Embattled electrical bike maker Rad Energy Bikes is going through one other problem because the U.S. Shopper Product Security Fee (CPSC) issued a warning to shoppers Monday to cease utilizing a number of the Seattle-based firm’s bikes due to hazard posed by their lithium-ion batteries.
The product security warning urges shoppers to instantly take away and get rid of hazardous batteries that “can unexpectedly ignite and explode, posing a hearth hazard to shoppers, particularly when the battery or the harness has been uncovered to water and particles.”
The CPSC stated Rad “has refused to comply with an appropriate recall” for the batteries, that are manufactured in China.
The batteries had been offered as replacements and with quite a lot of Rad bikes through Rad’s web site, Greatest Purchase shops and unbiased bike outlets. The battery mannequin quantity (HL-RP-S1304 or RP-1304) is printed on a label on the again or rear of the battery and bike fashions included: RadWagon 4, RadCity HS 4, RadRover Excessive Step 5, RadCity Step Via 3, RadRover Step Via 1, RadRunner 2, RadRunner 1, RadRunner Plus, and RadExpand 5.
The report provides one other vital impediment to Rad’s continued operations. Earlier this month, Rad revealed that it was struggling to outlive as a consequence of monetary difficulties, and the e-bike vendor stated that it was at risk of shutting down by early January.
On Monday, Rad disputed the CPSC’s findings. “Rad Energy Bikes firmly stands behind our batteries and our status as leaders within the e-bike {industry}, and strongly disagrees with the CPSC’s characterization of sure Rad batteries as faulty or unsafe,” the corporate stated in a prolonged assertion supplied to GeekWire (in full beneath).
Rad stated the numerous value of CPSC’s all-or-nothing recall demand would pressure Rad to close down instantly with no strategy to assist its riders or workers.
Rad stated it provided “a number of good-faith options” to handle CPSC’s considerations over at the very least 31 stories of fireplace, together with what the company stated had been 12 stories of property injury brought on by Rad batteries, totaling roughly $734,500.
Rad stated the incident price related to the batteries within the CPSC’s discover is a fraction of 1 %.
“Whereas that quantity is low, we all know even one incident is one too many, and we’re heartbroken by any report involving our merchandise,” the corporate’s assertion learn.
The corporate stated its batteries had been examined by unbiased third-party labs as a part of its typical product testing and once more throughout the CPSC investigation, “and confirmed compliance with the very best {industry} requirements.”
Rad upgraded its bikes to what it calls the Rad Protected Protect battery in early 2024, and the corporate stated it provided to improve shoppers to these batteries at a considerable low cost as a part of one in every of its options throughout the CPSC investigation.
The corporate burdened in its assertion that every one lithium-ion batteries, not simply in e-bikes, can pose a hearth danger if improperly dealt with or uncovered to vital water, and the corporate promotes correct care and upkeep in its consumer manuals and buyer security guides.
Rad Energy Bikes, headquartered in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood, launched as a direct-to-consumer model in 2015.
The corporate noticed large demand amid the pandemic as extra individuals purchased e-bikes. Its gross sales and workforce surged and it raised greater than $300 million from traders in 2021. The corporate was valued at $1.65 billion that yr, based on PitchBook, making it one in every of a handful of “unicorn” startups within the Seattle area on the time.
The corporate has attracted almost 700,000 riders across the globe, however a sequence of missteps and macroeconomic challenges in recent times have led to greater than seven rounds of layoffs and a outstanding downfall.
A spokesperson advised GeekWire on Monday that Rad’s submitting of a Employee Adjustment and Retraining Notification with the Washington state Employment Safety Division earlier this month was because of the firm’s monetary circumstances and its obligation to adjust to state legislation. It was not associated to the CPSC investigation.
Three years in the past, Rad issued a recall on its RadWagon 4 electrical cargo bikes over a difficulty with tires and rim strips that created a fall and crash hazard.
In 2023, The New York Instances reported on an increase in micro-mobility gadget fires or overheating incidents brought on by poorly made batteries that the CPSC stated was notably acute in densely populated areas like New York Metropolis.
The CPSC urged shoppers on Monday to instantly take away affected batteries and get rid of them following native hazardous waste procedures.
Rad Energy Bikes assertion concerning CPSC warning:
Rad Energy Bikes firmly stands behind our batteries and our status as leaders within the ebike {industry}, and strongly disagrees with the CPSC’s characterization of sure Rad batteries as faulty or unsafe.
Now we have a protracted and well-documented observe document of constructing secure, dependable ebikes outfitted with batteries that meet or exceed rigorous worldwide security requirements, together with UL-2271 and UL-2849. The CPSC proposed requiring these UL requirements in January 2025, however has but to undertake them. Rad ebikes have met these requirements for years.
Respected, unbiased third-party labs examined Rad’s batteries, each as a part of our typical product testing and once more throughout the CPSC investigation, and confirmed compliance with the very best {industry} requirements. Our understanding is that the CPSC doesn’t dispute the conclusions of those checks. It’s also our understanding that the battery itself was not independently examined per industry-accepted take a look at requirements.
Context Issues
The incident price related to the batteries within the CPSC’s discover is a fraction of 1 %. Whereas that quantity is low, we all know even one incident is one too many, and we’re heartbroken by any report involving our merchandise.
It’s also broadly understood that every one lithium-ion batteries—whether or not in ebikes, e-scooters, laptops, or energy instruments—can pose a hearth danger if broken, improperly charged, uncovered to extra moisture, subjected to excessive temperatures or improper modifications to {the electrical} parts, all of which Rad repeatedly advises towards in consumer manuals and buyer security guides. Opposite to the CPSC’s assertion, mere publicity to water and particles doesn’t create a hazard; reasonably, vital water publicity, as warned towards in our manuals, can pose a hazard.
These dangers apply throughout industries and exist even in merchandise which are totally UL compliant. Ebike batteries are considerably extra highly effective than family gadget batteries, which is why correct care and upkeep are so vital and why Rad continues to spend money on rider training and security innovation.
Rad’s Cooperation with the CPSC
Rad hoped this course of could be a chance to work with the company and others within the {industry} to enhance rider training and provide clearer, extra constant security steering on how you can use and retailer ebikes and their batteries safely.
Rad provided a number of good-faith options to handle the company’s considerations, together with providing shoppers a chance to improve to Protected Protect batteries (described beneath) at a considerable low cost. CPSC rejected this chance. The numerous value of the all-or-nothing demand would pressure Rad to close its doorways instantly, leaving no strategy to assist our riders or our workers.
A Dedication to Security and Innovation
Rad has been a pioneer in selling and advancing energy-efficient transportation, and our efforts to innovate and construct safer, higher batteries led to the event of the Rad Protected Protect battery. Nevertheless, a product that comes with new, safer, and higher know-how doesn’t thereby imply that previous merchandise aren’t secure or faulty. For instance, when anti-lock brakes had been developed, that didn’t render earlier vehicles unsafe; it merely meant a greater, safer know-how was out there to shoppers.
That type of considering discourages innovation and limits the accessibility that ebikes deliver to thousands and thousands of individuals. With out the adoption of clear, commonsense requirements, no electrical bike producer can function with confidence.
Beforehand:
- The rise and fall of Rad Energy Bikes: From breakout success to the brink of shutdown
- Rad Energy Bikes faces potential shutdown because it tries to outlive ‘vital monetary challenges’
