Noisy and Unreliable Lectric XP Step-Thru

philm

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Why does my step-through sound like a shovel being dragged along pavement? And why does my throttle work only intermittently? By the way, the noise is from the motor - not the brakes. I've owned four other electric bikes since 2004, and all have been extremely quiet, and much more reliable. Right now, I'm thinking that you get what you pay for. VERY disappointing.
 
Why does my step-through sound like a shovel being dragged along pavement? And why does my throttle work only intermittently? By the way, the noise is from the motor - not the brakes. I've owned four other electric bikes since 2004, and all have been extremely quiet, and much more reliable. Right now, I'm thinking that you get what you pay for. VERY disappointing.
It might be very helpful to know what bike you're talking about. That would give readers something to work with in answering your inquiry.
 
It's an XP StepThru. I should add that I've had it only since October, and have used it sparingly. For the most part< I ride my Blix.
 
Sorry to say, but the Lectric XP is just a cheap crappy bike. I did a lot of research on Youtube before buying what I bought. The Lectric XP was at the bottom of the list as far as quality goes.

 
I bought the Lectric as a spare, thinking that it would suffice if the bike I like needed to be in the shop. Unfortunately, it isn't even good enough for that purpose. You're right: it's a cheap piece of junk.
 
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For $899 i wouldn't expect much for the money, just looking at the ebike says cheap, nasty & trouble
 
Why does my step-through sound like a shovel being dragged along pavement? And why does my throttle work only intermittently? By the way, the noise is from the motor - not the brakes. I've owned four other electric bikes since 2004, and all have been extremely quiet, and much more reliable. Right now, I'm thinking that you get what you pay for. VERY disappointing.
Yeah, I seen a man go past me on the canal yesterday with 1 of them and his bike was creaking and cracking and squeaking
 
I only have 58 miles on my xp2 and other than only having 6 gears (prolly adjustable) I have no qualms. Comfy seat, plenty of juice, no squeaks or rattles. I like the walk option, I take my bike into Walmart to shop. I have both baskets and a rear view camera instead of mirrors. I also like the cruise control, it stays pretty close even when it gets steep, I avg 25 mph. Best grand I have ever spent.
 
I have a Lectric XP. But I don't use it in a normal way. I am disabled, and can only walk a short distance. One of my hobbies is model rocketry. My launch site is out in the middle of the AZ desert. A model rocket can come down over 1/4 mile from where it is launched, and I can't walk anywhere near that far. The area is such that much of it is inaccessible to 4 wheeled vehicles. I got this bike to use for retrieving model rockets. I got it because it was inexpensive, small, folding, and had fat tires, making it easier to ride through desert sand. So far it has worked fine, but I've had it over a year, and doubt I have over 10 miles on it. It definitely has a cheap feel/look to it. My regular ebike is a RadCity 5+, which I have had no problems with so far. But I have heard that a lot of people have been having controller issues with it.
 
I sure don't agree. I have the Lectric XP 2.0 step thru......the bike is great. I ride 4 to 7 miles 5 times a week for exercise.....have had the bike for just over two months.....almost 250 miles on it.....no noice....I ride mostly hills in PA 1 or 2....very well built......one minor problem which ended up being a loose wire on the controller.....great customer service.....also have a few friends with same bike....they all love them. The price is right for many people. Bashing products is fun......especially when it amkes you feel good.....for example.....I would never buy a Ford......they are terrible trucks.
 
I had a XP2 Step-thru since OCT 2021, I put about 1200 miles on it, zero issues, not even a flat tire.
I mostly kept it under 25 mph, PAS 2 50-70% of the time, the rest throttle;
no need to go any faster than 20 mph in the traffic that I ride in.
I rode it in rain a few times in the spring, didn't submerge anything but got pretty wet.
Let it died up before I rode it again, no issues.
IME, XP2 is an excellent value for under $1K.
 
I sure don't agree. I have the Lectric XP 2.0 step thru......the bike is great. I ride 4 to 7 miles 5 times a week for exercise.....have had the bike for just over two months.....almost 250 miles on it.....no noice....I ride mostly hills in PA 1 or 2....very well built......one minor problem which ended up being a loose wire on the controller.....great customer service.....also have a few friends with same bike....they all love them. The price is right for many people. Bashing products is fun......especially when it amkes you feel good.....for example.....I would never buy a Ford......they are terrible trucks.
2 months and 250 miles is still new. Give it 6 months and 1000 miles. I wish you the best of luck with it. I personally wouldn't buy such a bike to put a lot of miles on. I paid $2000 for my RadCity 5+, then added a real seat and suspension seat post. I also replaced the tubes with 4mm thick super heavy duty puncture resistant tubes. I have nearly $2500 in it. I routinely ride it 20+ miles at around 10 mph throttle only. I have never had any problems or run the battery down. Oh, I have been driving a 2006 Ford Crown Vic for almost 10 years. Have 298K miles on it. Only problems were a bad alternator and the rear air suspension failed. I replaced that with coil springs. Still runs like new. It was not cheap when new. When you buy a $1000 ebike you can't expect the best quality.
 
2 months and 250 miles is still new. Give it 6 months and 1000 miles. I wish you the best of luck with it. I personally wouldn't buy such a bike to put a lot of miles on. I paid $2000 for my RadCity 5+, then added a real seat and suspension seat post. I also replaced the tubes with 4mm thick super heavy duty puncture resistant tubes. I have nearly $2500 in it. I routinely ride it 20+ miles at around 10 mph throttle only. I have never had any problems or run the battery down. Oh, I have been driving a 2006 Ford Crown Vic for almost 10 years. Have 298K miles on it. Only problems were a bad alternator and the rear air suspension failed. I replaced that with coil springs. Still runs like new. It was not cheap when new. When you buy a $1000 ebike you can't expect the best quality.
I bought a $1000 bike and do expect quality. There are many good bikes out there.....I believe Lectric is one of them. I bet I will be riding it well past 6 months and 1000 miles......great bike for the money....I needed a folding bike for camping.....works really well. As for that Ford.....I hear the new Fords are coming out with a heated rear bumper.....so when you have to push them in winter....your hands stay warm. Have a good ride!
 
I have a Lectric XP. But I don't use it in a normal way. I am disabled, and can only walk a short distance. One of my hobbies is model rocketry. My launch site is out in the middle of the AZ desert. A model rocket can come down over 1/4 mile from where it is launched, and I can't walk anywhere near that far. The area is such that much of it is inaccessible to 4 wheeled vehicles. I got this bike to use for retrieving model rockets. I got it because it was inexpensive, small, folding, and had fat tires, making it easier to ride through desert sand. So far it has worked fine, but I've had it over a year, and doubt I have over 10 miles on it. It definitely has a cheap feel/look to it. My regular ebike is a RadCity 5+, which I have had no problems with so far. But I have heard that a lot of people have been having controller issues with it.
I'm in the market for an eBike. How do you like your RadCity 5+?
 
Why does my step-through sound like a shovel being dragged along pavement? And why does my throttle work only intermittently? By the way, the noise is from the motor - not the brakes. I've owned four other electric bikes since 2004, and all have been extremely quiet, and much more reliable. Right now, I'm thinking that you get what you pay for. VERY disappointing.
 
Sorry to say, but the Lectric XP is just a cheap crappy bike. I did a lot of research on Youtube before buying what I bought. The Lectric XP was at the bottom of the list as far as quality goes.

I too brought 2 Lectric XP 2.0, 1 regular and 1 step thru. Here is my experience. My wife's white step thru arrived with a bent rim on the rear wheel. The carton appeared to be a return and was beat up badly. Lectric promptly replaced the wheel at my labor expense. She has a fraction of the miles I have but it is still performing as expected. My XP however has been a different story. Right off the bat my XP controller burnt out with minimal gentle use as I was getting acclimated. Then the second controller burned out after 600 miles with lots of hill climbing. I did not want to give up my favorite ride route so I changed to a 11-34 free wheel and limited my hill climbing to 1st gear and PA 1, yet still burned out another controller. I have noticed that the stock controllers are rated at 18A but at times the display reads a 19A draw in PA 2 on a moderate hill. I resigned myself to the fact this bike would not be suitable for much hill climbing. I have switched my routine to an easy rolling hill route and have not burnt out any more controllers, but the motor noise has gotten worse and amp draw regularly exceeds the 18A the controller is rated. It finally got so bad I could not take the extreme droning noise. I contacted seller support, sent videos and they insisted the noise was probably a loose component and sent me a JPG of vibration points to tighten up. The noise completely abated when throttle was cut off or when peddling stopped and no it was not motor induced vibration. I am a former Aircraft mechanic, Locksmith, and currently an experienced Jeweler so I am pretty mechanically adept. After a lot of back and forth and pleading with them I could not even unload this lemon until this issue was corrected, I was able to get a price on a replacement motor without having to replace the display and controller. Having said all this, if you only want to have a folding Electric bike to put in your RV to ride in level ground in State parks in moderation, then this is your bike. TBH this was a big part of my buying consideration, but even then, the performance longevity is questionable. Lectric offered to sell me the replacement wheel and motor at $250+ tx (could probably do better if I could find just a motor but wheel and spoke mounting and truing would add greatly) so I'll probably burn out my existing motor and then have the replacement for reselling my bike down the road if the worn out motor does not drive me crazy first. In the meantime, I have headphones. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!
 
As with anything that is manufactured, there will always be some defects. Often, the dissatisfied are more vocal than those that are pleased.

I have no personal experience with Lectric, but they seem to have a bit of a following.

No ebike is going to please everyone or have a perfect record. Please think hard before condemning something as junk. Sorry for the preaching.
 
I bought two Lectrics. A regular frame for me and a step-through for the gf. Unfortunately hers has been kind of a lemon. Out of the box the rear wheel was bent beyond repair. Lectric sent another one. That one made the same noise you describe - a shovel being dragged along the pavement. Lectric sent another wheel. This one seems OK but now the bike in general makes a similar noise when accelerating either with the throttle or with pedal assist in any mode higher than 1. Lectric already tried telling me the noisy motor was normal but I insisted and they sent the new wheel.

I'm sure if I tell them the bike is now making a similar noise but seems to be a vibration coming from somewhere on the bottom part of the frame, maybe the cranks or something like that, they will tell me that is also normal.

All I can say is the GF is not pleased with her new gift and frankly, neither am I. If I had bought something like this from Amazon I'd send it back but Lectric doesn't accept returns. Not sure what to do at this point.

Mine is fine, hers is not. If she's not happy.....well...no one will be happy!!
 
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