Rad Power Bikes

Rad Power Bikes is one of the most well-known electric bike manufacturers, and for good reason; they sell affordably-priced products with great utility and they're available almost anywhere. They've been at it for a long time too, with founder Mike Radenbaugh forming the company in 2007 after a couple years of tinkering and experimenting with building electric bikes in his garage. Since then the company has grown rapidly, selling over 100,000 units as of 2020 and generally being considered the largest seller of e-bikes in the US (but take that with a grain of salt as numbers aren't well reported for this industry).

A driving factor for Rad has been price, with most of their models costing around $1,500 USD, and some base models just over $1,000 USD. That's about the price you should expect to pay for a decent quality electric bike, by the way; yes, there are companies out there selling them for much less, but if you get a $500 e-bike from Amazon it's going to be crappy quality and not hold up over time. Rad Power Bikes products may not be the best in terms of quality, but they're far from the worst and (in my opinion) great value for the price, especially for newcomers to the space who have never ridden an electric bike before. If you want something a bit more premium, check out their "Plus" models; these versions cost between $2,000 - $3,000 USD and have more premium components, and often more accessories included at the base price.

It's important to note that Rad Power Bikes is primarily a direct-to-consumer company. You buy the model you want online, they ship it to you, and you're responsible for assembling it. That also applies to any down-the-road maintenance and repairs, so make sure you have a local e-bike shop that can work on it if you're aren't able to do it yourself. This can make warranty-related repairs very frustrating; even though Rad has a fairly standard warranty, there can be a lot of back-and-forth to sort out problems, and it usually involves a local shop helping to diagnose and fix the problem with parts shipped by Rad. I've heard, many, many complaints about their support being difficult to deal with, and slow shipping of replacement parts under warranty... so make sure you have another option for repairs.

I should mention that Rad Power Bikes does have some brick and mortar options; they have showrooms in a few US cities along with mobile service & delivery vans, making it much easier to purchase & service an e-bike from them if you live in the right place. According to their Dealer Locator page they appear to have hundreds of dealers in the US, but I suspect those numbers are wildly inflated. A couple of the e-bike shops in my city are listed there, and I know for a fact they don't carry any Rad Power Bikes products, though they would be willing to service one if you brought it in. I've talked to many local shops about the Rad Power Bikes brand and asked why they don't carry them, and every one has the same answer: "Rad Power Bikes only pays $100 commission for each bike sale." For reference, most brands pay a 30% commission. $100 isn't very much to cover setting up and tuning the bike, plus labor hours at the point of sale, so I can see why dealers choose to skip Rad Power Bikes products.