What's in your toolkit?

Moonlight

New Member
As a Rad virgin, and since I won't get my bike until August, i have lots of time to get my "necessarys" together. What do you keep in you take-along toolkit, especially anything unique because you drive a Rad.

I used to ride a lot a couple decades ago. But after some health issues i just never replaced my bike after it was stolen. Now, i want to reclaim that joy and an ebike seems the perfect solution for me.
 
Hello Moonlight, welcome to the RAD Forum.
I think you are right about an e-bike being the perfect solution. I got my first when I retired at age 70. That was three years ago and I have been riding every day, both city streets and off-road gnarly stuff.
RAD supplies a toolkit and it is small enough to carry. Since I have a basket mounted on my rear rack, I keep my tool pouch and some paracord in a zipped up bag. Otherwise it will all bounce out. I added some small tools to the kit like a set of metric hex wrenches with handles because they seem to be the tools most needed. After each ride I like to glance over everything and check all is in order. Always keep the air pressure up and that will help solve getting flats. A couple of brake adjustments and some bolt tightening while out in the field is about all I have ever had to do. Not even any flats - which is amazing.
Members love to give advice, whether legitimate or not, so enjoy the forums and have lots of fun with your new RAD.
Happy Trails....
 
I'm not sure this is all, but I carry tire levers, a patch kit, a spare tube, a CO2 inflator, several 25 gram CO2 cartridges (I have a Rover with fat tires), a tire gauge, the Rad tool kit, some nitrile gloves, a small ratchet set with allen drivers, a few small & medium zip ties, a mini first aid kit, etc. All that fits in my Topeak trunk bag with room to spare. And I wouldn't go much of anywhere without my cellphone, a few bucks cash and a credit card.

TT
 
As Banzai mentioned, it's worth carrying a tire patch kit and levers, because the replacement tube is huge and is currently sold out, and you can fix a front flat like any other bike (do fatty's inflate on a single bulb?). But... fixing a rear tire flat is a big job, took me nearly two hours the first time I did it and that was at home. Mind you, a good chunk of that time was going back and forth between the bike and the radpower video on laptop on how to un/remount the rear wheel. I can tell you that in the supplied toolkit, the *biggest* crescent wrench is key; everything else needed you likely already have, but on the derailleur/power connection side you will be making a lot of little 1/8th turns on the axle nut while flipping that crescent wrench back and forth to get just a little bit of extra angle. The other key bit on re-seating the rear wheel is an *adjustable* crescent wrench (out of your own toolbox). The number of tools I'd have to carry to fix a rear fat on a ride is a fair amount of weight and hassle, so I don't do it.

So I'm saying, my plan for a rear tire flat more than 3 miles from home is a pair of 20s and "Yo, Taxi!" with a big smile.

But if you're asking what you should be stocking up for in advance? Yes, a tube fix kit. you can get them for 3-5 bucks, which is cheaper than swapping in a $15 new tube, when available. Also get small black tie-wraps, sometimes you need to snip and replace when fixing a flat. A spoke wrench is also in order. I started checking my spokes at 800 miles, my eyes got a little big at some of the ones needing 2.5 complete rotations.

Finally, whatever lock (u-lock or chain) you already have, get a biggus lockus of the other type. I've twice at supermarkets come on assholes sizing up my radrover for theft as I exited the store; thieves carry tools for breaking one kind of lock or the other, but usually not both.

Don't take this as shade, 1782 miles on my bike so far and happy.
 
I have a Topeak MTX DXP rack bag with fold out panniers on my two 16 Radrovers and Radcity Step-thru. I usually keep the panniers folded up; but, use them for extra gear or spare battery. I also added Mr. Tuffy liners+Stans tire sealant and that cut down my flats from 1-2 per month to 1-2 per year.

Stuffed in my top rack bag:
- spare tube, valve stem remover, 5 velcro straps, patch kit, 2 bottles of Stans (some hole are too big or too many for a patch)
- Gerber multi tool (mostly for the knife)
- Topeak mountain morph pump and backlit digital tire gauge (I sometimes get flats at 5:30am work commuting)
- tools (18mm wrench, screwdriver you can flip between flat/phillips, Allen wrenches, tiny wire cutter for zipties, spoke tool)
- zipties- gloves, wipes, and paper towels in ziploc bag (use the towels or bag for seat when I flip the bike over to change the flat in the wild)

I needed tire removal tools with the really stiff 30 tpi Kenda tires. The tools were useless when I upgraded the tires to 120tpi Vee8. The Vee8 were so floppy and I couldn't get them to seat properly all the way around alone if I had to hand pump in the wild (found out the hard way +5 miles from home). The velcro straps hold the tire in place perfectly until it seats.

I also keep in/on my bag:
- riding polarized sunglasses
- padded riding gloves
- dust/pollen mask when trail riding
- wallet, keys, locks, water, snacks, etc... when riding (cell phone mounted on handlebar extender)
- had a flashlight in the bag until I switched to a helmet riding light (a light is a must have when trying to fix a flat in the dark)

I also added Lizard Skin Chainstay neoprene protector (Amazon, $11, large) around the main power connection for the rear hub. It keeps dust/dirt/water out of the power connection and easier/faster than zipties to secure the power cord when fixing a flat.
 
I keep an EPIPEN in my toolkit "just in case". It's always one of my wife's expired ones, but if I meet someone in need on a trail they can have it as it might make a difference until they can get proper medical assistance. Thankfully, have never had to offer it in 10 years.
 
I carry an automatic defibrillator along with the toolkit in my Jeep (i work for the company that makes them) just in case, and also thankful that i've never had to use it!

I like that it's possible that whomever we meet out in the world, they may be able to help in extraordinary circumstances ♥️
 
As a Rad virgin, and since I won't get my bike until August, i have lots of time to get my "necessarys" together. What do you keep in you take-along toolkit, especially anything unique because you drive a Rad.

I used to ride a lot a couple decades ago. But after some health issues i just never replaced my bike after it was stolen. Now, i want to reclaim that joy and an ebike seems the perfect solution for me.
I recommend an aftermarket multi-tool (I have a Topeak Alien), and do NOT rely on the Rad kit, except for the large wrenches. The Allen wrenches are not dependable. All of the advice given here is good. I am ordering a device called "original handlebar jack" (https://www.handlebarjack.com/) also, because I do NOT want to have to remove a wheel with this bike upright.
 
A charged phone and a credit card.
 
Kinda nice to my way of thinking...... different strokes!
 
Must be nice riding somewhere where there is always cell service.
Have not used it yet, but yes, cell service is pervasive any where I can get to. A bit of comfort. Since I am unable to walk, if things go south, I will need to call someone.
 
I would get a spoke wrench so you can check and adjust your spoke tension immediately. You will need a Park SW-3 (the Blue wrench). Most bike stores don't carry that size. So you will need to order it online.

Also, I would get a basic multimeter because you may need to do some continuity tracing and voltage measurement. I have a Fluke 101. Fluke USA seems no longer to carry the model. I don't know what has replaced it but you can get the 101 on Amazon or Ebay for about $50.
 
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Can anyone recomend brand and size of tubes for the runner plus? I looked on amazon, but none matched the 20x3.3 size of the tires. I did get a patch kit and some tire levers. I confess that i've never changed a bike tire.
 
Oh, I took this photo today for another thread that shows what I carry for every ride (although not the pump):

IMG_9784.jpeg


Note that technically the Park Tool patch kit isn't necessary since I'm running Tubolitos and they only use press-on patches.
 
Can anyone recomend brand and size of tubes for the runner plus?
Amazon does have 20x4 tubes, which is the same size radpower specs for your bike as a replacement tube.

Regardless, I suggest finding and watching the video of how to remove/reinstall the rear wheel of your model bike. That way it's not a completely new thing when the time comes. Also maybe a video of fixing a fatty flat, though it's not much different from doing a regular mountain bike flat. Major difference is that if it's the drive wheel with all that motor weight in the hub, you can't stand the wheel upright while you reseat the tire--it will always pop out on one side or the other. You have to sit down and balance the wheel between your thighs while you work things into place, and keep an eagle eye on the bead on the other side while re-inflating.
 
Yes, great idea, i plan to watch the videos and maybe attend an actual class if they ever have them again. Also do the Slime. Does anyone here use that? The FaceBook page for Rad has a lot of people who like it.
 
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