20 Years of Radness: The Story of Rad Power Bikes

Thu, May 15, 2025 Scenic Route

Earlier this year, we were revisiting one of our favorite articles about our buddy Mike when we realized something wild: it’s been 20 years since he cobbled together his first ebike in his parents' garage.

Back then, most bike brands hadn’t even touched electric. And while the space has gotten a lot more crowded in recent years, Mike’s early breakthrough remains a big part of what sets us apart. While others were still focused on traditional bikes, he was laying the groundwork for a movement that left the rest of the industry playing catch-up.

Naturally, 20 years of Radness is worth celebrating — not just because it’s a cool milestone, but because it gives us a chance to reflect on how far the ebike movement has come over the past two decades, and how Rad’s been leading the charge one pedal stroke (or throttle twist!) at a time.

Here’s a quick look at what that journey has looked like by the numbers:

37 Rad models

We kicked things off with a crowd-sourced campaign to build the original fat tire ebike. Since then, we’ve designed (and redesigned!) 37 different models — all in-house here in Seattle.

With every new release, we’ve looked for fresh ways to make great rides more capable, more accessible, and even more fun.

The latest RadRunners are the culmination of everything we’ve learned along the way. And once you hop on, you’ll be able to tell.

405 early adopters

It didn’t take long for our hometown to get on board with the Rad way of life.

Our original retail space in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood doubled as a makeshift warehouse, design studio, customer support center, and — on some particularly long nights — a crash pad for a few early team members.

Needless to say, word spread. We made fast friends with neighbors who wanted to conquer Seattle’s hills, skip traffic, or be the first to drop their kids off at school by ebike.

In 2018, those early riders helped us set a Guinness World Record. Partnering with Cascade Bicycle Club, we rallied 405 locals for a two-mile loop around Magnuson Park — officially the world’s largest group ebike ride.

500+ local bike shop partners

We started as a direct-to-consumer brand, but before long, it became clear that people wanted to see Rad bikes in person — and test ride them, too.

So, we opened RadRetail stores in key cities across the country to give riders a place to test ride, explore our lineup, and get hands-on support.

From there, we teamed up with more than 500 local bike shops across the country to help riders experience the Raddest rides around — no matter where they live.

And to keep folks rolling, we’ve trained over 1,400 service locations nationwide, so Rad riders are never left flat-footed (even when they’re dealing with a flat tire).