Lectric XP

[Dan37Tz]

Here is my black Lectric XP rigged up with my little girl's Co-Pilot tandem attachment. I took her on a 10 mile ride yesterday and she said this was the best thing ever!

While waiting for my two Lectric XPs to ship, my Pre-Order Rattan Fat Bear Plus came. Similar price point (about $1200 with the pre-order sale), if you guys have any questions about the Rattan, fire away. I'll be writing a comparison review between the two soon after having more seat time with both.

 

[BigAL]

Here’s an explanation on how the PAS works on our bikes:

The basic cadence sensor uses a magnet on the crank. It turns the motor ON when you start pedaling and turns it OFF when you stop pedaling. Essentially, it works like a switch. To control the boost level and speed, you must adjust the assist mode manually up and down. The advantage of this system is that it is an inexpensive way to get a form of pedal assists on the bike. The disadvantage is that the pedal assistance can sometimes feel jerky, laggy and counterintuitive. Also, if you want to pedal faster than the motor is spinning, the motor will actively work against your efforts.
Compared to the torque sensor system, the cadence sensor will just provide the assist based purely on the level assist you have selected and it will not increase or decrease the assist based on your actual pedal power. You could be pedaling very lightly or very hard and it will provide the same level of assist.


If you are in PAS 0 it’s like every bike you’ve ever ridden, manually pedaling and shifting through 7 gears.
If you are in PAS 1-5, it’s unlike every bike you’ve ever ridden.
It takes some getting used to. But I love it. I’ve been riding bikes, all kinds, for about 50 years now and this is the most fun I’ve ever had…on a bike.

You have got to think of it like this;
When in PAS 0, it’s a manually operated bike.
When in PAS 1-5, you do not have to pedal at all, just use the right hand throttle to drive the bike, and do not pedal.
Or - you can use Pedal Assist 1-5 to drive the bike, but now you do have to pedal, but at a slow and steady pace.
When using Pedal Assist, think of your left hand on the control button as your throttle, but now you have 1-5 preset speeds, as long as you are pedaling at a slow and steady rate. PAS 1 is the slowest speed and PAS 5 is the highest. It doesn’t really matter how fast you are pedaling. The bike uses the cadence sensor to sense your movement.

Just start off in PAS 1 and use whatever manual gear 1-7, lets you pedal at a slow and steady pace, for the terrain you are currently on.
After a few revolutions of the pedals the motor will kick in, depending on the sensitivity setting in the P11 menu, and the strength in the P12 menu.
It will immediately propel you faster as you continue to pedal the same slow and steady rate, you do not have to pedal faster to go faster, the motor does that. You can always manually shift the gears to pedal faster if you want, for exercising, but you do not have to.
It will start to feel weird as you are pedaling at the same rate but the motor is now propelling you faster. It will start to feel like your pedaling isn’t doing anything, like you’re freewheeling it.

If you want to go faster, don’t pedal faster, move up to PAS 2 and you will immediately go faster, despite pedaling at the same slow and steady rate, as you were with PAS 1. If you want to go still faster, again, do not pedal any more, just move up to PAS 3 and you will go faster at the same pedal rate. Continue of course to PAS 4 and 5 to go faster and faster, at the same pedal rate. And drop back through to PAS 1 to slow down. I’ve gotten to 28 mph this way on level ground, with never pedaling faster than I was at PAS 1 level when I started.

It feels unlike anything I’ve ever ridden and does take some getting used to.

Just like your right hand is on the throttle in full auto mode, think of your left hand, on the menu up/down button, as your throttle when using PAS mode. But instead of a continuous manual throttle, you will have 5 levels of preset speeds while using PAS, and can always go to PAS 0 for manual mode and to turn the motor off.

As soon as you stop pedaling, the motor turns off, so you can coast to slow down, and/or if you use the brakes the motor turns off of course.

Then just start pedaling again and the motor will kick in, if in PAS 1-5, and/or use the throttle to manually take off and have fun! I find myself frequently using the throttle to manually ‘take off’ and get started, then start pedaling. What a cool bike, I love it.

 

[RobK]

You sir are wrong or you have different cadence sensor then I do. PAS 5 gets me to 25-26mph with normal cranking and if I want to hit 28 I have to step on pedals to get there.
It isnt called cadence sensor for no reason. Magnets spin and sensor reads how fast they spin. If you crank faster then sensor sends more pulses to the controller and then the controller gives more power to the motor.
If you dont believe me here is a copy/paste of part of article from ebikeschool website:

The most common type of pedal assist system comprises a ring of magnets mounted on the pedal crank and a sensor fixed to the bottom bracket. As the pedal crank turns, the sensor reads the rate of pedaling. The faster the pedal cadence, the faster the controller will make the motor to spin.

 

[PrimalDoc]

Here is my black Lectric XP rigged up with my little girl's Co-Pilot tandem attachment. I took her on a 10 mile ride yesterday and she said this was the best thing ever!

While waiting for my two Lectric XPs to ship, my Pre-Order Rattan Fat Bear Plus came. Similar price point (about $1200 with the pre-order sale), if you guys have any questions about the Rattan, fire away. I'll be writing a comparison review between the two soon after having more seat time with both.

The specs on that Rattan look very good! Wonder if they can really get so much range from that battery?

 

[Dan37Tz]

The specs on that Rattan look very good! Wonder if they can really get so much range from that battery?

The Rattan has regenerative capabilities and plus the battery is slighter bigger as well. 11.6Ah for the Rattan vs. 10.4 for the Lectric. I have a 25+ mile bike ride tomorrow and I'll test both out for real-world range, of course, I'm 210lbs and I'll be on the Rattan, my wife who is 94lbs will be on the Lectric so not exactly an apples to apples comparison.

One thing I notice is that my speedometer on both the Lectric and Rattan seems to be pretty dang accurate, +/- 1mph compared to my Dragy performance meter. Did Lectric fix the calibration on the latest batch?

 

[PrimalDoc]

The Rattan has regenerative capabilities and plus the battery is slighter bigger as well. 11.6Ah for the Rattan vs. 10.4 for the Lectric. I have a 25+ mile bike ride tomorrow and I'll test both out for real-world range, of course, I'm 210lbs and I'll be on the Rattan, my wife who is 94lbs will be on the Lectric so not exactly an apples to apples comparison.

One thing I notice is that my speedometer on both the Lectric and Rattan seems to be pretty dang accurate, +/- 1mph compared to my Dragy performance meter. Did Lectric fix the calibration on the latest batch?

I'll be interested to see how they do. I only got 25mi. range on my XP, using PA 2-3, which was disappointing, but may be closer to 30mi, when corrected for the 14% odometer error I measured with my GPS. My speedometer is pretty accurate, and I got one of the early shipments.

 

[brobox]

Besides the structural aspect of a rack mounted seat there's also the issue of balancing the bike upright and securing my son in. A trailer would probably be best as I won't have to balance the bike while getting my son in and out of the seat. Not to mention the trailer will have more room for things and overhead cover.

I'm searching for a seatpost mounted trailer but I haven't found it yet. I found this nice utility trailer but nothing for kids.

Amazon.com : Aosom Foldable Bike Cargo Trailer Cart with Hitch, Large Capacity, 16'' Wheels - Black : Garden & Outdoor

Amazon.com : Aosom Foldable Bike Cargo Trailer Cart with Hitch, Large Capacity, 16'' Wheels - Black : Garden & Outdoor

www.amazon.com

Check AliExpress they have several listed. https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesal...2023&SearchText=bike+trailer&switch_new_app=y

 

[brobox]

I've been reading about people using the PAS 5 and trying to get up to 28mph, once unlocked. Some think you have to be in top gear and pedal like a crazy person. you don't. It's a cadence sensor, so as long as you are pedaling steadily, even slowly, the motor kicks in. I've been on level ground, pedaling slowly and steadily, and go thru PAS 1-5, and it just goes faster and faster and faster, I don't pedal any faster at all. Yeah, it feels weird, to be pedaling and because of your speed and the gearing, your pedaling isn't really doing anything, it's not turning the rear wheel any faster, but as long as you pedal slow and steady, the motor kicks in and it takes off.
You don't have to pedal like crazy, like a regular bike, to go faster, the motor does that. You can go through PAS 1-5, pedal slow and steady and you will go faster and faster. I'm sure it looks weird to someone seeing you, since your speed and your pedaling do not match. You are pedaling nice and slow and steady and your bike is going 28 mph!

I was wondering why so many were have problems hitting 28mps . Mine, like yours eased to 28mph. Then I realized it could be the LCD reading, they are not all that accurate, even after changing settings. I think it would be something that would be chased every time the weather changes.

 

[BigAL]

Everything I wrote about the cadence sensor I copied and pasted from other websites. I didn't make it up. It said, " Compared to the torque sensor system, the cadence sensor will just provide the assist based purely on the level assist you have selected and it will not increase or decrease the assist based on your actual pedal power. You could be pedaling very lightly or very hard and it will provide the same level of assist."
And I found this exactly on my bike. I was on flat, level ground, started off on PAS1, pedaled slow and steady, progressed through PA5, going faster and faster and never pedaled any more than I was at PAS 1.

 

[RobK]

The Rattan has regenerative capabilities and plus the battery is slighter bigger as well. 11.6Ah for the Rattan vs. 10.4 for the Lectric. I have a 25+ mile bike ride tomorrow and I'll test both out for real-world range, of course, I'm 210lbs and I'll be on the Rattan, my wife who is 94lbs will be on the Lectric so not exactly an apples to apples comparison.

One thing I notice is that my speedometer on both the Lectric and Rattan seems to be pretty dang accurate, +/- 1mph compared to my Dragy performance meter. Did Lectric fix the calibration on the latest batch?

If they did , fix the speedometer and odometer , they won't tell you that because a lot of folks would start calling them.
5000+ new controllers isn't cheap.

 

[RobK]

Everything I wrote about the cadence sensor I copied and pasted from other websites. I didn't make it up. It said, " Compared to the torque sensor system, the cadence sensor will just provide the assist based purely on the level assist you have selected and it will not increase or decrease the assist based on your actual pedal power. You could be pedaling very lightly or very hard and it will provide the same level of assist."
And I found this exactly on my bike. I was on flat, level ground, started off on PAS1, pedaled slow and steady, progressed through PA5, going faster and faster and never pedaled any more than I was at PAS 1.

I just checked that. On my bike pas 1 to 4 acts like you described. When I'm in pas 5 then I have to pedal faster to hit top speed.

 

[Hutchentoot]

Here is my black Lectric XP rigged up with my little girl's Co-Pilot tandem attachment. I took her on a 10 mile ride yesterday and she said this was the best thing ever!

While waiting for my two Lectric XPs to ship, my Pre-Order Rattan Fat Bear Plus came. Similar price point (about $1200 with the pre-order sale), if you guys have any questions about the Rattan, fire away. I'll be writing a comparison review between the two soon after having more seat time with both.

That's way cool

 

[Bxg]

Here is my black Lectric XP rigged up with my little girl's Co-Pilot tandem attachment. I took her on a 10 mile ride yesterday and she said this was the best thing ever!

While waiting for my two Lectric XPs to ship, my Pre-Order Rattan Fat Bear Plus came. Similar price point (about $1200 with the pre-order sale), if you guys have any questions about the Rattan, fire away. I'll be writing a comparison review between the two soon after having more seat time with both.

Ok, I have a couple questions. Are the batteries interchangeable? In other words, same form factor. Everyone's gonna want to know; is it unlocked?

 

[Trizzuth]

Rattan full suspension bike looks cool! May def be worth the additional money if performance is similar from the motor and batter, but the ride is far more cushy due to the suspension. Regenerative capability also cool. Report back!

 

[GrandPaw]

I ordered 2 XPs, a white and black, my black one arrived a few days ago and no bag inside, order 57xx. I emailed Lectric and they are sending me one. My wife's white one has a label created but not shipped yet, hoping the bag is included with her bike.

FYI I received a reply from Lectric today 10/15 on my order 5777 / White bike / order 9/30......”We had a little bit of a delay on getting our white bikes into our shipping warehouse, but they will begin shipping out officially tomorrow! Thank you so much for your patience, and keep your eye out on your tracking number for a more updated time of delivery later this week. As an FYI, we will be sending out the pannier bags separately and they will arrive after your bike.

 

[Dan37Tz]

Ok, I have a couple questions. Are the batteries interchangeable? In other words, same form factor. Everyone's gonna want to know; is it unlocked?

The batteries have the same form factor and are interchangeable, the Rattan's computer is fully unlocked.

 

[Dan37Tz]

A comparison between the Lectric XP and Rattan Fat Bear. Just a disclaimer, I don't work for either company, I bought 2 XPs and a Rattan Fat Bear Plus, all with my own money.

The first impression out of the box, the Rattan FB weighs in at 58.8 lbs which is impressive since it's full suspension but the Lectric does have a rack and front/rear fenders. Lectric comes in at 63.6 lbs for comparison

The Rattan FB sits higher than the Lectric XP, by 2-3 inches because of the suspension fork, which might be a problem with step-over height for shorter people. My wife is 4'11" so she felt more comfortable stepping over on the XP.

Packing- The Rattan FB and Lectric XP were packed similarly but the Rattan came with zero damage out of the box. The Lectric XP came out with a big scratch/damage on the midsection where it folds, also a deep scratch on the fender as well.

The computer is UNLOCKED on the Rattan so you can change the wheel sizes in P06 if you please but keep in mind it only allows you to go from 18 to 20 to 24. It was factory set at 24, I found out of the box the speedo is pretty spot on so I didn't mess with it. The default speed for the Rattan was set at 40km/h in P08 but you can set it to max 51 in the settings, it doesn't go any higher than that. The Lectric will error out anything above 45.

Build quality and details -
I'm going to be straight to the point and blunt. The Lectric XP feels like a Walmart/Target bike, the Rattan, on the other hand, feels like it should cost 3x more and come from a pro bike shop, everything from the cable management to the components screams bike shop quality on the Rattan, very premium. The cable management on the Lectric looks like electrical tape, the Rattan has these nice little cable wraps, it's all in the little details. Even the seat posts and kick stands look very cheap on the Lectric XP compared to the Rattan FB. Here are some comparison shots.

Components-
The Rattan uses the Shimano Atlus "group set" which is a big step above the Tourney on the Lectric in my opinion. The chainring/crank on the Rattan looks like a lightweight beautiful machined piece that would look right at home on a higher-end Cannondale or Giant, the Lectric XP uses one that looks very cheap, plastic-covered and what you would see on a $99 Walmart kids bike.

The Shimano SL-M310 rapid-fire trigger shifter is MUCH more satisfying and accurate to use on the Rattan FB, a single click up or down and it will change gears correctly, the trigger shifter on the Tourney equipped Lectric is quite terrible in comparison, you can totally miss your gear change by using too much force since there isn't a definitive stop you can feel, you can do a full sweep gear change by pushing it all the way, I find myself having to look at the numbers while changing gears on the Lectric. Shifting seems to be much smoother overall on the Atlus equipped Rattan. The Rattan FB uses an 8-speed system, with an 11T-32T cassette compared to the Lectric XP which uses a 7-speed system, and it looks to be a 14T-28T. The extra-low gear on the Rattan FB should definitely give it the edge if you ever take it off road or up really crazy hills. Another bonus, the handles on the Rattan FB are nice soft leather stitched compared to the cheap hard plastic ones on the Lectric XP. Tires on the Lectric XP are puncture-resistant which is a great thing to have, not exactly sure if the Rattan has any protective liner inside because the website doesn't list it.

Brakes -
The Rattan FB uses Logan hydraulic disc brakes and the Lectric XP uses Tektro cable, now if you've ever used hydraulic you would never go back to cable type. It just feels way more potent and much MUCH smoother, for example, if you pull just 25 percent effort on a Hydraulic system, it's about 100 percent on a cable system. You have A LOT more braking confidence and clamping power with a hydraulic actuated system. The brakes on the Rattan feels smooth like butter, the Lectric XP feels gritty and noisy in comparison and not that reassuring going downhills. Things like smooth shifting action and brakes make the bikes feel in a totally different class.

Ride-
So as you can tell, the Rattan FB is a full suspension bike, front and rear shocks so yes it absolutely rides like a Lexus. The front shock has BOTH adjustment and lockout, again another area where it just screams higher end. The Lectric XP still isn't a bad ride, but stiff compared to the Rattan FB. The ride quality comparison as you expect though is night and day, the Rattan feels like you're on a cloud over any imperfections on the road. I blasted at top speed through a pretty big dip and barely felt it on the Rattan. More on that next...

Speed and Power -
Okay, so here is where the biggest surprise comes. The Rattan FB is rated at 500watt, same as the Lectric XP, the XP can crank it up to 750W peak but the Rattan can do 972W and holy cow can you feel the difference. On a flat road, both computer set to their highest allowable speed setting, 45 for the Lectric and 51 for the Rattan, I'm 210lbs THROTTLE ONLY I can get up to 22mph on the Lectric XP, on the Rattan I can do 27MPH on Throttle only, no pedaling. Both verified by my DRAGY performance meter. The Rattan feels much more powerful.

PAS system-
Another area where the Rattan excels is the PAS system, it seems to be more sensitive to your input, half a crank rotation will engage PAS, on the Lectric XP it feels very hit or miss, sometimes it almost feels like I need to pedal 2 complete rotations for it to pick up. I even went into the menu and changed P011 sensitivity to 1 and it made no difference in the XP. The difference is surprising because looking at both cadence sensors, they seem to use the same one. I'm guessing it comes down to the programming? The motor engagement feels smoother as well on the Rattan with a nice ramp-up in power, it uses a Gearless motor that feels very refined and quiet.

Battery and Endurance -
Rattan "Claims" 70-90 mile range which I think is a bit optimistic, it does use a larger battery though - 11.6Ah vs 10.4 for the Lectric XP and does have regen, when you brake, coast or pedal quicker than your PAS setting which in theory should help put some charge back into your battery. I haven't been able to test the regen features since Rattan sent me a Pro model, I ordered the PLUS model which comes with regen activated and a nice color LCD display. I reached out to Rattan and they said the difference is in the LCD display, they sent me a "PLUS" display (still in the mail) and I just need to swap it out and the I-PAS regen features will be activated automatically. The PLUS LCD display also comes with a side USB charging port, which is a nice feature the Lectric XP is missing. The Plus model is $100 more and I think it's definitely worth it for the cool Color LCD, USB charging port and regen features. The plan was to ride 25+ miles today and check out the battery life but things changed and we only did a 5-mile ride. Both Rattan and Lectric still show full bars, towing two girls behind us on their Co-Pilot tandem attachment. I will update once we have more miles on the two.

Pricing and Extras.
The front LED on the Rattan FB is nice and bright, projects a wider beam with a nice cutoff, similar to a car. The LED headlight on the Lectric XP feels like a spotlight, not very bright and seems less efficient since it just throws light everywhere. The Lectric XP also comes with a rear LED, the Rattan FB only comes with a rear reflector.
You also get fenders and a rear bike rack on the Lectric XP, which my wife LOVES. There seems to be nowhere to attach fenders or a rear bike rack on the Rattan FB, this could possibly be a deal-breaker for some. You could opt for a seat post mounted rack if needed on the Rattan FB.

The Rattan FB Plus is currently still on Pre-Order sale for $1199, which is $200 more than the Lectric XP. If you don't need the regenerative features, USB charge port and color LCD of the Plus, you can opt for the Pro model for $1099.

For $100 more than the XP, you don't get fenders or a rear rack but the bikes themselves feel like they're in a totally different class category. Like I said earlier, the Rattan sure feels like a $2000-3000 bike.

For $999 the Lectric XP seems like a good value.
For $1099 or $1199, the Rattan FB PRO/PLUS feels like you're stealing it from the company. I know it almost sounds like I'm working for Rattan with all the positive praise I have for this bike, unfortunately I'm no way sponsored by them but hey if they want to send me an extra battery that would be very nice. I'm still a little upset they sent me a Pro model instead of the Plus I paid for but communication and customer service have been very good, no phone number so you'll have to communicate with them through email or Facebook which is less than ideal. I hope you enjoy the review guys, be safe out there.

 

[RobK]

Rattan looks like 2x the bike the XP is.Better breakes , shifters and full suspension plus unlocked.
Looks like smarter people put it together because people at Lectric dont even know how to program the controller. They messed the programming bad and then when it was too late to fix the problem they made excuses like insurance or safety and locked the settings so people dont mess the settings even more. Little research and I found out that no matter if your controller is locked or unlocked you wont get accurate readings. You set one to be very close to what you want and other setting will be way off.
Lectric said they designed the motor and I dont believe that because I sent them an email last week asking about motor specs and they have no idea what motor specs are. Two more emails and they told me they have to contact manufacturer about the specs. Yesterday morning I sent another email and no answer yet.

 

[brobox]

Dan37Tz excellent comparison. Having the XP for 6 weeks now, I can see what you mean about the upgrades on the Rattan. The XP when it was $899. is a great beginners ebike, but I can see where the Rattan is an upgrade. Thank you for the time you took to compare the two.

 

[dknightd]

@Dan37Tz thanks for the review. My take is the XP might be better for a commuter or grocery getting bike. The Rattan is likely better for a joy ride bike. Lots of options coming on the market now This is a good thing!