Just got my rad rover. Questions before I ride

[bottomsup]

1. I assembled the bike and don't have a torque wrench so I just tightened hand tight. Is that OK?
2. I used white lithium grease on the pedal install. OK?
3. What tire pump should I get? I have one of those small hand held portable ones but it doesn't have a pressure gauge on it. I guess I could just carry a small pressure gauge?

Thanks

 

[legsofbeer]

I assembled the bike and don't have a torque wrench so I just tightened hand tight. Is that OK?

I'm assuming you're referring to hand tightening with tools, not hand tightening with your fingers. Yeah, it's all right. Err a little on the "extra" side.

> What tire pump should I get?

Regular tall standup pump. You will be hating life if attempting to inflate those big fatty tires with a small hand-held portable pump. It'll take a good long while with the standup pump. You don't need a pressure guage, your fingers squeezing the tire tell you enough.

 

[Tars Tarkas]

1. I assembled the bike and don't have a torque wrench so I just tightened hand tight. Is that OK?
2. I used white lithium grease on the pedal install. OK?
3. What tire pump should I get? I have one of those small hand held portable ones but it doesn't have a pressure gauge on it. I guess I could just carry a small pressure gauge?

Thanks

1. Probably. The reason for a torque wrench on a bike is mostly to avoid over-tightening. I know I'm not normal, but I'm one of those people who uses any excuse to buy a tool, so I"m biased, but I think a torque wrench is a good tool to have if you have a bike.
2. Fine choice.
3. What legsobeer said. For inflating fat tires on the road after fixing a flat, I recommend a CO2 inflator. It will take almost 2 16 gram CO2 cartridges, or one 25 gram cart. They aren't too cheap, but using a portable pump on Rad Rover tires will take forever. For home use a big fat floor pump or an electric or battery powered pump is called for. I also recommend carrying with you what you need to fix a flat or replace a tube while on a ride. (I also recommend tire sealant, like Slime or Stans.)

TT

 

[bottomsup]

I'm assuming you're referring to hand tightening with tools, not hand tightening with your fingers. Yeah, it's all right. Err a little on the "extra" side.

> What tire pump should I get?

Regular tall standup pump. You will be hating life if attempting to inflate those bit fatty tires with a small hand-held portable pump. It'll take a good long while with the standup pump. You don't need a pressure guage, your fingers squeezing the tire tell you enough.

Thanks yeah "wrench hand tight"

 

[Gordon71]

You might also add "slime" or similar prior to inflating.

 

[bottomsup]

Thanks all. Will any slime work? Any recommendations on the best CO2 inflator and pump? There are many on amazon. Where do you carry all this stuff while riding?

 

[Sierratim]

Thanks all. Will any slime work? Any recommendations on the best CO2 inflator and pump? There are many on amazon. Where do you carry all this stuff while riding?

I carry my flat kit in a saddle bag; tire levers (steel core), spare tube, patch kit ('cause fun comes in waves), CO2 inflator & spare cartridges (see 'fun' reference), a mini pump (no fat tires here), and a tire boot. My CO2 inflator is from PNW. It has an on/off valve and a 16g cartridge sleeve. Well worth it.

Shiny Object

The Shiny Object™ CO2 inflator is made of indestructible oh-so-shiny alloy and fits on both Presta and Schrader valves. Its control knob easily regulates how fast the CO2 is released, making flats a breeze to fix. Available as inflator only or inflator with vegetable tanned leather sleeve and 16...

ridepdw.com

BTW - I carry 16g CO2 cartridges. Less than 1/2 the price of the 25g size. I use 1-1/2 16g cartridges for a tire fill (47-622 tires). The inflator shut off valve not only regulates the fill rate but saves the rest for the next flat. The last box I bought was $1/cartridge.

BTWW - I use tire liners/thorn strips in all our tires. No flats for the last few thousand miles.

 

[Tars Tarkas]

Thanks all. Will any slime work? Any recommendations on the best CO2 inflator and pump? There are many on amazon. Where do you carry all this stuff while riding?

To be clear, Slime is a brand name of tire sealant. It's the one I use so I can't speak to the other brands, but NO, any Slime will NOT work. There is Slime for tires with tubes and there is Slime for tubeless tires. Be sure to pick the right one.

And yeah, with prices for CO2 cartridges where they are now, I'd use two 16g cartridges instead of one 25g cartridge.. As for which CO2 inflator to get, to me they are all pretty much the same. You need one for Schrader valves, but you might want to get one than can be used on Schrader or Presta valves just in case you run across someone on the trail who need air and has Prestas.

TT

 

[Gordon71]

I put this set in my Amazon cart for now as I won't be riding again until spring. According to the chart one 16g cartridge will inflate my 26X4 tire to 3PSI. Does that mean 2 will inflate it to 6PSI etc.? They also say replace the CO2 with air within 24 hours. Also do the cartridges have a shelf life and,if so,about how long?

Amazon.com : PRO BIKE TOOL CO2 Inflator + 5 x 16g Threaded CO2 Cartridges Bundle - Quick & Easy - Presta and Schrader Valve Compatible - Bicycle Tire Pump for Road and Mountain Bikes : Sports & Outdoors

Amazon.com : PRO BIKE TOOL CO2 Inflator + 5 x 16g Threaded CO2 Cartridges Bundle - Quick & Easy - Presta and Schrader Valve Compatible - Bicycle Tire Pump for Road and Mountain Bikes : Sports & Outdoors

www.amazon.com

 

[mrgold35]

I just did hand tight for assembly for my radrover and radcity. Double check the spokes because I found them at over the place from tight to 2-3 turns loose. Uneven tq spokes can cause a ticking sound when riding, slight wheel wobble, and brake disk to wobble and rub against the pads.

I have two tire pumps (portable and home use):
- Topeak Mount Morph bike pump in my rack bag+hand held digital gauge (can takes 20-30 pumps for 1 psi)
- Ryobi P737 18 volt ONE+ cordless inflator (use for my cars also)

I would recommend a manual stand pump or electric air pump for home use. You can also get electric pumps that run on 12v for quick air ups on the trails if you have your car nearby (also have a Viair 90P that connects to the car battery).

Upgrading to Mr. Tuffy liners and adding Stans tire sealant helped cut down on my flats. I still use a tube and carry a spare tube in my rack bag because I ran over road debris and tree branches that put large holes Stans couldn't seal.

 

[bottomsup]

I just did hand tight for assembly for my radrover and radcity. Double check the spokes because I found them at over the place from tight to 2-3 turns loose. Uneven tq spokes can cause a ticking sound when riding, slight wheel wobble, and brake disk to wobble and rub against the pads.

I have two tire pumps (portable and home use):
- Topeak Mount Morph bike pump in my rack bag+hand held digital gauge (can takes 20-30 pumps for 1 psi)
- Ryobi P737 18 volt ONE+ cordless inflator (use for my cars also)

I would recommend a manual stand pump or electric air pump for home use. You can also get electric pumps that run on 12v for quick air ups on the trails if you have your car nearby (also have a Viair 90P that connects to the car battery).

Upgrading to Mr. Tuffy liners and adding Stans tire sealant helped cut down on my flats. I still use a tube and carry a spare tube in my rack bag because I ran over road bebris and tree branches that put large holes Stans couldn't seal.

Thanks for this. I'm a bike novice and did hear this ticking and a noise that sounded like break rub. The manual just says to have spokes adjusted by a pro. Is this something I can do myself? Appreciate the help.

 

[Tars Tarkas]

I put this set in my Amazon cart for now as I won't be riding again until spring. According to the chart one 16g cartridge will inflate my 26X4 tire to 3PSI. Does that mean 2 will inflate it to 6PSI etc.? They also say replace the CO2 with air within 24 hours. Also do the cartridges have a shelf life and,if so,about how long?

Looks like a fine inflator. I don't know for sure how many 16 gr carts you'd need to inflate a totally flat tire on your Rover. You can ride with 10 lbs or less well enough to get where you're going. Me, I'd probably carry 8 or 10 16 gr carts in case I had two flats or in case I patched my tube and found out I didn't get it right and had to try again.

I've heard that about replacing the CO2 with air, but I've never seen that issue myself. Still, it couldn't hurt.

I don't think the cartridges expire.

TT

 

[McCorby]

They also say replace the CO2 with air within 24 hours.

I think they recommend this because CO2 diffuses through rubber more easily than air. So a tire will deflate much more quickly when filled CO2.

 

[Sierratim]

Thanks for this. I'm a bike novice and did hear this ticking and a noise that sounded like break rub. The manual just says to have spokes adjusted by a pro. Is this something I can do myself? Appreciate the help.

You can check and adjust your spoke tension in a home shop. Minor adjustments can be done by squeezing adjacent spokes to check for equal tension. More than a turn on a spoke nipple can impact the true and round of the rim and should be done with a truing stand. Others have also suggested a spoke tension meter. I recommend checking out the available articles and videos on wheel truing like this one;

Wheel Truing (Lateral & Radial)

Out-of-true bicycle wheels affect riding performance and shorten components' lifespan. This article outlines the process of truing common spoked bicycle wheels.

www.parktool.com

 

[Tars Tarkas]

I think they recommend this because CO2 diffuses through rubber more easily than air. So a tire will deflate much more quickly when filled CO2.

Yeah, as I understand it, that's exactly right. I just haven't seen it, and I use mostly C02 all the time. I carry a 5 lb bottle in my truck for airing it up and down for driving on sand and use it first if I'm away from the house with the bike and the truck. Speculating, my tires are overdosed with Slime. Not extremely, but maybe enough to slow down whatever CO2 does to rubber.

TT

 

[Sierratim]

Yeah, as I understand it, that's exactly right. I just haven't seen it, and I use mostly C02 all the time. I carry a 5 lb bottle in my truck for airing it up and down for driving on sand and use it first if I'm away from the house with the bike and the truck. Speculating, my tires are overdosed with Slime. Not extremely, but maybe enough to slow down whatever CO2 does to rubber.

TT

I think you hit the nail on the head; the Slime is sealing the butyl rubber inner tube keeping your tire pressures up when filled with CO2. Since CO2 is soluble in butyl rubber pressures drop without a sealant like Slime. This article discusses this in more detail;

Technical Q&A with Lennard Zinn - Large molecules and short frames

The rate of lossDear Lennard,

www.velonews.com

 

[legsofbeer]

The manual just says to have spokes adjusted by a pro. Is this something I can do myself?

You can, just be conservative on your adjustments, and realize you're not going to get it perfect. Also, the direction to rotate for tightening/loosening can be counterintuitive. Watch videos to make sure you're adjusting in the direction you think you are.

One tip on CO2 cartridges or on-trail pumping up--you don't have to finish the inflation, just get enough in there so you can ride to the nearest gas station or back to the nearest standup pump. AFAIK CO2 cartridges don't go bad.

Now here's a thought: for fatty riders with a flat in the middle of nowhere, wouldn't it be nice to have a hose hookup that could deliver half the pressure from the good tire to the fixed flat tire?

 

[mrgold35]

Along with rim spokes at various tensions, I also had other issues with shipment (this was back in 2016). I ordered two rovers that arrived the same day with one box in perfect condition. The other shipping box was dirty and had damage. The damage box rover also had an issue with a bent derailleur causing the chain to rub the tire in lower gears and my pedal crank screw always coming loose after a few rides. I used a crescent wrench to true up the rotor, hand bent the derailleur back into place, used a round spoke tool to even out the tq on all the spokes, and Rad provided a new crank+screw. Both rovers are still going strong with +3700 miles on each of them.