The details
- The RadWagon 4's 22 inch wheel size is nonstandard in the adult bike world. Rad chose it to lower the cargo deck, and it means the replacement market is effectively Rad's own store or nothing.
- The replacement tire is a custom 22 x 3 design produced by Vee Tire Co for Rad and sold under Rad's parts listings.
- Tubes are the same story: 22 x 3 tubes are hard to find outside Rad's store, so order tubes at the same time as tires.
- Marketplace "22 inch" tires do exist for some kids' bikes, but a shared inch label does not mean a shared bead diameter. Owner communities consistently report that only Rad's own tire is a confirmed fit, so do not gamble on lookalike listings.
The recall you must check first
Before buying tires, check whether your bike is affected by the RadWagon 4 tire recall. Rad Power Bikes, working with the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, recalled RadWagon 4 bikes and spare 22 x 3 tires sold from September 2020 through August 2022. Misaligned rim strips could blow out tubes, and tires with a ribbed sidewall could deflate suddenly; well over a hundred failures and several injuries were reported. The remedy is free: Rad replaces both tires and the rim strips. If your current tires show the ribbed sidewall pattern, stop riding and contact Rad about the recall before replacing anything yourself.
Buying and fitting notes
- Order from Rad's parts store and you get the updated post-recall tire design, which replaced the ribbed-sidewall version.
- When changing a tire, inspect and correctly center the rim strip: misalignment was the root cause in the recall, and it is easy to disturb during a tire swap.
- Inflate to the range printed on the sidewall, and re-check pressure often; cargo loads punish underinflated tires.
- This page covers the RadWagon 4 specifically. The newer RadWagon 5 moved to a different wheel setup, so its tires are not interchangeable with the 4's.
What owners actually do
Because there is exactly one supply source, experienced RadWagon 4 owners keep a spare tube on hand and many keep a spare tire on the shelf, ordering before they are stranded rather than after. Some owners ask about converting to standard wheel sizes to escape the proprietary tire; the community consensus is that it requires rebuilding both wheels, upsets fender and frame clearances, throws off speed readings, and is not worth it on a bike this dependent on its factory geometry.
The trap to avoid
Do not buy a marketplace tire just because the listing says 22 inch. Kids' bike 22 inch tires and scooter tires with similar labels can sit on a different bead diameter, and a tire that seats wrong on a loaded cargo bike is a blowout waiting to happen. If the listing is not Rad's own RadWagon 4 tire, treat it as unverified. The same caution applies to secondhand tires: a used 22 x 3 with the ribbed sidewall is recall-era stock and should not go on your bike.