In true Lectric type, North America’s largest e-bike firm simply unveiled the most recent era of its best-selling electrical bike in a high-energy, adrenaline-fueled product launch this morning. The Lectric XP4 is the most recent era of the ultra-popular e-bike line, and as soon as once more brings a surprising degree of upgrades at worth factors by no means earlier than seen within the business.
To place it merely, Lectric has accomplished it once more; they’ve completely crushed it and set a brand new excessive watermark for worth within the US folding e-bike market.
The XP line is the best-selling electrical bike within the US, so this was certain to be a hotly-anticipated launch. With roughly 1 out of each 10 electrical bikes bought within the US being a Lectric XP (out of many lots of of fashions obtainable available in the market), any new launch within the product line was set to seize eyeballs. And regardless of the extraordinarily excessive expectations, Lectric seems to have risen to not solely meet them however seemingly exceed what most may have anticipated at this worth level.
The launch of the brand new XP4 truly features a pair of launches, with the bottom 500W mannequin providing the identical $999 price ticket we’ve come to know ever because the XP 2.0 days. A brand new long-range XP4, which swaps the ten.4Ah battery for an enormous 17.5Ah battery and upgrades the motor to 750W, bares solely a barely greater $1,299 price ticket.
“As a result of this mannequin is so essential to us and our driving group, we have been decided to carry the road on worth,” stated Lectric eBikes co-founder and CEO Levi Conlow. “Whereas different e-bike corporations proceed to lift costs and launch new merchandise at greater worth factors, we all know riders are going to understand Lectric going towards the grain and making large enhancements for a similar entry worth we set greater than 4 years in the past.”
Levi isn’t paying lip service there, both. Each fashions share quite a lot of key upgrades overlaying every part from the {hardware} design to the included componentry, and even the driving really feel.
Each fashions embrace a brand new in-house designed torque sensor, providing smoother and extra responsive pedal help throughout the total vary of energy ranges. A brand new 56-tooth chainring is bigger and gives a extra comfy pedal cadence at greater speeds, which means these benefiting from the Class 3-capable 28 mph (45 km/h) pace can achieve this with out their ft needing to spin uncomfortably quick.
The handlebars now function an upgraded TFT coloration show with a in-built USB-C port for telephone and gadget charging. Having personally examined the e-bike yesterday, I can attest to only how superbly designed the TFT display screen actually is, offering far more info to the rider but in a neatly laid out means that retains it clear and simple to learn, even in shiny daylight.
My full first trip expertise can be coming quickly, however first let’s proceed with what makes these fashions so new and revolutionary.
The body has been redesigned with a novel rack setup, a bigger primary body tube to accommodate the longer-range battery, and a brand new handlebar stem that gives a extra comfy attain within the cockpit. That rear rack provides to each the bike’s look and utility, offering a coloration and styling accent but additionally providing extra compatibility for equipment mounted to its spherical tubes whereas nonetheless sustaining the boxier tubes in keeping with the design legacy throughout the XP fashions’ successive frames.
New hydraulic disc brakes have been developed particularly for Lectric and supply punchier stops than the earlier model’s hydraulic disc brakes. The brakes’ mannequin variety of 602 even pays refined homage to the world code in Phoenix, Lectric’s headquarters.
The transmission additionally acquired an improve, with the decrease tier 7-speed Tourney derailleur getting changed with a step up in Shimano’s hierarchy to an 8-speed Altus.
Different {hardware} enhancements on the bike embrace the quick-release pedals, which have been redesigned, rising the standard and making them simpler to make use of. The brand new derailleur is matched with new set off shifters on the suitable aspect of the handlebars paired with Lectric’s upgraded locking ergonomic bar ends. The brand new shifters and bar ends required a brand new throttle although, leading to an up to date left-side paddle-style thumb throttle.
The lighting on the XP4 has additionally been upgraded, now together with rear flip alerts.
The keyway for locking the battery has been relocated to the non-drive aspect of the primary tube, making it simpler to entry, and is situated subsequent to a newly designed cowl for the charging port and on/off button for the battery.
Like all of Lectric’s e-bikes, the XP4 is compliant with UL2849, and the 2 battery sizes are each appropriate with a 5A quick charger that gives a full recharge in both 2 or 3.5 hours for the smaller or bigger battery possibility.
New 20×3.0 tires embrace a mixed-terrain tread with a novel design that creates a smoother middle patch for quieter driving on clean surfaces like asphalt however retains sufficient knobbiness on the perimeters for higher grip in off-road driving situations. The tires’ quiet trip has been particularly designed to enrich the ultra-quiet Stealth motor that Lectric has introduced from its different fashions to the brand new XP4.
Not like the XP 3.0 that had beforehand been obtainable in simply white or black, the brand new XP4 is available in a number of coloration choices, a nod to clients who typically requested the corporate for extra selection in colorways. The XP4 now contains coloration choices of Stratus White, Tempest Grey, Raindrop Blue, and Pine Inexperienced. The bike can be obtainable in two body kinds of normal and step-over.
Pre-orders are actually open for the XP4, priced at both $999 or $1,299 for the 500W and 750W variations, with transport anticipated to start subsequent month.
Electrek’s Take
It’s arduous to overstate how large of a deal the XP4’s launch is, particularly contemplating that the beginning worth has remained the identical inexpensive $999. At a time when tariffs are forcing different corporations to extend costs, the XP4 stands head and shoulders above different folding e-bikes within the US market, not simply on worth but additionally on options.
In the event you take the $1,299 long-range model with the 750W motor and 840Wh battery, it’s simple to see how far forward it’s of the competitors. If the one factor Lectric had accomplished was put that large battery and torque sensor in it, the bike already would have surpassed some other main model’s folding e-bike on worth. There simply isn’t one other torque sensor-based 840Wh folding e-bike on the market at this worth level. However then Lectric went a lot additional. The entire additions are like a mountain of cherries on high of an already alluring XP4 sundae. From the gorgeous new TFT show to the tremendous punchy new brakes, from the upgraded derailleur to the quieter tires and motor, from the easy-to-use quick-release pedals to the improved ergonomics of the handlebars – it’s simply extra heaped on high of extra.
The one function I want they might have included would have been Apple FindMy integration to permit for simple monitoring of a misplaced or stolen e-bike. Belief me, I attempted to plant the bug in Lectric co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer Robby Deziel’s ear, however to no avail. Oh nicely, perhaps however there’s nonetheless hope for together with location monitoring on the XP5.
There’s one factor for positive although: Everybody else continues to be competing for second place towards Lectric. That’s nothing new, however now the hole between Lectric and others has continued to develop. There was already no higher possibility on the subject of bang-for-your-buck within the folding e-bike house, and now Lectric has grown that worth hole even additional.
