Our Lectric XP 3.0 E-bikes Have Arrived

It's been a crazy week. So I thought I would catch up with a post about our E-bikes! 

In my last post I mentioned that we had been researching electric bicycles. Yes, E-bikes. We had finally decided on a brand and placed an order. We chose the Lectric brand because they seem to have a much better reliability, they were developed here in the United States by two young college kids with the help of their father who started up a business.  They are now in their fourth year of production and have sold over 400,000 bikes and the bikes are very popular with the RVing community. They fold up and stow away in a small space. We met a few RV couples who had them and just absolutely loved them. 

They had a really good promotional deal with a sale price plus a number of accessories for free. There were also other accessories that could be purchased at the same time at a discount from the list price.

Here is their website:

https://lectricebikes.com/

We placed our order on the very last day of their promotional sale with the additional items. They promised an 8 day shipping window after receiving our order. 

But.... They came safe and sound from FedEx actually one day earlier than promised!!! 

In this day and age of crazy shipping, it's a wonder that you get anything in good shape, much less on the day it was promised. Not only did we get the two bikes but we also got the two boxes of the extra accessories that came along as part of the deal. With NO damage to the boxes either. 

Steve and I set up the video camera and did a silly unboxing video for YouTube. So many of these professional YouTubers get items from companies for free and then promote themselves unboxing it and talking about it. That's not us! Nobody bought these for us, we had to do it all ourselves!!

So this is an unpaid promotional unboxing video link below:

If you don't want to look at the link, here are some of the actual photographs I took of us un-boxing them.

What is really cool, is that these bikes are shipped fully assembled. The bikes do fold up for storage so that's the way they arrive in the box! They are 64 lb with the battery inside. If the battery is out and you fold it up then they only weigh 57 lb. 

Once we started snip snip snipping all the wire ties, this is the leftover packing foam that surrounds the bikes. 40 snipped wire ties per bike, 80 wire ties in all!

Then we had to snip snip snap all of these little yellow warning tags. Each one has a QR code to read more about what the warning is for. Nine warning tags per bike, 18 in all. 

All we really had to do was pop the handlebars into place and adjust the latch and also set the seat bar into place and adjust that latch. 2 cords to plug in. Done!  They also came with fully charged batteries and two sets of keys. The bike will not operate without a key, and the battery can not be removed unless the key is used. The batteries are encased in the frame itself, protected from rain and theft. The bikes can be charged with the battery in place, or else taken out and into another location for charging. They are Lithium batteries and should be stored indoors in cold weather.  

The front tire on Steve's bike was very low on air. We didn't know if it had been punctured during transit or not. Steve went to air it up and realized it was only a loose valve stem! Easy peasy! He tightened it up and filled with air and everything was great! No damage - no scrapes - no dings - no dents. 

We had ordered the wider seats with the suspension post that has a shock absorber in it. That was contained right in the box along with the bikes. We slid them into place and adjusted for our individual heights. 

In advance, we both had bought helmets and some nice thick gloves for riding. They are actually gardening gloves from Aldi's but they seem to be quite nicely made. 

We had also picked up some supplies to keep on the bikes which included some microfiber cloths and a headband for under my helmet as well as a band for on my pants leg. That way it doesn't get caught in the sprocket or chain. And of course a little first aid kit!

Like I said, our bike deal came with some FREE items.... 

The first item was an upgraded headlight from the original one that comes with the bike. The new one is bigger and brighter LED and better for nighttime riding. Steve had those mounted in no time. What a difference in size. This is a $99 upgrade that we got free in the deal.

The second item in the free deal was a cell phone carrier that attaches right to the handlebars. The cell phone can be used as a GPS for directions as we pedal along. Some cell phone carriers just have rubber banded corners. If the bike ever tips over or heaven forbid, we ever fall over, the cell phone isn't very well protected with those kind. So this one is a little more elaborate with a little more protection. I don't think I would pay $30 for it, as it's priced that high, but because it came free with the bike I don't mind.

The third item is this articulating steel bike lock. It operates similar to the old fashioned carpenters yardsticks that would unfold and fold back up again. This is made to go around a post or a tree and through various parts of the bike frame to lock it up. Although no lock is foolproof, it probably would take a thief a little longer to get through the steel bars then through the links of a chain. It sells for $50 but we got it free with the deal.

It stows in a bracket that is attached right to the frame of the bike. It is quite a heavy piece of steel lock that is handy to have on hand if we need to lock them up somewhere quickly to go in a store or someplace. 

Multiple locks seem to be the way to go, so we will get another type of cable lock besides these. Theft of these e-bikes seems to be pretty common. 

Of course, they are now insured with their own policies as they are a motorized vehicle.  The same company (American Family) that has our homeowners, cars and motorhome insurance also will insure E-bikes. 

We found out some other interesting things. This cute little handlebar bells that we bought can also contain a hidden air tag for GPS tracking in case of theft! 

Another item we had ordered separately were these pannier bags. We only ordered one set for on the back of my bike. Steve is going to do a type of long narrow pack on the top of his rack of his bike. He will carry tools and a flashlight in his. We haven't found the right one yet, but he will decide on something in the near future. 

These bags can hold quite a bit and I can still put other items in between them on the rack itself. They are made of waterproof vinyl. Just perfect for a little grocery store run or taking things to a beach or picnic.

We also invested in a small 12 volt electric air pump. It's one that can be charged up and taken along cord free. It is rechargeable with a plug-in or an automobile cigarette lighter, but it doesn't need to be hooked up to power to operate. It is great for pumping air, it also has emergency USB ports to recharge a cellphone and also a flashing strobe light for SOS in case of emergency. 

It worked quite well, and he was able to air up his front tire as well as touch up all the others to the proper inflation. So he will carry this little air compressor in his tool pack. My sweet "Mechanic on Wheels". 

Now the difficult part comes... Trying to find a day that it's not raining to even try them out! We had rain rain rain on Monday and Tuesday and finally on Wednesday, the third day of owning them, we had a tiny window of about 15 minutes to go for a ride. 

We got all of our gear together and hopped on... More rain was due very soon so we better get out on the bikes and take a ride if we wanted to try them out. 

These bikes can be ridden three ways:

1. Peddling it just like a regular bike. It has seven shift speeds and hydraulic brakes. It's rather heavy, so it's a real workout if you're pedaling it just like a regular bike.

2. Peddling it, but also has a feature called "pedal assist" . There are five levels of pedal assist that will help you with your pedaling. It's like a nice little boost to get you going and to keep you pedaling up and down hills without as much effort. It is a Class 2 bike, only going up to 20 mph. But it can be unlocked with some reprogramming into a Class 3, which let's you pedal up to 28-29 mph with some assist. 

3. Throttle only, with the twist throttle on the handlebar. This mode is is just like a motor scooter, no pedaling needed. 

The 500 watt motor with a fully charged battery will last 20-40 miles, depending on how much assist you use. 

Keep in mind, neither of us have ridden a bicycle in probably a good 20 years. We did do a little sample test ride a couple weeks ago from some people who generously let us try theirs out. So this was a whole new thing for us.

I got my GoPro camera all set up on my chest harness bracket and we took off. But I forgot to hit record! So after we were done with our two mile ride, we had to do it all over again just so I could record it.

So this is a recording actually of our second ride. It is very jittery and shaky because I forgot to also hit the image stabilization feature on the camera. Please bear with us as we wiggle and jiggle our way around a two mile ride. Think it's hilarious---------

We got home just before it started raining again. Steve wiped off the bikes to make sure that they were spic and span spotless. 

Here's the little route that we traveled, two times, because the first time we forgot to set up the camera correctly. This is the little program on our GPS on the phone that shows us where we've been and how long we peddled and what we accomplished. 

Since our ride on Wednesday it's been rain rain and more rain. Now it's the following Monday.

I have been miserably sick for 3 days so that meant NO bike riding for me at all! 

We finally have a day without rain and guess what, it is down in the low 30s with wind chills into the low 20s!!! We even have snow forecast for tonight. So no thank you, the bikes can stay in the garage for another couple days.

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Our next decision is how we are going to actually transport them when we go travelling in the motorhome.

1. We had originally planned on putting them in tote carriers and carrying them inside. Keeping them out of the rain and the dampness and also for security. But then again, when we are inside the RV we have to move them around and try to maneuver around them and walk. That's not such a good idea. 

2. The second idea was to put them up on the bunk in the RV when we travel. Yes, that will work but it also means lifting up 65 pounds up high, and taking it back down again... plus securing them with safety straps while each bike is up there right over our heads! 

3. The third idea of course is to do what most people do and get a heavy duty e-bike rack for on the back of the motorhome. They need to be made especially strong because of the bouncing and swaying off the back end of a long-wheel based vehicle. Regular bike racks won't work. Then there is the problem of our back bedroom slide for our bed which extends out 3 ft. We would have to get a specific rack that either tilts away or swings away just so we can put out our bed at night. That can be difficult if we are traveling from point A to point B and not planning on removing the bikes from the rack.

The added problem of leaving them on a rack is then they are susceptible to dampness from overnight dew, moisture from the road, dirt and grime, and possibly theft.

4. So our fourth solution might be to take along a small enclosed cargo trailer. Steve is thinking of a small 4 by 6 or 5 by 7 would be perfect. Could also haul along some extra gear that would lighten up the load inside of the motorhome itself. We are still exploring this option as an idea as well. 

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Who knows what we will end up with, but for now we know that these are awfully fun, and they are going to enhance our enjoyment while we are RVing. We will be able to explore areas a little further and even get some exercise at the same time.