Lectric says its new XPress Lite city e-bike costs $1,099 with free shipping. Per its product page, it is a preorder that "ships week of November 2nd," with a 500W rear hub motor, a 374Wh battery and a mid-step frame.
What Lectric lists
Lectric's product page gives these specs for the XPress Lite:
- Price: $1,099, free shipping, one-year warranty.
- Motor: 500W rear hub (Stealth M24), 864W peak, 61 Nm of torque.
- Battery: removable 48V 7.8Ah (374Wh); up to 45 miles, which Lectric says varies with load, terrain and weather.
- Speed and class: up to 28 mph; five riding modes as a Class 1, 2 or 3 e-bike "where permitted by state law."
- Load: 275 lbs rider payload, 30 lbs on the rear rack.
- Charging: under 4 hours with the included 2A charger.
- Colors: Toasted Marshmallow, Pine Green, Glacier Blue and Stratus White, per Lectric's launch page.
- Ride: torque and cadence sensors with a thumb throttle; Shimano Altus 8-speed; hydraulic brakes with 180mm rotors; 27.5-inch slick tires.
The sensor line refers to what Lectric's product page calls the XPerience Switch, which it describes as switching between a torque and a cadence sensor.
Which weight is which
Lectric's size guide lists "45.6 lbs w/o battery" and, separately, 46.9 lbs "with front tire removed." The feature text puts the battery at 6 lbs, so adding the two gives about 51.6 lbs ready to ride. That sum is our arithmetic; Lectric prints no whole-bike weight.
9to5Toys headlines the bike as "46-pound." That reads the without-battery figure as the total.
Against the XPress2 and the Soltera 2.5
Lectric's XPress2 Cruiser page lists a 672Wh battery, up to 60 miles, 1,310W peak power, an 80mm suspension fork, 330 lbs of payload and 60 lbs without the battery, at $1,399 when we checked. 9to5Toys reports XPress2 bundles with $336 of free gear at $1,299; we could not reconcile that with Lectric's page.
Aventon's Soltera 2.5 is $1,199 and lists 345.6Wh, up to 46 miles, a 20 mph top speed, a 7-speed drivetrain, hydraulic brakes and 46 lbs. Aventon says it has a two-year warranty.
Why it matters
Our read, untested: the XPress Lite is for riders who want a lighter bike for stairs or a car trunk and care about Class 3 speed more than range or comfort. Compared with the XPress2, Lectric's numbers show a smaller battery, a rigid fork and 55 lbs less payload capacity.
It saves about $300 against that bike's listed price and is still roughly 51 lbs with the battery. Aventon's Soltera 2.5 costs $100 more, lists 46 miles against 45 and tops out 8 mph lower. If 28 mph and an 8-speed matter, the XPress Lite is the one to look at.
