Rad Power Bikes has filed for bankruptcy and is looking to sell the company

Electric bicycle company Rad Power Bikes filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday, weeks after employees warned it might close its doors without new financing.

The company will continue to operate while the bankruptcy case is ongoing, and is looking to sell the company within 45 to 60 days, a spokesperson told TechCrunch.

“This move allows us to continue operating in the normal course of business while striving to achieve the best possible outcome for the people who rely on Rad every day,” they said in a statement. “Our goal is to maintain the integrity of the company and maintain the relationships we have built with riders, vendors, suppliers and partners.”

Rad Power is the latest in a string of e-bike companies from around the world to go bankrupt after the pandemic-era excitement for the category faded. However, some of these companies have resurfaced, with VanMoof and Cake finding new owners during court-led restructurings.

Rudd herself had told staff in November that there was a “very promising” option to keep the company afloat which would “likely be closed”, but the deal collapsed. The company did not share further details about this potential deal.

Weeks later, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a warning that older Rad Power batteries pose a “risk of serious injury and death” after receiving 31 reports of fires. Rad Power said it “strongly disagrees” with the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) characterizations.

Rad’s difficult November came at the end of a somewhat turbulent few years for the company. It went through multiple rounds of layoffs and CEO swaps earlier this year, bringing in an executive with decades of experience turning around underperforming companies. That new CEO, Cathy Lentzsch, said Rad was moving away from the direct-to-consumer model that helped fuel its rise and toward a retail-focused approach.

“This transformation creates new opportunities to reach more passengers, strengthen customer relationships, and evolve the brand in meaningful ways,” she said in a statement at the time. “[I]”It’s a great time to join the team.”

The company said it entered the bankruptcy process with assets of $32 million and liabilities of $73 million. More than $8 million of its debt was owed to the US Customs and Border Protection Agency for unpaid customs duties. (The company listed this claim as “disputed” in its bankruptcy papers.)

It’s not clear how much this contributed to RAD’s slide into bankruptcy. But this wouldn’t be the first time Donald Trump’s tariffs have helped push a micromobility company to the brink. During his first term, Trump’s tariffs on Chinese imports helped take the remaining wind out of electric skateboard company Boosted’s sails. Boosted went away soon after.