"Lectric" bikes

[poppytoymaker]

I have an E bike, but I bought mine for ecercise so it doesn't have a throttle. It has 29" wheels an 11 spees Shamano and 5 levels of assist that makes it easier to do hills. If I wanted a throttle I would have bought a motorcycle.

[pwrriver]

Originally Posted by biggerchait

We have 2 that are 2 years old. We love them. We fold them into 40 quart tubs for travel inside our toad.

I'm sure you meant 40 gallon tubs, as 40 quarts is smaller than your average ice chest. Do you know what the inside and outside dimensions of your tubs are? I have two Lectric folding bikes. XP2.0. I want to be able to put them in the back seat of my F-150 SuperCab and one in the back end of the truck. Harder to lift up into the back end as it's higher off the ground than the back seat. I'm 80 and wife is 66 so it's a bit of a struggle.
thanking you in advance for your answers.

[poppytoymaker]

Sorry It's a Junto a company from Philadelphia, PA

[snoopinaround]

We got two of the first 2.0 bikes and love them. They don't have the extended life battery. We have found that after riding 10 to 12 miles our butts have had enough so we have not come close to maxing out the batteries. They are perfect for trips to the camp store for firewood or a nearby grocery store. IMO they are a very good value. Had one minor issue (under warranty) and we found the company to have outstanding customer service.

Con: My wife got bit by hers. While standing over the bike getting ready for a ride, she accidentally twisted the throttle a little and she got dumped, leaving a large, nasty bruise on her leg.

[CNYCamper]

Originally Posted by pwrriver

I'm sure you meant 40 gallon tubs, as 40 quarts is smaller than your average ice chest. Do you know what the inside and outside dimensions of your tubs are? I have two Lectric folding bikes. XP2.0. I want to be able to put them in the back seat of my F-150 SuperCab and one in the back end of the truck. Harder to lift up into the back end as it's higher

Ours are XP1.0, so are likely a somewhat different size than yours. They fit in 40G totes (purchased at Lowes and came with yellow lids). We don't fold down the handlebars.
Suggest you look at the "Lectric XP Owners" group on Facebook. Friendly group with lots of great tips and advice.
For the back of a truck some people are using a ramp up to the lowered tailgate and sliding the tote up into the truck bed. Amazon has these listed under bike ramps (also dog ramps).

[Invisibleman]

The Lectric Bikes, like most battery powered bikes, are VERY heavy. Seventy plus pounds. Considering an average road 10 speed regular bike is 18 pounds, according to my Google search.

Despite touting Phoenix AZ as their headquarters, they are made in China. Not that, that is a big deal, but I did look at them naiviely thinking they were American made. My sister and I bought one each, and sold them within a week. Both our orders came piecemeal, without prior notice. We found the entire process less than smooth. We both also found them preposterously heavy for getting in/out of RV storage compartments. The erogonomics awkward. Handlebars too far forward and awkward ride. They are also very awkward to fold and unfold. Very poor design in my opinion.

Maybe for young families taking a vacation here and there is different. But for a retired guy living in an RV at least half the year, I found it near impossible to fold and load into the storage of a 40ft Super-C on a Freightliner chasis. Certainly would not get two in there. No way would I be lifting a 75 pound bike up onto a bike rack, not to mention the weather and security issues. I even tried putting them in the back of my toad. Also not easy. Like I said, they are awkward, to lift, flopping around opening and closing while trying to load and unload them. Watch our for your fingers. So, I suppose it depends on who is using them. Young families on vacation, perhaps. Older retired folks, IMHO, look for something at least half the weight and better designed for folding.

[Homebrew]

Originally Posted by Invisibleman

The Lectric Bikes, like most battery powered bikes, are VERY heavy. Seventy plus pounds. Considering an average road 10 speed regular bike is 18 pounds, according to my Google search.

Despite touting Phoenix AZ as their headquarters, they are made in China. Not that, that is a big deal, but I did look at them naiviely thinking they were American made. My sister and I bought one each, and sold them within a week. Both our orders came piecemeal, without prior notice. We found the entire process less than smooth. We both also found them preposterously heavy for getting in/out of RV storage compartments. The erogonomics awkward. Handlebars too far forward and awkward ride. They are also very awkward to fold and unfold. Very poor design in my opinion.

Maybe for young families taking a vacation here and there is different. But for a retired guy living in an RV at least half the year, I found it near impossible to fold and load into the storage of a 40ft Super-C on a Freightliner chasis. Certainly would not get two in there. No way would I be lifting a 75 pound bike up onto a bike rack, not to mention the weather and security issues. I even tried putting them in the back of my toad. Also not easy. Like I said, they are awkward, to lift, flopping around opening and closing while trying to load and unload them. Watch our for your fingers. So, I suppose it depends on who is using them. Young families on vacation, perhaps. Older retired folks, IMHO, look for something at least half the weight and better designed for folding.

I don’t think you purchased the Lectric brand e bike. They don’t come piecemeal , can you explain what you mean when you say piecemeal?
The bikes come fully assembled, except for the seat which just sides into a hole.

[Invisibleman]

Yes, definitely Electric Bike brand. Bikes came,.no batts or other accessories ordered, which trickled on weeks later. That was during COVID, but nonetheless there was no information about the back orders. The more important issue was the weight, storage, folding, ergonomics.

[5picker]

Originally Posted by Invisibleman

The Lectric Bikes, like most battery powered bikes, are VERY heavy. Seventy plus pounds. Considering an average road 10 speed regular bike is 18 pounds, according to my Google search.

Despite touting Phoenix AZ as their headquarters, they are made in China. Not that, that is a big deal, but I did look at them naiviely thinking they were American made. My sister and I bought one each, and sold them within a week. Both our orders came piecemeal, without prior notice. We found the entire process less than smooth. We both also found them preposterously heavy for getting in/out of RV storage compartments. The erogonomics awkward. Handlebars too far forward and awkward ride. They are also very awkward to fold and unfold. Very poor design in my opinion.

Maybe for young families taking a vacation here and there is different. But for a retired guy living in an RV at least half the year, I found it near impossible to fold and load into the storage of a 40ft Super-C on a Freightliner chasis. Certainly would not get two in there. No way would I be lifting a 75 pound bike up onto a bike rack, not to mention the weather and security issues. I even tried putting them in the back of my toad. Also not easy. Like I said, they are awkward, to lift, flopping around opening and closing while trying to load and unload them. Watch our for your fingers. So, I suppose it depends on who is using them. Young families on vacation, perhaps. Older retired folks, IMHO, look for something at least half the weight and better designed for folding.

Sorry for your issues. My experience is different than yours.
As I stated in an earlier post, we bought Ecotric folding eBikes.
About 1/3 of the weight is battery. When removed, the bikes easily fold and easily load into wherever we put them.

We've had them in the back seat area of our crew cab. We've had them in the truck bed (not folded/not towing) and we've put them in in our pass through in the 5th wheel. No place was what I'd call difficult.

As for awkward... when our bikes are folded they lock into a folded position. The front wheel does tend to turn but a lashing strap around both wheels/tires quickly fixed that issue.

Just my perspective.

[pcsdpo]

Originally Posted by SmittyCorp

I don't think they could tell a class 2 from a 3, because that's a software speed limit, 20 mph class 2 and 28 class 3. Class 1 bikes have no throttle, so if you had a higher class bike on a 1 only trail, yes they could probably tell.
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We try to ride very respectfully. We don't fly by people or other bikers, or ride fast in slow areas. I don't feel too bad breaking the rules. I'd ride the class 2 XP on a class 1 trail, but I wouldn't use the throttle, which makes it the same as a class 1. However, I may get in trouble.

My wife and I have Rad Rover ST bikes and love them. They are Class 2 bikes, but we've legally ridden them on USFS trails restricted to Class 1 bikes (Route of the Hiawatha on the MT/ID border off I-90). RadPowerBikes provides a "kit" to temporarily disable the throttle so that they then become Class 1 bikes.
Yellowstone currently has 9 hike/bike trails open to all bikes and e-bikes. Also, prior to the spring opening of the roads for automobile traffic, Yellowstone opens some of their roads to "bikes only" traffic for two weeks or so. There is administrative and concessionaire traffic allowed also, but it is minimal.
Click here for the official info: Yellowstone biking

[sherman12]

Bikes my friends have with the rad fat tires and such do weigh about 70#s. They carry them on the back of their class C on a carrier made for them. Jack is 73 and his wife is 67 and the two of them have no problem getting the bikes up onto the carrier and lashing them down with ratchet straps.

[H2Odogs]

With whatever e-bike you choose be very careful that the company you purchase from has certified batteries (and insurance to cover their product). Asian on-line companies are probably not a good source.

Do not use the battery if it has been in an accident and have it checked out by a reputable shop before using/charging it. I have a bicycle repair shop and will NOT work on the electric components of an e-bike. It takes special tools and a whole lot of knowledge and training that most shops don't have.

There has been a move afoot by local and federal government entities to regulate the lithium batteries used in mobility devices due to the huge increase in fires caused by them (due to the increase in numbers of them?). The UL is going to be getting into the act, too. A lot of this could just be caused by user error/modifications. Just google NYC e-bike fires to see what's happened there in the past year.

I am not anti e-bike. Anyone on a bike is better than having them in a car. E-bikes are the future and will be improved as time goes on. Lighter and safer solid state batteries are being worked on. Just be smart about how they are used. Follow the rules so they don't get entirely banned from communities and trails.

[sherman12]

H2O is the safety of the E-bike battery better or worse than the battery packs used in electric vehicles?

I find your post interesting because there has been quite a bit of publicity about Tesla's starting on fire.

Almost everywhere lithium batteries are used, any size, (and to a lesser degree lead acid) you hear of safety concerns with the batteries regardless of where they are made, sort of a nature of the beast type thing.

Yet some states such as California are banning virtually all types of vehicles and machinery except for battery powered.

[H2Odogs]

I'm no expert on batteries but I'd believe that the NHTSA would have a lot of oversight over car batteries and would be conducting testing. Right now there isn't really an authority for e-bikes until something goes wrong.

Not only Tesla has been in the news with battery issues. Chevy stopped production of the Bolt for quite a while due to battery problems.

From the reading I have done on fires and e-bikes, a preponderance of them were caused by modifying a battery (replacing dead cells with inferior/incorrect ones) or using inferior/incorrect replacement batteries. It is a lot easier (and cheaper) for a consumer to purchase/modify a battery for their e-bike than it is for a car battery.

Technology is getting better and, hopefully with more safeguards, we won't have to worry about safety by the time states ban ICE vehicles totally.

Enough hijacking this thread! I hope everyone enjoys whatever e-bike they have and be responsible in its use.

[440scout]

We both have Lectric 2.0 ebikes since late 2020. Both bikes are the step through and each bike has the optional rear basket, very glad we got them. As stated in an earlier post, the bikes are not very ergonomic so, we made a couple changes and now they're comfortable. First are the seats. Our backsides were sore after 10 minutes of riding. So, we found on Amazon a Giddyup seat for her and a Buckaroo seat for me. We also discovered the handlebars are straight across and too far forward (unless your arms are 4 feet long) so we found replacements on Amazon that curve back towards the rider so now we can take those long rides.

[flookk]

DW and I both have the Lectric XP Step-Thru 2 and love them. I originally bought a GoTrax Ebe1 off Amazon and I quite liked it: folding and light weight but with the 350watt motor the one level Pedal Assist was a tad weak on hills and the 16" tires were a little skittish on trails. I also found myself missing the ability to switch gears as the Ebe1 is a one speed.

DW was not as keen on the whole e-bike thing until we went camping and I brought my 15 speed mountain bike and my e-bike along. She rode the e-bike, decided maybe I wasn't out of my mind: sussed out the Lectric and ordered one. Way more machine here! Even in Class 2 mode she left me in the dust with the 7 gears and 5 levels of pedal assist. I kept having to play wait up "aw c'mon hon, wait up will ya?" 20" tires, robust frame, disk brakes, front suspension. It is heavier than the GoTrax but manageable.

So I sold the GoTrax and ordered the XP2. It arrived fully assembled but had been damaged in shipping (looked like a tow motor fork had gone through the carton). The factory was super responsive and most apologetic for the trouble. They sent me a new pedal crank and tool to replace it. They even offered to pay for a local shop to do the swap out but I managed to figure it out myself. Great customer service.

I have not found it necessary to think about buying the extended battery nor upgrading the seat. DW and I both like to pedal and we went from The Pinery Provincial Park to Grand Bend and back with plenty of battery to spare (30kms or 18.5miles). Once we hit the Park Gate I think I throttled the whole 9km back to our site. Very happy with these units. Mine folds up and rides in the bed of the TV and DWs rides in a 40gal tub in the Sprinter TT

[JWallet]

Originally Posted by ranger1055

Does anyone have Lectric electric bikes ?

Do You like them ?

Pros

Cons



Thank You !

We have a pair of Himiway fat tire cruiser e bikes and love them. We still have our mountain bikes but as we getting older our ride distance on our mountain bikes became less miles and too much chair time at the campground and at home. We live in a rural area that has miles and miles of hike bike trails and see more and more e bikes on the trail every year. E bikes are a blessing for seniors to get off the couch and enjoy the outdoors, relax and get beneficial exercise. As time goes by, as with everything improvements will be made with E bikes, meanwhile we’re loving it!

[Aussieguy]

Just saw an interesting video on the batteries for these bikes,
can use them for RV House batteries........... if you can get enough of them

Can people confirm ...
how easy is it to get at the battery.
and where is your bike parked!

[TitanMike]

Originally Posted by Aussieguy

Just saw an interesting video on the batteries for these bikes,
can use them for RV House batteries........... if you can get enough of them

Can people confirm ...
how easy is it to get at the battery.
and where is your bike parked!

Interesting as most e-bike batteries range from 36 to 52 volts. Mine (Rad Rover) is a 48 volt battery.

Last I looked RV house electric systems run from the battery are still 12v.

If you want to go this route lectric bike batteries (48v) are $300ea on Amazon.

As for "harvesting" batteries from parked e-bikes, the batteries may be Li-Ion but that can result in lead exposure.