Rad’s Bestselling E-Bike Disrupts America’s Pandemic Commute

In March, as U.S. states began issuing stay-at-home orders, Mike Radenbaugh, co-founder and chief executive officer of Rad Power Bikes LLC, made a plan for lean times. The temporary shutdown of the U.S. economy, he figured, would be bad for his business, a Seattle-based startup that sells electric bicycles online. “We really started to batten down the hatches,” he says. “It was a lot around cash planning and preserving the business in case of it cratering.”

But by mid-April, Radenbaugh realized he’d miscalculated. Not only was Rad not hurting, it couldn’t replenish bike stocks fast enough. Sales tripled that month over the same period in 2019, he says. They haven’t cooled since. By mid-May, Rad had sold through its inventory. It’s restocked since then, but many models are still on back order.