On a beautiful, sunny day in late August, Samantha Roberts hopped on her RadRunner 2 Utility e-bike and left her home in Alpine. As she rode down to the end of her street, Roberts heard a strange popping sound behind her, then felt liquid on the back of her leg.
“I ended up coming to a stop on the next street, and when I stopped, my bike caught fire. I jumped off and ran as far away from it as I could,” Roberts said.
Her three-month-old e-bike battery started to explode as residents came out of their homes to watch the scene unfold. Roberts immediately called the Whistler Fire Rescue Service (WFRS), which arrived on the scene while a bystander recorded a video of the incident.
“Many people since the incident have told me they don’t think they would have jumped off in time, if this had happened to them,” she said.
“I want the public to know about the dangers of e-bike batteries catching fire, not just at home when charging, but also when riding.”
An experienced e-bike user, Roberts rides year-round on the Valley Trail. She and her partner both have e-bikes and reserve their car for long-distance trips. She’s well-versed in how to safely charge and store her bike’s battery and is at a loss for how her less-than-three-month-old investment purchased directly from Rad went up in smoke.
How do e-bike batteries catch fire?
E-bikes use lithium-ion batteries which can overheat, catch fire or explode because of a process called thermal runaway. According to Pinkbike, thermal runaway “happens when a fault within the battery—usually caused by a manufacturing defect, misuse or external damage—creates a short circuit that releases a lot of heat within a battery cell.” A chemical reaction occurs, creating heat which spreads through the battery and catches fire.
While it’s difficult to determine the exact number of e-bike fires, EV FireSafe, an Australia-based database funded by the Australian government, tracks global battery fire data. Their data shows from Jan. 1 to June 30, 2023, light electric vehicles (LEVs) like e-bikes had the highest number of reported fire incidents. There were 500 plus battery fires, 138 injuries and 36 fatalities.
Some reasons LEVs have higher incidents include location, with LEVS kept in structures like private homes, and the speed at which they catch fire compared to an electric vehicle. The battery cells are often lower quality and more easily abused and electric cars.
Because transportation is responsible for about 23 per cent of annual greenhouse gas emissions, according to the United Nations, rapid electrification of transport is one of the best tools consumers and governments can use to reduce emissions.
However, increasing electrification also comes with increased fire potential. In April of this year, CTV News reported the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs is seeing a rise in e-bike fires, though the proportion of fires compared to sales is likely in the ballpark of one in 10,000, according to Pinkbike.
Some jurisdictions require UL Solutions certification for batteries. UL is a third-party organization that can certify a battery is fire safe, and its logo is commonly found on battery-powered items.
In Toronto this spring, Metrolinx started requiring UL or CE certification before a rider can bring an e-bike onto G) Transit, according to CBC News. CE is the European Union’s version of safety standards for lithium-ion batteries. The change came after an e-bike ignited in a TTC subway car in 2023. New York City launched a program that allows property owners to charge and install their e-bikes batteries outside to prevent house fires, and also launched a trade-in program for unsafe e-bikes alongside a public education campaign. Denver’s rebate program now only works for UL certified batteries.
Rad moves to UL certified e-bikes
Shortly after Roberts purchased her e-bike batteries on a 2-for-1 deal this spring, Rad launched new UL-Certified models of bikes and batteries. Their website notes the new bikes and batteries they sell have passed UL 2849 and UL 2271 standards.
The former “ensures electrical, fire, and shock safety” for e-bikes, and the latter “tests e-bike batteries for safety against overcharging, short-circuiting, and temperature abnormalities and ensures that battery packs have adequate measures in place to prevent fire and explosions.”
A spokesperson for Rad Power Bikes said the battery sold to Roberts, a 14Ah, was tested before going on the market and it complies with UL 2271 standards, and the bike complies with UL 2849 standards. They also said their products undergo stringent safety tests which exceed the highest industry standards.
However, that doesn’t explain how Roberts e-bike accident happened.
She purchased the battery directly from the company during a buy-one-get-one-free sale this spring, because she thought she wouldn’t need to worry about charging her battery.
“It was pretty instrumental in me deciding to go for this bike … I’ll get that and then I don’t have to worry about the battery at all,” she said. “Irony of ironies.”
After her Rad bike exploded, she contacted the company, and they are still in communication. She said Rad offered to reimburse her for the bike, but won’t cover the cost of added items she purchased directly from Rad.
“That doesn’t even bring me to the whole value of what I bought in May,” she said.
Rad’s spokesperson said the company is “deeply disappointed” by Roberts’ experience.
“We strive for safety 100% of the time, and we are deeply disappointed that this customer experienced such a terrible accident. Following the customer's concerns, the Rad team promptly engaged the customer in an effort to understand what may have happened. Rad Power Bikes does not comment on pending claims, and therefore has no further comment with respect to this matter.”
Whistler’s e-bike stats
Pique also reached out to the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) to determine how popular e-bike use is in Whistler and whether the WFRS has responded to similar incidents like Roberts’.
Communications official for the RMOW, Julia Montague, wrote in an email that one quarter of Valley Trail users use e-bikes as of 2024. The RMOW estimates of 12,000 users, 3,000-plus are e-bikers, and the number of e-bike users has more than tripled since 2020.
Fire Chief Thomas Doherty noted the WFRS responded to two e-bike fires this year.
“Two in Whistler this year, that we are aware of, is very concerning. It’s a sign of a potential emerging problem,” he wrote in an email.
Doherty suggested users read manufacturing instructions, understand how lithium-ion batteries can catch fire, and to use caution when charging and storing an e-bike. More information is available on whistler.ca.
Roberts is not ready to get back into the saddle after her bike exploded, and she dreads hearing about another case like hers. When fires like the one seen on Crabapple Drive earlier this month start in Whistler, she immediately wonders whether an e-bike was involved.
She’d like to see independent investigations by Canadian authorities into her bike’s battery and other instances of Rad bike battery faults, as Rad bike sales qualify for a provincial e-bike rebate program launched in 2023.
“Since my accident, I have found many cases [online] of e-bike batteries including Rad Power batteries catching fire, and if B.C. is going to continue to promote the use of e-bikes, we need greater regulation to ensure public safety," she wrote in a subsequent email after a phone interview.
"Rad Power was part of a government incentive program to adopt e-bikes in households around BC, which, based on their market share in our community, they would have done extremely well from."
She said an investigation could determine if the incident was isolated or if there’s bigger risk to consumers in North America and abroad.
Have you had a similar experience with a Rad Power e-bike battery catching fire? We’d like to hear from you. Email [email protected].
