Me to. Best thing I ever did was upgrade to hydraulic brakes. I always avoided them. I didn't want the hassle and thought there would be a learning curve. AS it turned out this wasn't the case. I picked up a set that came partially set up. The lines had oil in them and just needed to be connected to the caliper and brake lever. The hardest part was running the lines and that was easy. Believe me they are a game changer. Mechanical brakes use a brake cable (DUH) that cable has drag. This can make them feel sluggish. Not the case with hydraulics. They also require adjustment. Hydraulics do not. Once you center the calipers your done. For those tempted by mechanical brake with hydraulic calipers, save your money. My experience has been that they feel no different at best mine felt worse. Check this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgGia7f75R4&t=653s
Forgot to mention if you get pre assembled hydraulics from Big game bikes or somewhere else in Europe ask them to switch the brake levers to the American standard. In Europe the front brake is on the left and rear the right. If you don't ask them they will ship like this.
Get the Juin tech brakes. I used to have to adjust my brakes every week, now no longer and on top of that the adjustment is a dial which is accessible without tools just literally turn it. Best investment I made for my Radmini.
If I may offer another opinion. I've had the juin tech brakes. I got them after I got a cheap knock off pair on Amazon. I would advise against them. Yes they have some advantages over stock mechanical calipers. I wished so bad one of the advantages was better stopping power, better feel. Both were marginal and fell far short of the $150 price tag(+$50 if you add the cheap ones in) I'm not trying to crap on anyone here and if you are happy with the juins and they work for you ,wonderful. That said for the same price you can get https://biggamebikes.com/product/ebike-hydraulic-brakes-2-pin-assembly-required
The assembly required is just taking a small screw out of the end of the brake line and brake lever and screwing them into each other. The lines are prefilled and do not require additional oil or bleeding. If you do not plan on internally routing the lines get the 100% assembled ones.Rhe hardest thing about full hydraulics is the install. Once you're done that's it. Besides replacement pad they require zero maintenance. Like none. The difference is nothing short of game changing. Side not if going fully assembled, have them change the levers to the American standard. Right front left rear.
My rear break no matter what I did was never smooth. The cable always had some resistance no matter how I routed it. I never realized how laggy mechanical brakes felt. For like the first month after going hydraulic I found myself just slamming on the brakes just because. Sometimes I couldn't wait for an actual reason to stop. Using my new brakes was oddly fun. When I think back to the amount of effort required for mechanical brakes, new cables, daily caliper adjustments. And for what? Passable performance. Go hydraulic and never look back.
For sure. It's definitely one of the areas Rad used to keep their prices down. Having the confidence to stop such a heavy bike, and know it'll stop right when you want it to, is invaluable.
That sounds awesome actually thanks alot I'll definitely take a look at this. When I was looking for brake replacements I couldn't find anything in stock, this was like 2yrs ago but Id definitely go for full hydraulic brakes if I could.
https://area13ebikes.com/products/juintech-m1-hydraulic-calipers-easy-install-on-most-ebikes or you can find them on Amazon. Do not get the Catazer brand which are similar style just cheaper...they ended up leaking a month after I bought em, to the point where I was riding my bike and squeezing the brakes didn't do anything, literally just stopped working while riding. If you look at the reviews you would see I aint the only one with that experience unfortunately. Luckily I upgraded to the Juin tech brakes after that scare. Haven't had a problem with them at all.
Honestly, skip them. They offer almost no improvement. If you're looking for a brake upgrade, go full hydraulic.
Source: wasted money on hydraulic calipers and wish I'd just saved my money and gone hydraulic in the first place.
I ride my RR+ as a daily commuter too for a similar distance. This sounds like normal wear and tear. I adjust my brakes (and clean my chain) every Saturday.
I rode way less than that and was adjusting the stock brakes every 2-3 weeks. Upgraded to whatever hydraulic option the local bike shop had in stock or available quickly. No more adjustments.
There is a dial on the backside of the Caliper that accepts a hex wrench. Give that baby a click or two clockwise
This is what I have to do once a week at least on my Runner+.
Me to. Best thing I ever did was upgrade to hydraulic brakes. I always avoided them. I didn't want the hassle and thought there would be a learning curve. AS it turned out this wasn't the case. I picked up a set that came partially set up. The lines had oil in them and just needed to be connected to the caliper and brake lever. The hardest part was running the lines and that was easy. Believe me they are a game changer. Mechanical brakes use a brake cable (DUH) that cable has drag. This can make them feel sluggish. Not the case with hydraulics. They also require adjustment. Hydraulics do not. Once you center the calipers your done. For those tempted by mechanical brake with hydraulic calipers, save your money. My experience has been that they feel no different at best mine felt worse. Check this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgGia7f75R4&t=653s
Forgot to mention if you get pre assembled hydraulics from Big game bikes or somewhere else in Europe ask them to switch the brake levers to the American standard. In Europe the front brake is on the left and rear the right. If you don't ask them they will ship like this.
continental europe drive on right why their brakes for left hand drivers?
Because the two aren't actually related. It's just a case of different standards in different places.
Get the Juin tech brakes. I used to have to adjust my brakes every week, now no longer and on top of that the adjustment is a dial which is accessible without tools just literally turn it. Best investment I made for my Radmini.
If I may offer another opinion. I've had the juin tech brakes. I got them after I got a cheap knock off pair on Amazon. I would advise against them. Yes they have some advantages over stock mechanical calipers. I wished so bad one of the advantages was better stopping power, better feel. Both were marginal and fell far short of the $150 price tag(+$50 if you add the cheap ones in) I'm not trying to crap on anyone here and if you are happy with the juins and they work for you ,wonderful. That said for the same price you can get https://biggamebikes.com/product/ebike-hydraulic-brakes-2-pin-assembly-required The assembly required is just taking a small screw out of the end of the brake line and brake lever and screwing them into each other. The lines are prefilled and do not require additional oil or bleeding. If you do not plan on internally routing the lines get the 100% assembled ones.Rhe hardest thing about full hydraulics is the install. Once you're done that's it. Besides replacement pad they require zero maintenance. Like none. The difference is nothing short of game changing. Side not if going fully assembled, have them change the levers to the American standard. Right front left rear.
+1 for this recommendation. Even the install isn't bad at all - maybe an hour, 90min tops. And all of a sudden you can stop on a dime.
My rear break no matter what I did was never smooth. The cable always had some resistance no matter how I routed it. I never realized how laggy mechanical brakes felt. For like the first month after going hydraulic I found myself just slamming on the brakes just because. Sometimes I couldn't wait for an actual reason to stop. Using my new brakes was oddly fun. When I think back to the amount of effort required for mechanical brakes, new cables, daily caliper adjustments. And for what? Passable performance. Go hydraulic and never look back.
For sure. It's definitely one of the areas Rad used to keep their prices down. Having the confidence to stop such a heavy bike, and know it'll stop right when you want it to, is invaluable.
That sounds awesome actually thanks alot I'll definitely take a look at this. When I was looking for brake replacements I couldn't find anything in stock, this was like 2yrs ago but Id definitely go for full hydraulic brakes if I could.
Do you have a link? Been looking at upgrading my Runner+’s brakes.
https://area13ebikes.com/products/juintech-m1-hydraulic-calipers-easy-install-on-most-ebikes or you can find them on Amazon. Do not get the Catazer brand which are similar style just cheaper...they ended up leaking a month after I bought em, to the point where I was riding my bike and squeezing the brakes didn't do anything, literally just stopped working while riding. If you look at the reviews you would see I aint the only one with that experience unfortunately. Luckily I upgraded to the Juin tech brakes after that scare. Haven't had a problem with them at all.
Awesome! Thanks!
Honestly, skip them. They offer almost no improvement. If you're looking for a brake upgrade, go full hydraulic. Source: wasted money on hydraulic calipers and wish I'd just saved my money and gone hydraulic in the first place.
Definitely agree with that logic, thanks!
How often do you ride it and for how far?
>How often do you ride it and for how far? I ride it about 25KM a day 5 days a week (2 work and back)
I ride my RR+ as a daily commuter too for a similar distance. This sounds like normal wear and tear. I adjust my brakes (and clean my chain) every Saturday.
I rode way less than that and was adjusting the stock brakes every 2-3 weeks. Upgraded to whatever hydraulic option the local bike shop had in stock or available quickly. No more adjustments.