Lectric Adds Premium Components At A Budget Price With The Lectric ONE (First Ride)

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Lectric eBikes has been changing the game in the world of electric bikes, delivering unparalleled value for the dollar since day one. The company was tech-focused and built bikes based on what was possible with the technology available over time.

Shaping that ethos into a proper company took a ton of work for founders Levi Conlow and Rob Deziel, but their work has paid off. Lectric eBikes now holds the top spots for the top selling e-bike model in the US, the top selling folding e-bike, the top selling cargo e-bike, and now the top selling electric adult trike on the market.

So when Lectric eBikes invited us out to Tempe, Arizona, for a new product announcement, of course we got excited. Lectric CEO Levi Conlow got up in front of a crowd at a community center at Culdesac, a car-free community that’s building the future in Arizona, and unveiled the Lectric ONE.

The Lectric ONE is the brand’s first foray into mid-gearbox belt-driven e-bikes and integrates Pinion’s top-of-the-line gearbox with smart shifting into its affordable frame and cycling platform. The Lectric ONE features a hydroformed alloy frame with smooth welds for an overall look that maintains Lectric’s core design aesthetic of a fat-bodied bike with bold lettering and a sleek look that feels purpose-built to absolutely dominate urban environments.

The Pinion gearbox and Gates belt drive systems are extremely high-end components that by themselves would cost thousands of dollars if you were to buy them off the shelf. Lectric wasn’t content with settling for what would typically be a $4,000 price point and took its typical no-holds-barred cost-first approach and dropped the largest order Pinion had ever seen.

At those volumes, Lectric was able to change the game and blow the pricing out of the water. After all of the introductions and backstory, Conlow walked the pricing down from the only other bike available with the Pinion gearbox, which comes in with a price tag of $13,000. Lectric absolutely smashed it on pricing, setting the price for the Lectric ONE at an unbelievable $1,999.

Just based on the bottom bracket with its Pinion gearbox and Gates belt drive that connects it to the rear hub motor, the Lectric ONE is an unbelievable value. The fact that Lectric was able to build an entire e-bike for that price just shows how hard it is working with its team of engineers and partners to drive scale and volume to get the price down for these amazing technologies for customers.

The Lectric ONE comes with an impressively peppy 750-watt electric hub motor out back, powered by a 10 amp-hour battery and a color display up top. The battery is a standard external battery that slots into a vertically mounted rail that lives behind the seat tube. Lectric designed the battery on the ONE to be upgraded to a larger 14 amp-hour or even a 19 amp-hour battery to perfectly size the amount of capacity with the range needed.

The base 10 amp-hour battery is expected to achieve 40 miles of range per charge and the 14 amp-hour battery will support 60 miles of range. For those looking to engage their beast mode, the hefty 19 amp-hour battery is expected to push out enough power to support 80 miles of range per charge.

Lectric brought a select group of media and influencers out to Tempe, Arizona, for a preview ride of the Lectric ONE and we were fortunate enough to be included. In person, the Lectric ONE has a similar footprint of Lectric’s XP Lite but with a much sleeker frame, thanks to its hydroformed main tube and smoothed-out welds.

It features 20 by 2.5-inch tires which are both comfortable and lightweight. That’s right in line with Lectric’s goal of developing a premium lightweight commuter bike ideal for urban environments. All of Lectric’s e-bikes now feature a slime-like tire sealant in the tubes, and the Lectric ONE takes that to the next level with hippo skin puncture resistant tires.

We put that to the test in our ride ripping around off the beaten path onto some of Tempe’s most challenging mountain tracks. The street-friendly tires understandably didn’t offer much traction on the mountain roads. They held up to the abuse from the rocks and prickly desert plants we encountered along the way.

The design of the bike from the ground up enables this with its Pinion gearbox and the low-to-no maintenance Gates belt drive that’s expected to last 2 to 3 times longer than a chain and never requires lubrication. Right along the mid-step of the frame, a support extends across to the seat tube that does double duty as a handle when it’s time to pick it up to carry it up to your apartment or into your RV.

At 55 pounds, The Lectric ONE isn’t a lightweight by any stretch, but it is much more manageable than the 65 to 80 pound e-bikes that have pushed their way into the mainstream.

On our first ride of the Lectric ONE, we were impressed by the intelligent integration of the Pinion’s Smart Shift gearbox and the M24 stealth 750-watt rear hub motor. They play well together, and even in our short 90-minute ride of the bike, we were able to tune both to achieve the perfect balance of pedaling effort and speed.

Finding the perfect balance between smart shifting and pedal assist would likely take a little more time, but even in our short ride, we found the Smart Shift system to be an asset. It regularly shifted gears for us while we were underway and intelligently reset back to a default starting gear when we came to a stop. That is one of the many features you can configure in Pinion Smart Shift app that really helps take the Lectric ONE to the next level.

Overall, the Lectric ONE is in absolute gamechanger for the world of affordable electric bikes, and at a price point of just $1,999 it seems like a hands-down favorite as the best value for an urban commuter bike. The first ride definitely has me excited about the bike and I’m eager to spend more time with it in a full review in the coming months as it moves closer to market.

The Lectric ONE will go on presale on March 12th, with the first shipment expected in May 2024. For more information, head over to Lectric eBike’s website.

Disclaimer: Lectric eBikes paid for the author’s travel and accommodations to attend this first ride event.