Published: September 8, 2022

Thank you for choosing to ride Rad. We are so happy to have you as a part of our amazing community of ebike advocates. We’re sorry to interrupt your ride, but we have an important update about your ebike.

Last week we sent a notice to customers who recently purchased a RadWagon 4 ebike on or after June 1, 2022. Out of an abundance of caution, we asked them to stop riding while we investigated a potential assembly issue where the rim strip may be misaligned on some RadWagon 4 ebikes. This misalignment could cause the tube to pop early and damage the tire.

After further investigation, we identified another tire quality issue on some RadWagon 4 ebikes which may lead to an increased risk of flats. Depending on the results of the inspection we ask you to conduct below, your RadWagon 4 may require replacement parts before it is safe to ride the bike again. We will be providing complimentary parts and service by a local ebike mechanic to repair both issues.

Tire Identification Process and Next Steps;

Since the release of the RadWagon 4 in 2020, different tire types have been used. Please review Figure 1 below to identify which tires are on your RadWagon 4.

Smooth:

If your tire is identified in Figure 1 with a Smooth sidewall, as indicated by the Green Check Mark, your RadWagon 4 is not affected by this notice. You can continue riding your RadWagon 4 ebike. As always, you should conduct a pre-ride safety check and you should never ride on any tire that has damage or defects (cracks, tears, rips, holes).

Ribbed:

If your tire is identified in Figure 1 below with a Ribbed sidewall, as indicated with the Red Warning Sign, please stop riding your RadWagon 4 immediately. These tires need to be replaced before your RadWagon 4 is safe to ride again. Rad will provide the parts and service at no cost to you. If your tires are replaced, we will also inspect and, if necessary, replace your rim strip material.

To assist us in providing you with replacement parts and scheduling complimentary service for you, please complete this form. 

Next Steps:

We will send the parts to you and work with you to schedule a complimentary service appointment with a local bike shop for a professional ebike mechanic to replace your tires. We are working feverishly to produce new tires and are expediting replacement parts for the impacted RadWagon 4 ebikes. Unfortunately the process to produce, inspect, and air ship these new parts may take 2-3 months to complete.

We understand that you may rely on your RadWagon 4 for transportation and are sorry for this inconvenience. Your safety is our top priority so we felt it was imperative to alert all RadWagon 4 customers right away rather than wait for the new parts to be ready. We are exploring all options to get you riding as soon as possible and our team appreciates your patience as we work through a solution.

If you have any questions about this notice please contact Rad Customer Service at RadFix@radpowerbikes.com or 1-844-406-2703. Your safety is our top priority and we are committed to getting you riding Rad again as soon as possible.

Thanks for your understanding and for being a loyal Rad customer.

Figure 1.

I am affected - When should I expect this to be resolved?

We understand that your RadWagon 4 is crucial to your lifestyle and want to get you up and riding Rad as soon as possible. Our top priority is your safety as a rider. As referenced in the email correspondence, unfortunately, the resolution for this issue may take several months to complete.

We are working feverishly to produce new tires and are expediting replacement parts for the impacted RadWagon 4 ebikes. In addition, we are committed to ensuring the quality and safety of these products. We will need time to ensure the tires meet or exceed our quality and safety standards prior to releasing them to you and the rest of our riders.

As soon as we have more details on the resolution, we will proactively reach out to you. We appreciate your understanding and patience in this matter. We know you are eager to ride and are working as hard as possible to get you back on your RadWagon 4.

I am affected - When will I have a scheduled appointment to have my RadWagon 4 serviced?

As we are sourcing new tires and tubes from our supply chain partners, we are simultaneously working with our Rad Power Bikes Service Centers and local bike shops around the country to proactively schedule complimentary service appointments for all affected customers.

We are eager to set you up for a service appointment and get you back riding Rad. As soon as the tires are available, we will reach out to you via email correspondence to schedule your complimentary service with a Rad Power Bikes Service Center or a local bike shop.

I have a smooth sidewall tire but I see a defect on my tire, what should I do?

Your safety is our top priority. If you are unsure if your smooth sidewall tire has a defect, please contact a Rad Power Bikes Service Center near you or a local bike shop to inspect and confirm. To locate a service provider near you, please visit this list of providers here.

If you have confirmed that your smooth sidewall RadWagon 4 has a tire defect, please contact our Product Support team at 800-939-0310, https://radpowerbikes.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/requests/new or fill out the form above. Our teams will work with you to review and document the defect and work with you to get replacement parts sent out as soon as they come available.

I see there are tires available for purchase on a third party site, will those work instead?

Our team is only able to recommend a product that we have tested thoroughly. Ensuring we have done adequate testing, quality review, and inspection is critical to your safety. At this time, we are not able to recommend any third party product.

We understand that you may rely on your RadWagon 4 for transportation and are sorry for this inconvenience. We are exploring all options to get your riding as soon as possible and our team appreciates your patience as we work through a solution.

Does this affect any models outside of the RadWagon 4 or previous model versions?

All of our bike models have gone through extensive testing, quality control, and review. We can confirm that no other models, including legacy RadWagon models, are experiencing the rim strip or tire issue as described. The RadWagon 4 has an entirely unique tire and rim diameter than any other model in our fleet and the rim strip issue is specific to this model.

This has been an ongoing issue for months, why did you just now notify me?

Any time we receive feedback from a customer on any Rad Power Bike, accessory or spare part, we review each instance. For both the rim stip and tire notifications, we utilized customer feedback, as well as internal quality assessment and testing to determine that there was a quality issue. Once we validated the issue, we quickly notified affected customers.

Where can I find my serial number?

The serial number is engraved on the bike frame below the RAD badge at the front of the bike. You can also find the serial number on the sticker on the outside of the box in which your bike was delivered.