Game-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
If I told you that Phoenix-based Lectric eBikes took another popular-yet-expensive electric bike and found a way to produce something that is almost as good but at a fraction of a price, would you even be surprised anymore? That’s become the brand’s defining ethos, and they’ve proven it once again with the release of the Lectric XPedition electric cargo bike.
There are a lot of cargo e-bikes that we could compare side-by-side with the Lectric XPedition. Heck, there are simply a lot of electric cargo bikes out there these days.
But if you ask me, this is a poor man’s Tern GSD.
The Tern GSD is one of the most highly refined, beautifully designed, and expertly engineered electric cargo bikes on the market. It also ranges from $5,000 to $9,000, depending on the version.
At just $1,399, the Lectric XPedition probably costs less than just the Bosch powertrain on the GSD.
If you’re a cynic, then the XPedition was designed to eat the GSD’s lunch. If you’re more idealistic, then the XPedition brings much of the GSD’s convenience (small size, massive cargo capacity, wide range of rider fitment) to the masses at a price that normal folks can afford.
However you see it, the end result is undeniable. This is an electric cargo bike that will change the industry. Period.
Check out my video review of the new e-bike below, then read on for more about the bike!
Lectric XPedition video review
Lectric XPedition – key specs
I’ll have a more in-depth ride experience review coming in a couple days, but for now let’s start with the bike’s specs and my first impressions from several days of riding.
To start with, there are two models: a single and dual battery version.
They’re otherwise identical. They both use a 48V system, have a 750W continuous-rated motor and claim 1,310W of peak power. More on that peak power in a moment.
The single battery version has a 48V 14Ah battery for 672Wh of capacity, while the dual battery version double that to 1,344Wh of battery. That’s enough for 75 or 150 miles (120 or 240 km) of range on pedal assist, respectively. Even on throttle, you’ll probably still get a solid 30 or 60 miles (48 or 96 km) of range.
The Lectric XPedition hits 20 mph (32 km/h) on throttle-only riding but can reach as high as 28 mph (45 km/h) on pedal assist. The large 54-tooth chainring up front and the small 11-tooth sprocket on the 7-speed cassette help achieve a reasonable pedal cadence even at high speeds.
The bike rolls on 20″ wheels and features a custom 3″ urban tire designed by Lectric. The tires come with pre-Slimed tubes, meaning you basically get your first few flat tires for free. You probably won’t know that the self-healing Slime in your tubes saved you, but you ultimately could have several thorns, staples or other road debris in your tires months from now and still be rolling pretty with air in your tires.
Also, those tires may be custom but they’re still a standard size, so you can easily find tubes to fit.
For stopping, the bike includes a pair of hydraulic disc brakes on 180mm rotors. There’s an IP65-rated water-resistant display, a sturdy dual kickstand, a long rear bench, and support for a front rack/basket.
The handlebars fold down to make the bike even shorter, which is perfect for sliding it between the seats in an SUV or minivan.
And get this: the weight rating is insane. Not only is the bike rated for a max rider weight of 330 lb. (150 kg), but the total payload capacity is rated at 450 lb. (204 kg). The rear rack alone is rated for 300 lb. (136 kg) loads.
That means a 150 lb. rider like me can still have a 300 lb. passenger on back and remain within the bike’s weight ratings, as long as neither of us had a big lunch.
What about that power?
So I mentioned that I wanted to talk about that “1,310 watts of peak power” that Lectric claims. I’m going to have call B.S. on that. Allow me to put my rarely used engineer hat on for a second here (hey, I dust off that degree occasionally!).
E-bike power can be calculated as simply as multiplying the electrical voltage by the current (amps). That gives you the electrical power flowing through the system and ignores losses due to inefficiencies, such as how much power actually makes it from the battery to the rubber to the road. But it’s a good enough proxy for e-bike power that it is basically what we use.
The XPedition has a 24A controller, but the 48V battery (like all 48V Li-ion batteries) actually charges to 54.6V when fully charged. So Lectric took that higher number, multiplied it by 24 amps, and got that magically impressive 1,310 W peak power figure. But the problem is that the battery will only ever be at 54.6V for the first fraction of a second coming off a fresh full-charge. It drains throughout the ride, eventually dipping below 40V before cutting out at empty. So we generally use 48V as an average voltage, which gives us a more realistic 48V x 24A = 1,152W. And while the 1.15 kW peak power isn’t that different than the 1.31 kW claimed by Lectric, it’s a measurable difference. Okay, now let’s put that journalist/YouTuber/bike tester hat back on.
Having said all that, now let me tell you this. Whether you use the 1.3 kW or 1.1 kW number, the bike is disgustingly powerful. Like, just grossly powerful. And I mean that in the absolute best way possible. It has so much power that I grin ear to ear when I use it to haul a load or climb a hill. It feels like it can outpull a donkey. On hill climbs, it feels like the tires are filled with helium. The thing simply climbs and climbs. And it does so fast.
Remember when I tested the Lectric XP Trike and took it to a massive hill? I was amazed I could even climb up the hill on the trike. It wasn’t terribly fast, but rolling at 6-10 mph up a hill that was difficult to walk up felt impressive. Well, get this. After that test, I went back with the Lectric XPedition. It climbed that hill and flew past the XP Trike so fast it was just a three-wheeled blur.
So there’s no lack of power here. If anything, I’d recommend springing for the second battery model if you can, just so that you have extra charge to supply that power-hungry motor.
Better pedal assist that almost feels like a torque sensor
An interesting note about the Lectric XPedition’s pedal assist is that even though it uses a cadence sensor, it feels a bit more like a fancier torque sensor’s pedal assist.
There’s still telltale cadence sensor lag when you begin pedaling, but it doesn’t rocket you up to preset speeds at each pedal assist level. That’s because instead of using a speed-based pedal assist programming structure, Lectric used a power-based structure. Essentially, each pedal assist level allows progressively higher power, meaning you can pedal at whatever speed you wish and just enjoy more or less power, not more or less speed.
Lectric eBike’s CEO Levi Conlow explained it to me before I had the chance to test it as his form of cheating. “We like to cheat here. Just like how we cheated a mid-drive into the Lectric XP Trike by starting with a hub motor, we’re basically cheating our way to a torque sensor with this type of pedal assist programming.” Having tried it myself, I can confirm. They cheated, and it works great. It’s just a more comfortable way to use pedal assist as it allows you to ride at your own pace, more like a torque sensor-based system.
It doesn’t do anything to solve the pedal assist lag, but it makes the rest of the pedal assist experience so much better.
Top value, as usual
Value has become Lectric’s calling card. They might as well be named “Bang For Your Buck E-bikes” because that’s exactly what they do. And that’s exactly what you get with the Lectric XPedition.
It’s nowhere near as good as the Tern GSD or other many-thousand dollar bike shop e-bikes out there. It lacks the Bosch mid-drive motors, the quick-release thru-axles, the higher end automatic shifting and ultra powerful brakes, the fancier tail-standing rack, the higher spec hardware, and many of the nicer fit and finish details. It doesn’t come in a rainbow of colors and it doesn’t have a super-optimized weight saving frame (though 68 lb. isn’t bad for a high-power cargo e-bike). But you could also buy a parking space full of XPeditions for the price of one of the e-bikes that it imitates.
And for most people, that’s darn good enough.
The bike is a heavy-hauling, accessible e-bike that comes priced for the common man. And that’s something that the world needs more of.
If you can afford to buy a GSD, do it. It’s an amazing bike and you won’t regret it. But for those that could never justify spending several thousand dollars on an e-bike when money is tight enough as it is, bikes like the $1,399 Lectric XPedition will give you 80-90% of the day-to-day utility. And that’s good enough for me!
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Hot on the heels of the Fiat 4×4 Grande Panda Manifesto comes another subcompact Stellantis compact with electric drive and off-road ambitions. Meet the Opel Frontera GRAVEL – which might be our best look yet at the next-generation electric Jeep Renegade coming in 2027.
Based on a lifted Frontera EV and riding on a set of bespoke, 7×16″ Borbet CWE wheels wrapped in aggressive AT tires, Opel says its all-electric Frontera GRAVEL’s emissions-free driving makes it ideally suited for “soft-roading” nature drives (their words, not mine), with a rugged, adventurous 4×4 appearance.
Those rugged, Jeep-like good looks are backed up enhanced by the usual overland accessories, including a front-mounted winch, side storage boxes at the rear, and a lattice-style roof rack. A slew of accessory lights mounted on the Thule Canyon XT carrier and hood, as well, for excellent nighttime visibility off-road and (presumably) retina-searing intensity on-road.
“The new Opel Frontera is already standout,” says Rebecca Reinermann, Vice President of Marketing for Stellantis’ Opel and Vauxhall brands. “It is rugged, practical, and perfect for families and everyday adventures. But with the Frontera GRAVEL show car, we’ve pushed the limits, imagining a tougher, more daring, trailblazing version. This concept is built to fire up our fanbase and test the demand for a bolder, more rugged Frontera in the future. It’s all about freedom, adventure, excitement and pushing boundaries.”
Like the recent Fiat concept mentioned at the top of this post, the production Frontera EV is based on Stellantis’ “Smart Car” BEV-native platform, and features a 113 hp electric motor and more than 300 km of WLTP range (about 185 miles) standard, with the “long range” version able of traveling up to 400 km (about 250 miles) between charges.
Either version comes with the “Pure Panel” digital cockpit featuring dual 10″ displays. For a few dollars quid more, the GS trim adds automatic climate control and Intelli-Seat front seats. And, if Mopar Insider has any idea what’s up, it might actually make for a decent little Jeep Renegade replacement (below).
Electric Jeep Renegade rendering
The Opel Frontera first came to our attention last October, when it became the first new EV from Stellantis to be offered with both ICE and battery power, for the same price – making EV price parity an objectively real thing.
Jeep parent company Stellantis has already confirmed that a new Jeep Renegade that’s priced below the upcoming Jeep Compass EV would be coming to the US as a 2027 model, and it’s expected to share its mechanicals with both the Frontera and Fiat’s recently teased Grande Panda Manifesto. If that does anything for you, let us know in the comments.
Opel Frontera GRAVEL gallery
SOURCES | IMAGES: Mopar Insider, Stellantis.
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Year after year, a seemingly endless raft of all-electric concept bikes wearing Honda badges have made their way across the motor show stage without ever making it onto the dealer showroom. But now, it’s here: this unmissable, cafe racer-inspired electric Honda motorcycle is the company’s first – and you can buy it!
We got our first look at this first-ever production electric motorcycle from Honda back in March, when leaked type-approval documents hinted at a 75 mph 125 cc-class motorcycle with cafe racer styling and a “WH8000D” designation first surfaced. It was clear, then, that Honda was seriously working on a for-real electric motorcycle – what wasn’t clear was when (or even if) it would ever see productions.
The wait is over
The new Honda E-VO is available in dual- or triple-battery versions that feature either 4.1 or 6.2 kWh of battery capacity. On the triple-pack version, riders can enjoy up to 170 km WMTC (about 105 miles) of riding. Recharging takes about 2.5 hours on a standard outlet or about 90 minutes on an L2 (like the Harley-Davidson backed Livewire or Vespa Elettrica electric bikes, DC fast charging is not available).
Both battery configurations drive a motor with a peak power of 15.3 kW, or about 20 hp. And, like all electric motors, all the torque is available at 0 rpm, giving the Honda E-VO in-town performance similar to much higher (than 125 cc) displacement bikes.
In addition to superior stop-and-go performance, the Honda E-VO offers riders a number of other innovative (for a motorcycle) features, including a 7-inch TFT instrument display paired with a second 7-inch TFT screen for navigation, music, tire pressure, and battery SOC information. The smaller battery pack version of the E-VO includes a front dash cam, while the larger model has both a front and rear dash cam as standard equipment.
The Honda E-VO is available in the black and off-white color schemes (shown). Prices start at 29,999 yuan, or about $4500 for the 4.1 kWh version, and 36,999 yuan (about $5100) for the 6.2 kWh triple-pack version.
Electrek’s Take
Yes, this is a Chinese-market bike built by Honda’s Chinese Wuyang venture. No, we probably won’t ever get something like this in the US, where a raucous, 113 hp 600 cc CBR600RR is somehow positioned as a “good starter bike” by cowards with 3″ wide chicken strips on their tires. That said, if the motorcycle industry as-a-whole wants to survive in North America, zippy, affordable, lightweight motorcycles are exactly what’s needed.
Here’s hoping we get something like this stateside rather sooner than later.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Wuyang Honda; via Ride Apart, the PACK.
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Westerners in-the-know look longingly at the affordable, value-packed electric cars rolling out of China – but what could you get if money was no object? If you were to spend 100,000 US American dollars on a Chinese EV, how good could these Chinese cars really get? Huawei’s 852 hp Maextro S800 is the answer.
Packing up to 852 hp and a cutting-edge technology stack developed by Huawei, Chinese luxury brand Maextro revealed its latest entry into the Mercedes-Maybach EQS and Rolls-Royce Spectre segment of ultra-luxe EVs, the S800, back in February. Now, it’s officially on sale, priced at 708,000 and 1,018,000 yuan (approx $97,500-140,000), and ready to make an entrance.
As I wrote at the car’s launch, the Maextro S800’s bespoke, purpose-built platform doesn’t share any parts with a lesser offering in the Huawei lineup in the same way a Mercedes or BMW or Volkswagen does with a Maybach, Rolls-Royce, or Bentley, respectively. And, while I admit that that may not mean much to you and me, I maintain that it might to the people shopping six- and seven-figure cars. And that might be especially true to people willing to shell out that kind of cash for a car in China’s generally lower-priced market.
That seems to be the kind of upmarket experience people of the People’s Republic want, if the S800’s two thousand initial orders (in just two days) are and indication. And, lucky for those buyers, the Maextro is set to deliver plenty in return.
The vibe is immaculate
Those well-heeled buyers will get a choice of EREV or “pure” battery electric powertrains good for between 480 and 852 all-electric horsepower. 32 ADAS sensors including both radar and lidar compliment a suite of cameras analyze the road ahead and feed data to Huawei’s ADS road perception system, which is constantly adjusting torque distribution, suspension compression and rebound, and front and rear steering to deliver a tech-driven chauffeur experience that Huawei insists is second to none.
Huawei says its robotic driver is pretty handy when the weather gets nasty, too, thanks to an advanced sensor array that helps to increase the detection distance in rain, fog, and dust by 60% compared to the benchmarked competition.
While the car is its passengers around, they’ll get to enjoy luxurious, reclining rear seats with next-level mood lighting handled by a fully independent rear passenger system that supports intelligent track lighting, gesture dimming, and a panoramic “starry sky” moonroof that includes meteor shower effects.
The Maextro S800 also offers intelligent privacy glass and a unique door-closing function are also controlled with advanced gesture controls, in case you needed reminding that China is living in the year 3000 while the US is being plunged headlong into the 1940s by a pack of pseudo-conservatives too old to realize their gold standard policies will do nothing but hurt a fiat economy that’s consistently proved out the basic hypotheses behind modern monetary theory over the last five or six decades – but that’s a lot for an EV blog.
Instead of that, let’s ooh and ahh over the Maextro S800’s ultra-luxe interior in the photo gallery, below, then keep the debate to the relative merits of one of these over, say, a Mercedes-Benz EQS in the comments.
Huawei Maextro S800 gallery
SOURCES | IMAGES: Huawei Central; CarNewsChina.
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