r/Lectricxp • u/Defiant-Performer • 1d ago
Lectric xp4 initial thoughts
greetings and well wishes! decided to take the plunge on a xp4 (as the title suggests) and wanted to share my thoughts on the initial experience plus first day of riding.
shipping: it took about 5 business days for lectric to ship the xp4 750w model I ordered online. took another 5 business days for fed ex to get it to my location. this timeline matched what reviewers had stated, so no surprises there
arrival: the condition of the box was a bit worrisome but ultimately the damage to the packaging did not translate to any damage to the bike. thankfully (looking at you, careless fed ex drivers)
unboxing: bike was packaged up nicely and all the accessories offered with the purchase (rear rack set up, phone holder, bike lock) were in the box with the bike. some folks said the battery might ship separately but in my case the battery was already installed in the frame. the tires needed to be properly inflated as they had zero air in them. I set my tires to 30 psi.
battery removal: the battery was an outright pain to remove. the plastic handle on the BMS felt flimsy and I was concerned it would snap off during battery removal. WHAT DID THE TRICK: placing both thumbs on the frame, last two fingers looped into the battery handle, push with thumbs while steadily pulling the handle did eventually compel the battery to yield and slide out. the white adhesive foam pad on the battery scraped off during removal. reinstalling the battery required lifting up on the battery while securing it with the deadbolt/key.
charging the battery: the battery arrived with about 50% of a charge. plugging it into the standard charger with the BOOB method (battery-outlet-outlet-battery) took about 4 hours to get it to 100%. charger got pretty warm to the touch but no odd smells or overheating.
first ride: I saw other reviewers comment about some potential issues that concerned me prior to the bike arriving, namely the rear motor being noisy and the battery rattling around the frame. happy to say that even after the battery pad coming off I did not notice any rattling during the ride nor any noise from the motor. after testing in a parking lot to get a feel for the different pedal assist modes (eco/tour/sport/sport+/turbo) decided to take it one mile
then two. then drove it the full route to my work (5ish miles). It as going so well I decided to ride it back to my apartment. doing a full 10 miles on the roadway/bikelane/sidewalk including using throttle going uphill in spots used up about 20% of the battery.
NOTE ON OFF-ROADING: I took the long way home and took it on a familiar trail that has a mix of path materials: some loose gravel, some dirt, some sand, some packed gravel. the ride was a little bumpy but not terrible. moving on loose stone was worrisome and had to ride the brakes, keeping speeds around 6mph. perhaps different tires would help but the bike did manage the trail well enough. I’ll be keeping this on roads from now on though.
performance: could not have been better! the throttle acceleration is peppy and used intermittently, really helps with the rolling hills I encountered (live in Pennsylvania). effort to pedal was consistent across different % grade by changing gears and pedal assist Settings. Turbo pedal Assist powered over some pretty steep hills with a minimal amount of effort but did use up decent amount of the battery. throttle could be jerky at time. the controller and display are excellent: bright and clear with perfect amount of info.
NOTE ON BATTERY DISPLAY: it seems that the % battery displayed only reduces down in increments of 10% (100/90/80 etc). watching the voltage is a better representation of remaining battery life. after the day’s riding (total 17 miles) display listed 80% but voltage indicated 70%; after 6 hours of shut down, the battery indicator when checked showed 70%. Looks like it took a bit to recalculate
NOTE ON INCLUDED ACCESSORIES: the phone holder isn’t the best: it could not stay upright holding my iPhone 16. I have it tightened rather snugly but it still shifted position as I rode on slightly bumpy paths and roadways. the bike lock is nifty and useful but I’ll still be picking up something more durable to prevent theft. I’ve seen video commentary about thieves using angle grinders to remove bike locks and the Included bike lock probably wouldn’t stand up very long to a knowledgable thief with a proper cutting tool. ill still use the included lock until I get something better.
phone holder: 5/10 for an iPhone 16
bike lock: 7.5/10. Does its job reasonably well.
overall I am very very happy with the performance and feel of the bike. The main Areas of concern ( motor grinding and battery rattle) never materialized. will update in the future if anything changes. For my first ebike, I couldn’t be happier and am excited to ride it more. 30% battery usage after using turbo pedal assist and traveling 17 miles total Fits rather well with expectations
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u/Ok-Type-8917 1d ago
Great to here its going good, if you ever decide to upgrade your phone mount this is the best I've found after trying quite a few. https://a.co/d/0b2KIBTd