57BloombergBusinessweek November 2, 2020
thatheandhiswife,Amanda,useto
commute and to getaround town
withtheirtwokids. “AsI’msaying
itoutloud,I waslike,‘OhmyGod.
WhatamI doing?’” herecalls.After
some research,Deeganbought the
RadWagon3 ($1,500),whichweighs
75 poundsandcancarrytwokids.His
wifegottheRadRunner,a $1,200bike
withsmallerwheels.“Theywerekind
ofa sweetspotfora good,durable
bike,”Deegansays,“butprettyafford-
able.”InJulytheDeeganssoldtheir
SantaFefor$12,500.
R
adshipsitsbikesviaFedExina
bigbox.Theycomepartlyassem-
bled,witha smallbagofwrenchesand
a bookletofinstructionsforattaching
thefronttire,handlebars,seat,pedals,
anda fewotherparts.InJuly,Radsent
thelatestversionoftheWagontomy
homeinsuburbanNewJersey,whereI
luggedtheboxtothebackofthedrive-
wayandspentthebetterpartofa day
puttingtogetherthebike.I’veassem-
bledmyshareofIkeadressers,andI
cansayconfidentlythatthiswasmore
difficult.If,likeme,youdon’tknow
what“torqueto 10 newtonmeters”
meansorwhata cablepinchboltis,
you’llwanthelp.
Radoperatesninemobileservice
vansthat willdeliverandassemble
bikesfora feeinAustin;Portland,Ore.;
Sacramento;Seattle;andVancouver.It
alsooffersservicefromthebikerepair
startupVelofixHoldingsLtd.,which
sendsvansonhousecalls,andfrom
about 450 bikeshopsintheU.S.that
arepartofitsservicenetwork.The
nearestshoptome,however,wasmore
than 10 milesaway,andtherewasno
wayI wasgoingtobeabletofitthe
bikeinthetrunkofmycar.SoI was
lefttomyowndevicesandwhatever
helpI couldgetthroughemailstoRad’s
roughly 100 supportstaffinSeattle,
whocouldn’ttorqueanyboltsforme.
“Wehavea lotofroomtogrowinthis
area,”Radenbaughacknowledges.
I couldhavealsobroughtittoan
out-of-networkbikeshop,butthey’re
overwhelmedwithservicerequestsat
themomentandaren’tespeciallyeager
toworkone-bikestheydon’tsell.At
GreggCycles,oneofthemostpopular
bikeshopsintheSeattlearea,there’s
a surchargeforworkonRadbikes.
“We’vehaddiscussionswithourser-
vicestaffnumeroustimes,”sayslong-
time generalmanagerMarty Pluth.
“Theywanttobanworking onRad
Powerbikesbecausethey’resopoorly
puttogether.”HesaysGregghashad
tobuyelectricstandstobeabletolift
theheavyframeswhiletheyworkon
them.Andheworriesaboutthequal-
ityofRad’scomponents. Thegears
andbrakesarethekindPluthwould
normallyexpecttoseeonlighter,less
expensivebikes.“Whenyou’reselling
e-bikesbelow$2,000,it hastobea com-
promise,”hesays.
Pluthisn’tanimpartialobserver—
Greggsellsmoreexpensive e-bikes
made byCannondale, Specialized,
Trek, and others—but the consen-
susaroundthee-bikeindustryisthat
yougetwhatyoupayfor.Radbikes
are,bymost accounts,better than
the$800e-bikesthat canbefound
onAmazon.combutworsethan,say,
a $5,000Specialized.“It’sreallyhard
todivorcequalityfromprice,”says
MorganLommele,headofe-bikeini-
tiativesatPeopleForBikes.“Ilookat
direct-to-consumerbrands,andthe
reasonwhytheirsalesareboomingis
becausethey’rejustcheaperthanthe
in-storecounterparts.Butthey’resell-
inga productthat,inmyopinion,isn’t
asdurable.”
Radenbaughdisputesthis.“It’sa
commontactic for traditional bike
shopsthatselle-bikesfromourcom-
petitorstotrytouseouraffordability
againstus,claimingourlowerpricetag
meanslowerquality,”hesays.“Letme
beclear:It doesnot.”Radis cheaper,he
says,becauseit cutsoutthemiddlemen.
Itsbikes,Radenbaughsays,aremade
with“similarhigh-qualitycomponents”
tothoseofthebikeshopbrands.This year, Dorel Industries Inc.,
whichownsCannondaleandSchwinn,
begansellingmidpricee-bikesonline
throughitsChargebrand.Treksells
ane-modelthroughtheElectrabrand.
ThepricesarecompetitivewithRad’s,
andthebikescomewiththesupport
ofthehundredsofbikeshopsintheir
networks.Radenbaughis undauntedby
theseeffortstosellbothonlineandin
stores.“Whilethey’retryingtofigure
thatout,we’rejustscoopingupmarket
share,”hesays.A
fteronlyfivehoursofsweating
andmutteringabout deflopila-
torsprings,I wasabletogettheWagon
upandrunning.Atfirstit feltunwieldy.
Turnsweresurprisingly wide; stops and
starts, awkward. The bike’s recharge-
able lithium-ion battery sits under the
seat and connects to a motor in the hub
of the rear wheel that adds power as
you peddle. Buttons on the left handle-
bar control, on a scale of zero to 5, the
level of assistance. A twist throttle on
the right offers an extra shot of power.
(As a Class 2 e-bike, the motor quits
automatically once it reaches 20 mph.)
After a couple of hours I was comfort-
able enough maneuvering the bike to
put my two kids—ages 8 and 5—onto the
back for a cruise.
Whatever its durability, the
RadWagon was fun to ride and turned
heads. “I want one of those so bad,” said
a child on the sidewalk as we rolled past.
The counter guy at the pizza shop came
outside to tell us how cool the bike was.
Nothing brings in new customers faster,
Radenbaugh says, than a test ride from
a friend or neighbor. “Once you do that,
you can’t get the grin off your face,”
he says. “You can’t go very many days
before you crack and have to get one.”
I haven’t cracked, yet. The Wagon
was just too much bike for my little
garage, so I sent it back. My kids were
sad to see it go. Another e-bike, I prom-
ised them as the FedEx guy took the
Wagon away, was in our future. With
the pandemic dragging on into winter,
promising long months cooped indoors,
I may crack sooner rather than later. <BW>“WHEN PEOPLE JUMP
ON THESE BIKES
AND TRY THEM OUT,
IT’S A TOTALLY NEW
EXPERIENCE”For more about e-bikes and the future of
transportation, visit http://www.bloomberg.com/hyperdrive