PedalUma
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Petaluma, CA
RAD Power Bikes is going out of business. All their customers will have unsupported bikes.
RAD Power Bikes Going Bust
- Thread starter PedalUma
- Start date
fooferdoggie
Well-Known Member
They used to be the cheapest bikes out there till China out cheaped them directly. But the tariffs are not helping at all.
dblhelix
Well-Known Member
in 2021 I was on the Seattle-Bainbridge Island ferry, with at least 20 other ebikes. Every single one of them a RadPower bike. Feel like a survivor w/ my 8-yr old Tern.
stompandgo
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
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.
CanNik
Active Member
- Region
- United Kingdom
harryS
Well-Known Member
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.
PedalUma
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Petaluma, CA
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.
6zfshdb
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Northeast Pennsylvania
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.
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.
stompandgo
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
To sell in his shop.
PCeBiker
No-Hands No-Pedaling No-Credentials
- Region
- Canada
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?)
Last edited:
fritz katzenjammer
Der grosserfahrradmechaniker
- Region
- Other
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.
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.
PCeBiker
No-Hands No-Pedaling No-Credentials
- Region
- Canada
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
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
PedalUma
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Petaluma, CA
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.
stompandgo
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
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.
Rexlion
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Tulsa metro
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.
PedalUma
Well-Known Member
- Region
- USA
- City
- Petaluma, CA
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.
