I have had my bike for a year now, about 1500 miles. I love having a ebike, didn't realize how it would impact my life both (mostly) good and (some) bad.
First the good part... i definitely get more exercise in and I have felt my legs get stronger. I also get to work faster now because I live only a few miles away and it literally is a great way to start the day. Having an ebike makes it easier when after a long day at work, I can just use the throttle to get home. I also just love riding the bike, it is fun to ride. I feel the motor is the right size, great for hills and maintaining speed. I also like the adjustable handle bars as well as the walking feature and head and rear lights (although they are a little underpowered). I find the seat comfortable as well as the hand grips. Love the rear rack, very secure. I find that I am not using the folding feature as much a I though I would but once this Covid 19 pandemic is over, I plan on hitting the road more with the bike folded my car. The pannier bags were passable but they were a freebie so I can't complain.
Now for the bad, since there are alot of potholes in NYC and at the 6 month period, on a cold day in February, I lost control of the bike and crashed...bruised some ribs and broke my big toe. The problem is that there is no front or rear suspension and when I hit a moderately sized dip/bump in the road, the handle bars jumped out of my hands and I hit the deck (this almost happen two more times but I was gripping really hard). If I had known how important having a suspension is, especially when going moderately fast (12-14mph), I would have brought a ebike with a suspension. I have gotten a suspension seat post (what a difference) but was procrastinating on getting a suspension fork (I finally ordered one and am awaiting the parts). That crash would not have happened if I had a suspension fork.
Secondly, I noticed I have to constantly fiddle with the brakes, I didn't expect that. Since I have to stop and start at almost every light and stop sign in NYC, I really use the brakes hard. I realize I have to upgrade the brakes to a hydraulic system so that I don't have to fiddle with them all the time.
Thirdly, I didn't like the pedaling cadence of the flywheel gears at the higher gear ratio. I was pedaling like a mad man to keep the bike at 20 mph. I felt that this was almost unsafe because more of your attention is focused on pedaling. I had to buy a 11-28 freewheel and change it in order to correct that problem (the bike has a 14-28 freewheel which is not great for the higher speeds).
For my first ebike, I really didn't know what I was looking for except that I knew I wanted a fold-able bike that I can take inside my SUV on long trips. I didn't want to get an expensive bike because I didn't know what I was going to do with it in the long haul and what other features I really wanted. Now that I know what I need in a bike, if I was going to do it all over again, I would probably spent more money and get a better folding bike in the $1500-$2500 dollar range with hydraulic brakes and front suspension and either a rear suspension or higher end suspension seat post.
I like my
Lectric XP bike but I had to sink in an additional $450 to get it up to speed. Will be upgrading the brakes next (after installing new suspension folk). Will probably have to get new handle bars next, want something slightly wider.
If Lectric ever comes out with a higher end bike, I probably will stay with the company. Right now, the Rad stepthrough folding bike looks really attractive at $1500 but I would still have to sink in maybe another $250 to get a high end suspension seat post, rear rack and hydraulic brakes.
) pedal. My left leg is weak and my left foot rotates counter-clockwise and comes off, and it isn't easy to get it back on without being too much on the ball or heel.
