I am hesitant.  I just need to find a lighter bike.  I figure the max I can lift up the stairs would be around 50lb.

Leafy, if you want a versatile e-bike at a weight around 50 lbs, you may be forced to look at high-end bikes with graphite frames and other exotic improvements to save weight, at a much higher price than the Rads or most consumer-focused e-bikes.

My recovering-engineer brain loves the clever design of the Brompton folding bikes, for instance, but their electric one starts at 3,000 British pounds and has a small-capacity battery.  But it weighs only about 35 lbs!  Even at that, I'd get awfully tired of lifting it up a flight of stairs on a routine basis, especially considering whatever else I'm wearing or carrying on it.

Quote from: NaturallyRC on March 20, 2022, 04:59:39 AMThanks for the good, clear explanation.

You're welcome.  One possible caveat I didn't think of - I have no idea if Rad uses a different, lower-spec, motor on Canadian and other export models, or just does controller tweaks to limit the power delivery.  If it's the same motor, the Bolton upgrade should provide the same improvements without fear of burning it out per Altema's tests.

If it's a different lower-spec motor, the Bolton upgrade setting C5 can be tweaked to limit the maximum power delivery, I think.  I haven't installed my upgrade yet, so can't confirm.