2018 Radcity brakes

[fnkyhd]

looking for suggestions for brake upgrade for '18 radcity. rear disc repl &/or calipers/cables etc. with better stopping power in the rain and less squealing

 

[eguy]

A bunch of us upgraded to TRP Spyke mechanicals and it makes a pretty big difference. Nothing like hydro brakes, but you can keep your levers and motor inhibitors.

 

[mrgold35]

A bunch of us upgraded to TRP Spyke mechanical and it makes a pretty big difference. Nothing like hydro brakes, but you can keep your levers and motor inhibitors.

I haven't updated my RadCity to TRP Spykes yet; but, I did both of my 16 Radrovers to TRP Spykes in April 2018. I also upgraded the brake cables to Jagwire MTB cables (not the cable housing, internal metal cable only). I just disconnected the brake cable from the handle, snipped off the brake cable cap near the caliper, and pulled out the old cable from the housing. Left the brake cable housing in place and pushed the new Jagwire brake cable through the tubes. Not sure if I needed to oil or grease the cable? The TRP Calipers were just two screws and playing around with the alignment to center the rotor. Everything is working much better than before with the upgrade.

Note: I found it easier to center the rotor within the caliper by:
- leaving a little play with the caliper bolts so the caliper can slide a little bit
- adjusting the pads to max to squeeze the rotor tight
- TQ the caliper hex bolts on the bike frame
- use the small hex wrench to dial the pads out to desired distance from calipers

This is after I adjusted the Jagwire cable to the right lenght to the caliper and screwed in both brake cable stretch adjustment at the handlebar/caliper to min/zero position.

 

[JRA]

Although not on a Rad bike I replaced my mechanical calipers with mech/hyd calipers. I only did the front on both of my road bikes and each improved performance to my satisfaction. A little spendy but a little internet sleuthing can save some $$. Just make sure you get the post mount version as opposed to flat mount.

Easy to install and no need to upgrade cable/housing or brake levers. Not a guaranteed solution for squealing though as that has more to do with the brake pad/rotor interface.

(Link Removed - No Longer Exists)

https://www.trpcycling.com/product/hyrd/

 

[fnkyhd]

I haven't updated my RadCity to TRP Spykes yet; but, I did both of my 16 Radrovers to TRP Spykes in April 2018. I also upgraded the brake cables to Jagwire MTB cables (not the cable housing, internal metal cable only). I just disconnected the brake cable from the handle, snipped off the brake cable cap near the caliper, and pulled out the old cable from the housing. Left the brake cable housing in place and pushed the new Jagwire brake cable through the tubes. Not sure if I needed to oil or grease the cable? The TRP Calipers were just two screws and playing around with the alignment to center the rotor. Everything is working much better than before with the upgrade.

Note: I found it easier to center the rotor within the caliper by:
- leaving a little play with the caliper bolts so the caliper can slide a little bit
- adjusting the pads to max to squeeze the rotor tight
- TQ the caliper hex bolts on the bike frame
- use the small hex wrench to dial the pads out to desired distance from calipers

This is after I adjusted the Jagwire cable to the right lenght to the caliper and screwed in both brake cable stretch adjustment at the handlebar/caliper to min/zero position.

thanks! i was dialing in my rotor by loosening the mounting bolts a little and then holding the brake lever while retightening. they have some funky washers that allow for a little bit of movement

 

[robinhood]

I have Juiced CrossCurrent Air and recently upgraded to hydraulic brakes.

The biggest problems with ebikes is that they have different connectors.
Juiced happen to sell inhibitor connector so I just got the brake kit from AliExpress and switched to connector to Juiced.

Does Rad Power sell connectors? I am guessing not, because just by looking at their website, they do not have any bike with hydraulic brakes.
But if Rad Power is using more common connector, such as Bafang QR connector, Higo connector, etc.. then it will be easy to switch.
Juiced has this weird connector with metal attachment, so I had to specifically buy it from Juiced. But Rad Power connector looks very similar to Juiced, perhaps identical?

https://www.juicedbikes.com/products/brake-cut-sensor-tektro

https://www.aliexpress.com/store/pr...29f5-413a-8c48-b370f3fdcddd&priceBeautifyAB=0

I emailed Rad and got a canned response about how you shouldn't modify the bike, but they won't tell me what connectors they use or if they are willing to sell them. Anyone have luck with figuring out if the inhibitor connectors online work with Rad?

 

[robinhood]

@Timpo I'll take a look at the connectors later, and I totally agree the ebike industry seems to not really know much about bikes. I have a background in Mountainbiking and have built and maintained bikes, adding upgrades to about every component in one way or another over the past 10 years. Adding hydro brakes is not all that difficult with the correct tools and bleed kit. Too bad Rad Bikes can't just tell me "oh ya we use xyz connectors".

 

[AHicks]

Rad riders don't know because Rad does their absolute best to discourage modifications of any kind. Any mods = sacrilege!

 

[fnkyhd]

i don't think people pretending to know what they are talking about when they don't is limited t ebikes, or new things in general. I think it is actually a pandemic. that said with ebikes it seems particularly egregious.

 

[AHicks]

My pet peeve.
Ask for help in a big box store and have the person pick up a box and start reading it to you. Geez, thanks for that. Are they assuming I'm too stupid to read the box, or maybe they think this guy is so stupid I'll read the box for him because he's so ignorant he's asked me to help him rather than read the label himself?

Same experience regarding most bike shop help I've experienced. They either know nothing and act indignant that you bothered them with a question regarding e-bikes, or they know nothing and try to BS their way through a conversation. ONE guy admitted that he had no experience, but was considering learning more about them to better satisfy customers who were asking about them more and more often. He and his dad ran a pretty good sized bike rental just off of one of Florida's nicer/longer trails.

 

[Va. Bch. Electric Bike Center]

yeah that seems to be the case.

While I was at the Pedego store, I was actually talking to the store owner and he's the one that who didn't want to sell me the Pedego hydraulic brakes. (Made by Tekro)
He insisted that it's specifically designed for Pedego, blah blah blah...
I told him that it's an IS mount hydraulic brakes with 180mm rotor, even if it was post mount, I'm sure I can get an adapter for it. He didn't seem to understand what I was talking about looked completely dumbfounded.
He also told me that Pedego has developed this very powerful and quiet motor and all that... I told him that both motor and screen are made by Bafang but Pedego branded, I can tell by the Bafang connectors and it even had a very small "Bafang" logo.

I'm not gonna specify which Pedego store, but I was very disappointed and surprised that the guy who had enough commitment to become a Pedego store owner had very little knowledge about ebikes.
He also didn't understand the how electronic system works.. like sine wave controller, 9FET, 12 turn motor, etc.. like all the basics of ebikes.
I'm not saying he needs to be an electronic engineer, but I'm surprised that numbers of ebike people actually don't know what they're selling.. other than Pedego makes very reliable products with great customer support.

Pedego has been using Dapu motors since about 2014.

 

[Deleted member 4210]

Rad riders don't know because Rad does their absolute best to discourage modifications of any kind. Any mods = sacrilege!

I'm not taking sides here, but believe it or not, brakes are the number 1 reason cited in lawsuits for injuries in the bike industry. Their liability insurer likely strongly discourages them allowing customer modifications of any kind, in particular with respect to brakes. Lawyers for any injured person would be merciless if they found Rad or any OEM gave out ANY information at all, that seemed to 'endorse' a user changing brakes. As you all know we have a very litigious society and so Rad and others like them, have to protect against this in what may seem like not so consumer friendly terms.