Lectric XP 3.0 E-Bike Review

Lectric has succeeded in a way few companies could in a competitive market. Coming out of nowhere as a scrappy two-person startup with little experience with e-bikes, they’ve grown into a major player in the industry. Lectric sells cargo and utility e-bikes – and a trike! – that fulfill their mission to make quality electric affordable for the masses.

The XP 3.0 is representative of Lectric’s designs – a built-for-anything electric bike with fat tires, hydraulic brakes, a 7-speed Shimano drivetrain, 5 levels of pedal assist, and 150 pounds of cargo capacity with an optional $99 passenger package. On top of all that, it folds compactly to fit in a trunk, closet, or garage corner.

The XP 3.0 comes in two styles of folding frame. The standard version we tested and the step-through with a lower standover height, but all versions of the 3.0 come with 180mm hydraulic disc brakes, which is a very rare feature at the thousand-dollar price point, and a very nice one.

Both frame styles also feature front hydraulic suspension, front + rear fenders, rear rack with 150-lb carrying capacity, and the ability to fold into a much smaller package. The standard version of the bike (not the “Long-Range” edition) is rated for 25 miles on a single charge, and we got close to that. An additional 10ah swappable battery will get you up to twice the range and eliminate the need for constant charging.

The XP 3.0 has a 500W motor in the hub of the rear wheel with 1000W of peak power. Top speed when operated as a Class 2 e-bike is specified as 20mph using just the throttle or pedaling. In our video review, we show you how to unlock it to Class 3, which gives you pedal assist all the way up to the Class 3 limit of 28 mph (we went even a little faster than that).

Related: Should You Buy an E Bike or an Electric Scooter?

If you’re buying this for kids, you should definitely leave the bike locked in Class 2. Rules vary by state, but most states want you to be 16 to ride class three, and Lectric’s website says you must be 18 years old to ride the XP 3.0.

It’s a grown-up e-bike, and the XP 3.0 really does do just about everything, except road race. It’s a great city bike, urban commuter, or suburban commando vehicle for school pick-ups and drop-offs… and it folds up and fits in the trunk.

Our Take: The $999 Electric Bike that Does EVERYTHING

Top Speed

The XP 3.0 is specified to go up to 20 mph using just the throttle, and in our top-speed test, we got close, clocking the bike at 19.3 mph on flat ground with a 165 lb rider.

If you want to go faster, the bike is specified to deliver pedal assist power up to 28 mph when it’s unlocked to Class 3.

In my top speed runs, I could feel the assist cutting out as it reached the limit, but I was able to get up to 29.6 mph pedaling as hard as I could.

To switch the XP from a Class 2 e-bike to a Class 3, hold down the plus and minus buttons at the same time to get into the P-settings. Short press the power button until you see P-8 and then use the + or – button to toggle between “32” for Class 2 or “100” for Class 3.

Hill Climb

The XP 3.0 had no trouble climbing our steep 10% grade test hill using just the throttle, and continued accelerating all the way to the top. So, even if you don’t want to pedal at all, this bike is going to climb almost any hill.

That said, you’ll always have the option to do as much or as little work as you like. I pedaled the whole time, and didn’t plan on using the throttle, but found it was handy to use the throttle to get started from stop lights, especially because it lets you launch with the pedals in completely the wrong position.

With 7 gears and 5 assist modes, you’ll always find the right combination for enjoyment, fitness, and speed. Every time I get on a regular bike, I think to myself “Bicycles are amazing. Why don’t I ride a bike everywhere?” Then I hit my first hill and think, “this isn’t fun anymore.”

But e-bikes fix the most vexing problem of riding a bicycle: on a regular pedal bike, most of the fun of riding just evaporates as soon as you hit a hill. On an e-bike, you just add more pedal-assist and you stay in the fun zone for the entire ride.

Lectric does something pretty cool here. Very expensive bikes can sense how hard you’re pedaling and provide more assist the harder you pedal. But less expensive e-bikes like this one use a cadence sensor which detects whether you’re pedaling or not and typically adds 100% pedal assist power until you hit the top speed for that riding mode.

The XP 3.0 is smarter. In lower assist modes it gives you a lower top speed, as you’d expect, but it also gives you a smaller amount of assist. So you’re not over-boosting every time the cranks start to turn. It works pretty well out of the box, but I also love that it’s easy to fine-tune the response in the P-settings.

Range and Battery

The claimed range for pedal assist mode is 25 miles, and on our hilly range test course, I ended up covering 24.1 before running out of juice. I wasn’t pedaling very hard. 

The XP 3.0’s removable battery only weighs 6.6 pounds, so it’s a cinch to carry a fully-charged spare with you to get two times the range.

A spare battery also allows you to always have a battery charging, so that your bike never has unplanned downtime. 

You can opt for the more expensive “Long Range” edition of the bike with a 14.0 ah battery and around 35 miles of range, but you get a better value and more range with the standard version and a spare. 

Braking

Hydraulic brakes come standard on the XP 3.0, which is a huge deal for an e-bike under $1000. E-bikes at this price point typically come with mechanical disc brakes, controlled by cables, but hydraulic brakes just feel and work better.

Hydraulic disc brakes are self-adjusting, which means the levers feel perfect and firm and never go out of tune, plus you just don’t have to pull them as hard to stop (partly due to the huge 180mm brake rotors on this bike). Hydraulic brakes can be operated with two fingers under most braking conditions.

Brake adjustments are one of the biggest maintenance concerns we see with electric bikes, so having hydraulic brakes is a huge plus. They do need to be bled occasionally, something any local bike shop can do, but otherwise, they’re always ready to go.

Ride Quality

The motorcycle-style front suspension does a good job soaking up the bumps from potholes. You can match it to your weight by adjusting the spring pre-load, setting the amount of shock absorption you want or completely locking it out, which keeps you from bouncing around if you’re pedaling standing up.

There’s no rear suspension, but the 3” wide air-filled knobby tires do a decent job of smoothing out the bumps, and if you want more cushion, there’s an optional seat that includes both springs in the seat plus a shock-absorbing seat post.

Lectric XP 3.0 Electric Bike Features

Portability

All this time, I thought one of the big advantages of electric scooters over e-bikes is that they’re more portable, but this bike fits in the trunk of my car without flopping the back seats down. That’s something I can’t do with one of the most popular electric scooters, the Segway Ninebot MAX G2

The XP 3.0 is a bit awkward to carry up stairs, and at 62.4 pounds, you won’t want to lug it around often, but just as with other removable-battery bikes, you don’t need to bring the whole thing upstairs at night to charge. Just fold it, lock it somewhere safe, and take the battery with you.

The display is pretty standard across e-bikes and shows you speed, battery level, exact battery voltage and assist mode here.

This type of display deserves a shout-out for being so easy to read. I wish electric scooter displays were so clear.

Lights

The + and – buttons are for changing assist level, but the plus button also turns the head light on and off if you hold it down for three seconds.

The headlight’s brightness is fairly typical, and suitable for riding at night at speeds up to about 20mph, but you can always add an accessory light to the handlebars if you want more. If you’re riding in well-lit urban areas, it’s probably unnecessary.

I was surprised that unlike almost all electric scooters and most e-bikes, there is no brake light, although the tail light is nice and bright when the headlight is on.

Tires

The XP 3.0’s 20-inch tires are 3 inches wide, which technically makes them “fat tires” suitable for riding in pretty much any conditions.

You can ride it at the beach on vacation and conquer sand dunes, then take it with you on a ski trip and roll easily over snow dunes. The XP 3.0 really does have that kind of flexibility.

Seat

The XP 3.0 comes standard with a large gel seat, with the option for a spring-loaded saddle and suspension seat post for added bounce. Since the stock seat post is a standard size, you can put any after-market seat you want on the bike, or keep swapping till you find the exact saddle you like. 

Build Quality

This is a well-built bike with some excellent features, starting with the hydraulic brakes. The drivetrain is made by Shimano, the best-known and most revered name in cycling parts, and the 7-speed Tourney is one of the company’s smoother shifters.

There are nice touches like a cage around the rear derailleur to keep it from getting banged up and bent, and a built-in bashguard around the front chainring to keep the chain from slipping off or catching a pant leg.

There are also some finer details that set it apart too, little things like the rounded finish on the frame where it folds, and the overall paint quality.

In all, this is a very nicely engineered budget bike. Most other e-bikes have a load capacity of about 50 lbs for cargo and 265lbs total, but sometimes you want to carry more. The Lectric can carry 150 lbs max, with a max rider weight of 330 lbs.

If you’ve looked into cargo bikes, they’re really expensive, but I feel like the XP has you pretty well covered here. There’s a kit that allows you to carry a passenger (the $99 passenger package includes seat, footpegs, and handlebars for smaller riders), and there are tons of other accessories too, including a whole cargo package for $149 that mounts to beefy lugs on the forks.

Beyond weight capacity, the bars and seat have a pretty huge adjustment range, so the XP 3.0 is going to fit everyone from 6’2” down to 4’ 8”, especially if you get the step-though version with the lower stand-over height.

Safety

The XP 3.0 is about as safe as it gets for e-bikes, with wide knobby tires for superb traction and grip on most any surface.

You may not plan to ride in the rain, but if rain happens, you needn’t fear: the water resistance rating for all of the electronics is pretty high at IP65.

But be warned: just as with electric scooters, water damage isn’t covered under warranty, so don’t go jumping it into a lake.

Warranty 

The Lectric XP 3.0 comes with a standard 1 year warranty that covers all major parts, including battery and motor. 

Lectric XP 3.0 E-Bike Review: Conclusion

At a thousand dollars, the Lectric XP 3.0 has all the specs I’d expect in an e-bike ,with the bonus that it’s got hydraulic brakes. The ride quality isn’t as good as a five thousand dollar e-bike, but it definitely doesn’t feel low-end either.

The brakes feel as good as anything I’ve tested, the throttle response is really exceptional, and for the price it’s hard to imagine finding something else that would tick all the same boxes. 

I feel like no matter your size, what sort of range you need, or how many hills you need to climb, this is a first e-bike you can’t go wrong buying. Going with the popular choice isn’t always the right choice, but it does make you feel more confident knowing that more people have picked this model than any other e-bike in the US.