Do More Things in More Places More Easily on the RadMini Electric Folding Cargo Fat Bike
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Price: $1,499
Weight: 64lbs
Style: mini, folding, electric assist, cargo, fat, bike
Drivetrain: Shimano Tourney 1x7
Material: Aluminum
Range: 25-45 miles
The Right Bike For: Someone seeking a pack mule with electric assist that is compact and easy to transport.
The Rad Power RadMini is a lot to take in. It has four-inch wide tires that would make a Lunar Rover jealous, and it's an electric assist bike, a cargo bike, and a folding bike. It sounds like a bike for a niche sliced as thin as graphene, but the Mini is a bike that you'll keep finding a use for. A hunter getting into their spot and wanting something that is easy to conceal once they get there. An apartment dweller that is limited on space, but wants an e-bike. RV or van lifers that need an easy way to get around once at the campsite. Really for anyone that is interested in an e-bike but is limited on space.
RadMini Specs, Sizing, and Options
Rad Power Bikes offers a wide variety of e-bikes ranging from the Mini–its most most compact option–to the $5,499 RadBurrow, which is a burly trike rated to carry up to 700 pounds of cargo.
The Mini is offered in one size claimed to fit riders from 5’2” to 6’2”. The seatpost has 228mm of total height adjustment, and the handlebars have 73.66mm of total height adjustment.
The Mini is offered in two colors, black or white, and one build with Shimano Tourney 1x7 drivetrain with thumb shifter, Tektro Aries mechanical disc brakes, 60mm-travel suspension fork, and Kenda Krusade Sport tires. A 300 lumen headlight is standard, as is a tail light.
The Mini is categorized as a Class-2 e-bike which means the assist cuts off at 20mph and it has a throttle. Power comes from a 750 watt Bafang hub motor with 80Nm of torque. The 672 watt-hour battery provides up to 45 miles of range. The drive system offers five levels of assist, and a backlit display provides speed, distance, battery and range information, as well as a USB port to keep your phone charged.
Rad Power offers a suite of optional accessories for the Mini in its store, including four front cargo carrying options, a tail light, fenders, a child seat, and a suspension seatpost.
A folded Mini measures about 44 by 24 by 29 inches, which should fit in many smaller cars and closets.
Ride Impressions
I really did not get this bike when I rode it the first couple times. But every ride I understand it better and find more uses for it. It's zippy, easy to maneuver and store, it can go just about anywhere and on any surface, and it has the cargo capacity for camping trips, commutes, grocery runs, and barn raisings.
I used the Mini for doing maintenance on local mountain bike trails. The weight of the Mini exceeded my bike racks weight limit, but the folding aspect made it easy to throw in the back of my SUV with chainsaw, trailer, weed whacker and any other tools I needed that day. Once at the trail head, I unfolded the Mini, loaded my arsenal of tools on the bike's racks, and zipped my way up the trail. The assist made reaching the work sites faster and easier, so I could potentially do more trail work per session.
I was initially uncertain about the throttle, but quickly found that when the bike is fully loaded up it is really nice to use the throttle to get going while balancing yourself with your feet on the ground and then start pedaling once you get going and balanced.
The claimed range of 25 to 45 miles seems accurate. I was able to do the commute to do 30 mile round trips to and from work on a full charge while using level three (of five) assistance and using the throttle to get over some of the bigger hills on the route. The 300 lumen headlight provides enough light to be seen and see, and is sufficiently powerful enough for getting out of the woods past nightfall.
The Tektro mechanical disk brakes with 180 mm rotors offered plenty stopping power in most conditions, but did seem overmatched on steep mountain bike trails while hauling trail maintenance tools.
Having ridden both the 2017 and 2018 versions of the Mini, I can say the 2018 is a definite improvement. Adding a suspension fork made the bike feel a lot less like a pogo stick, especially when taking the Mini off road. The new stem and steerer tube system feels a lot more solid than the 2017 version.
The RadMini may seem like a weird little bike that's an answer to a question nobody asked. But as I discovered, the more you ride one, the more you realize it might be the answer to questions you hadn't thought to ask.
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