600 Mile Review of Lectric Xpedition by a Hard Rider.

Hi. This was a run on comment from another post. Should be here in Cargo Bike land.

I have 40 years of bike riding. Have worn out numerous bikes communiting in NYC, LA, Ohio and PA. 3x rode across the USA. My honeymoon was 1000 mile Tandem circumnavigation of Scotland on an S2 with a BoB trailer. Yes. We are still married and still ride that S2. Well done Specialized.

I decided to go CARGO about 4 years ago. My kids are youth-sport age, and I coach. Wanted to go Cargo bike with one of my utility trallors. Kept putting off decision thinking I'd do it when my Sondor7 finally died. It didn't. But I pulled trigger last fall anyway. Since Sept 2023 Xpedition has been my primary bike. Put 300 miles on in fall. 300 spring. Didn't ride it Dec-Mar. Didn't want salt in new electronic. Went back to Sondors7. My Xpedition Xperience has been mixed. Might note, I only wanted long-tail and considered Blix, Rad and Lectric closely. I Test rode a Rad, didn't like the "lowrider" sense it gave me. Finally tried a Blix a few weeks ago. I would go with Blix over Lectric if I had a do-over, but making things work.

My overall take is 'Lectric is a lifestyle brand/marketing company that happens to make bikes. If you are a casual bikeway weekend rider, it's a good product at the price point. In my case this is my first long tail Cargo, but my 5th electric bike (and perhaps 15th bike overall) . Intended it to be my daily rider to carry a growing kiddo, do even more cargo runs and tow a trailer with sports gear for coach youth sports.

Prior daily rider (and still sometimes rid) from 2017-2023 I was a Sondor's 7 ebike. it has 6000+ miles. Most of those miles with a MtnTrain Tag-A-Long attached for the kiddo through ages 6-10. He's now too big for tag-a-long. So Cargo Bike time. I wanted a long tail to carry11-14 yo kiddo + maybe a friend or my bride - and do a better job trailor towing vs Sondors 7 to which I had added a heavy mtn bike rack and was functionally using it for cargo.

My notes on the Xpedition.

• Comments made often on the headlight are correct. I'd forgotten the stock light was totally useless. I upgraded that from parts I had in the garage after one ride at night. Dumb choice. They should ship it with a real light or don't bother. I had to add a wire extension to make that happen.

• I got the sideboards, 2 rear-tail seats, front 'flat'rack and the mega-paniers. One sideboard arrived without the "clicker" button that holds it into the peg-mounts. Customer service shipped me a replacement promptly. I like the large panier very much. I like front rack though when loaded with a larger bag it tends to tangle/bash with the control wire cluster dropping from the handlebars.

• As reported by others, I also had repeated issues with the kickstand as shipped first 100 miles. Added dots of locktite, that failed after 150miles. A very Heavy application of locktite has kept it in place since.

• I got a flat tire my first ride. Thought it might have been road glass, but it was up the sidewall in an odd spot. another Xped owner locally told me he had the same thing happen to him on his first ride side wall burst.

• The rear cluster/cassette as shipped must have been missing some bearings. It was skipping gears tween 3/4/5 from the the first rides, couldn't adjust it out and the cluster blew-out must over 100 miles. I put on an old RockHopper Mtn Bike Cluster from my parts bucket. Customer service sent me a new stock cluster. It arrived with a slight wobble and I think it is also short some bearings. I rode 400 miles on the Mtn bike cluster, but it lacked the high-gear to hold 20mph easily on PAS3 while towing a trailer. I changed just changed back to Lectrics replacement cluster. I am suspect how long it lasts. It's made it just over 100 miles, but I doubt it will make it all summer.

• The folding stem on a cargo bike is a really dumb idea. It was the one thing I thought was as dumb idea when I compared bikes, and almost didn't buy it because of that. I should have listened to myself. IT IS A REALLY dumb idea. I don't know who actually wants to fold the stem on a 100# cargo bike. I don't. It just gets loose and requires tighten-ups every 100 or so miles.

• Trailor hook up. This is impossible with running boards in place. I tried several ways to do both. Lect need to take a note from Blix and add a drill hole on a cromoly tab lower rear on the cluster side of the bike. I finally took the deck off that running board and covered the pegs from the bike with an old cut piece from a racing bike tire. The front peg is used by Kiddo for his left foot. The rear peg is used to hold up the trailer arm so the clamp/restrainer from the trailer doesn't hit the brake disk. This configuration is trial and error #4 configuration, but seems to work.

Postitives. Best electric motor I have used. I like it better than my Sondors and better than the Rad I borrowed for a few weeks. I also like the regulation on power feed at PAS3 level. I find PAS4 too aggressive at the low end, but do shift up to it on heavy loads on steep uphills. I use PAS2 when I am in parking lots or dirt roads where I want less acceleration/more control. I really like the geometry when riding. I'm 6' 200# with long legs. Very nice captain ride feel. I have had 2 passengers on it for up to 10 miles, and they have enjoyed the ride and it's been very easy.. I have the 2x battery system. It easily gives juice for 20 miles of riding while towing 100# sport-gear trailer + the 80# kiddo. Customer service for the two times I have called has been great. Like I said, a lifestyle company that happens to sell bikes.

Battery Life. It does start to fade after 20 miles of PAS3 riding. I rode 35 miles mostly PAS3 once without charging, No trailer, no kiddo, just me. it was getting pretty tired and the "meter" which has 10 bars to show how much power it is adding was down to 4/5 bars when headed up even small hills I will avoid exceeding 40 miles riding on a charge.

I still have my Sondors 7 ebike. I had planned to sell it if I loved my Xpedition Cargo. I haven't sold it. I also still have my folding GEM ebike from 1999. Repowered with LiOn instead of Lee Iacocca's lead acid. I take on train trips and some car trips. When I ride alone locally (about 25% of my rides) I prefer the Sondors. When I haul kiddos, groceries, sports gear, I use the Xpedition, but I don't love this bike. I think it is OK, but I ride hard and keep waiting for the next then to jiggle loose or break. I am doubtful it will pass my 4 year / 4000 mile expectation for a bike, but I will do my best to get it there.