Our First Look at the Lectric One: "It's Gonna Spoil You"

“I feel like this is one of those bikes that, once you ride it, it’s gonna spoil you, almost forever.” 

Lectric’s newest bike is called the “One,” and while it might not be what hardcore cyclists call a “quiver killer,” it’s definitely the one bike to rule them all for the ordinary rider. 

How does the Lectric One spoil you, maybe forever? Our reviewer Mitchell took a first look/ride and found out exactly how this little $1,999 powerhouse blows the doors off (so to speak) most other commuter e-bikes. 

To begin: the One has smart electronic shifting, thanks to Pinion’s fully automatic C-Line gearbox. Pinion makes the huge claim that they’ll revolutionize cycling, and, well… we found out that they’re probably not exaggerating. The Lectric One is one sweet ride, and its intuitively seamless shifting lets you focus on the road ahead instead of on figuring out the best gear for what’s under you. 

This is the first frame designed in-house by Lectric, and they decided to go with smaller, 20″ wheels to keep weight down. The One is intended as the ultimate commuter bike, and 20″ wheels have become standard on similar models from other brands. 

The smallish frame doesn’t mean the Lectric One won’t fit larger riders. Mitchell is over 6 feet tall and 200+ lbs, and the bike perfectly adjusted to fit him. 

The Lectric One doesn’t fold, but it does have folding handlebars, and it’s compact enough to fit in the back of a sedan. It’s got a color display, newer controls, and long range. 

What else makes this bike a huge, welcome surprise? Speed. The One comes with a 750W motor, the largest allowed by law on an electric bike, and can reach Class 3 bike speeds of 28 mph+ on throttle power. 

The rear hub motor provides intentionally aggressive acceleration, and the bike compensates, as any quality Class 3 electric bike should, with fully hydraulic brakes to modulate and stop effectively at speed.  

Among the many other quality specs you’ll see in our run-through just above, we’ll just point out here that the drivetrain is a fully carbon Gates belt drive, which should basically last forever. 

So, will the Lectric One spoil you for other bikes? Unless you’re the kind of rider who gets frequent, uncontrollable G.A.S. (gear acquisition syndrome), it looks like it might. Look for our full review coming soon.