Lectric XP Trike review: This is the electric trike you’ll probably buy
Let’s face it: If you live in the US and you want an electric trike, there’s one e-trike that you’re most likely to buy – the Lectric XP Trike. Everyone’s talking about it and rightly so. It simply comes in with the best bang for your buck, hands down. It’s not the prettiest. It’s not the highest end. It’s not the fastest. But it likely has the best value of all the e-trikes out there.
So let’s take a deep dive into this awesome trike and see if it would be right for you.
The Lectric XP Trike follows Lectric eBike’s strategy of offering e-bikes that can do 90% of what the more expensive models can do (and in some cases, even more than what the expensive models can do), yet at a fraction of the cost.
Case in point: The Lectric XP Trike is priced at an extremely fair $1,499 and yet offers nearly as much in terms of features and performance as the competition (plus some upgrades compared to many others, like hydraulic brakes and a folding mechanism).
Check out my testing of the Lectric XP Trike in the video below, then read on for my complete thoughts on whether or not this is the right electric three-wheeler for you.
Lectric XP Trike video review
Lectric XP Trike tech specs
- Motor: 500 W (1,092 W peak) geared mid-mounted motor
- Top speed: 22.5 km/h (14 mph)
- Range: Up to 96 km (55 mi)
- Battery: 48V 14 Ah (672 Wh)
- Weight: 31.5 kg (69.5 lb)
- Max load: 188 kg (415 lb) with max rider weight of 150 kg (330 lb)
- Brakes: Hydraulic disc brake calipers with parking brakes on levers
- Extras: Large LCD display with speedometer, wattmeter, battery meter, PAS level indicator, odometer and tripmeter, dual rear wheel drive, front and rear LED lights, 5 pedal assist speed settings, half-twist throttle, removable and lockable battery, fenders and more
- Price: $1,499
What I like about it
If I’m being honest, the XP Trike’s first big advantage that already gets my ears perked up is the price. At $1,499, it’s just so much more affordable than basically every other big name e-trike out there. But there’s much more to the story than just the price. Because they don’t simply cut quality to cut price. They still offer a lot of features.
The low step-through design is easy to mount. I had my mom (who is in her late 60s) on the Lectric XP Trike after her knee surgery, and she took to it quite well. Anyone with mobility issues will find the trike easy to mount. And with a half twist throttle, you can even ride it like a mobility scooter if you don’t want to pedal.
But pedaling… that’s a joy, too. The Lectric XP Trike uses a new type of pedal assist programming that makes it much more comfortable to ride. It still uses a more cost-friendly cadence sensor, so it’s not as nice as a torque sensor-based pedal assist, but it goes part of the way there thanks to the programming. Instead of the different pedal assist levels working like increasingly higher speed limits, the levels actually limit power by providing a current limit. The result is that each progressively higher pedal assist level actually offers you more power, not just more speed. It makes it easy to modulate the power for either a relaxing low power ride or a faster and more thrilling zip around the community.
I’m also a fan of the 20″ wheels that Lectric chose. They aren’t fat tires, but instead more like a hybrid between street tires and mountain bike tires. They have a moderately aggressive tread that allows you to ride on grass or dirt without losing traction.
Most people will stick to the streets and paved bike paths, but nature trails are definitely on the table with these types of tires.
Many electric trikes have opted for fat tires, which I think are probably not necessary for most riders. If you’re looking into a trike, you’re probably not the type of rider who also opts for super aggressive terrain where fat tires excel.
So these modest tires are a nice compromise, offering enough tread and width for dirt roads while still being efficient and effective on the asphalt.
Next, the battery capacity is a nice bump up over some other models. With a 48V 14Ah battery, you’ve got 672 Wh of capacity. The trike only goes up to 14 mph (22 km/h), so you’re not going to burn through that battery very quickly. At full throttle in highest power mode under less than ideal conditions, you’ll likely get at least 20 miles (32 km) of range. But if you back it off to modest power, you can easily double that.
With several hours of riding on a single charge, very few people will ever be worried about running out of battery in the middle of a ride.
Lastly, I’m a big fan of the rear wheel drive setup. I often like to ride on grass or other loose terrain, and a front hub motor (which is the most common way to power an e-trike) can mean that the front wheel loses traction. Even on asphalt, a powerful front motor can spin the tire, which catches many riders off guard.
But with Lectric’s rear wheel drive setup, not only do you get two wheel drive, but the rear wheels will never lose traction because that’s where most of the rider’s weight is supported.
What I don’t like about it
I’ll be honest, it’s hard to find areas to complain about this trike, at least at this price. I always try to keep the price in mind when evaluating bikes, since its hard to compare a $1,499 trike to something twice its price and expect to get the same thing.
In this case though, there are some areas that aren’t top notch.
First of all, I love that the trike folds in the rare event that you need to fit it into a car, but the folding isn’t the smoothest. You have to carefully wiggle the front wheel back inside of the rear wheel. If you’ve got a basket on the front, that’s even trickier and you have to gingerly slide the handlebars under the basket while trying not to scrape anything. It works, and I’ve done it many times. But each time it’s like you’re solving one of those block puzzles and trying to force the pieces together too hard when you know that if you have the puzzle solved correctly, then it wouldn’t require this much pushing.
In practice, I found that I rarely folded the middle section of the bike. Instead, I could fit the trike in my parent’s minivan simply by folding down the handlebars and lifting off the seat. That made the bike short enough to roll right in the back (though the rear seats in a van or SUV will need to be folded down).
Next, the trike is still stable, but it’s not the most stable on the market. The RadTrike has been the most stable e-trike I’ve ever tested, largely because the rear end is slightly wider and the 18″ wheels keep it slightly lower.
But even so, the Lectric XP Trike still feels pretty darn solid. Yes, I can get a wheel up in the turns, but I have to try pretty hard to do it. As long as you’re on flat ground, I don’t think you’ll accidentally get into a tipping situation on the XP Trike. Riding sideways on an incline though, that can be a bit hairy, but the same is true in any three-wheeler.
Should you buy the Lectric XP Trike?
At the end of the day, it’s pretty simple. If you want a decent electric trike at a great price, this is it. There’s no reason to even look any further. I’m rarely this positive about an e-bike, but I’ve rarely seen this much value at this low of a price tag.
E-trikes are simply expensive. Not only is there physically more bike to produce, which increases costs to manufacturers, but they’re niche bikes and come in bigger boxes, meaning they have higher import costs and higher shipping costs to your door (which manufacturers have to eat in order to offer “free shipping”). All of that goes into the higher price found on these types of e-bikes.
But Lectric eBikes has managed to keep the price in check, which is critical for older riders on fixed budgets that can’t afford to drop $2,000- $3,000 on a bike.
It’s not the most elegant design for an e-trike, but it IS the most bang-for-your-buck. And so in that way, it seems like a clear winner for me.
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British Columbia got its first 400 kW DC fast charger last week at Canadian C-store chain On The Run, but that’s not the good part. As part of a limited time offer, these chargers are FREE!
The Canadian convenience store chain just took the wraps off its new, ABB-developed, 400 kW chargers earlier this month, but they’re already planning to bring the ultra-fast 400 kW dispensers to at least four more locations in BC this spring, and have them online just in time for the summer road trip season – something On The Run hopes its customers will appreciate.
“The A400 charger delivers an enhanced customer experience, with reliability and performance from a 32-inch screen to higher power charging sessions and power sharing,” reads the company’s official announcement, via LinkedIn. “Download the Journie Rewards app to start the charge – free for a limited time.”
On The Run’s new 400 kW ABB DC fast chargers are compatible with CCS and CHAdeMO plugs, and can accommodate Tesla and other NACS-equipped vehicles with an adapter. That said, the company seems to imply that Tesla drivers in particular will have a maximum charging speed of “just” 50 kW, which feel hilarious (given the current state of affairs between Tesla and the Canadian government), but probably isn’t.
In addition to the ABB A400 400 kW units shown here, On The Run locations also employ the ABB Terra 184 dispensers rated at 180 kW. On The Run plans similar deployments at the four BC locations mentioned above, as well as two more each in Quebec and Ontario slated to go live towards the end of this year.
Electrek’s Take
Tesla’s controversial CEO Elon Musk once mocked 350 kW charging speed as being “for a child’s toy,” despite the fact that, nearly nine years later, his own cars and Superchargers can barely make it to 325 kW while others have sailed right on past. I made fun of that fact on the Quick Charge episode shown, above – and, while I do think it’s funny and relevant, the much more relevant piece of news here is that companies like BP Pulse, Revel, and Wallbox are actively deploying 400 kW solutions, today (while others hit the same mark as far back as 2017).
It’s just a fact: Tesla has fallen way behind.
SOURCE | IMAGES: On The Run, via Electric Autonomy.
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Terawatt Infrastructure‘s first medium- and heavy-duty electric charging truck stop in California is now online, in Rancho Dominguez.
Located 12 miles north of the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, the private Rancho Dominguez site, which is shared among multiple fleets, will support electric trucking fleet operations in and out of the largest container ports in the US.
First customers include Dreaded Trucking, Hight Logistics, PepsiCo, Quick Container Drayage, Southern Counties Express, Tradelink Transport, and WestCoast Trucking & Warehousing.
Terawatt’s electric charging truck stop features 20 pull-through and bobtail DC fast charging stalls with a capacity of 7 megawatts (MW), enabling charging for up to 125 trucks per day using a simple reservations system. Terawatt’s site features a proprietary charge management system, in-house technicians, 24/7 customer service, and onsite parts management.
“This launch underscores growing collaboration between enterprises, shippers, carriers, and charging infrastructure providers to advance sustainable technologies across logistics and transportation operations, especially in the medium and heavy-duty sectors,” said Neha Palmer, CEO and cofounder of Terawatt. Palmer added that the company will bring another charging site online in Rialto, California, in June.
Terawatt joined some of the world’s largest shippers and carriers in September 2024 to launch the I-10 Consortium heavy-duty EV operations pilot, the “first-ever US over-the-road electrified corridor.” Terawatt is providing charging infrastructure, including software, operations, and maintenance support at six of its owned charging hubs along the I-10 corridor.
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In its most aggressive attack against offshore wind yet, the Trump administration halted the $5 billion Empire Wind 1, already under construction off New York’s coast.
Norwegian developer Equinor announced yesterday that it received notice from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) ordering Empire Wind 1 to halt all activities on the outer continental shelf until BOEM has completed its review. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum posted this tweet yesterday:
Burgum gave no indication of what insufficiencies there were in the approval process for the fully permitted offshore wind project, despite Trump’s recent declaration of a national energy emergency that speeds up permitting processes.
The commercial lease for the 810-megawatt (MW) Empire Wind 1’s federal offshore wind area was signed in March 2017 during the first Trump administration. It was approved by the Biden administration in November 2023 and began construction in 2024.
The project is being developed under contract with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). Empire Wind 1, which was due to come online in 2027, has the potential to power 500,000 New York homes.
“Halting construction of fully permitted energy projects is the literal opposite of an energy abundance agenda,” said American Clean Power Association CEO Jason Grumet in a statement. “We encourage the administration to quickly address perceived inadequacies in the prior permit approvals so that this project can complete construction and bring much-needed power to the grid.”
As Electrek reported, Equinor secured $3 billion to finance Empire Wind 1 in January. The total amount drawn under the project finance term loan facility as of March 31 was around $1.5 billion.
As of March 31, Empire Wind has a gross book value of around $2.5 billion, including South Brooklyn Marine Terminal (pictured above), which was expected to become the US’s largest dedicated port facility for offshore wind.
In response to BOEM’s stop work order, New York Governor Kathy Hochul issued the following statement:
Every single day, I’m working to make energy more affordable, reliable and abundant in New York and the federal government should be supporting those efforts rather than undermining them. Empire Wind 1 is already employing hundreds of New Yorkers, including 1,000 good-paying union jobs as part of a growing sector that has already spurred significant economic development and private investment throughout the state and beyond.
As Governor, I will not allow this federal overreach to stand. I will fight this every step of the way to protect union jobs, affordable energy and New York’s economic future.
Equinor says it’s considering appealing BOEM’s order.
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