Rad Energy Bikes recordsdata for chapter, hoping to promote the corporate

December 17, 2025

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Rad Energy Bikes has filed for Chapter 11 chapter safety, marking a dramatic flip for one of the crucial recognizable names within the US electrical bike trade. The Seattle-based firm entered chapter court docket this week as a part of a plan to promote the enterprise inside the subsequent 45–60 days, whereas persevering with to function through the course of.

Courtroom filings present Rad itemizing roughly $32.1 million in property in opposition to $72.8 million in liabilities. A good portion of that debt consists of greater than $8.3 million owed to US Customs and Border Safety for unpaid import tariffs, together with tens of millions extra owed to abroad manufacturing companions in China and Thailand. The corporate’s remaining stock of e-bikes, spare elements, and equipment is valued at simply over $14 million. Founder Mike Radenbaugh stays the most important fairness holder, with simply over 41% possession.

The chapter submitting comes lower than a month after the US Shopper Product Security Fee issued a uncommon public warning urging shoppers to right away cease utilizing sure older Rad lithium-ion batteries, citing fireplace dangers, significantly when sure batteries are uncovered to water and particles. Rad pushed again on the company’s characterization, stating that its batteries had been examined by third-party labs and deemed compliant with trade security requirements, and touting its SafeShield batteries – one other, newer model of Rad’s battery launched final 12 months that is probably going one of many most secure e-bike batteries within the trade.

Monetary strain had been constructing steadily on the corporate. In early November, Rad Energy Bikes issued a WARN discover to Washington state officers, indicating that as much as 64 workers may very well be laid off in January, and warning that the corporate may shut down solely if extra funding was not secured. That discover now reads as an early sign of the restructuring that has adopted.

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Chapter 11 chapter isn’t the tip of an organization, and on this case, it permits Rad to proceed working whereas restructuring its money owed beneath court docket supervision, pausing most litigation and assortment efforts via an automated keep. The corporate says it plans to maintain promoting bikes and supporting clients through the course of as it really works towards a sale.

The submitting caps an unlucky fall from grace for a model that raised tons of of tens of millions of {dollars} in a number of funding rounds through the pandemic years. After years as a dominant drive within the direct-to-consumer e-bike market, Rad now faces an unsure future formed by tightening margins, regulatory scrutiny, and unresolved authorized and monetary challenges.