Rad Power Bikes Steps Up Its Safety Game: Atones for Past Sins With New and Safer Battery

As a writer who has been keeping a close eye on the e-bike market, I can safely say that some teams out there are all about profits. Not only are some of these electrified speed demons unsafe in terms of components and design, but as we all know, the fear of electrical fires seems to be a subject of much-heated debate; get it, heated debate?

Well, Rad Power Bikes, a crew that's been around since 2007 and supplying the world over with electrified two-wheelers, is taking a step toward improving e-bike safety with newly announced news of their work against battery fires. This endeavor seems to have been undertaken by the US-based brand due to an electrical fire in which they deny having any part. Then again, it doesn't matter why Rad has chosen to step up their game; it's a win-win all around.

Now, to understand a bit about what's going on here, let's take a look at some numbers. According to research I had done on the subject of e-mobility fires back in 2022, out of 39 states surveyed by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 208 cases of overheating and fires had been reported, not to mention 19 fatalities.

Those numbers sound scary, and they might be, at first; of those 19 fatalities, three were correlated to e-bikes, and while I may come across as the least-caring human on the planet, maybe even dowright cynical, for these next comments, did you know that on average of 270 people are struck by lightning each year in the US alone? How about the 172,900 cases of reported cooking fires in that same year?

Nonetheless, we can't deny that there's something happening with all these EV fires - but we'll talk about the marketing side of things some other time; being a solution to an apparent problem, no matter how small, will always get you some attention.

And so, Rad Power Bikes is now aiming to be a solution to a problem we keep hearing about. How are they doing this? Well, according to news found on the manufacturer's website, they're introducing something called the Safe Shield battery, which stands up to UL-2271 standards of over-charging, over-discharging, short-circuiting, imbalanced charging, and several others.

What is Safe Shield? Well, aside from being their own trademarked system, Rad has decided to inject each cell with a heat-absorbing resin that's meant to keep accidents from "escalating." It does this by isolating each cell so that in the occurrence of an issue with one of the tens to hundreds found in a pack, it remains an isolated event. This resin also aims to reduce damage to batteries in the eventuality of a blunt blow or puncture to the pack.

Part two of stepping up their safety standards has to do with Rad's aim to crank out bikes that only stand up to the UL-2849 rating, the one that examines not just the battery but how the controller, motor, and even charger all work together for a safe experience. Starting with 2024, Rad is stepping up the game on their Radster Trail, Radster Road, RadExpand 5 Plus, and the RadWagon 5, all of which are rather beloved models from the manufacturer.

But here's my problem with this whole buzz about battery safety: there are much bigger fish to fry. For example, countless e-bike manufacturers throw mechanical disc brakes onto machines that can hit top speeds of 28 mph or more. What's that about? How about faulty quick-release systems and wheels, a problem that even Rad themselves encountered? How about adjustable stems that give out during riding?

Clearly, there are more issues that we can find with how countless e-bike brands and manufacturers are doing business, but at the end of the day, no one's perfect, and accidents always happen, no matter the industry. Sometimes, it's down to faulty systems; other times, it's just plain user error.

What I feel really counts here, as in any industry, for that matter, is the fact that we learn from our mistakes and act upon that new-found knowledge to grow and become better than the day before, and that's what Rad Power Bikes is doing. For that, they can only be commemorated.

Sure, these are issues that should have been addressed years ago, and some manufacturers are sure to still push forward with the whole "if it works, don't mess with it" mentality, but by making this shift, Rad is sure to help their numbers grow even more, maybe even make amends for some of their past too. After all, nearly 600,000 happy Rad riders is a big number, and if it starts sliding, well then, this crew would be in big trouble. Baby steps, folks, but more importantly, is that they're in the right direction, and Rad's are.