Rad Power Bikes’ rocky times appear to have come to an end: the beleaguered e-bike company has officially been auctioned off to Life EV with a $13.2 million cash offer set for official approval on 30 January.
“The auction resulted in a successful bid, along with a backup bid, for the purchase of certain Rad assets,” a Rad spokesperson told Geekwire. “Any proposed transaction remains subject to court approval, and the sale is not final at this time.”
The “certain Rad assets” here are likely to include Rad’s existing inventory, and intellectual property such as brand name, trademarks, and patents. The purchase agreement also mentions that Life EV will take responsibility for Rad Power Bikes’ warranty claims and gift cards
The story of Life EV
So what is Life EV? The Florida-based company’s website features plenty of hybrid-style e-bikes proudly “built in the USA (of global components),” but they’re all “sold out.”
However, it seems that Life EV’s experience in assembling bikes in the USA has given it an advantage in the now tariff-heavy nation. In 2023, the company acquired Harley Davidson spinoff Serial 1 and moved manufacture to the USA, then sold the bikes via Harley’s massive network of retailers.
Rad’s future
Life EV’s plans for Rad Power Bikes are yet to be confirmed, but it’s likely that the company will apply its Serial 1 business model to the manufacture of the bikes. However, distribution could be a different story. Last year, Life EV launched CiX Cycles, a brand of budget e-bikes that will be sold via big-box retailers such as Walmart.
Rad Power Bikes, on the other hand, started as a direct-to-consumer mail order brand, which helped it keep initial costs down and attract an epic $329m in venture capital funding. There’s a chance that Life EV could use its existing sales network to abandon the mail-order model and put Rad Power Bikes into bricks-and-mortar stores.
Regular readers will know how much trouble Rad Power Bikes has been through over the past few years, from layoffs, to an exit from the European market, to safety concerns over flaming batteries, to its filing for bankruptcy late last year, to a fire at one of its LA stores. It’s also facing fresh competition from companies, such as Segway, that are seeking to grab a slice of the rapidly growing market.
Rad Power Bikes’ purchase by Life EV is likely to help keep the well-established brand alive in the USA, and the fact that warranties will still be valid suggests that it wants to maintain its reputation among the country’s e-bikers. However, it also signals the end of an era and a shift in the US e-bike industry away from ecommerce and international manufacture to a more localised, physical presence.
