Electric bike company Rad Power Bikes filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Monday, weeks after warning employees it could close without new financing.
The company will continue to operate while the bankruptcy case proceeds and wants to sell the business within 45-60 days, a spokesperson told TechCrunch.
“This step allows us to continue operating in the normal course of business while we pursue the best possible outcome for the people who rely on Rad every day,” they said in a statement. “Our goal is to keep the company intact and maintain the relationships we’ve built with riders, vendors, suppliers and partners.”
Rad Power is the latest in a string of e-bike companies from around the world to go bankrupt following the pandemic-era enthusiasm for the category. Some of those companies have re-emerged, however, with VanMoof and Cake finding new owners during their respective court-ordered restructuring processes.
Rad itself had told employees in November that there was a “very promising” option to keep the company afloat that was “likely to close,” but the deal fell through. The company has not shared further details about this potential deal.
Weeks later, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a warning that older Rad Power batteries pose a “risk of serious injury and death” after receiving 31 reports of fires. Rad Power said it “strongly disagrees” with the CPSC’s characterizations.
Rad’s tough November came at the end of a pretty tumultuous year for the company. It has gone through several rounds of layoffs and changed CEOs earlier this year, bringing in an executive with decades of experience turning around underperforming companies. That new CEO, Kathi Lentzsch, said Rad is moving away from the direct-to-consumer model that had helped fuel its rise and toward a more retail-focused approach.
“This change creates new opportunities to reach more riders, strengthen customer relationships and evolve the brand in meaningful ways,” he said in a statement at the time. “[I]it’s an incredible time to come on board.”
The company said it entered bankruptcy proceedings with $32 million in assets and $73 million in liabilities. More than $8 million of her debt was owed to U.S. Customs and Border Protection for unpaid duties. (The company has listed that claim as “disputed” in its bankruptcy filings.)
It’s unclear how much this contributed to Rad’s slide into bankruptcy. But it wouldn’t be the first time Donald Trump’s tariffs have helped a micromobility company out of business. During his first term, Trump’s tariffs on Chinese imports it helped remove any remaining air electric skateboard company Boosted’s sails. Boosted dropped shortly after.
