A few observations on my Lectric XP Trike almost two years in

[dburt]

As previously mentioned here on the forum, my first Lectric XP Trike lost a rear axle bearing at about 500 miles or so. Lectric sent me an all new trike under their warranty and that trike now has over 500 miles on it. Not so good weather kept me from riding my usual 30-35 miles per week this past winter and spring, even June was not kind to bike and trike riders in our neck of the woods. And for the first time in many years, there were some very hot days in August that kept the usual bike and trike riders indoors, myself included. And usually I do not ride much in the winter due to a lot of snow and rain and freezing weather anyway. So far this replacement trike is performing well, and I hope the rear axle bearings are an improvement over the older ones. Here are some random observations on various things with the XP trike.
1) You can go 60 miles on mostly flat, paved terrain by rationing your PAS1 function to about 60% of your ride. Not sure you could go 60 miles on full PAS1 the whole way on mostly flat paved roads?
2) It will take about 5.5 hours to recharge the battery fully after 50 miles of flat paved terrain riding with about 60% PAS1 included.
3) It will take slightly over one hour to recharge fully after a 5.2 mile ride with 60% PAS1 on flat paved roads with very slight up hills on occasion and some headwinds. Ride a little over 10 miles and it will take two hours to recharge fully.
4) I get lots of questions about the trike, and I know of at least 3 other folks in our area who bought Lectric XP trikes after seeing mine and hearing my comments on the trike.
5) I have a fitted gel pad on the factory seat to help my tired old skinny butt, but I have seen a wider and well padded seat in WalMart in the bicycle section that I am thinking about! I don't know how anyone can ride on those skinny seats on most mountain and road bikes. They have about as much cushion as a wash cloth draped over a 2x4. Perhaps that is leading to declining birthrates in this country? Just saying . . . .
6) Overall, I feel the bike is well priced and worth the cost and performs well enough for my needs.

 

[dburt]

I forgot to suggest one 'wish' for the trike- it would be nice if the control read out would say what percentage of the battery charge is left, not just the bars to guesstimate at.

 

[Atavar]

The percentage numbers are just approximations themselves. They are no more informative than the bars.

 

["A"]

I gave my XP trike for my in-laws to use, they've been using it sparingly,
probably less than 50 miles pf riding since they are in their 80's.
I'm happy they're just getting out for some fresh air.
They only go out for rides around the block from their house. Max speed that they operate is about 10 mph.
For the few times I run along while they ride the trike, they feel safer to ride on the road.

 

[dburt]

The percentage numbers are just approximations themselves. They are no more informative than the bars.

Yep, just guestimates mostly!

 

[Ron parola]

The percentage numbers are just approximations themselves. They are no more informative than the bars.

you might try a bidirectional coulomb meter, for accurate amp usage

 

[Atavar]

Amp usage has little to do with power reserve.

 

[dburt]

My son has a Chevy Bolt EV, which shows the percentage of the power used and remaining. A good friend owns a Mustang MachE EV, and that car also shows the percentage of power used and remaining. My desire would be to be able to access the same information on my trike, but it appears not easily feasible to my technologically compromised mind! It is interesting to note that even after riding 20 miles in 60% use of PAS1 on mostly flat ground my controller readout says I still have a full charge even after riding what is supposed to be about 1/3 of the maximum range of 60 miles. Oh well, perhaps the electrical engineers at Lectric will come up someday with a way to show the percentage of power left? Thanks everyone for the feedback!

 

[runway1]

Amp usage has little to do with power reserve.

Huh?
Power (watts) = amps x volts

I'm not understanding. It's pretty basic

 

[runway1]

you might try a bidirectional coulomb meter, for accurate amp usage

A what? Holy Toledo! That sounds impressive. 37 yrs an engineer designing, building, testing, selling our country's most critical hdwre....and I've not ever heard of this item. Interesting.

 

[Atavar]

Huh?
Power (watts) = amps x volts

I'm not understanding. It's pretty basic

Amps has to do with power supplied or used. There is no good way to actually measure the coulombs stored in the battery.
They can use volts and amps under load to approximate the battery internal resistance which is an indicator of charge but that is really a guess,
It is far from simple.

 

[Atavar]

A what? Holy Toledo! That sounds impressive. 37 yrs an engineer designing, building, testing, selling our country's most critical hdwre....and I've not ever heard of this item. Interesting.

There are things they call coulomb meters. What they really are is just bidirectional amp/hour meters that compare charge amp/hour to use amp/hour.

Amazon.com

 

[dburt]

An update on my 2nd Lectric trike XP after one year of ownership! On new year's day 2024 I rode my new replacement Lectric XP trike for the first time. In the one year since then I have put only 800 miles on my #2 Lectric Trike. This past summer we had less then ideal weather in early spring and summer. (lots of rain!) So, I did not get the miles in I wanted to! I hope this coming spring and summer have drier and better weather. I would like to get somewhere above 1,500 miles more on the clock of this trike this coming riding season. It's been a rather cold winter, with lots of rain in the early part of winter, not much snow yet but the forecast is for above average snow in Feb and March. No issues with the trike so far, and I hope it continues to work well. If you live more in the south or southwest, enjoy your riding weather. I hope this new year is a good one for everyone!

 

[rontaki]

There are things they call coulomb meters. What they really are is just bidirectional amp/hour meters that compare charge amp/hour to use amp/hour.

Amazon.com

Sometimes these meters are called coulomb counters. A Coulomb is defined as approximately 6.24 x 1018 electrons. I'll take their word for that, as I don't have the patience to count that high. The meter is set to know the size (amp-hours) of the battery, that is, how many electrons it can store and deliver.

By using a sensor, the meter counts electrons going into the battery, and electrons going out of the battery. By this method it figures how many electrons are left in the battery and compares that with how many electrons the battery is rated to supply (amp-hours)to determine SOC (State Of Charge).

The voltage of the battery is not important to how the meter works, as that is a constant number other than voltage sag as the battery depletes. If operated within normal limits, the voltage stays within a fairly narrow range, so a nominal value is used - (12, 24, 36, 48, etc).

When we want to know the remaining range left in the battery, it is the SOC or % charge remaining we care about, not the voltage (unless you are trying to judge a lithium battery's SOC by voltage, not accurate with lithium due to their voltage characteristics).

 

[Atavar]

I imagine that works in a brand new 100% battery. As the battery ages even that turns in to an approximation.
Those meters don’t actually count electrons, but calculate coulombs based on current@voltage. So far as I know there is no electron counter within the financial reach of the common man.
Of course this all changes depending on whether you subscribe to electron flow theory or hole flow theory.

 

[kmccune]

A what? Holy Toledo! That sounds impressive. 37 yrs an engineer designing, building, testing, selling our country's most critical hdwre....and I've not ever heard of this item. Interesting.

yin and yang amps? have to be a little computer programmed with all the variables( probably doable though,just stick with the averages and carry a larger spare battery,run the small one down install large one and come home.Just like 4 wd in the outback,go in 2 wd till you get stuck,then switch to 4 wd and come back outta there as a sagacious "outbacker said" 4wd allows one to get stuck in more remote places+ so battery watching will allow one to get stuck farther from home.( had it happen one time)

 

[rontaki]

I imagine that works in a brand new 100% battery. As the battery ages even that turns in to an approximation.
Those meters don’t actually count electrons, but calculate coulombs based on current@voltage. So far as I know there is no electron counter within the financial reach of the common man.
Of course this all changes depending on whether you subscribe to electron flow theory or hole flow theory.

My post is an attempt to clarify and help the non-technical person understand how a Coulomb meter works and what the information it provides means to them. I welcome responses that further my stated goal or correct errors.
While we are not actually counting individual electrons, the meter does count them in quantity via the voltage generated across the meter's sensor resistor that is inline with the battery cable, or by magnetic fields generated by the mass flow of electron through the battery cable. Yes, the battery's actual capacity drops with use, the coulombmeters I've bought include instruction on how to take this into account. If one understands Hole theory vs. electron flow theory, the understanding of all the above is likely in place.

As far as getting stuck because of battery watching as runway 1 said, it is prudent to not try and cut your fuel/battery useage too close if it is inconvenient to run out of power during the journey. The guage helps you plan your journey and not fret about energy left in the tank. F'rinstance, using the fuel/battery guage can help me decide whether or not to take some side trips while I'm out, or whether or not to take the long way home.
Sure, you can drive a car without a working gas/battery SOC meter, or to ignore it, but this will lead to unplanned vehicular stasis events, or having to <gasp> pedal your way back.
I like to know the SOC of the (lithium) batteries on my Polaris EV for the above reasons. Getting a tow back home is embarrasing to put it nicely.
Of course, it is prudent to check the guage's accuracy before utter dependence on it. With petrol vehicles, you can drive until the tank is empty, noting the guage readings, then fill from the spare fuel can you remembered to fill and bring along. You can also bring a spare battery in some cases, but that is not cheap to buy. My Polaris EV uses BigBattery brand batteries connected via Anderson connectors, so if I had a spare with me, it would be quick and easy to "refuel" while out and about and limp home. But I do not have a spare, I rely on meters to track remaing range. Initially, I tried to use a volt meter to know SOC. When that didn't work out, I installed a coulomb counter meter.