RadRunnerPlus - journal

[gioflowers]

In your display settings, what is your P5 set to? I have a 48 volt battery and have it set to 0. The percentage seems pretty close. Maybe try that?

I burnt out the 5amp fuse. I pulled it out and installed a new one. It happened again and now I carry 5amp fuses in my saddlebags in case it ever happens again. The first time that the fuse blew was when I touched a key to the charging port - it sparked and I almost lost my battery. I didn't know that I had bunt out the 5amp fuse until I tried charging the battery and it wouldn't charge. Around the same time and maybe not even related to the 5amp problem is another problem that I am having with my bike dying on a roughly 12% grade hill that I use almost every day. Now, at around the same area on the hill climb, my bike shuts down dead.

I figured out, after changing the 5amp fuse twice and not wanting to do it again, that by (unlocking and) removing the battery from its cradle mount, and then reinstalling it works for the issue. I carry on my way but I don't continue on up the 12% grade climb but switch back and get onto another route.

I will check out what I have the P5 set to and will let you know. Thanks for asking.

 

[Slaphappygamer]

Oh wow. I should’ve read your comment closer. I didn’t read your entire post. Accidentally shorting the battery could damage cells. Definitely sounds like you need a new battery. You shouldn’t have to replace fuses that often. You should be able to use a 52v battery. Most KT controller capacitors are 60v. A 52v battery charges to 58v. To verify, you can open the controller and visually check the capacitors.

 

[gioflowers]

I have two flats on the RadRunner Plus and a flat on the Rize, Liberty. The Liberty is in the shop and the Rad is listing badly in the dining room. My garage does not stock my tubes so I have to order my supplies myself and then get them to put them on. Two bikes, out of commission now for weeks. I have one more bike in my little fleet; the Michael Blast Outsider. It's been getting me to work every day pretty good. What a strong little bike that is. It is amazing. But then again, it carries nothing else but me and basic supplies. I hope that I don't miss the harvest - I need my Rad for harvesting herbs and I am hoping that the tubes arrive in the mail soon as there is a waiting period for bike service in this town.

All in all, it is a great summer to ride ride ride. So many people want to stop and say hello. Peacefully shredding it.

 

[gioflowers]

Typically 1-8 PSI is maintained for soft conditions such as snow or sand,
12-15 PSI range is followed for riding on a trail,
and 20-25 PSI range is followed for uses in urban areas.

I called an alternative garage and they have 20x4 tubes on hand. They agreed to take the Rad in for an overnight stay and ready to go tomorrow with either a patch or a tube change - either way, I am leaving that to staff. I am going to try out this new garage for a while and see how things go.

Until I get my act together and figure out my hoist gear to start maintaining my own bike, I am depending on the garages right now.
I don't like the handlebar jacks.
I just watched a Sessions73 video and got the idea of borrowing someone else's garage for working on my bike.

 

[JohnJohn]

Interesting about the psi/bar. I usually keep my step thru at around 50 and wondered if I was way over.

Suggested tire pressure

It says the range for the 26x2.3 is 30-80 so I'm inline. I wonder why the range is so extreme (i.e. 20-80)?

 

[gioflowers]

Picked up the bike from the garage - two flats fixed but the tubes could not be saved. The garage put on Black Cat tubes. I know because I asked. Something I will do from now onward. I will also start asking the brand of break pads the garage replaces my break pads with. They never tell me. Likely because I never ask. The new garage staff talks more about what they are doing than my first garage. I like my garage to talk with me about what they are doing.

But, and there is always a but, the codes on my display are all wrong now. Did they fiddle with the display codes? The odometer went from reading in km to mph, and my speedometer does not even work! What the hell did they do? First possibility is that when the line to the motor was unplugged the disconnection did something to the upgraded display. I am going to try to reset it back to the codes stated in the previously posted video before I make a call to the garage.

Checked all of the codes and found nothing strange. I tweaked the torque start from 10 to 8, as the 100% throttle on start was causing me a lot of problems. I do too much quick stops to need 100% throttle on demand while working on the bike. I'll have to learn how to quickly access this function on the go because I may need it back up to 10 for starting uphill from a dead stop, as I have to do at times.

19th. Update on torque code change from 10 to 8. This amount of torque works for me and does well so far on the hills. It's a keeper.

 

[gioflowers]

Interesting about the psi/bar. I usually keep my step thru at around 50 and wondered if I was way over.

Suggested tire pressure

It says the range for the 26x2.3 is 30-80 so I'm inline. I wonder why the range is so extreme (i.e. 20-80)?

I cut and pasted that information from a website selling a brand of tubes. A commenter asked a question about how much air would be needed and this was the response. from the seller/company.

You are right in that it would depend on the size of tire - is that what you are saying?

 

[JohnJohn]

I cut and pasted that information from a website selling a brand of tubes. A commenter asked a question about how much air would be needed and this was the response. from the seller/company.

You are right in that it would depend on the size of tire - is that what you are saying?

Sorry just checking back in now. Yes I was just trying to figure out why tires which are pretty similar (from a seller of bikes which are pretty similar) have such a wide variance in suggested pressure.

 

[gioflowers]

Sorry just checking back in now. Yes I was just trying to figure out why tires which are pretty similar (from a seller of bikes which are pretty similar) have such a wide variance in suggested pressure.

Likely because from the seller's point of view that specific environmental situations calls for tire pressure in that General range. It would be also impossible (?) to put truth to the test given that weight etc. would also be a variable.

 

[gioflowers]

 

[gioflowers]

It's a hard September Sun, where the light breaks the air like glass, dazzling sharpness, even shadows sticks hard with the light. The Autumn Equinox is nigh.

 

[gioflowers]

 

[JohnJohn]

Love that ride.

 

[gioflowers]

Another flat today. This time it's the rear tire. I'm putting the original tires back on with tire liners and slime.

And as usual with this bike, the brakes are s*it again. I really do need to switch out these crappy stock brakes for hydraulic brakes and be done with these.

 

[JohnJohn]

A friend of mine has the curse and flats like nobody. Gear head too, knows all the tricks to avoid it happening but to no avail. I probably average about a flat every couple seasons and it's usually just chaos theory. Just sucks overtime when you are in the middle of nowhere without a tube and toolkit. I did a memorable 10k walk the bike home late one cold night last year.

I've been thinking of picking up the Tannus tire sleeves but am not sure what kind of impact it will have on performance, worried about how much it will bite into battery/distance.

Wow - that paved ride through the woods is stunning, so jealous I can smell it from here. And the breakfast inside the last one looks pretty good too.

 

[JohnJohn]

Too funny, cursed myself. Just flatted but on the upside was only about 100m from my place. Murphy's Law, should have touched wood.

 

[gioflowers]

I like your comments because it reminds me of myself trying to stay in the bigger picture. In reality though:

0) You just got a flat.
1) The paved ride through the woods went as far as I could get the pavement into the shot. That's photography.
2) The breakfast cafe was closed when I took the shot. The cafe is up for sale. I rarely, if ever, eat in restaurants.
3) No need to be jealous, your riding range when done for pleasure uses, probably exceeds mine at the moment.
4) I got my flat in town and a new garage that I'm dealing with picked me and ebike up and drove us back to the garage.
5) My weight - 160 pounds
6) Both of my front and rear cargo spaces were loaded with boxes of medical gloves, probably about a case btw. the front rack and rear cube cargo areas.
7) Most important: is it wishful thinking or just plain ignorance to mount cheap 20x4 tires on a 20xsomething rim?
whoa
Funny that Rad removed the exact rim size from the online specs - excuse me if I missed finding the correct rim information. I could swear that I read it there when I first purchased the bike almost a year ago The rim size is 3.34 or something? I'm kinda having my doubts at this point about popping a 20x4 tire on a less than rim.

The owners manual does not include specs.

Rad Power Bikes exclusive tire for the RadRunner Plus is a 20x3 - https://www.radpowerbikes.com/collections/replacement-parts/products/cst-big-boat-tire-20x3

However: RadRunner Plus Online Specs state:

Max Tire Width	4"
Bike Weight	Total: 77 lb (34.9 kg) Battery: 7.7 lb (3.5 kg)
Payload Capacity	300 lb (136 kg)

I've spoken with various people who have mounted 20x4s on a slimmer than 4" rim and have made it work for them for their riding purpose.
Maybe a 20x4 just does not work for my needs on this bike. The cargo that I put this bike through likely needs the (god damn) proprietary 20x3s to keep the bead seated right while carrying cargo (duh).

The original 20x3s are now on the ebike. They are of course not knobbies but are gravel type of tires.
The tires sound like a wild cat.

Update: September 29, 2022
My other bike is a Rize, Liberty. Tire Size is 4.25. Rims: dble walled.
Cargo in my case usually means ordinary grocery shopping and recycling. The case of medical gloves was likely too heavy.

 

[gioflowers]

Too funny, cursed myself. Just flatted but on the upside was only about 100m from my place. Murphy's Law, should have touched wood.

When we have wheels under our feet we compete with those whom we shall not speak of . . .

 

[gioflowers]

I posted some time back that my Bolton Display is displaying miles instead of km, and the ODO was going crazy. That happened right after my garage visit for the two flats. Still a mystery. I think that the ODO is working again. Bolton has asked for a photo of my codes. They are nice people!

Rosehips are ripening now and I bought a bucket of coconut oil for the processing work ahead. I was riding my Michael Blast Outsider when I started spotting Filbert nut trees full of nuts and I filled my one saddlebag/purse to the brim and wishing I was riding my Rad for the cargo room that I needed to pick more. I spied another tree of Filberts as I was riding around actively looking now, and examined the ground below the branches. Something had made a mess. I moved on to a another tree close by when someone nearby called out a warning that a big black bear was close by. I thanked the guy for the warning and quickly moved off. The bears need the nuts more than I do, but the tree that I collected the saddlebag full was from a tree that was growing down an embankment and a bear would likely not have been able to get to them.

Today I was on my Rad looking around at the vegetation, but since it was a work day today, I didn't harvest anything. I may harvest some Comfrey tomorrow.

Black bears should (must) be big this time of year.

 

[Slaphappygamer]

Thanks for taking the time to update this journal.

About flats, I commute to work on my bike and was in a stretch of 3 flats over 1 month. First time, I was at work and I went to my bike, at the end of my shift. My bike was on its side. The rear tire went flat and fell over. The second time, I was a quarter mile from home. Patch failed. I walked back and drove my car. The third time was the same rear tire. Same tube got punctured in a different area. I put a new tube and tire on this time and ordered Tannus Armor. The ride is a bit spongier, which is welcome on my commute. They are heavier, but worth it.