In Oreo, the button to check for Android updates now actually checks for updates

File this one under things finally working as described.

If you’ve ever mashed that “Check for update” button in your phone settings because you were waiting and ready for an update, you know disappointment. You might be disappointed less in the future, as the button now actually checks for an update when asks rather than check to see if you were slotted in to be updated that day.

Long-time Android developer and new master of update buttons Elliot Hughes took to Google+ today to explain the changes.

When a device checks in because you’ve specifically asked it to, we flag that this is user-initiated and so you’re not subject to the usual limitations. So even if we’re at 1% rollout and 1% of users already have the update, if you manually check you’ll still be offered it, even though a background check at the same time wouldn’t.

You’ll need the latest version of Google Play Services, and it appears that this feature may be for Oreo and higher based on comments. We’ve reached out to Google and will update with more when we hear back.

It’s also worth noting that this only applies to OS updates. Apps will still have a gradual rollout as decided by the developer, even Google’s apps. Even Google Play Services, which you need the latest version of for this to work as intended. That would be the one dated September 5, 2017, and the version number varies by device.

It’s also worth noting that doing this means you might be someone who gets to witness the next bug firsthand. Gradual rollouts are done so that any bugs that weren’t found during testing won’t affect many devices before the rollout can be stopped and the software fixed. Impatience is often rewarded!

So go ahead and hit the button if you’re waiting for the September patch and let everyone know if it worked.

Android Oreo

• Android Oreo review!
• Everything new in Android Oreo
• How to get Android Oreo on your Pixel or Nexus
• Oreo will make you love notifications again
• Will my phone get Android Oreo?
• Join the Discussion

Lenovo’s leaked 25th-anniversary ThinkPad sports a familiar look

The latest ThinkPad that Lenovo brought to CES back in January had a notably sleeker, more modern appearance than the line’s traditional boxy black look. But it kept a couple features, like the red TrackPoint nub and 45-degree ThinkPad logo, that have become trademarks of the beloved brand since it debuted under IBM back in October 1992. But WinFuture reports that a leak revealed Lenovo is releasing a 25th-anniversary retro version that mimics the look of the first ThinkPad laptops that reached consumers.

According to the leak, the allegedly-named ThinkPad 25 has visual touches from its ancestor (like a multicolored logo and blue ‘Enter’ key) but will otherwise be based on the ThinkPad 470 series. Its tech specs are pretty standard for midline laptops: A 14-inch IPS display, Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM, 512GB of SSD storage and a NVIDIA GTE 940MX GPU. It has all your modern ports, too: A Thunderbolt-rated USB-C, three standard USB, an SD slot, HDMI and even an Ethernet port. Rounding out its modern tech is a fingerprint scanner and infrared webcam for facial recognition.

As The Verge points out, this anniversary edition looks a lot like the retro-classic ThinkPad concept that Lenovo VP of design David Hill mentioned a couple years ago. Given that the initial consumer-facing ThinkPads were introduced 25 years ago next month, this model might be announced in October, assuming the info is accurate.

Via: The Verge

Source: WinFuture

Fitness app company settles with FTC for nearly $1 million

If you’re going to create a mobile app that offers monetary rewards for meeting fitness goals, you should probably make sure you back your promises up. The Pact fitness app offers users a way to incentivize workouts by charging a fee when users miss their fitness goals. If goals are met, the app also promises to pay a share of the punishment fees with successful members. According to the FTC, who filed a complaint against the developer Thursday, tens of thousands of Pact users have been charged the penalty, even when they met their goals or canceled the service. The Commission also said that none of the users received a payout, either. The developer has now settled the case with the FTC for more than $940,000.

“Consumers who used this app expected the defendants to pay them rewards when they achieved their health-related goals, and to charge them only when they did not,” said the Bureau of Consumer Protection’s Tom Pahl in a statement. “Unfortunately, even when consumers held up their end of the deal, Pact failed to make good on its promises.” The FTC also claims that Pact didn’t adequately tell its members how to cancel the service and stop recurring charges.

The FTC claimed that Pact, Inc. engaged in unfair and deceptive practices that violated the FTC Act and the Restore Online Shopper’s Confidence Act, or ROSCA, which prohibits charging consumers without it being clearly disclosed. The settlement makes it so that the defendants cannot continue to charge their customers without a “clearly and conspicuously” disclosure. Pact customers who were wrongfully charged will get more than $940,000 in refunds, as part of a $1.5 million settlement overall (the discrepancy in final amount and the refund amount has been suspended). The company must notify customers and complete payments within 30 days of the settlement order.

Via: Ars Technica

Source: FTC

Climbkhana: Ken Block explains Pikes Peak assault in latest Gymkhana video

By Carter Jung

Climbkhana is clever. And no, not because it’s a portmanteau. Rather it’s how Ken Block and his merry band of Hoonigan Media Machine misfits took something the internet clearly loves, hooning, and paired it with a picturesque mountain tied to one of the oldest motorsport events in America, the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb.

More than that, tire-shredding drifts and thick clouds of smoke from the Hoonicorn V2 — a 1,400-horsepower 1965 Ford Mustang converted to all-wheel drive, harkens back to the glory days of Pikes Peak. A time when car and driver would test their mettle racing up a precarious ribbon of dirt to 14,115 feet of elevation.

The new Climbkhana video is the latest chapter in the Gymkhana series. Watch the video on Monday, Sept. 25, when it debuts on YouTube.

Ahead of the debut, we talked with head Hoonigan Ken Block and Brian Scotto, co-director of Climbkhana and longtime Gymkhana collaborator.

AUTOBLOG: With this video, you’ve strayed from the Gymkhana naming convention, opting for Climbkhana. There’s also the recent Terrakhana video. Is there meaning behind the shift?

BLOCK: Climbkhana and Terrakhana were both names that we all — Brian, myself and our team — came up with for these projects. The goal was to make it clear that while they’re related in the sense that it’s myself driving and incorporating Gymkhana-style moves, they’re new ideas.

AB: Ken, your first exposure to Pikes Peak was watching the hill climb on TV as a youth. When did you decide to film your own four-wheeled exploits on the mountain?

BLOCK: We had been talking about doing Climbkhana at Pikes Peak when someone from the hill climb organization reached out to us. The timing aligned perfectly, and we were all on the same page about doing something cool to showcase the mountain in a way that wasn’t the standard hill climb footage. We wanted to be respectful to the event, pay a bit of respect to Climb Dance, and create something that was still very much in line with what people expect from my videos.

AB: Did you ever compete in the annual Pikes Peak International Hill Climb?

BLOCK: I raced at Pikes back in 2005 in a Group N rally car! Although by the time I got to the top, it was a very underwhelming experience due to the lack of power thanks to the elevation.

AB: Brian, a segue, how did you get involved with the Gymkhana films?

SCOTTO: I’ve been on this ride since day one. The first Gymkhana film actually grew from an article that ran in 0-60 Magazine — which I was the editor of — about the sport of gymkhana, featuring Ken. I consulted on the first and second Gymkhana films, but by the time we released the third, I was full-time working for Ken. I stepped into the role of creative director and then eventually graduated to director, but I sort of still do both jobs.

Now, Ken is my business partner at Hoonigan, and for some reason trusts me to carry on his creation.

AB: It’s incredibly challenging to close down Pikes Peak — the highway is a public toll road. It’s why, for the hill climb, practice is held in segments at dawn over the week leading into race day. How were you able to convince the authorities to give you access to the mountain?

SCOTTO: Luckily, the team at Pikes Peak International Hill Climb had come to us, and were instrumental in navigating this project through the parks department. But we still had to work around the mountain’s schedule. We shot super early during the mornings and did controlled traffic stops to get other shots pulled off after 7:30 a.m. when the mountain opened to the public. It was no easy task. But everyone from the mountain was amazing to work with, they really seemed to appreciate what the world of motorsports did for Pikes Peak.

AB: Past Gymkhana films were in production for a scant five days. Climbkhana took more than 13 months. What were some of the challenges you faced?

BLOCK: It definitely took us longer than I would have liked to finish! The first time we went, we had some fairly serious engine problems and were unable to get everything we wanted. We went back two months later and were still having engine issues and ran into severe weather issues. Rain, snow, lightning and sunshine all within an hour at times. Some truly wild stuff! Finally, we sorted out the motor and went back this past August and had two solid days of good weather to finish everything up.

AB: How much did having Jeff Zwart co-direct help with production?

SCOTTO: Jeff Zwart is a legend. As a kid, photos he shot decorated the walls of my room, so I was honored to not only work alongside him and share directing duties, but to have him so excited to be a part of the project and join the Hoonigan Media Machine crew. Without Zwart’s extensive knowledge of the road, it would have taken us three times as long to plot it all out.

Not only has he raced there a zillion times, he has also shot a bunch of car commercials there, so he knew it from both sides. Zwart also brought a different look to the film — we have never used camera cars before. Not using them has always been a big part of our formula, but Zwart and I were able to find a way to make them work while staying true to our signature style.

AB: When it comes to driving, is it pre-planned and storyboarded from previous scouting trips or more seat-of-the-pants?

BLOCK: There’s always a scouting trip prior, and then we’ll do a recon pass before we start to film. For normal Gymkhana stuff, I can normally walk through the scene, but with Climbkhana, since it was the road and extended distances, I used my Focus RS to run through the sections before hopping into the Hoonicorn to film.

AB: You mentioned the film before, how many times did you and the crew watch Jean Louis Mourey’s Climb Dance before going into production?

BLOCK: Maybe twice? But, I have seen it many times and I know a lot of the scenes by heart. It’s very inspirational. And, it has a lot of the basic makings of how we make our videos since most of the footage was shot during the various practices of the two drivers before the race, Ari Vatanen and Robby Unser.

SCOTTO: I’m sure I’ve seen that film a hundred times in my life. Before we started doing the Gymkhana series, it was really the only film of its kind that was more than the typical motorsports coverage. Mourey elevated the way racing could be depicted. There’s a lot of commonality in Climb Dance and our work. Many people think that it was shot during the race, but the film was actually shot just like Climbkhana, in the wee hours of the day, during practice and private testing. Oh, and I probably watched the iconic Ari Vatanen sun block shot 30 times on the day we filmed that homage moment to get everything just right.

AB: With the hill climb having recently celebrated its 101st anniversary and Pikes Peak being one of the most scenic motorsports settings in the world, there has been a lot of content to come out of the mountain. What was your take going into it?

BLOCK: I saw the road and mountain for what it was: one of the most amazing races in the world on one of the most amazing mountain roads. So, our vision was to help showcase what an amazing and challenging road it is, but to show it in a new way.

Since the road has been completely paved, everyone who races up Pikes Peak is now locked into tarmac racing lines. No one gets sideways anymore like the old gravel days, which is when I started watching the race. With Climbkhana, I wanted to show a more fun, sideways and playful way of getting to the summit.

AB: In previous Gymkhana films, you had a sandbox to play in, from an old airfield to what seemed like the entirety of Los Angeles. With Climbkhana, you were limited to the paved sections of the mountain. How did that affect the film?

BLOCK: It made it a bit more dangerous at certain points since my runoff was a sheer drop at times! It also restricted what we could do since there are only so many open areas, or unique spots like the ranger station and the parking lot next to it to play with. We can only show so many hairpins in a video like this, so we had to get creative with the various spots and storylines we could create on the mountain.

AB: What was the most challenging stunt in Climbkhana?

BLOCK: There’s one turn in the upper part of the W’s where I wanted to drop a wheel and spray some rocks out over the drop while still smoking the front tires on the pavement. Not easy! And the consequences were bad if I went wide, it’s the same spot the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution went off a few years ago. I nailed it on my second run, but the commitment level was really high and the margin for error was pretty small, so I’d say that was by far the most challenging part.

AB: What shot are you the most proud of?

SCOTTO: That’s a tough one. The shot of KB almost dying, with two wheels deep in the dirt, inches from disaster as his front wheels clawed at the tarmac to escape the long way down might be one of the greatest moments I have ever been apart of. I was standing behind our main camera for that shot, and didn’t breathe the entire time.

AB: While the plumey tire smoke almost doubles as roost, what would you each trade to go back and shoot Climbkhana when Pikes Peak was still all gravel?

BLOCK: Most of my early race career was built on gravel rally experience, and my early memories of Pikes was of it all gravel. So, it would be a dream to actually drive it that way. Especially with a high-horsepower AWD rally car. So, as far as a trade? That’s a tough question. Not my left nut, that’s for sure. But it does have that sort of value, though [laughter]!

SCOTTO: Early on, something we discussed was that by making a Gymkhana film, it was the only way anyone would be able to drive the mountain in the same fashion as the glory days of Michelle Mouton, Ari Vatanen, Bobby Unser, Walter Rohl, Rod Millen and so on. So I’m not so sure I’d trade anything. That said, the rally fan in me wishes the mountain was still gravel for racing’s sake. The faster records are cool, but nothing will beat the sideways, roosted slides with no guardrails and heaps of consequence.

AB: Ken, as someone who currently competes in the FIA World Rallycross Championship, how much does your skills hooning in videos complement what you do in a race?

BLOCK: All of the stuff you see in my videos is a direct translation from the things I would do on a rally stage or during a rallycross race. But, sideways is slow so are we are constantly fighting to keep the car straight when racing in the World Rallycross Championship. The Gymkhana videos are always fun for me to get that sideways stuff out of my system.

When Gymkhana first dropped back in 2008, it was during the early YouTube days. Do you remember what your initial expectations were?

BLOCK: I had none, really. I originally filmed it for fun and had it hosted on my personal webpage. It took off and was costing me around $10k a month to host it there! Once that happened, I knew I had something pretty special, and it’s grown a lot from there.

AB: Besides excessive hosting fees, how much has the success of the Gymkhana franchise affected both of your careers?

BLOCK: I think the success of the franchise has certainly helped in terms of extra visibility as a driver and for my team and partners. It allows me to be a bit more multi-faceted than most guys on the circuit and it assisted in getting more sponsorship, which is a huge help when building out race budgets to compete around the world.

SCOTTO: Gymkhana changed the direction of my career. I went from being a magazine editor to a director. Not sure if that would have happened without this series. But then again, the entire world of media was shifting at the time, and we were all trying to figure out what the next thing was. Who knew it was making videos about sliding cars!

AB: As creators, where do you both find inspiration for your projects?

BLOCK: I find my inspiration all around me. At the end of the day, my team and I love to create cool content that we like and want to see. Through the process of brainstorming and general banter, we get inspired to come up with our ideas for the next video.

SCOTTO: Like Ken, everything around me inspires in one way or another. But if I was forced to pick one, I’d say it comes from my 7-year-old imagination. I think about the stuff that I wanted to see cars do when I played with Hot Wheels, then question what is actually possible.

AB: Say Ford came to you guys with the opportunity to film without any budget limitations, what would you each want to do next?

BLOCK: No budget restrictions? I guess the moon?

SCOTTO: I’d start with a much-needed nap. Maybe a vacation. Then we’d build our own world to hoon.

Early Adopters of Apple Watch Series 3 Share First Impressions and Unboxing Photos

As customers around the world begin to unbox their new Apple Watch Series 3 models, some early adopters have started to share their first impressions and unboxings of the device in the MacRumors discussion forums.

Apple Watch Series 3 with LTE shared by MacRumors reader gatorknight904
We’ve already seen Apple Watch Series 3 reviews from the media, but opinions shared by regular customers can provide additional insight. We’ve rounded up some of the comments below, which we’ve edited very slightly for clarity.

While there appear to be some early activation issues, particularly for AT&T and Verizon customers, those who have been able to set up their Apple Watch Series 3 are generally impressed with LTE connectivity and call quality.

“LTE seems to be working great here in Dallas-Fort Worth On AT&T,” said MacRumors forum member gatorknight904.

“Agreed,” replied MacRumors forum member 3goldens. “I’ve had no issues whatsoever.”

In the Apple Watch Series 3 pre-order thread, several MacRumors readers have shared unboxing photos of their new Apple Watch Series 3 models. Others are still patiently waiting for couriers like UPS or FedEx to arrive.

There is a general sense of excitement throughout the entire discussion topic, with many customers upgrading from an original Apple Watch.

Gold colored Series 1 (left) vs. Series 3 (right) shared by MacRumors reader sinerized
“I have to say, this thing is super fast,” said MacRumors forum member roncito. “Way faster than I thought, even coming from my first-generation Apple Watch. And the screen is bright too. I love my Apple Watch all over again!”

“Just picked mine up from my local Apple Store,” wrote MacRumors forum member virginblue4. “I haven’t done much with it, but there is a definite noticeable speed improvement. Also loving the red crown!”

Unsurprisingly, the red Digital Crown that differentiates the Apple Watch Series 3 with built-in cellular is a subjective matter.

“I must say that the red dot on the Digital Crown sure sticks out like a sore thumb,” opined MacRumors forum member largefarrva. “Was hoping it would be a little more subdued in person, but it doesn’t appear to be the case.”

Apple Watch Series 3 unboxed by MacRumors forum member puckhead193
MacRumors forum member rstark18 said he recently purchased an Apple Watch Series 2, but he plans to return it now, as he purchased an Apple Watch Series 3 and found it better delivers the watch experience he was expecting.

I picked up an aluminum Apple Watch Series 2 last week when they went on sale because I didn’t want an LTE watch and I liked the idea of the sapphire back. It was my first Apple Watch, and honestly I wasn’t that impressed. I liked it, but everything seemed a little slow to me. I guess I’m used to the iPhone 7 being nice and snappy. I decided to place an order for an Apple Watch Series 3 and compare the two. If they seemed similar then I’d just keep the Series 2 and return the Series 3. […]

The Series 3 is noticeably much faster. On the Series 2, when I would swipe watch faces, it seemed to lag and sometimes take a few swipes to move to the next face. With the Series 3, it is super fast and smooth. Opening any app is almost instantaneous.

This is the watch experience I was expecting. I will be returning the Series 2.

Keep an eye on the Apple Watch forum section and a new first impressions topic over the weekend for more customer opinions.

Related Roundups: Apple Watch, watchOS 4
Buyer’s Guide: Apple Watch (Buy Now)
Discuss this article in our forums

How to Prevent Apps From Showing Up in Search and Siri Suggestions in iOS 11

In iOS 11 and earlier versions of iOS, Siri analyzes your app use, browsing history, emails, messages, contacts, and information from third-party apps to provide customized suggestions for searches, Look Up, News, Photos, and more.

Siri syncs this information across all of your devices in iOS 11 to provide a more personalized experience, and this information is also anonymously sent back to Apple to “make your searches more relevant.”

All of this information is encrypted, but you may not want to use the feature because of privacy issues or you may not want certain apps showing up on your device. In iOS 11, Apple has expanded privacy controls so you can customize Search and Siri Suggestions to your liking.

How to Disable Siri Suggestions for Individual Apps

If you want to use Siri Suggestions but don’t want certain apps to show up as suggested content, you can disable them on an app by app basis. This is the feature that’s new to iOS 11 and it keeps sensitive apps from showing up in suggestions, searches, and more across your operating system.

Open the Settings app.
Scroll down to Siri & Search and tap it.
Scroll down to see a list of all of the apps that work with the feature.
Select each app you don’t want to show up in search and Siri suggestions.
Tap the button to toggle it off.
When you disable apps, information from those apps will not show up in Search, Look Up, and Keyboard as you use your iOS device. So, for example, if I disable the Files app, content stored in my Files app will no longer come up in a search or anywhere else.

In the screenshot below, I have Files enabled for Siri and Search Suggestions on the left, and on the right, I’ve disabled the feature. As you can see, content from the Files app no longer shows up.

You can toggle off any of your installed apps to prevent their data from being displayed when you search, use the keyboard, and ask Siri questions.

Siri will ignore disabled files but will continue to learn your preferences from enabled apps and show content from those apps, which is probably how most people will prefer to use this feature. For a full lockdown, though, disable your apps and turn off Siri Suggestions entirely.

How to Turn Off Siri Suggestions Entirely

If you don’t want to use Siri suggestions at all, there are two simple toggles for turning it off.

Open the Settings app.
Scroll down to Siri & Search and tap it.
Scroll down to Siri Suggestions.
Toggle off Suggestions in Search.
Toggle off Suggestions in Look Up.
With these two settings toggled off Siri will not provide personalized suggestions when you search for things, and your data will not be anonymously sent to Apple to power the Siri features. Note that Siri will still bring up apps installed on your devices in search and other areas — this just disables the feature that lets Siri learn your preferences and send data to Apple.

To keep apps from showing up entirely, you’ll need to use the individual app settings, as outlined above.

Preventing Siri Suggestions From Sending Your Location to Apple

In some cases, Siri Suggestions sends the location of your device to Apple alongside your search queries so Apple can provide more relevant recommendations. You can keep your location from being sent to Apple by disabling a specific Location setting.

Open the Settings app.
Choose Privacy.
Tap Location Services.
Scroll down to System Services and tap it.
Scroll down to Location-Based Suggestions and toggle it off.
Siri Suggestions is a useful feature so most people won’t want to toggle it off completely (and it is completely private — Apple encrypts and anonymizes all data) but being able to prevent individual apps like Safari, Mail, and others from showing up lets you customize your results for a more streamlined experience and it prevents anything you don’t want to see from popping up unexpectedly.

Related Roundup: iOS 11
Discuss this article in our forums

Tesla might build convenience stores at its charging stations

Tesla plans to roll out more electric supercharging stations this year, especially in big cities, which should double the size of its network. But even with more places to juice up your Tesla, it still takes far longer to refill an EV than gassing up a fossil fuel-powered car. But the electric vehicle maker is considering adding small convenience stores to the stations so you can relax and refuel yourself while you wait.

As Grub Street noted, earlier this week at FSTEC, the food tech conference, Tesla’s CTO JB Straubel mentioned that folks are already spending time waiting for their cars to charge — why not make their stay a little more comfortable? “People are coming and spending 20 to 30 minutes at these stops,” waiting for their Teslas to suck up electric power, Restaurant Business quoted Straubel saying at the conference. “They want to eat, they want to have a cup of coffee, they want to use the bathroom.”

Straubel reportedly showed the audience mock-ups of service stop designs, which had begun to resemble traditional convenience stores. Not that Tesla will get into the business itself — instead, it would seek partners to run them. Straubel noted that the company has already been working with restaurants, and “That can only start scaling up.”

Via: The Verge

Source: Restaurant Business

Apple extends iTunes movie rentals to 48 hours

It used to be that when you rented a movie from Apple’s iTunes service, you’d have 24 hours to finish watching it. You could start streaming the rental within 30 days of purchase, of course. Just a couple of weeks after Apple made 4K an affordable option, the company has doubled the rental time to 48 hours. This is perfect for those of us with young kids who want to watch a movie over (and over and over) or busy schedules that don’t let us get to our movies right away. The timer starts even if you’re watching the film offline, too.

While the new 48-hour rental period is available in the US, we’ve reached out to Apple to see if it will be the same in other countries and regions that support iTunes movie rentals and will update this post when we hear back.

Movies can be rented via iTunes on iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple TV and a Mac or PC with the latest version of iTunes. Once you hit the Rent button, you can then tap Rent and Watch Later (on Apple TV) or Not Now (on iOS devices). The option is called Watch Later on Mac or PC. You can download the movies to watch offline, too, with a tap on the little cloud and down arrow button. You’re not restricted to the device you rent on, either; you can watch on any supported device that you’ve logged into with your iTunes account.

Via: TechCrunch

Source: Apple

RadMini Folding Ebike Review

Research Center:
Rad Power Bikes RadMini

Folding bicycles are nothing new, and you can now find ebikes being used by recreational riders, commuters, and delivery people in any major city. One significant problem of living and traveling in such an environment is lack of storage space. Folding bikes have helped mitigate the problem of storing your vehicle at work or at home, and ebikes can replace public transport, depending on traffic and the length of your commute.

Now, one company is combining these two useful designs into one. Rad Power Bike’s RadMini electric folding fat bike sets out to do it all. For our RadMini folding ebike review, we took it around New York City, dodging traffic above ground and foot traffic below in the subways.

Mini-er than most

Our past experiences with electric bikes have usually left us with one common gripe: bulk. Ebikes are heavier than non-powered bicycles, which is an issue in places like, say, the overcrowded island of Manhattan. The advantages of a powered vehicle, however, make themselves clear when trying to get from point A to B in a busy city.

Rad Power Bikes/Facebook

The RadMini’s name is deceiving when you take in the specs. The 20-inch fat tires are also four inches wide. Its 750W hub-mounted motor and 48V 11.6Ah lithium-ion battery provide power and endurance for long rides. It has a slightly shorter-than-average overall length of 64 inches. Despite its aluminum frame, fork, and rims, the RadMini weighs in at 60 pounds, including the battery and motor.

While a folding bike is easier to store and travel with, it can fall short in usability compared to a conventional bike. So how does the $1,499 RadMini measure up?

Ride it your way

Whether cruising through the bike paths or the busy streets of the city, the RadMini was solid and agile for a bike with this heft

Portability should not compromise rideability, and this is where the RadMini shows its strength. With easily adjustable seat and handlebar heights, as well as ergonomic handgrips, it’s a breeze to find the ideal riding position. The Velo Plush seat is one of the more comfortable saddles we’ve ever had the pleasure of sitting on, and the Wellgo forged aluminum pedals are super grippy.

The bike’s handlebar-mounted twist throttle can be used to coast along, but we discovered a party trick. Getting started on a 60-lb. bike, especially in the rough terrain the RadMini was designed to handle, is not easy. But if you give the throttle a little twist, you can use the momentum to pull ahead of traffic or simply get going. The throttle can be switched off, which prevents any accidental activation when you’re bearing down on the handlebars to tackle a bump or hill. The throttle is sensitive at the low end, so you have to be careful.

That being said, this is a pedal assist bike, and if you’re heavy on the throttle, you will eat into the battery life. There are five levels assist, which are activated from the control panel on the left handlebar. At lower levels, you can still get a good workout, adjusting power for varying levels and types of terrain. At level 5, the bike seemed to diminish to a fraction of its weight, and we had no problem maintaining speeds of 20 mph and above.

At that velocity, slowing down and stopping is of utmost importance, and the RadMini’s mechanical disc brakes were up to the task. You can upgrade to hydraulics, but we found the stopping power to be more than adequate.

Albert Khoury/Digital Trends

Albert Khoury/Digital Trends

Albert Khoury/Digital Trends

Albert Khoury/Digital Trends

The 7-speed Shimano drivetrain with thumb shifter works well in conjunction with the pedal assist system. You can mix and match gears and levels of assist to adapt to nearly any riding environment, whether you want to go hill climbing, dune blasting, or simply speed along the pavement.

More than just a motor

When it comes to bells and whistles, the RadMini doesn’t skimp. The bike’s center-mounted LCD display includes a speedometer, Watt meter, and odometer. The screen also helps you keep track of the battery power and levels of assist. On top of that, the bike’s aluminum brake levers feature rubber inserts to increase grip, while an integrated bell on the left side helps you alert pedestrians before you zip by.

Portability should not compromise rideability, and this is where the RadMini shows its strength.

For night cruising, the RadMini boasts a powerful LED headlight powered by the bike’s main battery, while the independent LED taillight has its own battery source. This reduces the need for more wiring.

Whether flying down the bike paths or the busy streets of the city, the RadMini is agile for a bike with this heft.

Downshifting gears feels a bit clunky, but we had no problems with slipped chains or the like. There was enough power to conquer any hill, and keeping up with traffic was not a hard task.

Once you’ve run out of juice, it takes roughly four to five hours to charge the battery from empty. And thanks to a large capacity, you can safely charge your phone on the go via the bike’s built-in USB port. When you are done riding, you have to remember to switch off the taillight separately.

On-road, off-road, or in your closet

Being a fat bike, the RadMini can be taken off the pavement. We tried some off-road bike paths and it performed admirably well. Grass and sand traps did nothing to slow it down, and only the deepest car-destroying potholes were a worry in the urban jungle.

When your rent is determined by square-footage, you don’t want something like a bicycle taking up any more room than necessary. This is where the RadMini’s most unique feature comes into play: it can fold to about half its size.

A hinge on the main tubes allows the RadMini to fold horizontally. It is a simple process that was detailed in the assembly video that Rad pointed us to.

Albert Khoury/Digital Trends

Albert Khoury/Digital Trends

First, you fold the pedals in, then you unlock the hinge and lift the pin to fold the frame. Next, you unhook the stem from its locked position and fold the handlebars down. Use the included Velcro tie to strap the two halves of the frame together, and you’re good to go.

At this size, the RadMini can more easily be stored out of the way. It will fit in most reasonably-sized closets, but if you ride every day, you might want to keep it handy, since it’s not exactly easy to move around. There is a handle underneath the saddle, but it’s certainly not like carrying around a briefcase.

You can remove the battery to reduce the weight, and do the same for the heavy-duty front and rear racks. This is great if you are going on a trip, but not so ideal for a daily commute. You need tools to remove the racks, and you lose the taillight when you take off the rear rack.

Warranty information

All Rad Power Bikes are covered under a limited 1-year warranty. This includes the bicycle’s main components, such as the frame, wheels, LCD screen, derailleur, shifter, motor, throttle, wiring, lights, saddle, seat post, and other hardware. The battery is also covered for one year after your purchase.

Our Take

The RadMini gives you the benefits of powered cycling along with the health benefits of going under your own power. With its fat tires and sturdy frame, it can feel at home in nearly any environment. The folding feature adds convenience to storage and travel, and best of all, it’s a blast to ride.

Is there a better alternative?

The Airhwheel R5 is a compact folding ebike. It’s smaller and lighter than the RadMini, and has a removable power source you can take with you to charge your devices. This bike sacrifices the capability of a more substantial vehicle for increased portability. The manufacturer claims a max range of about 60 miles and a top speed of about 12 mph. You can purchase a sample for $756.

Tern’s Vectron folding ebike features a Bosch motor that will propel the bike up to 20 mph. An 80-mile range tops out above the RadMini. The Vektron folds in a similar manner, but it can be wheeled around like luggage or even carried on your shoulder. Hydraulic disc brakes and a lighter 50-lb. weight give it some other advantages, though you will pay up at $3,400.

The VeeGo from Ride Scoozy, which starts shipping in late October / early November, and claims a similar range to the RadMini at 20-40 miles. It has 7 speeds and will propel you up to 20 mph. It weighs about the same as the RadMini and 5 levels of pedal assist with a throttle. Its step through frame makes it easy to mount, though these types of frames are typically less durable than a traditional diamond frame. It carries a starting price of $1,250.

How long will it last?

The RadMini’s double-tube frame and sturdy construction assures that it will last. The derailleur cage protects its more sensitive components, and the battery and motor are tucked in enough that they shouldn’t take direct damage if you have a tumble. A fat bike is, by nature, designed to be ridden hard on and off the pavement, so your riding habits will determine how much abuse the bike will endure.

Rad states that the battery provides 800 full charge cycles before needing replacement, but it also recommends you don’t let the battery drain too much before recharging. So you should be able to surpass that number and not need a new battery for quite a while.

Should you buy it?

If you want to change the way you commute, the RadMini could be one solution. It will deal with whatever the street throws at you, and if you know of an off-road shortcut, it can handle that too. You can fold it and keep it out of the way when not in use, and in a pinch you could take it on public transport. It may not feature the premium components of some of the competition, but it does plenty to justify its $1,499 price.

How Peggy Whitson and other astronauts get a 2-hour daily workout in space

Why it matters to you

Staying in space for months on end is no easy feat, and requires a whole lot of daily exercise.

When a Soyuz capsule touched down on Earth’s surface two weeks ago in central Kazakhstan, it marked the first time in 288 days that astronaut Peggy Whitson had set foot on our planet. The 57-year-old astronaut not only holds the record for the longest time in orbit in a single flight for a woman and the longest cumulative spacewalking time, but also the longest total time spent in space. Over the course of her impressive career, Whitson has been in space for 665 days, which is no easy feat for the human body. So how did Whitson manage it? The same way we manage our bodies here on Earth — with lots of exercise.

The International Space Station may be a futuristic structure, but even in a space-centered future, we’ll need to hit the gym every once in awhile. So to keep astronauts healthy, the ISS ensures that they have the equipment they need to work out, and work out quite a bit, too. As it stands, astronauts like Whitson exercise for two and a half hours every day. It’s required by NASA, and is intended to offset the deleterious effects of being so far away from home for such a long time. Indeed, the average space visitor loses somewhere in the range of 11 to 17 percent of their strength, 10 percent of their endurance, and up to seven percent of their bone density.

But a good fitness regimen can help with this. Crew members can use three key pieces of equipment — a Cycle Ergometer, otherwise known as a stationary bike; a treadmill whose restraint system makes astronauts feel like they’re actually running and not just flailing about in a zero-gravity environment; and an Advanced Resistance Exercise Device, or the ARED, which is a weight-lifting device that makes use of flywheels and vacuum cylinders to mimic resistance.

As Dr. Richard Scheuring, a NASA flight surgeon, told Engadget, it’s because of these devices that “our crews are coming back in much better shape” and recovering more quickly from the stresses of being away. “Generally, if our astronauts stick to our post-flight reconditioning program and they’ve worked hard in space, within 30 days of coming back from a six-month mission, we can have them at their baseline numbers for strength, flexibility, and stamina.”

So if astronauts can find time to work out in space, maybe we should be doing all we can to stay fit on Earth, too.