RAD Power Bikes Going Bust

I have two 2016 Radrovers, 2019 Radcity step thru, and 2023 Radcity step-thru. I wonder should I get spare parts from them? I'm on my 3rd controller for my 2023 Radcity (might be one of the reasons for going out of business).
 
RAD is huge. Look at their dealer network. Don't leave me high, don't leave me dry.
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stompandgo said:
A friend of mine that owns a small, mostly repair shop in CT just picked up Rad Power 6 months ago. Not a great start.
Click to expand...
DId he pick it up to sell/distribute or to ride ? Rad makes a few mid drives, I believe, but the rest of their bikes are rear hubs. A few have torque sensors in the BB. Except for those and the mid drive, an ebike guy can readily replace motors/controllers/displays with something generic.

There was the Bolton guy, who got his start selling replacement upgrades for Rads, all oof0the-shelf items from China. He makes a good living, I imagine.
 
harryS said:
ebike guy can readily replace motors/controllers/displays
Click to expand...
The vast majority of this customer base are not from a cycling background, are not handy, do not know about electrical, or even what parts are called or how to describe them to find them, let alone diagnostics. The last couple of years the batteries were UL certified but made from the cheapest cells. Many will all go bad within the two-year warranty. That with burnt controllers, hacker overrides, and kids crashing heavy throttle bikes.
 
There are so many brands out there now, it seems the market won't support them all. Covid took it's toll in 2023, and more recently, tariffs have pushed up prices. Sales have been slow to recover which is also having an effect. The used bike market is also growing and cutting into new bike sales.

Maybe we're approaching market saturation where everyone who wants an e-bike has one with sales limited to replacements or those who want to trade up.

I would expect to see lesser known brands go under, but a big outfit like Rad is a surprise.
 
harryS said:
DId he pick it up to sell/distribute or to ride ? Rad makes a few mid drives, I believe, but the rest of their bikes are rear hubs. A few have torque sensors in the BB. Except for those and the mid drive, an ebike guy can readily replace motors/controllers/displays with something generic.

There was the Bolton guy, who got his start selling replacement upgrades for Rads, all oof0the-shelf items from China. He makes a good living, I imagine.
Click to expand...
To sell in his shop.
 
harryS said:
There was the Bolton guy, who got his start selling replacement upgrades for Rads, all oof0the-shelf items from China. He makes a good living, I imagine.
Click to expand...

He was the guy that convinced me that my RST Guide fat forks were good enough (at least tough enough) for me, and that Mr Tuffy tire liners, Flat-Out, and Tannus Tire Liners are not all that bad.
,... So I installed all three in my first ebike.







If Area 13 was smart, they would start selling complete plug & play replacements for Rad Rovers.

We all know that hub motors are all the same, with the same 9 wires (sometimes 10), and that a KT Controller and Display can control them all if the wire codes and colors are known.

Conversely, a standard "Bafang" hub motor can be controlled with a Rad Machine controller and display.


I'm going to invest in Area 13 stocks.

(I think that the dude got cancer though?? I don’t know who's running the shop?)
 
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The bike market is really bad right now, the market is flooded with good used equipment post Covid and sales are way down so everybody is hurting. Anybody who is over extended financially, carrying too much inventory or selling a marginal quality product may not survive. I think Kona and Cannondale have both declared bankruptcy at some point in the last year and I wouldn’t be surprised to see more. ( maybe Specialized )

Everybody over stocked expecting the COVID boom to last and a lot got burned as a result. We only finished selling off our 2022 stock in late 24 when the 25 stock was already on the floor and I still see 23s trickling in from the distribution hubs.

One local chain of three stores was sitting on 4000 bikes in their group warehouse this past spring, they are having some issues by now I bet.

throw some Trumpy Tariffs on top of that and there’s no surprise some companies are going to the wall.
 
I'm thinking an aftermarket opening up to sell to people with ebikes that are left with no support from a bankrupt ebike company.

Unplug the hub motor.
Unplug the controller and display.

Plug in replacement.

Good to go.

All controller and display inputs could have adapters to connect to whatever ebike you have.

Plug & Play ,..like Lego
 
Our downtown eBike store is doing well. Their repair bay is always full and they sell a good 40 new electric bikes per month and do upgrades such as Magura brakes at $750 for an hour's labor. As an independent I have appointments every day and do about one conversion per week. My thinking is that electric bikes are recession proof. At least in a place with great infrastructure and a climate where people can ride every day. It sure is less expensive and more convenient than a car as long as you live and work in the same town or near a train station.
 
Our four stores are also having a good year. Record breaking sales of new and used bikes, both analog and electric. Service volume is solid. I agree that electric bikes, today at least, can be a steady source of revenue through tough economic times. You have to be situated in an area that has a lot of them, and you have to be willing to service brands that you do not sell. With so many cheap DTC e-bikes out there, it pays to keep them running until the service/replace math leads them to a sale of one of your new name brand e-bikes.
 
In the end, companies that go out of business most often do so because other companies had better products, better prices, better management, etc. It is a fact of business life, and prior to the product maturity stage (which for the ebike is still a long way off) it will happen to a lot of companies. A few will adapt, overcome, and survive; the rest will be history. Look at the automotive industry in the early 20th Century as a great example.
 
You would think that they would at least sell it to a hedge fund that could then chop it up and sell the pieces. The brand name recognition alone is worth something. I strongly suspect major pending liabilities crises that the insiders know of and want to distance from like fires and major recalls. 700,000 customers and a one time paper valuation of $1.65 billion.
 
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