Lectric XP trike 400 mile owner-rider report

[dburt]

I try and ride about 35 miles or so every week on my Lectric XP trike. So far, no major issues. Still waiting on Lectric to send me a rear fender and tail light that was damaged in shipping by FedEx, Lectric said there is a shortage of fenders so I am just waiting. I suspect many have been damaged in shipping to other buyers like mine was. A minor issue that I have noticed is a sort of squeak that comes (I think) from the left rear tire. It only makes a noise when I pedal under load, so I have checked over the chain, drive sprockets, wheel spokes, etc looking for whatever might be causing it. So far nothing seems loose, or about to fall off so perhaps over time it will become obvious what causes it. I ride mostly flat and mostly paved roads with some gradual hills. When there is no headwind, I ride with no pedal assist as much as I can for the exercise, but on hills, or with a headwind I only ride in pedal assist 1. Pedal assist 2 makes the bike go faster then I can pedal without my shoes flying off. I know of 2 other folks in our small town who have bought Lectric XP trikes after seeing mine, and one other person wants to order one as well. Just thought I would share what my experience has been like so far with about 400 miles on the trike. In another 6-8 weeks winter will start in here in NE Oregon so will have to park the trike due to snowy, wet and really cold conditions.

 

[DieselTech]

Congrats on the new Trike. Another 6-8 weeks & you might need tires! Make sure to put your batterys somewhere warm over winter.

 

["A"]

Have you checked the chain tensioner between the cranks & the drive sprocket?
Or
Bottom bracket, crankarm bolts?

 

[leehop71]

I try and ride about 35 miles or so every week on my Lectric XP trike. So far, no major issues. Still waiting on Lectric to send me a rear fender and tail light that was damaged in shipping by FedEx, Lectric said there is a shortage of fenders so I am just waiting. I suspect many have been damaged in shipping to other buyers like mine was. A minor issue that I have noticed is a sort of squeak that comes (I think) from the left rear tire. It only makes a noise when I pedal under load, so I have checked over the chain, drive sprockets, wheel spokes, etc looking for whatever might be causing it. So far nothing seems loose, or about to fall off so perhaps over time it will become obvious what causes it. I ride mostly flat and mostly paved roads with some gradual hills. When there is no headwind, I ride with no pedal assist as much as I can for the exercise, but on hills, or with a headwind I only ride in pedal assist 1. Pedal assist 2 makes the bike go faster then I can pedal without my shoes flying off. I know of 2 other folks in our small town who have bought Lectric XP trikes after seeing mine, and one other person wants to order one as well. Just thought I would share what my experience has been like so far with about 400 miles on the trike. In another 6-8 weeks winter will start in here in NE Oregon so will have to park the trike due to snowy, wet and really cold conditions.

I find in PAS 2 on my XP 3, if I shift up to 7, it makes a huge difference pedaling!

 

[dburt]

Have you checked the chain tensioner between the cranks & the drive sprocket?
Or
Bottom bracket, crankarm bolts?

Yes, finally got around to checking them and I needed to adjust the chain tensioner, should have done that sooner! Now when the rain quits I will go out and ride it and see if that makes a difference!

 

[dburt]

Congrats on the new Trike. Another 6-8 weeks & you might need tires! Make sure to put your batterys somewhere warm over winter.

Going to store the trike in my office where it is warm over the winter! I hear it is not really good for your electric motor for it to get wet in rain or snow, so only will get an occasional ride in when there is no snow or rain on the streets!

 

[dburt]

Oiled the chain and adjusted the chain tensioner. Noise went away! I should have known better then to neglect maintenance!

 

[dburt]

And don't forget to check your tire pressures on a regular basis, even if you have a new electric trike or bike. Checked my tire pressures, they were all down to about 20 psi after an initial airing when new to 30 psi about 3 months ago. I had checked the internal part of the air valves for tightness but for some reason tires just don't seem to hold pressure for very long, I had this ongoing problem on my mountain bike even with new tubes. The other day one of my rear tires was flat! Checked for a nail, sticker, something but nothing was in the tire. Hmmmm, I shot soapy water on the tire inflater air valve, but no evidence of a leak. So I tightened it, and aired it up and a week later it is still holding 30 lbs psi. Moral of the story? Don't assume that your tire pressure is staying correct, check them often on a regular basis! (And I might be getting lazy in my old age too!)

 

[dburt]

A bummer incident- Sunday while riding on one of the last nice days we will have for a while, I began to hear a noise and a grinding sound coming out of the right rear outer axle bearing. Hmmmm, not good! So I turned around and went back home, and upon closer examination I discovered the right rear axle could move up and down about 1/8 of an inch, both directions. Rolling the trike around still made the noise that should not have been coming from the axle. So, I sent Lectric an email, and they asked for a video of the movement which I sent back to them. I think my trike is still under warranty, but even if they send me a new bearing I will have to take it to the only bike repair shop in the area to have them remove the old bearing and insert the new one. I have about 500 miles on my trike now, so not sure why a bearing would grenade on me, unless it was not properly lubed before assembly, or it might just be a faulty bearing! And there is no grease zerk on the bearings so you can lube them every so often! Oh well . . . .

 

[LastButNotLeast]

And don't forget to check your tire pressures on a regular basis, even if you have a new electric trike or bike. Checked my tire pressures, they were all down to about 20 psi after an initial airing when new to 30 psi about 3 months ago. I had checked the internal part of the air valves for tightness but for some reason tires just don't seem to hold pressure for very long, I had this ongoing problem on my mountain bike even with new tubes. The other day one of my rear tires was flat! Checked for a nail, sticker, something but nothing was in the tire. Hmmmm, I shot soapy water on the tire inflater air valve, but no evidence of a leak. So I tightened it, and aired it up and a week later it is still holding 30 lbs psi. Moral of the story? Don't assume that your tire pressure is staying correct, check them often on a regular basis! (And I might be getting lazy in my old age too!)

Look into FlatOut, available at Amazon.

 

[LastButNotLeast]

A bummer incident- Sunday while riding on one of the last nice days we will have for a while, I began to hear a noise and a grinding sound coming out of the right rear outer axle bearing. Hmmmm, not good! So I turned around and went back home, and upon closer examination I discovered the right rear axle could move up and down about 1/8 of an inch, both directions. Rolling the trike around still made the noise that should not have been coming from the axle. So, I sent Lectric an email, and they asked for a video of the movement which I sent back to them. I think my trike is still under warranty, but even if they send me a new bearing I will have to take it to the only bike repair shop in the area to have them remove the old bearing and insert the new one. I have about 500 miles on my trike now, so not sure why a bearing would grenade on me, unless it was not properly lubed before assembly, or it might just be a faulty bearing! And there is no grease zerk on the bearings so you can lube them every so often! Oh well . . . .

There's a follow-up thread about Lectric replacing the etrike with a new one. Outstanding customer service.

 

[Hi Proof]

Sorry you are one of the many who are experiencing rear axel bearing problems. If your trike is still within 1-year Lectric will indeed send you a brand new trike in exchange for yours. That said I had two trikes fail within the first 40 miles. In my case I caught it early enough that I was able to make repairs to both without axel damage. The way I figured it if I got 2 more trikes then I would have to deal with the same problems all over again. Besides after changing out the bearings on the 1st trike and learning the secrets the second one was much easier, hey maybe I should write a e-book for a e-bike HA! As for the rear fenders another call to Lectric may help as I had 4 new rear fenders within a week of my first call. whatever you decide good luck to you and yours, let me know if you have any questions.

 

[Robert Shaffer]

I had a noisy bearing on the left rear of my trike. Simple fix, came from the bearing not being lubricated well. Removed rear wheel and also the metal circular collar/spacer. This exposed some of the bearing race. I made no attempt to remove the bearing ! Found this great little grease with injector on Amazon (GENNEL 2grams Tube High Performance Spindle Lubricating Oil, Bearing Grease) and injected grease while turning the axle, used all the grease in the injector and then cleaned off the outside of the bearing. Put everything back together and problem gone. Not graceful, I'd prefer a zerk fitting of some sort, but this was pretty easy and very effective. Grease is extremely high quality. I kind of wonder if a failed bearing may be the actual reason people think their axle is bent. Axle is very stout, take more than a shipping fault to bend that sucker !

 

[LightningP38]

I try and ride about 35 miles or so every week on my Lectric XP trike. So far, no major issues. Still waiting on Lectric to send me a rear fender and tail light that was damaged in shipping by FedEx, Lectric said there is a shortage of fenders so I am just waiting. I suspect many have been damaged in shipping to other buyers like mine was. A minor issue that I have noticed is a sort of squeak that comes (I think) from the left rear tire. It only makes a noise when I pedal under load, so I have checked over the chain, drive sprockets, wheel spokes, etc looking for whatever might be causing it. So far nothing seems loose, or about to fall off so perhaps over time it will become obvious what causes it. I ride mostly flat and mostly paved roads with some gradual hills. When there is no headwind, I ride with no pedal assist as much as I can for the exercise, but on hills, or with a headwind I only ride in pedal assist 1. Pedal assist 2 makes the bike go faster then I can pedal without my shoes flying off. I know of 2 other folks in our small town who have bought Lectric XP trikes after seeing mine, and one other person wants to order one as well. Just thought I would share what my experience has been like so far with about 400 miles on the trike. In another 6-8 weeks winter will start in here in NE Oregon so will have to park the trike due to snowy, wet and really cold conditions.

I use pedals that I can clip my shoes into, to keep my feet on the pedals. I use bike shoes with recessed spd cleats, that don’t interfere with walking. My pedals are cleated on one side, and the other side is flat, so I can ride with or without cleated shoes.
I have also used Power Straps to hold my feet on the pedals.

I spin the pedals faster when I am climbing, so it important my feet stay on the pedals.

 

[Hi Proof]

A bummer incident- Sunday while riding on one of the last nice days we will have for a while, I began to hear a noise and a grinding sound coming out of the right rear outer axle bearing. Hmmmm, not good! So I turned around and went back home, and upon closer examination I discovered the right rear axle could move up and down about 1/8 of an inch, both directions. Rolling the trike around still made the noise that should not have been coming from the axle. So, I sent Lectric an email, and they asked for a video of the movement which I sent back to them. I think my trike is still under warranty, but even if they send me a new bearing I will have to take it to the only bike repair shop in the area to have them remove the old bearing and insert the new one. I have about 500 miles on my trike now, so not sure why a bearing would grenade on me, unless it was not properly lubed before assembly, or it might just be a faulty bearing! And there is no grease zerk on the bearings so you can lube them every so often! Oh well . . . .

To the best of my knowledge Lectric won’t send you a replacement bearing, they will most likely want you to send the trike back for exchange. That said because I chose to we contacted the company that makes the differential in China (Taikin) and they are sending replacement axles and bearings to rebuild 2 trikes. If you decide to go to them be prepared to pay for your components as they have nothing to do with the warranty offered by Lectric.

 

[kmccune]

I try and ride about 35 miles or so every week on my Lectric XP trike. So far, no major issues. Still waiting on Lectric to send me a rear fender and tail light that was damaged in shipping by FedEx, Lectric said there is a shortage of fenders so I am just waiting. I suspect many have been damaged in shipping to other buyers like mine was. A minor issue that I have noticed is a sort of squeak that comes (I think) from the left rear tire. It only makes a noise when I pedal under load, so I have checked over the chain, drive sprockets, wheel spokes, etc looking for whatever might be causing it. So far nothing seems loose, or about to fall off so perhaps over time it will become obvious what causes it. I ride mostly flat and mostly paved roads with some gradual hills. When there is no headwind, I ride with no pedal assist as much as I can for the exercise, but on hills, or with a headwind I only ride in pedal assist 1. Pedal assist 2 makes the bike go faster then I can pedal without my shoes flying off. I know of 2 other folks in our small town who have bought Lectric XP trikes after seeing mine, and one other person wants to order one as well. Just thought I would share what my experience has been like so far with about 400 miles on the trike. In another 6-8 weeks winter will start in here in NE Oregon so will have to park the trike due to snowy, wet and really cold conditions.

i bought my first lectric back in 2020( couldnt get rid of it fast enough( those days i suggested they offer a trike they were none commital-had this happen with a truck manufacturer as well,nother story) glad they offer one these days,when i bought my little lectric they were offering free panniers which didnt come with my bike,so i contacted them and they sent them post haste,so kudos for lectric a very responsive company these panniers where the best i had come across,now about my dissatisfaction was because they had sold out of the step thru flavor of xp folders and i really didnt like the battery setup, that being said i would probably buy xp again. now for a question would this trike fit somebody around 6'2" with a gimpy left leg( back injury result of years hard labor and falls)?

 

[dburt]

I think you could fit on it, put the seat up as high as it can go, it raises much higher then I can use, and I'm 5' 10". It seems to be stout enough to handle my weight of 200lbs. And I just can't afford to step up another $1,500 for the next closest trike! I think you would like it!

 

[atesterman83]

A bummer incident- Sunday while riding on one of the last nice days we will have for a while, I began to hear a noise and a grinding sound coming out of the right rear outer axle bearing. Hmmmm, not good! So I turned around and went back home, and upon closer examination I discovered the right rear axle could move up and down about 1/8 of an inch, both directions. Rolling the trike around still made the noise that should not have been coming from the axle. So, I sent Lectric an email, and they asked for a video of the movement which I sent back to them. I think my trike is still under warranty, but even if they send me a new bearing I will have to take it to the only bike repair shop in the area to have them remove the old bearing and insert the new one. I have about 500 miles on my trike now, so not sure why a bearing would grenade on me, unless it was not properly lubed before assembly, or it might just be a faulty bearing! And there is no grease zerk on the bearings so you can lube them every so often! Oh well . . . .

Mine just grenaded yesterday. Lectric is sending me a shipping box to pack the whole bike up for a full replacement as of this morning. I've got 327mi on it in the past 2-3 months and I'll say I'm not pleased. This is my second warranty claim and now I'll be out for another 2 weeks waiting on shipping and trying to get my daily tasks done on my newly built leg. (bad accident last year) Hence the reason I even bought a trike. From what I can figure, there is a common issue with this rear axle. Without directly saying it over the phone, they've kind of admitted it last time I called. I'd love to know what style bearings they're using, so that I may replace them with something not made out of garbage. I'm very mechanically inclined and possess all of the equipment to weld your two Farmall tractors together but when it comes to this or voiding my warranty, I dunno. No answers. I'm going to go with junk bearings that are unserviceable. My axle is doing the exact thing you've described. Guess I get to wait and be aggravated. Perhaps a coozie and an apology package might be nice out of um. I feel like I could've bought your aunties used 92 Camry and got more miles out of it before critical failure for the same price tag.

 

[Robert Shaffer]

Had the exact same problem, no grease on bearings at all. Here's how I fixed:

2grams Tube High Performance Spindle Lubricating Oil, Bearing Grease, Low/High Temperature Bicycle Grease for PC Bearing Fan Electric Motor Gear Keyboard Switch​

Got this from Amazon, basically super high quality bearing grease in a syringe, doing both sides required two syringes, one per side. Remove little black cover. Remove wheel, take care of the key in the keyway and don't lose. Remove inner black steel ring with allen wrench. There's the bearing. Inject grease in, trying to inject between each ball and use finger to press any additional grease in manually. Re-install black steel ring, press it up good against the bearing and re-tighten allen screw (nice and tight, but need to go overboar). Re-install wheel (make sure to re-insert the keyway, if you have a torque wrench, use it. If not a nice firm hand tighten on it's allen bolt is good. Put rubber cap back on. I've put many miles on mine since "fix", and still working well. Hope this helps. Allow about 25 minutes per wheel.

 

[atesterman83]

Wouldn't it be swell to tap a zirc fitting into that axle tube. Got me thinking now.