New RadMission Mid-Step on the way to me!

[Tars Tarkas]

They got back to me last night. The headlamp supplied with the RadMission does not work for mounting on the Front Mounted Basket. They are shipping me their "Standard Headlamp" (which is used on all their other models) free of charge.

Great! For what it's worth, I like a strobe light on the front and back, at least when I'm in anything like traffic. I use usb rechargeable lights from Amazon or an LBS. I use the stock lights too (but my Rover came without a taillight.)

TT

 

[fuyume]

I have a Cat Eye Auto Rapid 3 tail light mounted to my milk crate. I don't like lights with proprietary, non-replaceable batteries, and the Auto Rapid 3 takes a single AA battery. Sadly, it's a discontinued model, so I sort of wish I had bought two, so I would have an extra as backup.

 

[stanmiller]

I have a Cat Eye Auto Rapid 3 tail light mounted to my milk crate. I don't like lights with proprietary, non-replaceable batteries, and the Auto Rapid 3 takes a single AA battery. Sadly, it's a discontinued model, so I sort of wish I had bought two, so I would have an extra as backup.

Planet Bike has a really nice tail light, named 'Grateful Red', available in a AAA battery and USB editions.

This link is to the AAA battery one:

Grateful Red bike tail light

28 LED PB Power Array™ tail light

www.planetbike.com

 

[Tars Tarkas]

The thing about non-replaceable batteries is a valid point. For me, the counterpoint is that regular AA or AAA batteries run down and your lights get dimmer, maybe without you realizing it. Not to mention the cost of replacing all those batteries. I don't have strong feelings either way but I tend to go with the USB rechargeables. Plus, my experience is that most lights don't last long enough for it to matter very much which way you go. I know there are exceptions....

TT

 

[fuyume]

FWIW, I got my Cat Eye back in September, and I’m still on the first alkaline AA I put in it. I carry a spare for when it dies, but I’d say 8 months of grocery shopping an average of twice a week at night is pretty good battery life.

 

[fuyume]

A kind and generous friend sent me a set of panniers she wasn’t using any longer. I had to remove my milk crate to put them on, but I will figure out a way to quickly mount and remove the milk crate so I can use the panniers for grocery shopping.

 

[scottsdalecommuter]

Congrats on the ebike! We got the rad mission a few months ago and love it. Really nice cruising speed and coasts really well when not pedaling. I’m 6’2 and have found it quite comfortable with the seat up. Love the single speed and find it very relaxing to pedal on pas2. Enjoy the new ride! Love the panniers. We got the front basket for groceries and has worked pretty well for us so far. We are using the stock tires and like them a lot, I like that they are a little more aggressive than my other bike which are more slick. Was a bit concerned about no front suspension but haven’t found that to be an issue and roads here in Illinois are pretty rough coming out of winter. Glad to hear it was east to assemble, we paid $100 for local bike shop to put it together. We have a few larger hills here in our river valley and found the motor is plenty capable of making it up.

 

[fuyume]

I got down to my local hardware and picked out some M5 stainless bolts and nuts to attach my Farmplast milk crate to the rear rack. It fits perfectly, and will be easy to remove if I need to also use the panniers.

I used M5 x 30 mm bolts, but will probably swap them for 25 mm bolts. Also, I might reverse the bolts so just the fender washer and bolt head is in the crate.

The rear end of the saddle actually sits i side the handhold of the crate, but I may move the crate abaft about 3/4".

I remounted my Cat Eye tail light so that if I really wanted to, I could stack a second milk crate on top.

 

[Tars Tarkas]

So, how is the bike working out?

I have, in the past, mounted a basket similar to what you've done, to hold my Jack Russell. I'm not sure she knows what to think about it but she tolerates it quite well. I normally have a Topeak rail mounted bag on my back rack, and, of course it has all of my tools and flat tire junk so I mostly have to sacrifice that for the pup.

TT

 

[Dewey]

I bought one of these and it fits really well on the rear rack and holds my second battery:

TailRider Bike Trunk Bag - Bicycle Rack Bag | By Arkel

Attached with Velcro straps, our TailRider bike trunk bag is padded and has lots of pockets for easy access. This is truly a great bicycle rack bag!

www.arkel-od.com

I use that same trunk bag on my commute to work, I fit a camera bag strap to the hooks because I prefer the comfortable shoulder padding and use it to carry my battery into the office, great bag and the Velcro straps mean it can fit to a wide variety of rack tubing.

Regarding easily removing a milk crate, Dutch brand MIK offer a Carrier Plate adapter you can buy from Propel, Trek, Specialized etc shops, that attaches to most racks and works with Basil brand milk crates

 

[JohnJohn]

Great call on the camera bag strap.

 

[BikingSoCal]

Thank You for the information on the Abus locks. I have been looking around to purchase one. Abus is now off my list.

 

[tds101]

Does anyone know the BCD of the chainring? I'm planning on swapping the 50t for a 40t. I just need to know if it's a 130 BCD chainring. Thanks in advance!