INDUSTRY

transportation

Category

bicycles

products Profiled

electric bicycles sold by Rad Power Bikes 

H-Score

78

ranked 3rd of 18 within the transportation industry

ranked 4th of 76 overall

product description

Rad Power Bikes, the largest e-bike brand in North America, makes electrically powered bicycles for personal transportation purposes. 

product use

Bicycles require physical activity and are used for transportation, sport, and exercise in an unlimited fashion. Bicycles are used to help people move themselves and sometimes move goods or products. Building H’s consumer research found that bicycle owners use them for, in order of popularity: exercise; fun/pleasure; commuting to and from work or school; shopping and other errands; and visiting friends or partaking in other social activities.(1)

who’s affected

Rad Power Bikes sells bicycles to the general public. Its users are broadly representative of the population with three exceptions: based on our consumer survey data, Rad Power Bikes sells slightly more to men, and Rad Power Bikes owners tend to skew slightly younger and more affluent.(2)

influence on health-related behaviors

EATING

neutral to slight positive influence

Bicycles have limited influences on eating habits. They can be used to pick up prepared meals or groceries, but bicycles limit grocery shopping due to carrying capacity limitations. Most bike owners rank this as a rare purpose for their bike use. Cargo bikes are somewhat different, as they are equipped with a designated cargo area, allowing riders to carry more groceries.

Rad Power Bikes exclusively sells e-bikes and our research found that 38% of electric bike owners ranked shopping or running errands as one of the top two (of five) most important uses of their bikes, as compared to 16% of traditional bike owners.(3) Rad Power Bikes also features a number of electric cargo bikes in its lineup and 33% of cargo bike owners (not specific to Rad Power Bikes) rated shopping/errands as an important purpose. Rad Power Bikes owners were more likely (40%) to rate shopping/errands as one of the most important uses of their bikes than owners of other brands.(4)

PHYSICAL ACTVITY

moderate to strong positive influence

Bicycling, quite simply, requires at least moderate and often vigorous physical activity. The influence of a bicycle on its owner’s amount of physical activity is largely determined by how often it’s used. In Building H’s consumer research, a substantial portion of respondents (22%) indicated that they ride their bicycles two or more times per week but not daily. Eight (8) percent of respondents reported riding their bicycles daily, and a smaller percentage (4%) reported riding multiple times per day.(5)

Not surprisingly, we found that a higher percentage (45%) of frequent bike users(6) report two one-half hours or more of physical activity per week compared to infrequent bike users(7) (25%).(8)

Frequent bicycle users are also far less likely (23%) than infrequent bike users (46%) to report using their personal automobile or ride-hailing services for short trips between one-half mile and one mile. Non-bike owners are also more likely (59%) to report using their personal automobile or a ride-hailing service for short trips between one-half mile and one mile. Rad Power Bikes owners specifically are also far less likely (25%) to report using their personal automobile or ride-hailing services for short trips between one-half mile and one mile compared to non-bike owners.(9)

All bikes can lead to physical activity, and the amount depends on how much they are used. In our research, electric bike owners reported using their bicycles more frequently than traditional bike owners. Seventy-four (74) percent of e-bike owners reported riding their bicycles one or more times per week, daily, or multiple times per day, 39% of traditional bike owners reported riding their bicycles one or more times per week, daily, or multiple times per day, and 78% of cargo bike owners (electric or manual) reported riding the one or more times per week, daily, or multiple times per day.(10) Additional research studies have shown that riders who use electric bicycles tend to ride more miles per week and get slightly more physical activity compared to riders of traditional bicycles.(11) 

Rad Power Bikes sells exclusively electric bikes, 33% of which are electric cargo bikes.(12) They also offer folding bike technology and a tricycle with back support – vehicles that are aimed at everyday activities.

slight to moderate positive influence

To the extent that using bicycles entails both physical activity and spending time outdoors and both of these behaviors are associated with better sleep, bicycles can have a positive influence on sleep. 

In addition, Building H’s consumer research found that frequent bike users (27%) were less likely to report getting six or fewer hours of sleep per night than the general population (37%).(13)

Engaging Socially

slight to moderate positive influence

Bicycles, as a means of transport, offer their users opportunities to get out of their homes and see people – whether meeting up with friends or having casual social interactions.

In Building H’s consumer research, 33% of Rad Power Bikes owners ranked “visiting friends or other social activities” as one of the top two (of five) most common uses of their bicycles. We found that a higher percentage of frequent bike users (72%) report having two or more social visits with people outside their household per week than either infrequent bike users (50%) or the general population (53%).(14)

In Building H’s survey of bicycle owners, participants were asked how using their bicycles had influenced their relationships and social interactions in 13 different ways, including, for example, “meet new people,” “give emotional support to others,” and “feel less excluded.”(15) Frequent bike users said, on average, that their vehicle had a slightly positive influence: on a scale of +3 to -3, the average score was 0.76 across all 13 questions. Frequent bike users rated “meet my desired level of socializing” (0.92), “create less conflict, adversity, or strain in my interactions with others” (0.87), and "interact w/ people I know" (0.87) the highest and “receive emotional support from others” (0.62) and "interact with people who are different from me" (0.61) the lowest. Infrequent bike users reported an average score of 0.20 on the 13 elements of social connection.(16)

Getting Outdoors

moderate to strong positive influence

Bicycling is an inherently outdoor activity and almost always takes place outdoors. In Building H’s consumer research, we found that a higher percentage (79%) of frequent bike users (not specific to Rad Power Bikes) report spending one or more hours outdoors per day compared to infrequent bike users (52%), and the general population (55%).(17)

Return to 2024 Building H Index

1. Vanessa Rogers. Measuring the Product Environment: How Do Automobiles and Bicycles Influence Health Behaviors? Building H on Medium, April 30, 2024.

2. Rogers (2024).

3. Ibid.

4. Ibid.

5. Ibid.

6. Defined as bicycle owners who report using their bike two or more times per week (including those who ride daily or multiple times per day).

7. Bicycle owners who report riding their bicycles once per week or less often.

8. Rogers (2024).

9. Ibid.

10. Ibid.

11. Alberto Castro, et al. Physical activity of electric bicycle users compared to conventional bicycle users and non-cyclists: Insights based on health and transport data from an online survey in seven European cities. Transportation Research Interdisciplinary Perspectives, Volume 9 (March 2021).

12. Based on a review of bicycles for sale on the Rad Power Bikes website, accessed January 27, 2024.

13. Rogers (2024).

14. Ibid.

15. Using an adaptation of the Retrospective Assessment for Connection Impact (RACI) scale developed by Matthew Smith.

16. Rogers (2024).

17. Ibid.