SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (BRAIN) — A man is suing a bicycle shop and Rad Power Bikes after the front wheel of his e-bike detached after applying the brakes, causing various injuries when he was thrown to the pavement.
Also named in the civil lawsuit filed by Anatoli Ratsa on Oct. 9 in Superior Court of California are Life Electric Vehicles Holdings Inc., Rad Power Bikes' parent company, and Rad Life Mobility Inc., a subsidiary of Life Electric Vehicles Inc.
In June 2026, Ratsa took his e-bike to Isla Vista Bicycle Boutique in Isla Vista, California, because of diminished front brake performance, according to the lawsuit, and the shop replaced the rotor and charged Ratsa $30 for the service.
Ratsa, according to the lawsuit, operated the e-bike as intended, using it as primary transportation to and from classes at the University of California at Santa Barbara and for city travel and did not use it for off-road, mountain, nor competitive riding. On or about June 14, Ratsa said he was descending Veronica Springs Road and approaching a stop sign at the intersection of Modoc Road in Santa Barbara. When applying the brakes, the front wheel "suddenly and without warning separated from the fork. The front wheel departed the bicycle and came to rest approximately 10 meters from the point of separation ... and (the) plaintiff was violently ejected and thrown to the pavement." The lawsuit also states the quick-release skewer assembly was found to be in the fully closed position.
As a result, Ratsa suffered a head injury, right elbow fracture requiring surgical hardware, right hip and lower back contusions, lacerations, and scarring, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit states among other allegations that Isla Vista Bicycle Boutique failed "to properly install, seat, tension, adjust, and secure the front wheel quick-release skewer assembly upon reinstallation of the front wheel."
Regarding Rad Power Bikes, according to the lawsuit, the e-bike had a manufacturing defect "in that its front wheel retention system — including the quick-release skewer assembly, the fork dropouts, and any secondary retention device or 'lawyer's lip' — differed from the manufacturer's design or specifications, or from other ostensibly identical units of the same product line, and was incapable of retaining the front wheel under foreseeable operating loads. ... The manufacturing defect was a substantial factor in causing the front wheel of the subject bicycle to separate from the fork and in causing (the) plaintiff's harm."
The lawsuit asks for a jury trial and for damages — including past future and physical pain, loss of earnings, and any future relief — as the court deems just.
In April, a woman filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Rad Power Bikes and an authorized dealer in Florida after one of the brand's e-bikes ignited in her garage and killed her husband. Last month, the action was dismissed against the retailer.
