Just when you thought that value-based electric bike brand Lectric Ebikes had revealed it all, they drop one more awesomely-priced e-bike into the mix. Meet the Lectric XPeak, a new adventure-style e-bike with some seriously good bang-for-your-buck.
Adventure electric bikes can be tricky to define but are generally considered to be a class of full-size fat tire e-bikes. Too big for the mountain bike class but too all-terrain for purely commuter use, these fat tire e-bikes split the difference and offer either an ultra-comfy street ride or a fun and diverse trail ride.
In this case, the Lectric XPeak takes a lot of the same design components – 4-inch fat tires, front suspension, powerful motor, and equally powerful braking – and wraps it all up in a pretty bow with an amazing price tag of just $1,399.
And that’s to be expected, as Lectric Ebikes didn’t land the best selling e-bike in the US, the $999 Lectric XP 3.0, by resting on its laurels. The company has constantly worked to rollout new models, expanding into cargo bikes, trikes and other designs along the way. And that’s the same energy that Lectric is bringing to the XPeak, as cofounder and CEO Levi Conlow explained at the company’s recent Media Day:
I’m only interested in going in and being number one in this category, just like we did with the XP 3.0, and the XPedition and the XP Trike. Number two is just the first loser, and we’re not interested in that!
Even though the XPeak won’t officially begin taking orders until next week on Tuesday, November 1, taking a look at the specs and pricing shows that rising to the top of the category once again is a pretty safe bet for Lectric.
Let’s jump into the specs of the XPeak to see what this e-bike is packing.
The rear motor is a 750W continuous and 1,310W peak-rated hub motor. It provides up to 28 mph (45 km/h) of speed, though the bike can be programmed to operate in Class 1, 2, or 3 operation modes. Lectric is also calling this their Stealth M24 motor, as it’s the quietest motor they’ve offered yet.
The removable, frame-integrated battery is a 48V 14Ah unit with 672 Wh of capacity. It provides power to the rear wheel either through a thumb throttle or Lectric’s wattage-based pedal assist. That pedal assist uses a cadence sensor but as part of a current-limiting system that creates pseudo-torque sensor performance. The lag is still there, but the bike doesn’t shoot up to a set speed like most simple cadence sensor bikes. It’s something of the “poor man’s torque sensor.”
For stopping power, the bike gets a set of hydraulic disc brakes on 180 mm rotors, a feature normally seen on more expensive bikes but has recently begun working its way into value e-bikes as well. The company recently updated its Lectric XP 3.0 to use hydraulic brakes, which has been widely praised for bringing higher performance braking to budget-level rides.
Other features on the XPeak include front and rear LED lighting, a 7-speed pedal drivetrain and puncture-resistant 26″ x 4.0″ tires.
The Lectric XPeak comes in either a black step-over frame and a white step-through frame
Interestingly, Lectric actually went above and beyond the required safety testing by using a US-based bicycle testing lab to rate the bike to ISO M4210-10, a standard we normally see on much higher end electric mountain bikes.
The EMTB safety standard ISO M4210-10 tests the frame, fork, and other areas for ruggedness required of true off-road bikes. It’s a standard that is required in Europe but only recommended in the US, and Lectric elected to undergo that testing. To pass it, they explained that there was only one fat tire fork that would work for them and could withstand the torture testing. As Conlow added, “You have to make the investment in the fork to be able to pass this testing. In this space right now, the only solution is the RST Renegade fork. That fork retails for $400, and it meant we would have to put a $400 fork on our bike to pass the test. And so we put a $400 fork on the bike. That makes this the only e-bike under $3,000 that uses this Renegade RST fork.”
In another nod to rugged design, the front wheel also makes use of a quick release thru-axle, unlike a narrow quick release skewer axle seen on most budget e-bikes. That means that you can still pop your front wheel out easily to put the bike in a car, but that it can’t come out accidentally while riding, and it doesn’t rely on a thin 5mm axle that can bend or break under rough off-road conditions.
Lectric has a wide range of accessories that are compatible with the XPeak as well, ranging from racks and bags to fenders and locks. In fact, if you order through here when the bike launches after November 1, you’ll get $450 of accessories as part of the Launch Package, including front and rear racks with baskets, a fender set, a folding lock, and an Elite headlight.
Electrek’s Take
How many more rabbits can Lectric Ebikes pull out of this same hat?
As I’ve said before, the company has one move and one move only – to look at what other e-bike companies are building and just do that, but for a better price. And they’ve perfected that move.
The result may not always be the sexiest. It’s not always the highest quality. In fact, it’s rarely either. You can find flashier e-bikes with fancy carbon frames and top shelf derailleurs out there. But I’ll be damned if the XPeak isn’t the best value on the market for this class of e-bike. If you’re a value shopper and you don’t need bells and whistles, this is the ticket.
I’m really impressed to see the extra effort that the team at Lectric put into the frame and fork. Many of the electric components on e-bikes, such as motors and batteries, are largely off the shelf parts that are fairly common between companies, so doubling down on frame design can be a major differentiator. Using a thru-axle for the front wheel is also a big upgrade, and that’s something that always jumps out at me when I inspect a new e-bike. While skewer axles have been common for a long time, thru-axles are starting to replace them when companies want to ensure they’ve got a stronger and more rugged front end designed to last for many more miles of hard riding.
All told, I’d say Lectric has done a very impressive job here. Even without considering the price, this looks like a great design. But when you add that $1,399 price tag (or $1,299 at the launch next week), it’s even better!
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links.More.
In the Electrek Podcast, we discuss the most popular news in the world of sustainable transport and energy. In this week’s episode, we discuss Trump’s Big Beautiful bill becoming law and going after EVs and solar, Tesla, Ford, and GM EV sales, Electrek Formula Sun, and more
Today’s episode is brought to you by Bosch Mobility Aftermarket—A global leader and trusted provider of automotive aftermarket parts. To celebrate Amazon Prime Day July 8th through 11th, Bosch Mobility is offering exclusive savings on must-have auto parts and tools. Learn more here.
As a reminder, we’ll have an accompanying post, like this one, on the site with an embedded link to the live stream. Head to the YouTube channel to get your questions and comments in.
Advertisement – scroll for more content
After the show ends at around 5 p.m. ET, the video will be archived on YouTube and the audio on all your favorite podcast apps:
We now have a Patreon if you want to help us avoid more ads and invest more in our content. We have some awesome gifts for our Patreons and more coming.
Here are a few of the articles that we will discuss during the podcast:
A new Tesla prototype was spotted again, reigniting speculation among Tesla shareholders, even though it’s likely just a Model Y, potentially a bit smaller, and the upcoming stripped-down, cheaper version.
It sparked a lot of speculation about it being the new “affordable” compact Tesla vehicle.
There’s confusion in the Tesla community around Tesla’s upcoming “affordable” vehicles because CEO Elon Musk falsely denied a report last year about Tesla’s “$25,000” EV model being canceled.
Advertisement – scroll for more content
The facts are that Musk canceled two cheaper vehicles that Tesla was working on, commonly referred as “the $25,000 Tesla” in early 2024. Those vehicles were codenamed NV91 and NV92, and they were based on the new vehicle platform that Tesla is now reserving for the Cybercab.
Instead, Musk noticed that Tesla’s Model 3 and Model Y production lines were starting to be underutilized as the Company faced demand issues. Therefore, Tesla canceled the vehicles program based on the new platform and decided to build new vehicles on Model 3/Y platform using the same production lines.
We previously reported that these electric vehicles will likely look very similar to Model 3 and Model Y.
In recent months, several other media reports reinforced this, and Tesla all but confirmed it during its latest earnings call, when it stated that it is “limited in how different vehicles can be when built on the same production lines.”
Now, the same Tesla prototype has been spotted over the last few days, and it sent the Tesla shareholders community into a frenzy of speculations:
Electrek’s Take
As we have repeatedly reported over the last year, the new “affordable” Tesla “models” coming are basically only stripped-down Model 3 and Model Y vehicles.
They might end up being a little smaller by a few inches, and Tesla may use different model names, but they will be extremely similar.
If this is it, which is possible, you can see it looks almost exactly like a Model Y.
It’s hard to confirm if it’s indeed smaller because of the angle of the vehicle compared to the other Model Ys, but it’s not impossible that the wheelbase is a bit smaller – although it’s hard to confirm.
Either way, the most significant changes for these stripped-down, more affordable “models” are expected to be cheaper interior materials, like textile seats instead of vegan leather, no heated or ventilated seats standard, no rear screen, maybe even no double-panned acoustic glass and a lesser audio system.
As previously stated, the real goal of these new variants, or models, is to lower the average sale price in order to combat decreasing demand and maintain or increase the utilization rate of Tesla’s current production lines, which have been throttled down in the last few years to now about 60% utilization.
If this trend continues, Tesla would find itself in trouble and may even have to close its factories.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links.More.
CANNES — Wall Street’s new plumbing is being built on Ethereum and this week its architects took over the same French Riviera villas and red carpet venues that host the Cannes Film Festival in May.
The Ethereum Community Conference, or EthCC, took over the beachside town that was swarming with crypto founders, developers, and some of the institutional giants now building atop the infrastructure.
The crypto elite climbed the iconic red-carpeted steps of the Palais des Festivals — a cinematic landmark now repurposed as the stage for Ethereum’s flagship European event.
“The atmosphere this year was palpable in Cannes,” said Bettina Boon Falleur, the powerhouse behind EthCC for the past seven years. “The prestige of the location, combined with the quality of talks, has reinforced Ethereum’s stature and purpose in the wider ecosystem.”
Private parties sprawled across cliffside estates and exclusive resorts, but the conversations were less about price action and more about the blockchain’s evolving role as the back-end of global finance.
EthCC, now in its eighth year, has tracked Ethereum’s trajectory from scrappy experiment to institutional backbone.
“That impact was unmistakable this year,” Falleur said. “From Robinhood embracing decentralized finance infrastructure via Arbitrum to local governments like the City of Cannes exploring deeper integration with the crypto economy.”
Indeed, one of the boldest moves came this week from Robinhood, which became the first publicly traded U.S. company to launch tokenized stocks on-chain.
At a product showcase held inside a Belle Époque mansion overlooking the sea, Robinhood unveiled a sweeping new crypto strategy — including the ability for European users to trade tokenized U.S. stocks and ETFs via Arbitrum, a Layer 2 network built on Ethereum.
The announcement helped push Robinhood stock past $100 for the first time, capping off a week of fresh all-time highs and a more than 30% rally since being snubbed by the S&P 500 during a recent rebalance.
Inside the Palais des Festivals, ETHCC draws founders, developers, and institutions into the same halls that host the world’s biggest film premieres — this time, for the future of finance.
MacKenzie Sigalos
Ether, the token native to the Ethereum blockchain, was up nearly 6% on the week and several public equities tied to the blockchain have rallied alongside it.
BitMine Immersion Technologies, a company that mines bitcoin, gained more than 1,200% since announcing it would make ether its primary treasury reserve asset. Bit Digital, which recently exited bitcoin mining to “become a pure play” ethereum staking and treasury company, gained more than 34% this week. And SharpLink Gaming, which added more than $20 million in ether to its balance sheet this week, jumped more than 28% on Thursday.
Ether ETF inflows are rising again too — a sign that institutional investors are warming back up.
Ether is still down more than 20% this year and lags far behind bitcoin in market cap and adoption. But funds tracking ETH have seen two straight months of mostly net inflows, according to CoinGlass data. Still, ether ETFs total just $11 billion — compared to $138 billion in bitcoin ETFs.
Institutions aren’t betting on Ethereum for hype — they’re betting on infrastructure.
Even as prices stall and the network faces headwinds from slower base layer revenues and faster rivals like Solana, the momentum is shifting toward utility.
“Ethereum is getting plugged into these core transactional systems,” Paul Brody, global blockchain leader at EY, told CNBC on the sidelines of EthCC. “Investors, savers, people moving money — they are going to start shifting from some of the older mechanisms of doing this into Ethereum ecosystems that can do these transactions faster, cheaper, but also very importantly, with significant new functionality attached to it.”
Crypto founders and developers climb the iconic red-carpeted steps of the Palais des Festivals — a familiar backdrop for the Cannes Film Festival, now repurposed for Ethereum’s flagship European event.
MacKenzie Sigalos
Deutsche Bank recently announced it’s building a tokenization platform on zkSync — a faster, cheaper blockchain built on top of Ethereum — to help asset managers issue and manage tokenized funds, stablecoins, and other real-world assets while meeting regulatory and data protection requirements.
Coinbase and Kraken are also racing to own the crossover between traditional stocks and crypto.
Coinbase has filed with the SEC to offer trading in tokenized public equities, a move that would diversify its revenue stream and bring it into more direct competition with brokerages like Robinhood and eToro.
Kraken announced plans to offer 24/7 trading of U.S. stock tokens in select overseas markets.
BlackRock‘s tokenized money market fund, BUIDL — launched on Ethereum last year — offers qualified investors on-chain access to yield with redemptions settled in USDC in real time.
Stablecoins, meanwhile, continue to serve as the backbone of Ethereum’s financial layer.
“The builders and contributors at EthCC aren’t chasing the next bull run,” Falleur said, “they’re laying the groundwork to make Ethereum home for the next billion users.”
Even as newer blockchains tout faster speeds and lower fees, Ethereum is proving its staying power as a trusted network.
Vitalik Buterin, Ethereum’s co-founder, told CNBC in Cannes that there is an assumption that institutions only care about scale and speed — but in practice, it’s the opposite.
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin delivers a keynote at ETHCC, laying out the network’s next steps — and its values test — as institutional adoption accelerates.
EthCC
“A lot of institutions basically tell us to our faces that they value Ethereum because it’s stable and dependable, because it doesn’t go down,” he said.
Buterin added that firms often ask about privacy and other long-term features — the kinds of concerns that institutions, he said, “really value.”
Tomasz Stańczak, the new co-executive director of the Ethereum Foundation, said institutions are choosing Ethereum for the same core reasons.
“Ten years without stopping for a moment. Ten years of upgrades, with a huge dedication to security and censorship resistance,” he said.
He added that when institutions send orders to the market, they want to be “absolutely sure that their order is treated fairly, that nobody has preference, that the transaction actually is executed at the time when it’s delivered.”
Those guarantees have become increasingly valuable as stablecoins and tokenized assets move into the mainstream.
Ethereum’s core values — neutrality, security, and censorship resistance — are emerging as competitive advantages.
The real test now is whether Ethereum can scale without losing its values.
“We don’t just want to succeed,” Buterin said from the mainstage of the Palais this week. “We want to be something that is worthy of succeeding.”
He said the hope is that future generations will look back and see a network that truly delivered openness, freedom, and permissionless access to the masses.
White-clad guests dance poolside at the rAAVE party in Cannes.
MacKenzie Sigalos
But the week didn’t end in the conference halls, it closed with tradition. On the balcony of Villa Montana, overlooking the Bay of Cannes, the rAAVE party lit up.
White-clad guests sipped cocktails as the DJ spun by the pool, haze curling from smoke machines.
This year, Chainlink co-founder Sergey Nazarov and DeFi icon Stani Kulechov, founder of Aave, stood atop the balcony overlooking the crowd and the light-dotted skyline of Cannes.
It was a fitting snapshot of the momentum behind Ethereum’s institutional rise and symbolic of Web3’s shift from niche experiment to financial mainstay.