The BadWagon is my cargo e-bike that has primarily been used to venture beyond forest service gates. This project that began life as a 1st gen RadWagon frame. The goal was to reimagine the first version of the ubiquitous affordable kid-carrying cargo commuter as a hilarious, capable, off-road beast concept. The first RadWagons were steel, had a 3x drivetrain, and had 26in wheels, all aspects that changed in later designs. I wanted to use a lot of existing Rad parts to create a sort-of imagined concept that never was made. 2022.
Most of the Rad parts were junked parts or warranty-related parts that were getting thrown away. While the frame may be from 2016, I used the most recent Rad electric drivetrain parts. One exception is the pedal-assist sensor which is actually from the 2016 RadWagon. I modified it to be mounted directly to the granny gear on the 3x so I could install the Shimano XT Hallowtech cranks and an external cup BB. While there are some super wide square tapers out there, the frame bottom bracket width size was actually sort of narrow and was not compatible. On later aluminum versions of the RadWagon, this was addressed when switching to a 1x. I wanted to see if I could convert this to the external cup too. It works great!
After lots of prep, I painted the frame green with splatter and flecks of silver and black. The black of the integrated rack also contributes to the proportions of the whole bike. I particularly like how the silver splatter on the black paint turned out. Everything was received a few clear coats as well.
While I have not installed these running boards, I did paint them if I decide to one day.
Stacking IS adaptors to mount the hydro brake allowed for a 220mm rotor on the rear.
This Sekai belonged to my friend’s late mother who bought it from REI in the early ’80s. The bike had spent much of its life in a chicken coop, just absolutely plastered. This restoration included a full tear-down of every part, upholstering a seat, new bar tape & hoods, tires, restoring original panniers, sourcing a unique bottom bracket, and lots of un-poop-ifying the components. The frame’s paint was in remarkable shape. While the frame is incredibly small and does not fit him, he does ride it around from time and again and is happy to have his mother’s bike in his life. 2023.
