fuyume
Member
- Region
- USA
After much hemming and hawing over whether or not I was going to purchase a complete ebike or attempt to build up the ancient but totally unused Surly 1x1 frame and fork set I bought many years ago and never turned into an actual working bike, I finally decided to order the RadMission Mid-Step (with the free Front Mounted Basket promotion), which should arrive in a few days. I really hope it's comfortable, as I am a very tall woman (185 cm, 6' 1", but RadPower says it's designed for people up to 6' 2" tall.)
This will be my first new bicycle since the Specialized HardRock Comp I bought in the late 1990s (1999?), which got stolen out of my garage in 2003 while I was on vacation. I still miss that bike, the last of the great CroMo steel rigid mountain bikes at a reasonable price, and I had moved to the New Jersey suburbs just before I bought it, so it was still in practically mint condition. My wife's HardRock was actually in the basement, so at least they didn't get hers. There being no place to ride worth riding to in the suburbs, our bikes were only used to go day trail riding a few times a year. I have a few questions about the RadMission:
1. Does anyone know what type/size of chainring and freewheel is on the RadMission? I have an permanently injured knee and cannot pedal uphill or tall gearing. I can definitely say that the stock 50 x 16 gearing is going to be too tall for me, so I would like to go to 44 x 22, if I can, or even lower, if necessary. This will, I suppose, limit my top speed in pedal-assist mode, but I'm not worried about that. I am far more concerned about the ease of pedaling without power assist. My town is mildly hilly, and with my bad knee, I can barely pedal safely up even the slightest inclines.
I'm currently riding a 1991 Trek 820 I picked up at my local charity shop for $25 a few years ago, with a Shimano 200GS 21-speed groupset from which I stripped the shifting mechanisms, and fixed the derailleur to the center cog, while I run the chain normally on the smallest chainring. I'm running 28 x 18 (looking at the 1990 Shimano catalogue and 1991 Trek catalogue for specs). I run out of cadence really quickly on the flats, but at least I can (very slowly) work my way up the slight rise to my local grocery store without injuring my knee further. I can switch the chainrings manually up to the 38 or 48, but I almost never do so. My commuting distance from my home to my office and shopping is about 4 miles each way, max.
2. The rear rack. Because a check didn't come in that I was expecting, I put off ordering any other accessories, and elected to get the bike and the front basket promo before the deal expires on April 30, and as soon as that check comes in, I will order the rest: rear rack, fenders, ARB lock and chain, kickstand. I'm adding aftermarket mirror, too. But I want to put a large milk crate on the rear rack. Does anyone know if the RadMission Rear Rack is easily compatible with a MIK mounting plate adapter? I'd kind of like to go with a Basil crate and a MIK quick release adapter, but those are pricey for what they are, so for at least the time being, I have ordered a couple of FarmPlast 24 qt rectangular milk crates, and I will strap one to the rear rack somehow. I'm using heavy duty zip ties to attach a square crate to the Planet Bike Eco Rack on my Trek.
3. Winter tires. I got into a bit of a huff with RadPower customer service, because I asked them if Continental Top Contact II Winter Premium or Pirelli CYCL-e WT winter tires in 650B x 50 would fit with the fenders, and they told me that fitting aftermarket tires "could void my warranty" (which would be a violation of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act of 1975). That was almost enough to prevent me from buying anything from RadPower, but they finally did get back to me and clarify their position to my satsifaction. That being said, 650B x 50 tires would have a nominal width of 50 mm or 1.96", and RadPower specifies that the RadMission will accept a maximum tire width of 1.95". Now, granted, .01" should be well within manufacturing tolerances, but I would appreciate it if anyone has any experience with these tires on a RadMission, or can recommend other winter tires.
I live in Northern New England, now, and this bike is going to be my primary transportation all year round. I do not generally ride when it is heavily snowing, but road clearing happens quickly and pretty thoroughly in my town. Usually the roads are clear before I ever bother to get out of bed. I have been running Kenda 26 x 2.1" off-road knobby tires at 65-70 psi (since it's only used on the street, really) on my Trek, year-round.
My Trek (I spray-painted it black, instead of the awful white with black splatters factory paint job:
It will be nice to have a proper town bike rather than a skittish, rear-biased mountain bike that is simultaneously too small and too large for me. I have to have the saddle so high to accommodate my long legs that I can barely touch the ground with my toes when stopped. That 18" frame has a top tube that is about 31" off the ground. When I'm wearing a skirt, as I mostly do these days, it's a real pain to lift my leg over it, plus with my bad knee, it's actually a bit dangerous, especially with a load of groceries and my briefcase.
If anyone has any tips they would like to share about the RadMission, I'd really appreciate it. I have a friend in North Carolina who bought one, and she loves it. There is someone else in my town with a RadMission High Step that I see locked up at my local market, but I don't know who it is, so I haven't been able to ask them how they are getting along with it.
All I know is that, after reading everything I could, it seems that in this price bracket, the RadMission has the best feature set. If I'd attempted to build up that Surly 1x1, I would have ended up spending substantially more money for a potentially better bicycle (in some ways, at least), but with all the parts shortages in the industry right now, I'm not certain I could have had a working bicycle before the end of the summer! I'm a former racer and bike store mechanic, so I feel pretty confident about putting it together. I hope my smaller torque wrench is light enough duty, though. I do like to have things torqued to spec, if I can manage it.
This will be my first new bicycle since the Specialized HardRock Comp I bought in the late 1990s (1999?), which got stolen out of my garage in 2003 while I was on vacation. I still miss that bike, the last of the great CroMo steel rigid mountain bikes at a reasonable price, and I had moved to the New Jersey suburbs just before I bought it, so it was still in practically mint condition. My wife's HardRock was actually in the basement, so at least they didn't get hers. There being no place to ride worth riding to in the suburbs, our bikes were only used to go day trail riding a few times a year. I have a few questions about the RadMission:
1. Does anyone know what type/size of chainring and freewheel is on the RadMission? I have an permanently injured knee and cannot pedal uphill or tall gearing. I can definitely say that the stock 50 x 16 gearing is going to be too tall for me, so I would like to go to 44 x 22, if I can, or even lower, if necessary. This will, I suppose, limit my top speed in pedal-assist mode, but I'm not worried about that. I am far more concerned about the ease of pedaling without power assist. My town is mildly hilly, and with my bad knee, I can barely pedal safely up even the slightest inclines.
I'm currently riding a 1991 Trek 820 I picked up at my local charity shop for $25 a few years ago, with a Shimano 200GS 21-speed groupset from which I stripped the shifting mechanisms, and fixed the derailleur to the center cog, while I run the chain normally on the smallest chainring. I'm running 28 x 18 (looking at the 1990 Shimano catalogue and 1991 Trek catalogue for specs). I run out of cadence really quickly on the flats, but at least I can (very slowly) work my way up the slight rise to my local grocery store without injuring my knee further. I can switch the chainrings manually up to the 38 or 48, but I almost never do so. My commuting distance from my home to my office and shopping is about 4 miles each way, max.
2. The rear rack. Because a check didn't come in that I was expecting, I put off ordering any other accessories, and elected to get the bike and the front basket promo before the deal expires on April 30, and as soon as that check comes in, I will order the rest: rear rack, fenders, ARB lock and chain, kickstand. I'm adding aftermarket mirror, too. But I want to put a large milk crate on the rear rack. Does anyone know if the RadMission Rear Rack is easily compatible with a MIK mounting plate adapter? I'd kind of like to go with a Basil crate and a MIK quick release adapter, but those are pricey for what they are, so for at least the time being, I have ordered a couple of FarmPlast 24 qt rectangular milk crates, and I will strap one to the rear rack somehow. I'm using heavy duty zip ties to attach a square crate to the Planet Bike Eco Rack on my Trek.
3. Winter tires. I got into a bit of a huff with RadPower customer service, because I asked them if Continental Top Contact II Winter Premium or Pirelli CYCL-e WT winter tires in 650B x 50 would fit with the fenders, and they told me that fitting aftermarket tires "could void my warranty" (which would be a violation of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act of 1975). That was almost enough to prevent me from buying anything from RadPower, but they finally did get back to me and clarify their position to my satsifaction. That being said, 650B x 50 tires would have a nominal width of 50 mm or 1.96", and RadPower specifies that the RadMission will accept a maximum tire width of 1.95". Now, granted, .01" should be well within manufacturing tolerances, but I would appreciate it if anyone has any experience with these tires on a RadMission, or can recommend other winter tires.
I live in Northern New England, now, and this bike is going to be my primary transportation all year round. I do not generally ride when it is heavily snowing, but road clearing happens quickly and pretty thoroughly in my town. Usually the roads are clear before I ever bother to get out of bed. I have been running Kenda 26 x 2.1" off-road knobby tires at 65-70 psi (since it's only used on the street, really) on my Trek, year-round.
My Trek (I spray-painted it black, instead of the awful white with black splatters factory paint job:
It will be nice to have a proper town bike rather than a skittish, rear-biased mountain bike that is simultaneously too small and too large for me. I have to have the saddle so high to accommodate my long legs that I can barely touch the ground with my toes when stopped. That 18" frame has a top tube that is about 31" off the ground. When I'm wearing a skirt, as I mostly do these days, it's a real pain to lift my leg over it, plus with my bad knee, it's actually a bit dangerous, especially with a load of groceries and my briefcase.
If anyone has any tips they would like to share about the RadMission, I'd really appreciate it. I have a friend in North Carolina who bought one, and she loves it. There is someone else in my town with a RadMission High Step that I see locked up at my local market, but I don't know who it is, so I haven't been able to ask them how they are getting along with it.
All I know is that, after reading everything I could, it seems that in this price bracket, the RadMission has the best feature set. If I'd attempted to build up that Surly 1x1, I would have ended up spending substantially more money for a potentially better bicycle (in some ways, at least), but with all the parts shortages in the industry right now, I'm not certain I could have had a working bicycle before the end of the summer! I'm a former racer and bike store mechanic, so I feel pretty confident about putting it together. I hope my smaller torque wrench is light enough duty, though. I do like to have things torqued to spec, if I can manage it.
