Phoenix-based electric bike company Lectric eBikes has been a consistent price leader in the electric bike industry. Now the company has just let it slip that they’re working on an electric trike that will be launched at an unbelievably low price. Badging on the three-wheeler seems to point to a new product in the XP line known as the Lectric XP Trike.
The company’s CEO Levi Conlow posted a teaser on Facebook earlier today, revealing that Lectric has been quietly working on an electric trike.
And not just any trike, but one that bears a price tag of just $1,499. That comes in at $1,000 less than the most recent major trike launch, the RadTrike from Rad Power Bikes.
It’s also significantly less expensive than many other electric trikes on the market that can cost well over $3,000.
The truly interesting thing about the Lectric XP Trike isn’t just the price, but rather that it appears to offer significantly more that most other trikes.
For example, instead of using a front hub motor for front wheel drive, the Lectric XP Trike uses a more sophisticated drivetrain. It features a centrally mounted motor to drive both rear wheels through a differential axle (a simplified version of the way a typical rear-wheel-drive car functions).
It looks like they actually used a hub motor mounted as a mid-drive motor, which is a rare but not totally foreign drive method. It was popularized by a highly acclaimed cargo e-bike setup known as the StokeMonkey over a decade ago and allows a cost effective hub motor to function like a much more expensive mid-drive motor.
The Lectric XP Trike also features hydraulic disc braking in the front and rear, which is a more premium type of brake that provides higher performance and lower maintenance.
Levi listed the battery as 14Ah but didn’t specify the voltage. Assuming it matches the 48V batteries in all of Lectric’s other e-bikes, that would put the battery at a healthy 672 Wh.
The Lectric XP Trike is also listed as fully-foldable and arriving fully-assembled, meaning riders won’t need to assemble it themselves. The inclusion of a central folding mechanism in addition to the handlebar folding mechanism should allow it to fit in tighter spaces while folded.
We’re still missing key specs on the Lectric XP Trike, but Levi shared that a full reveal will be coming later this week on January 13.
The ultra-affordable e-trike is true to Lectric’s reputation for crazy low prices. The company’s most affordable e-bike, the $799 Lectric XP Lite, is a 48V folding e-bike with value that hasn’t been matched in the industry.
The same goes for the company’s $999 Lectric XP 3.0 e-bike, which is a 28 mph (45 km/h) dual-passenger e-bike that undercuts all the other utility e-bikes we’ve seen so far.
And even the company’s $1,799 Lectric XPremium e-bike, despite being its most expensive, is a ridiculously good deal for a mid-drive e-bike with a torque sensor and dual batteries.
Don’t believe me? Check out the video from my review of that e-bike below.
City Dwellers’s Take
This. Is. Huge.
I hate to describe it this way, but this is kind of a RadTrike killer. And not just that, it basically shuts down every other electric trike on the market. Period.
Compared to the RadTrike, the Lectric XP Trike has 40% more battery, dual wheel rear drive instead of single wheel front drive and hydraulic brakes. And, it costs $1,000 less.
It’s unclear if those cargo baskets come with the bike or if they’re added accessories. If they do come standard, then it’s an even more killer deal, as those baskets will cost you over $100 to add yourself. Many companies hold those back behind a paywall.
Of course the Lectric XP Trike also has some downsides. It doesn’t have suspension. It doesn’t have a larger tractor seat saddle like the RadTrike or some others. It seems to have a bit of a wiring mess, though that might be due to the prototype nature of what is presumably the first model that we’re looking at in the picture.
But there’s no way around it, this is a crazy deal for anyone who needs a trike due to mobility or balances issues. Or anyone who just wants a trike.
In fact, I’ve been riding the RadTrike around for an upcoming review this week (that Lectric just kind of spoiled by pre-empting with this crazy unveil … thanks, Lectric), and it’s an awesome way to get around even as a healthy, able-bodied 33-year-old. You don’t have to be up there in years to enjoy a trike, though older folks are definitely a major part of the electric trike market.
I’ll be tuning in for more details and following this Lectric XP Trike launch very closely.
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