January 29, 2026 - Life Electric Vehicles Holdings Inc. (Life EV) has the top bid at $13.2 million to acquire Rad Power Bikes that declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last month according to Tech Crunch that first reported the sale. Once touted as the most funded e-bike company in the world, Rad Power Bikes raised upwards of $324 million and was once valued at $1.65 billion.
The total value of the winning bid is $14.9 million when including Rad Power’s liabilities and the acquisition still needs to be approved by the bankruptcy judge. Five bidders participated in an auction for Rad Power assets on January 22 with Retrospec (Xander Bicycle Corp.) registering the backup bid at $13 million.
Back in 2023 Life EV and Lane VC joined forces to acquire and develop Serial 1 Cycle Company, which originated at Harley-Davidson and became a separate division in 2021. Their plans for Rad Power Bikes remain unclear at this time.
Rad Power Bikes saw challenging times that resulted in the company filing a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) on Nov. 7 with the Washington state Employment Security Department indicating the pending loss of 64 jobs at its headquarters.
Then on Nov. 24 the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued a warning for consumers to immediately stop using lithium-ion batteries for Rad Power Bikes e-bikes, model numbers RP-1304 and HL-RP-S1304, because the batteries pose a risk of serious injury and death. The company was not able to offer replacement batteries or refunds to consumers.
In late Dec. 2025, Rad Power Bikes filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Washington facing $73 million in liabilities with $32 million in assets.
Founded by Mike Radenbaugh and Ty Collins in 2007, Rad Power Bikes joins other big names like VanMoof (Holland) and Cake (Sweden) who rose to lofty heights but also declared bankruptcy and ended up finding new owners.
“According to the court documents, Life EV will acquire all Rad inventory, intellectual property, computers and software, furniture and equipment, accounts receivable, and more. It also assumes liability for contracts and leases, warranty claims and more,” reports Geekwire.
Read more in Tech Crunch here and in Geekwire here… and about Life EV here.
