Rad Power Bikes store catches fire in California

Rad Power Bikes’ retail store in Huntington Beach, California, caught fire January 18. The store was closed at the time, and nobody was injured.

Rad confirmed that there was “a thermal incident” in their store but said the cause of the fire has not been confirmed. Huntington Beach Fire Department also has not released additional information, telling Bicycle Retailer and Industry News that the incident is currently under investigation.

A video from OC Street Live shows what appears to be two bikes on the curb near the responding fire trucks. There’s no confirmation at this time that a Rad Power battery was the cause, though the company has been under close scrutiny in recent months due to fire risks from their batteries. The Consumer Protection Safety Commission issued a safety warning in November for two models of the company’s batteries after receiving 31 reports of fires. The Minnesota Star Tribune published a story in December about a former St. Paul city councilmember whose house was destroyed after he says he saw his unplugged Rad battery in flames in his basement. The CPSC in their warning specifically noted that fires could occur even when the batteries are not charging and are not in use.

CPSC safety warnings very often include product recalls, but Rad took the rare step of choosing to fight the safety warning. The company refuses to issue a recall to their customers and has even told customers that it is safe to continue using them. The Seattle-headquartered company also argued in November that one of the reasons they couldn’t do a recall is because it would put them out of business. A month later, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and customers with CPSC-identified batteries are conspicuously not on their list of creditors owed. The company is still operating while in bankruptcy, so it’s future remains uncertain.

Seattle Bike Blog wrote in December that customers with affected batteries are set to be screwed as creditors carve up the company’s $32 million in assets (versus $72.8 million in liabilities, not counting all the people with CPSC-identified batteries). We argued that these customers need to be included in this process, and that someone like the Washington Attorney General or some other public servant with the relevant power should step in to make sure customers get what they are owed. If the company’s assets are going to be divided, then at least some of those assets should go toward making sure their customers’ homes are safe from identified fire hazards.

There are also public safety and public interest issues at play here. If this company closes completely without getting these batteries out of people’s homes, then the public will be left dealing with the problem. U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (owed $8.4 million, the single largest Rad creditor) can get in line behind the people with potential bombs inside their homes.

If you are a Rad Power Bike owner, the battery models included in the safety warning are HL-RP-S1304 and RP-1304. Despite what Rad says, Seattle Bike Blog strongly encourages owners of these batteries to take the CPSC warning seriously and protect your home and loved ones by disposing of it at a local hazardous waste collection facility as the CPSC warning advises. I know it sucks, and I wish Rad were doing the responsible and ethical thing by offering you a replacement or refund. You do not deserve to be forced to choose between rendering your e-bike useless or potentially risking your home and the people in it. It’s not fair, and it’s not right.

#SEAbikes #Seattle

A rough week for hardware companies

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/21/a-rough-week-for-hardware-companies/

TechCrunch Mobility: Bankruptcy takes out two

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/21/techcrunch-mobility-bankruptcy-takes-out-two/

Rad Power Bikes files for bankruptcy and is looking to sell the business

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/17/rad-power-bikes-files-for-bankruptcy-and-is-looking-to-sell-the-business/

Customers set to be screwed as Rad Power Bikes files for bankruptcy + Former St. Paul Councilmember says a Rad battery fire destroyed his house

Seattle-based Rad Power Bikes filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Monday, three weeks after the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (“CPSC”) issued a product safety warning urging anyone with certain models of Rad Power e-bike batteries to immediately cease using them and take them to a hazardous waste collection center. The agency was aware of 31 reports of the batteries catching fire, including instances in which the batteries ignited when not in use or being charged. Rad refused to issue a recall and instead stated that they disagreed with the CPSC’s warning, saying in a statement, “Rad Power Bikes firmly stands behind our batteries.”

The company’s battery safety claims were put under further scrutiny last week when The Minnesota Star Tribune reported that a Rad Power Bikes battery may have been the cause of a September fire that destroyed the home of Matt Privratsky — formerly an interim City Councilmember in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Star Tribune reported that the fire started in middle of the night while he and his spouse were sleeping. They were able to escape safely with their two dogs, but the fire destroyed nearly everything in the home.

From the Star Tribune:

Beeping from a smoke alarm abruptly woke Matt Privratsky. Down in the dining room, he found a single e-bike battery on a metal shelf, smoldering in an orange glow. It looked like magma, and the flames spreading from it quickly lit up the darkness.

By the time the St. Paul Fire Department arrived, about seven minutes later, the windows in the dining room had blown out from the intense heat, Privratsky said. He and his wife and their two dogs were able to escape, but most of their belongings were destroyed by the fire in September.

Privratsky believes the blaze originated in a Rad Power Bikes battery, the same one identified as a fire hazard by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) in a public warning last week. The commission urged consumers to immediately stop using certain battery models sold by Rad Power Bikes.

After our initial story about the CPSC warning, Seattle Bike Blog read various comments from people questioning the fairness of the federal agency during an anti-green-tech Trump Administration. However, we strongly urged readers to take the CPSC warning seriously. A review of 2025 CPSC warnings does not show an obvious pattern of targeting green tech products or e-bikes by the agency (see for yourself). So if you disregarded the initial warning, please reconsider. The warning applies to battery models HL-RP-S1304 or RP-1304.

A major part of Rad’s response to the CPSC’s warning was that issuing a recall would have put the company out of business. Well, that is happening anyway, but now creditors appear positioned to get the first bite rather than Rad customers who were sold potentially deadly batteries. Defending these batteries and actively urging their customers to keep using them also seems likely to set the company up for serious levels of liability — or worse, criminality — if they cause any future fires.

The company’s bankruptcy filing lists $32.1 million in assets and $72.8 million in liabilities, Bicycle Retailer and Industry News reported:

U.S. Customs and Border Protection for tariffs ($8,363,749), Bangkok Cycle Industrial Co. Ltd. ($5,353,674), Jinhua Vision Industry Co., Ltd. ($1,414,356), and Fuji-TA Fushida Group Area ($1,223,881) for trade; Commerce Insurance ($1,138,000) and Lisa Gore ($3,200,000) for subrogation; Steve Jay ($1 million) and Susan Luck ($1 million) for damages.

Equity holders are founder Mike Radenbaugh (41.3%), VCVC V LLC (6.6%), Durable Capital Master Fund LP (5.8%), along with other minority holders (46.3%).

As we wrote in November: “Rad customers need and deserve a clear resolution. Even if Rad disagrees, asking their customers to keep using batteries that the CPSC says could explode is simply not acceptable.” With this bankruptcy, Rad customers deserve a seat at the table. I am not an expert in how corporate bankruptcy works, but someone (perhaps the Washington Attorney General?) needs to step in to protect the interests and safety of Rad customers so they are not shut out of the resources they are owed as the company is liquidated or sold. If Rad has $32.1 million in assets, then I’d say they have enough to replace innocent people’s batteries before they burn down more houses. People’s safety is more important that a creditor’s balance sheet.

#SEAbikes #Seattle

#BikeTooter I discovered today that #CPSC has issued a warning for certain #RadPowerBikes #ebike batteries.

Most outlets are failing to report that this warning does NOT apply to any products RPB is currently selling. It applies only to two obsolete model batteries that were sold in the past, RP-1304 and HL-RP-S1304.

The warning does NOT apply to the current generation "Safe Shield" batteries.

There is no recall, primarily because the company is bankrupt and would not be able to fulfill it.

Not my e-bike. But, something to be aware of if you have one.

Rad Power is a usually high rated e-bike.

(gifted article)

#NYTimes #e-bike #ebike #batters #Product #CPSC #ProductSafety #Recall #RadPower #RadPowerBikes

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/us/cpsc-rad-power-bikes-batteries.html?unlocked_article_code=1.308.MjgD._aULNtRCqwVg&smid=url-share

What's up with this #RadPowerBikes battery issue? #bikeTooter #eBikes

Only for models RP-1304 and HL-RP-S1304. How many was that / when were they sold? My battery says "RAD-S1304Y" (bought Dec 2022)

Edit to add: one report of an affected model number purchased in 2020.

https://www.cpsc.gov/Warnings/2026/CPSC-Warns-Consumers-to-Immediately-Stop-Using-Batteries-for-E-Bikes-from-Rad-Power-Bikes-Due-to-Fire-Hazard-Risk-of-Serious-Injury-or-Death

My #DadRunner adventure is on hold.

The CSPC in the US have warned against using the batteries: https://www.cpsc.gov/Warnings/2026/CPSC-Warns-Consumers-to-Immediately-Stop-Using-Batteries-for-E-Bikes-from-Rad-Power-Bikes-Due-to-Fire-Hazard-Risk-of-Serious-Injury-or-Death

#RadPowerBikes #RadRunner

I've got 2 of these #ebikes I think I'll have to source aftermarket batteries instead (and I know there's no guarantee they'll be any safer)