The Lectric XP 3.0 is already the best-selling electric bike model in the US. But when the team at Lectric eBikes announced they were planning to make it better than ever with the addition of hydraulic disc brakes, that was the proverbial cherry on top.
The Lectric XP 3.0 is widely considered to be the top bang-for-your-buck electric bike in the US. That hard-earned title is largely thanks to its low cost of just $999, and its surprisingly good reliability and feature set.
Now that the company has upgraded to more premium braking, the XP 3.0 is widening the gap in its lead over the competition.
In my opinion, this is the single best affordably-priced electric bike out there for getting someone back out on two wheels, replacing a car for daily tasks or just having fun outdoors.
Check out my testing of the latest edition of the hot-selling e-bike below, then keep reading for my full thoughts!
Lectric XP 3.0 video review
Lectric XP 3.0 tech specs
Motor: 500W (1,000W peak) geared hub
Top speed: 45 km/h (28 mph)
Range: Up to 72 km (45 mi)
Battery: 48V 10.4 Ah (460 Wh)
Weight: 29 kg (64 lb)
Max load: 150 kg (330 lb)
Brakes: Hydraulic disc brakes
Extras: Large LCD display with speedometer, wattmeter, battery meter, PAS level indicator, odometer and tripmeter, front and rear LED lights, 5 pedal assist speed settings with true current-based limits, half-twist throttle, removable and lockable battery, and robust rack & fenders included standard
We’ve talked before about the advantages of hydraulic brakes over mechanical brakes. Basically, they’re stronger and more reliable since they don’t require the same level of maintenance that mechanical cable brakes need.
Since there’s no cable to stretch, hydraulic disc brakes simply stay perfectly tuned. For sporadic and recreational riders, you might only need to change your brake pads once a year. For daily riders and commuters, that maintenance step may need to be taken 2-3x times a year depending on your mileage, but that’s still much better than 2-3x per month.
That reduced maintenance is a major upgrade over mechanical disc brakes that can sometimes need to be adjusted every couple of weeks when the bike is ridden often, especially with heavier riders that require more braking power at stops.
Impressively, Lectric eBikes didn’t increase the price of the XP when adding the higher end hydraulic disc brakes, keeping the price tag at the industry leading $999 figure that we’ve come to know and love.
But of course there’s so much more to the bike than just the new hydraulic brakes.
With a 500W motor that puts out a true 1,000W of peak power, the Lectric XP 3.0 offers excellent acceleration and hill climbing power. It comes out of the box with a 20 mph (32 km/h) speed limit, but you can unlock the Class 3 operation with 28 mph (45 km/h) of speed by adjusting the settings.
You’ll need to pedal a bit to go past 20 mph, since most states in the US require class 3 e-bikes to only surpass 20 mph when the rider is pedaling, not on throttle only. But even just throttling up to 20 mph is still plenty fast and a lot of fun; plus, it’s great for on those long rides when your legs are tired and you just want to head back home quickly.
The 500 Wh battery also offers decent range, though there’s a longer range battery that you can opt for with 40% capacity for just an extra $200.
The standard battery is still good for around 20 miles (32 km) on throttle only, but you’ll get closer to 30 miles (51 km) with the longer range battery. Of course you can stretch that range out even more if you pedal. You’ll get up to 45 miles of range with the standard battery or 65 miles of range with the long range battery if you keep it in pedal assist level 1, though that also means you’re doing most of the pedaling work.
That brings me to the Lectric XP 3.0’s pedal assist design. It’s still cadence sensor-based, so it’s not as fancy as having a true torque sensor (though not as pricey, either). But they sort of “cheated” their way to having performance similar to a torque sensor by using current-limiting programing for the pedal assist levels. That means the pedal assist feels less jerky and offers lower power in the lower settings, yet still gives good power in the higher settings. It’s a nicely executed model that feels great when you try it.
Next, check out all the features you get with this bike. The rear of the frame is actually the rack itself. That means there are no bolted connections, and you get the strongest construction for a rack. In fact, the rear rack is rated for 150 lb (68 kg). You can carry an adult back there. And I have!
When I first tested the Lectric XP 3.0, it was at Lectric’s headquarters in Phoenix, Arizona. The company’s CEO Levi Conlow took me for a spin on back, and then it was my turn to take the bars as he rode in the rear. For a relatively small and unassuming e-bike, it’s a great two-person ride. The optional passenger kit makes it easy to bring a friend, significant other or child (hopefully yours) with you.
Then there are all the other considerations. Full metal fenders so you don’t have cheap plastic bouncing around. LED lighting for visibility. Front suspension (and optional seat post suspension for your butt/spine). Front cargo mounting options. The list goes on and on.
Look, this isn’t the nicest quality e-bike out there. It’s decent, even quite good. It’s not great, and I never expected it to be. I’ve ridden $5,000 e-bikes that knock its socks off. But I also don’t really want to shell out $5k for an e-bike. For $1k, this is a steal of a deal. It’s all that most people need. And that’s its secret to having become the best-selling e-bike in the US. It’s not really a secret at all – just a good bike at a great price, matched with a helpful US-based team out in Phoenix to support it.
There’s something beautiful there in the simplicity. It works, and it works pretty darn well. It gets the job done, whether that’s commuting, utility riding, or just plain old fashioned recreational riding for fun. At $999, I really can’t complain about much here. Well played, Lectric.
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A team of white hat European hackers using their brains, keyboards, and a couple of bits and baubles from eBay managed to take control of a 2020 Nissan LEAF and violate just about every privacy and safety regulation in the process.
The best part: they recorded the whole thing.
Budapest-based cybersecurity experts PCAutomotive were able to exploit a number of vulnerabilities in a 2020 Nissan LEAF that enabled the white hat team to geolocate and track the car, record the texts and conversations happening inside the car, playing media back through the car’s speakers, and even (this is the genuinely terrifying dangerous part) turning the steering wheel while the car was moving. (!?)
Maybe the scariest part of this hack, however, is how seemingly easy it was to pull off by starting with a “test bench simulator” built using parts from eBay and exploiting a vulnerability in the LEAF’s DNS C2 channel and Bluetooth protocol.
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The PCAutomotive team gave a hugely detailed 118-page presentation of their exploit at black hat Asia 2025, which we’ve included at the bottom of this post, in case the original link goes dead. If you’re into that sort of thing, the fun stuff starts around page 27. And, if you’re not, just know that all the vulnerabilities were disclosed to Nissan and its suppliers between 02AUG2023 and 12SEP2024 (p. 116/118), and the “attack” itself can be seen in the video below that. Enjoy!
Summary of vulnerabilities
CVE-2025-32056 – Anti-Theft bypass
CVE-2025-32057 – app_redbend: MiTM attack
CVE-2025-32058 – v850: Stack Overflow in CBR processing
CVE-2025-32059 – Stack buffer overflow leading to RCE [0]
CVE-2025-32060 – Absence of a kernel module signature verification
CVE-2025-32061 – Stack buffer overflow leading to RCE [1]
CVE-2025-32062 – Stack buffer overflow leading to RCE [2]
PCA_NISSAN_009 – Improper traffic filtration between CAN buses
CVE-2025-32063 – Persistence for Wi-Fi network
PCA_NISSAN_012 – Persistence through CVE-2017-7932 in HAB of i.MX 6
Unfortunately, this is also one of those posts that some of the more clueless anti-EV hysterics will point to and say, “See!? EVs can get hacked!” But the reality is that virtually any car with electric power steering (EPS), electronic throttle controls, brake-by-wire, etc. can be hacked in a similar way. But, while steering a target’s car into an oncoming semi might be a great way to pull off a covert CIA assassination, the more worrying issue here is the breach of privacy and recording – unless you want to spend some time in El Salvadoran prison, I guess.
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A major new EV battery factory is being built in Sunderland, bringing 1,000 new jobs with it. AESC, Nissan’s battery partner, is behind the £1 billion ($1.33 billion) plant, which will boost the UK’s EV battery production by six times, enough to power 100,000 electric cars annually.
The 12 GWh capacity plant, AESC’s second battery plant in Sunderland, will be powered by 100% net-zero carbon energy. That big jump in capacity helps position Britain as a global player in EV manufacturing while pushing forward the country’s net-zero goals.
The investment is getting a serious financial lift from the British government. Through a combination of support from the National Wealth Fund and UK Export Finance, the project is unlocking £680 million in financing from major banks, including HSBC, Standard Chartered, SMBC Group, Societe Generale, and BBVA, that covers the construction and operation of the battery factory. Another £320 million is coming from private investment and fresh equity from AESC. On top of all that, the government’s Automotive Transformation Fund is pitching in with £150 million in grant funding.
This deal follows closely on the heels of the new UK-US trade agreement announced a day earlier, which cuts car export tariffs from 27.5% down to 10% for up to 100,000 UK-made vehicles – nearly the total number exported last year. That move could save car companies hundreds of millions of pounds and help protect good-paying jobs in manufacturing hubs like Sunderland.
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Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves visited AESC in Sunderland, where she met with staff and local leaders to discuss what this means for the Northeast and the British car industry.
“This investment follows hot on the heels of yesterday’s landmark economic deal with the US, which will save thousands of jobs in the industry,” Reeves said.
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It’s about the future of their jobs. Ford workers at two plants in western Germany are set to go on strike on Wednesday, their works council chief said on Monday.
Ford is facing a worker strike in Germany
In November, Ford announced it would cut around 4,000 jobs in Europe by 2027 as part of a restructuring, primarily in Germany and the UK. That’s still about 14% of its European workforce.
The American automaker said the move comes after it has incurred “significant losses” in recent years and a “highly disruptive market” with new EVs quickly gaining market share.
Ford blamed slower-than-expected demand for electric vehicles and a weak economic situation. It also plans to slow production at its Cologne EV plant, where the electric Explorer and Capri are built.
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Last week, IG Metall members voted in favor of “industrial action” with 93.5% of votes in favor of a strike. “Ford must act now—otherwise, we will go through with it,” said Kerstin D. Klein, Chief Representative of IG Metall Cologne-Leverkusen.
Ford Explorer EV production in Cologne (Source: Ford)
Ford is facing an influx of new competition, including Chinese EV makers like BYD. BYD’s overseas sales are surging with a fifth straight month of growth in April.
BYD even outsold Tesla in Germany last month, with 1,566 vehicles registered. In comparison, Tesla had just 855, and Ford saw 9,534 registrations.
Ford’s electric vehicles in Europe from left to right: Puma Gen-E, Explorer, Capri, and Mustang Mach-E (Source: Ford)
On top of this, Ford, like most of the industry, is preparing for more disruption with Trump’s auto tariffs. After releasing Q1 earnings last week, Ford warned that the tariffs could cost up to $2.5 billion this year.
During Ford’s earnings call, CFO Sherry House said that recent EV launches in Europe, including the Explorer, Capri, and Puma Gen-E, helped more than double Model e’s wholesale volume in Q1.
After early success in the US, Ford also launched its “Power Promise” promotion in Europe, offering EV buyers a free home charger and several other perks.