SEATTLE (BRAIN) — Mike Radenbaugh, who built his first e-bike in his garage 15 years ago, will step down as Rad Power Bikes CEO and transition to chairman of the board to focus on e-bike advocacy and innovation.
Phil Molyneux, who joined the brand nine months ago as president, will succeed Radenbaugh and lead day-to-day operations.
Before joining Rad Power Bikes, Molyneux was president at Dyson and Sony and has "deep experience leading complex hardware businesses," a Rad Power Bikes spokesperson told BRAIN. "Together they (Radenbaugh and Molyneux) are devoted to accelerating the e-bike revolution."
Rad Power Bikes has been one of the fastest-growing e-bike brands in the U.S. In October 2021, after it announced the latest $154 million financing round that brought the total of investments to $329 million since its inception, the company claimed it was the world's best-funded e-bike brand in the direct-to-consumer market.
Rad Power Bikes announced in July it opened its sixth showroom store, this one in Salt Lake City, with plans to open stores in Huntington Beach, California, St. Petersburg, Florida, and Brooklyn, New York. The brand says it has more than 550,000 riders on its e-bikes.
However, Rad Power Bikes has faced headwinds affecting most in the industry this year, cutting ties with 163 employees in two separate layoffs. In addition, the brand has been the subject of three lawsuits. In August, a wrongful death suit was filed by the parents of a California girl who died while a passenger on a RadRunner e-bike.
In October, State Farm Fire & Casualty and State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company jointly sued on behalf of an insured client for property damage after a Rad Power e-bike caught fire. Rad Power Bikes has denied that one of its e-bikes started the fire.
In April, a Utah woman sued Rad Power Bikes because she said her bike arrived with a loose stem that caused a crash that injured her hands and wrist.
