Beardystarstuff
Member
Another range report and I’m adding a new e-bike to my collection but not a Lectric. I love this bike but when I bought it I was not expecting to be taking long rides. It was for a 2 mile round trip to my parents which I‘d assumed would often or always be unassisted, throttle only. But I’ve found that my long ago injured knee is actually allowing me to peddle full time with moderate to light effort. I still don’t fully trust it so am going to stick to an ebike but I wanted something with more range.
Range Report thus far...
My maximum range thus far seems to be hovering around 24 miles with a max of 27 achieved yesterday on a warm, 70 degree day, fully charged battery. Tires inflated to 25 back, 20 front. Most riding thus far has been at 25 to 30psi but on cooler days. My terrain is lightly hilly with about 1,000 elevation gain/loss reported by the Ride with GPS app over the two routes I usually take. I’m on pavement most of time but with 10% gravel road. I weigh in at 175 with clothes/helmet and bike is about 70lbs with a small back bag, extra tube, water. I generally ride at PAS 2 or 3 with little to no throttle. I prefer PAS 3 and 18mph as a nice balance of range/speed. Occasionally bump to 4 or 5 but rarely (partly due to range concerns). I think 25 mile range is reasonable given I’m on somewhat hilly terrain... much of that is very gradual inclines and only one or two steep but short hills. I’ve had the bike for 5 weeks and ride everyday that’s not raining, about 550 miles thus far so I think I’ve got a good average expectation to go on.
I’m actually very happy with the XP but what I‘m realizing I want going forward is shocks on the front, larger wheels, a bit more range and the ability to average a higher speed. I’ll be keeping the Lectric as our family shares a bit of land (I live here, they visit) and I’m hoping that with spring/summer/fall and more frequent visits there will be a good bit of interest in riding so it’s going to become a family bike. Also hoping my 72 year old dad will ride it a bit. I expect I’ll still ride it a bit too but will likely move more of my ride time to the new rig (RAD Rover) which should be shipping out in the next day or two.
My expectations from reading/watching reviews and ride reports is that the Rover will reliably provide 30 to 35 miles at 18mph to 20 and ride time around 2.5 hours or more compared to my current ride time of 90 minutes to 2 hours. It would seem that the larger wheels, while having a less zippy feel, provide for higher speed and range over longer rides which is what I tend to do. So, basically, a different bike better geared to how I’m actually riding and wanting to ride.
A last note about the XP and the smaller form factor... It’s going to be great for my family who are all non-cyclists that haven’t spent much time on bikes. With the low stand over height it is easily assessable. That said, I hope Lectric adds an option for a front shock for an added cost on future bikes. Our gravel road (and other roads in my area of rural Missouri, gravel and blacktop) can often by quite rough. My hope is that having an e-bike will be a hit with my family and that we might even add another couple this summer. If Lectric offers a bike with shocks they’ll be at the top of the list, if not it would likely be something like the RAD Mini. They do cost more but I think the shocks will be worth it on our terrain. I’ve tried the lower tire pressure and it helps a bit but not enough. Partly because I’m only lowering it to 15 to 20 because I’m riding pavement mostly. If I were full time on the gravel maybe a permanent psi of 8 to 12 would do the trick. But I really think they should offer shocks as an option.
Range Report thus far...
My maximum range thus far seems to be hovering around 24 miles with a max of 27 achieved yesterday on a warm, 70 degree day, fully charged battery. Tires inflated to 25 back, 20 front. Most riding thus far has been at 25 to 30psi but on cooler days. My terrain is lightly hilly with about 1,000 elevation gain/loss reported by the Ride with GPS app over the two routes I usually take. I’m on pavement most of time but with 10% gravel road. I weigh in at 175 with clothes/helmet and bike is about 70lbs with a small back bag, extra tube, water. I generally ride at PAS 2 or 3 with little to no throttle. I prefer PAS 3 and 18mph as a nice balance of range/speed. Occasionally bump to 4 or 5 but rarely (partly due to range concerns). I think 25 mile range is reasonable given I’m on somewhat hilly terrain... much of that is very gradual inclines and only one or two steep but short hills. I’ve had the bike for 5 weeks and ride everyday that’s not raining, about 550 miles thus far so I think I’ve got a good average expectation to go on.
I’m actually very happy with the XP but what I‘m realizing I want going forward is shocks on the front, larger wheels, a bit more range and the ability to average a higher speed. I’ll be keeping the Lectric as our family shares a bit of land (I live here, they visit) and I’m hoping that with spring/summer/fall and more frequent visits there will be a good bit of interest in riding so it’s going to become a family bike. Also hoping my 72 year old dad will ride it a bit. I expect I’ll still ride it a bit too but will likely move more of my ride time to the new rig (RAD Rover) which should be shipping out in the next day or two.
My expectations from reading/watching reviews and ride reports is that the Rover will reliably provide 30 to 35 miles at 18mph to 20 and ride time around 2.5 hours or more compared to my current ride time of 90 minutes to 2 hours. It would seem that the larger wheels, while having a less zippy feel, provide for higher speed and range over longer rides which is what I tend to do. So, basically, a different bike better geared to how I’m actually riding and wanting to ride.
A last note about the XP and the smaller form factor... It’s going to be great for my family who are all non-cyclists that haven’t spent much time on bikes. With the low stand over height it is easily assessable. That said, I hope Lectric adds an option for a front shock for an added cost on future bikes. Our gravel road (and other roads in my area of rural Missouri, gravel and blacktop) can often by quite rough. My hope is that having an e-bike will be a hit with my family and that we might even add another couple this summer. If Lectric offers a bike with shocks they’ll be at the top of the list, if not it would likely be something like the RAD Mini. They do cost more but I think the shocks will be worth it on our terrain. I’ve tried the lower tire pressure and it helps a bit but not enough. Partly because I’m only lowering it to 15 to 20 because I’m riding pavement mostly. If I were full time on the gravel maybe a permanent psi of 8 to 12 would do the trick. But I really think they should offer shocks as an option.
