![]() ![]() Since then, as the company website puts it, Rad has been “has been on a wild ride of hypergrowth.” The company first sold online, then opened its headquarters and first bricks-and-mortar showroom in Seattle in 2019, followed by a San Diego location in the spring of 2021 and Berkeley on Nov. He then partnered with childhood friend Ty Collins in 2015. Rad Power Bikes was founded by Mike Radenbaugh in 2007, after building his first electric bike to get to and from his high school in Humboldt County. According to the market research firm NDP Group, e-bike sales grew 145% in 2020. Rad is riding a pandemic-fueled trend, in which e-bikes are seen as a safer alternative to public transportation. Rad bikes can go 20 mph and drive 25 to 50 miles on a single charge. Most models are about the size of a vintage Schwinn or a small motorcycle. Rad offers 15 types of frames in four categories: utility bikes, which can carry up to 275 pounds Urban Commuter, more of a traditional bike and the lightest of the models and the Off Road, modeled after a mountain bike, with larger tires that have more tread and a suspension fork in front. Under a tent in the parking lot, customers can sign up for a test drive and tool around in the lot itself or, for the more adventurous, on the street. Rad’s cavernous building doubles as a showroom and repair shop, with a staff of 25 to keep things running. ![]() Not surprisingly, e-bikes have become hugely popular among seniors, the majority of customers at the store the day I visited. ![]() While some e-bike customers just ride for recreation, many use the two-wheelers - beefier than bicycles and souped up with an electric assist - as an eco-friendly alternative to a car. Credit: Joanne FurioĪt Rad Power Bikes, which opened in November on San Pablo Avenue, manager Manny Ruiz says the store’s most popular model, the Rad Runner Plus, is often bought by parents of small children, who want to port their kids around town in the utility bike’s seat attachment, or by people who want to carry groceries in the bike’s basket attachment. doubles as a showroom and repair shop, with a staff of 25 to keep things running. Opened Southwest Berkeley Berkeley shop is just 3rd retail location for North America’s largest e-bike brand Rad Power Bikes’ cavernous building at 2734 San Pablo Ave. The pandemic may have shuttered some Berkeley storefronts, but it has also fueled some businesses and caused intrepid shopkeepers to come up with new alternatives to familiar retail formulas. If you have Berkeley business updates to share, email Berkeleyside ![]()
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