Any RadRover contributors out there ?

[pxpaulx]

Interesting! Thanks for posting that, very cool to use! So if my pedal power is 8mph and I'm going 15mph assisted I'll get approximately 60 miles out of the radrover pack.

I never ran my easy motion neo xtrem down to empty, but based on the battery levels I would have expected about 20 miles per charge including me pedaling. That bike operated much differently though. With the torque sensor I am quite sure (now, in retrospect) that I was maxing the motor's output almost immediately (since I'm a big guy and have fairly strong legs). This was what I assumed was happening, as I saw barely any difference between using eco and using the higher levels of boost. It seems that even in eco the easy motion would match my torque output and be putting out well over its stated 350w in order to keep me at speeds between 22-25mph (which was what I was doing on that bike...it was fun afterall!).

The Radrover on the other hand has levels that are clear when I switch between them. I'm enjoying the bike immensely running between 2-3 assist level - running at about 14-15mph at those levels and the tires have a nice hum going!

 

[scmike]

International warning: UPS (as with FedEx) has a big problem understanding that international addresses do not follow american standards (wow, UPS/FedEx, how did you get to do international business?) so my norwegian addresse just haulted the whole process. We don't have states, so that's a problem, apparantly! Will get a new tracking number tomorrow, Ty says. The bike has been sitting in an office at UPS for over a week.

Phrodos,
At least you know where your bike is... Can't you go down there and grab it?? The 60 bike batch 2, (our batch) is apparently lost at sea during tropical storm /typhoon Chan-Hom... just kidding I hope... It seems #2 will be delayed until August 17th... but at least they seem to have corrected the packaging.. I'm hoping to find out exactly where that ship is soon...

 

[scmike]

@pxpaulx

Not sure if you are pedaling. I have a basic spreadsheet I use that computes my watts, from pedaling, and then it computes the watts needed from the motor, for any speed. It also does the range.

I've never tried this, but this is a 'shareable' link to the sheet (just a copy). I think it is collaborative, so people could enter things at the same time and mess each other up. I doubt that will happen. This is for a hybrid type bike. Enter things in the yellow column.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jOIbm_fJsP74j5OXSI355v4nEbt_3vEs2Dx2ojpDjQA/edit?usp=sharing

Pretty cool George,
Bumping the pedaling mph 5 (10-15) which also bumped actual speed 15-20 equates to only a loss of 2 miles or range
51-49... I'll play with it some more but a good start...

at 20mph pedaling 30 actual... that's cooking... range goes down to 26 This is with a 10ah/ 36v system...

I will be using (meaning comparing it to real figures) it with the 11.6/48v RR... hopefully in less than a month.

 

[Phrodos]

Phrodos,
At least you know where your bike is... Can't you go down there and grab it?? The 60 bike batch 2, (our batch) is apparently lost at sea during tropical storm /typhoon Chan-Hom... just kidding I hope... It seems #2 will be delayed until August 17th... but at least they seem to have corrected the packaging.. I'm hoping to find out exactly where that ship is soon...

Oh, would be difficult! It's still in Seattle!

 

[scmike]

Oh, would be difficult! It's still in Seattle!

Rally, I thought you meant is was in an UPS office over there... Maybe you should send your own shipping label and
laminate it for extra measure...

 

[scmike]

One thing I'll say is pretty clear, this bike seems to like going around 14-15mph. I can take it up to 20 or more but feel like I'm burning too many watts to do so; riding around 14-15 the watt meter is around the 150-250 range, which should get some good distance out of the bike (maybe someone else can do the math?).[/QUOTE]

pxpaulx,
I wish I had a sweet spot... 14-15 mph @ 150-250 watts ... Can you narrow that down a little... Maybe maintain 15 on
the flats ... then report wattage...

The math: Using all RR battery cap. 11.6 ah x 48 v = 557wh / 200w = 2.75 hrs @ 15 mph = 41.75 mile range

Very good but probably not realistic... and you probably can't use all the battery... I'm guessing... Do the RR team suggest anything about running the battery down or what's best for the battery in general??

Thanks

 

[pxpaulx]

One thing I'll say is pretty clear, this bike seems to like going around 14-15mph. I can take it up to 20 or more but feel like I'm burning too many watts to do so; riding around 14-15 the watt meter is around the 150-250 range, which should get some good distance out of the bike (maybe someone else can do the math?).

pxpaulx,
I wish I had a sweet spot... 14-15 mph @ 150-250 watts ... Can you narrow that down a little... Maybe maintain 15 on
the flats ... then report wattage...

The math: Using all RR battery cap. 11.6 ah x 48 v = 557wh / 200w = 2.75 hrs @ 15 mph = 41.75 mile range

Very good but probably not realistic... and you probably can't use all the battery... I'm guessing... Do the RR team suggest anything about running the battery down or what's best for the battery in general??

Thanks[/QUOTE]

As far as I can tell there isn't a way for the display unit itself to show an average watts used, it is only real time. It jumps around quite a bit - I can give that a try but would be far from scientific. What I will do soon is give it a good long ride and add the trip data from the ride with gps app.

 

[samdavis]

@pxpaulx, I remember reading in the comments that you were going to try 4.5 in tires on the bike. Just wondering if you ever did.

 

[pxpaulx]

@pxpaulx, I remember reading in the comments that you were going to try 4.5 in tires on the bike. Just wondering if you ever did.

Yes, I only have one. Running it up front without issue. Makes for a nicer ride, takes away some of the lean I find happening with the fork angle. I have my new black fork for the bike but have to pick up a washer/install kit to do it right. There is plenty of room for the 4.5 in back, however it might run into chain rub in the bikes higher gears. I have yet to try in back because I'm waiting to get the rim trued.

@scmike it is pretty tough to get a good reading, but on my ride tonight in pedal assist level 2 riding between 13 to 15mph the instant report was under 150 watts continuously for at least half a minute on two occasions on the flats.

I've ridden 7.4 miles on this battery charge over two rides. The gauge flirted with dropping a bar several times during the ride when I bumped up the assist or went uphill, but at 7.4 miles it still shows full, which is awesome!

 

[Nachoman]

I see a similar characteristic with the battery gauge, it seems to be logarithmic. On the way to work, my 7 mile commute will show 5 bars at the end (4 bars under load) using PAS 4 most of the way. However on the way home, it'll drop 3 bars to 2 bars. I've never done a full range test, but my guess is under my moderately hilly riding conditions i'd get ~20-24 miles out of a battery. Maybe someone will try hypermiling this bike to see the max range they get using PAS and also just using the throttle.

 

[Christopher85083]

Maybe someone will try hypermiling this bike to see the max range they get using PAS and also just using the throttle.

I'll admit, it is difficult for me to understand why none of the earliest adopters have conducted a real range test.

Charge the battery and use throttle only, no? Is the bike uncomfortable to ride for that long? Are there issues with the frame geometry that make steering awkward? Did you conduct a test but because of confirmation bias were too disappointed to post results? Or is the bike so good nobody wants to get off it long enough to post anything?

With my bike in batch 4, I had hoped to enjoy some metrics before mine arrives in late August.

I live in Phoenix and have a flat 12.5 mile commute one way. And an excellent array of flat bike paths and trails to use. I'm looking forward to running my own tests.

 

[pxpaulx]

I'll admit, it is difficult for me to understand why none of the earliest adopters have conducted a real range test.

Charge the battery and use throttle only, no? Is the bike uncomfortable to ride for that long? Are there issues with the frame geometry that make steering awkward? Did you conduct a test but because of confirmation bias were too disappointed to post results? Or is the bike so good nobody wants to get off it long enough to post anything?

With my bike in batch 4, I had hoped to enjoy some metrics before mine arrives in late August.

I live in Phoenix and have a flat 12.5 mile commute one way. And an excellent array of flat bike paths and trails to use. I'm looking forward to running my own tests.

Charge the battery and use throttle only, no?

Not my cup of tea! It is still a bike, I just can't bring myself to not pedal.

Is the bike uncomfortable to ride for that long?

No, just like any other bike, distance and time riding will increase with regular use! I'm only going out about a half hour at a time simply because I don't have a lot of options available right around my home.

Are there issues with the frame geometry that make steering awkward?

For me, the angle of the front fork is very laid back (not sure how else to describe it). I find that the angle makes the wheel want to turn in, but it is different from self steer from the tires. when I swapped my regular fat bike fork onto the bike this issue went away for me, so I bought another fork ($70 from bikes direct, where my other fat bike is from) to swap in (haven't done so permanently yet). The new fork will also save close to 5lbs of weight on the front end as well.

Did you conduct a test but because of confirmation bias were too disappointed to post results?

It has generally been too hot to take my bike elsewhere since I got it, and I'm still properly setting everything up with it, which is why I haven't ridden it more than 5 miles at a time yet. I posted my most recent ride thoughts, and feel the bike is performing much better than I had expected at this point. For comparison I previously owned a BH Easy Motion Neo Xtrem bike, and would say this bike compares very favorably at only half the cost.

 

[J.R.]

For me, the angle of the front fork is very laid back (not sure how else to describe it). I find that the angle makes the wheel want to turn in, but it is different from self steer from the tires. when I swapped my regular fat bike fork onto the bike this issue went away for me, so I bought another fork ($70 from bikes direct, where my other fat bike is from) to swap in (haven't done so permanently yet). The new fork will also save close to 5lbs of weight on the front end as well.

I wonder why this might happen as I know nothing about fat-bikes. Is it possible it's just due to heavier tires? Increased rake on two wheels usually will give you more straight line stability, unless you're rolling slow.

An interesting video on bicycle stability:

 

[Christopher85083]

Charge the battery and use throttle only, no?

Not my cup of tea! It is still a bike, I just can't bring myself to not pedal.

Is the bike uncomfortable to ride for that long?

No, just like any other bike, distance and time riding will increase with regular use! I'm only going out about a half hour at a time simply because I don't have a lot of options available right around my home.

Are there issues with the frame geometry that make steering awkward?

For me, the angle of the front fork is very laid back (not sure how else to describe it). I find that the angle makes the wheel want to turn in, but it is different from self steer from the tires. when I swapped my regular fat bike fork onto the bike this issue went away for me, so I bought another fork ($70 from bikes direct, where my other fat bike is from) to swap in (haven't done so permanently yet). The new fork will also save close to 5lbs of weight on the front end as well.

Did you conduct a test but because of confirmation bias were too disappointed to post results?

It has generally been too hot to take my bike elsewhere since I got it, and I'm still properly setting everything up with it, which is why I haven't ridden it more than 5 miles at a time yet. I posted my most recent ride thoughts, and feel the bike is performing much better than I had expected at this point. For comparison I previously owned a BH Easy Motion Neo Xtrem bike, and would say this bike compares very favorably at only half the cost.

Interesting. Thanks!

And yes - throttle only isn't my normal approach, either. But for the sake of data, I can do anything at least once.

Which fork did you buy from bikes direct?

 

[pxpaulx]

Interesting. Thanks!

And yes - throttle only isn't my normal approach, either. But for the sake of data, I can do anything at least once.

Which fork did you buy from bikes direct?

I emailed them to get it, they don't list them on their website - just said I wanted a replacement for my Boris X7 (the orange fork in my first post in this thread is from my boris) - it isn't exactly a replacement as it has no brazeons, and I think it is aluminum as it feels lighter (haven't given it the magnet test to confirm though), but for $70 it'll do. I'm putting a rack on back so the brazeons weren't a big deal, and the lighter weight is welcome.

Also for anyone interested in a larger tire, aebike.com has the 4.5 juggernauts for a reasonable price (think you get a discount code when you first sign up too if I recall).

 

[scmike]

Anybody with a RR have one of those stationary bike rollers? If one could determinate the exact wattage used to go 15 mph on the flat.. Theoretically you could set the throttle at i.e.. 200 w and walk away.. If you had a speedometer/odometer on the rear wheel... even better... Well on 2nd thought a speedo/odometer and timer is a must... the more data the better...

Christopher, we're in batch 2 and it looks like our cargo ship was delayed by typhoon Chan-Hom..B2, should have been 10 days behind B1 (6/26 Seattle) So the latest 8/17 for B2 is 52 days behind....ouch... I have 2 coming
so I'll probably be swapping batteries and comparing the 2 bikes... they should be equal ... but with things made by humans... who knows... I've gone thru countless NiCad, NiMH cordless tool bats... and have seen a vast difference in capacities and longevity... I'm hoping these 11.6 ahr/48v battery packs are durable enough and don't need to be replaced too often..

 

[Shad Bruns]

Phrodos,
I agree great customer service on the part of RR.. In your case your bike in a box is going to have traveled almost 2 thirds of the way around the world... hopefully it will be better packed... Our bikes, we have 2 only going 870 miles will probably suffer the same amount of ill handling by our UPS trucking co. Better packaging is the key... Good luck..

They are not handling customers like they should. I'm getting close to lawsuit and BBB file.

 

[pxpaulx]

They are not handling customers like they should. I'm getting close to lawsuit and BBB file.

I would like to ask what you are specifically referring to? How have they treated you inappropriately so far? They fixed issues with the first shipped bikes, have done everything they can to get their int'l orders out, and delayed shipping in order to properly pack the bikes after the first run had problems. Has something else bad happened?

 

[scmike]

They are not handling customers like they should. I'm getting close to lawsuit and BBB file.

Lawsuit... against whom UPS deserves one.. RR is doing okay by me... They've kept in touch..

It is typhoon season, Chan-Hom (cat. 4 hurricane force) battered Okinawa, 7/9,10 then headed north making landfall in east China on 7/12 then weekend.. I can only guess what this does to shipping schedules... can't be good... I would like to know which ship the RR container is on ... just so I could keep track myself...

 

[Christopher85083]

They are not handling customers like they should. I'm getting close to lawsuit and BBB file.

Early adoption and crowd funding isn't for everybody.

What would you complain about? You didn't buy a bike - you funded an indiegogo campaign with the potential perk of a bike.