Super-comfortable ride. Bigger wheels combined with beforehand suspension tin instrumentality connected thing the road throws astatine you. Packs plentifulness of power.
Quick-release thru axle is confusing to assemble. Quite dense and hard to maneuver erstwhile not riding.
One caller morning, arsenic I rode to my people astatine the assemblage field that dominates our town, I recovered myself wondering wherefore the motorcycle I was investigating was called a “cruiser.” Because “cruiser” implies a benignant of laid-back, leisurely ride. But, arsenic I weaved done the ft postulation connected campus, toggling done each of the Lectric XPress2’s 5 powerfulness modes and cranking the thumb throttle each the mode open, I realized however overmuch amusive I was having connected this bike. It was fast, quick, nimble, casual to pilot, and ultra-responsive—despite its upright riding presumption and swept-back handlebars. It moved arsenic I wanted with nary lag and, contempt its name, was capable to compression done a fig of the small gaps betwixt cars and buses, under-caffeinated undergrads, and immoderate fig of canine walkers wandering done campus.
As 1 of America’s astir fashionable ebike brands, Lectric has built a estimation for making sturdy, well-built bikes sold astatine wholly tenable prices. The caller XPress2, an update to the Lectric XPress, is nary different. And portion Lectric trades successful a wide assortment of niche models—from cargo bikes to folding bikes and adjacent tricycles—the XPress2 is simply a versatile offering that tin service arsenic astir people’s lone ebike.
One Bike, Endless Riding Options

Photograph: Michael Venutolo-Mantovani
The XPress2 retails for $1,784 nonstop from Lectric and is disposable successful 1 of 2 framework styles: Commuter, which features a modular double-triangle design, and Cruiser, which adopts a Dutch step-through benignant design. Having tested plentifulness of stiff and speedy commuters lately, I opted for the Cruiser. I spent the amended portion of my archetypal week with the motorcycle putting it done its paces, trying my champion to drain its artillery arsenic accelerated arsenic I could, propulsion it to determination arsenic accelerated arsenic possible, and spot however rapidly it could stop.
While the archetypal XPress gave buyers the enactment to take betwixt 500 watts oregon 750 watts, the XPress2 rejects immoderate conception of mildness and comes modular with the much almighty 750-watt motor, careless of framework style. The 46-tooth beforehand chainring sits close astatine the saccharine spot of modular chainrings, lending itself to riding easiness connected varied surfaces. Meanwhile, successful the back, a wide-ranging 11-32 cassette covers 8 speeds and is operated by a seamless Shimano Altus derailleur (the sanction of the gadget that’s liable for shifting the concatenation into antithetic gears). All components of the ebike’s anatomy wed into a good instrumentality that tin easy get astir immoderate rider implicit astir immoderate elevation they’d encounter.
The XPress2’s 5 riding modes and a thumb-drive throttle aren’t its lone features for customizing rider assistance. For instance, its programmable pedal-assist sensor lets you toggle betwixt torque and cadence responsiveness. Each enactment reflects a mode for the bike’s centrifugal to present power: either by however hard your legs propulsion the pedals (torque) oregon by the velocity the pedals crook (cadence).
The XPress2 besides comes with the enactment to toggle betwixt immoderate of the 3 standardized ebike settings: Class 1, which denotes pedal-assist-only bikes; Class 2, which person pedal assist, positive an autarkic throttle; and Class 3, which transcend the 20-mile-per-hour maximums of Class 1 and 2 bikes, tin scope speeds up to 28 mph, and person restrictions astir wherever you tin thrust them. Just beryllium definite to cheque with your section laws earlier mounting your bike’s class.
All of those settings are adjustable to the rider done the bike’s bright, colorful, 3.5-inch handlebar-mounted LCD display, which shows power, battery, and travel information.
Heavy-Duty, but Nimble and Controlled

Photograph: Michael Venutolo-Mantovani
The Lectric XPress2’s centrifugal tin nutrient up to 1,310 watts, which is simply a lot. Not lone is it capable to grip the bike’s claimed 330-pound payload capacity, but it’s much than capable for astir people, particularly those surviving successful flatter areas. I measurement 250 pounds, and being tasked with traversing hills tin spell a spot of other doom for me. This disquieted maine a bit, fixed the endless rolling rises of my section Chapel Hill, North Carolina. However, contempt the much than 300 pounds I was moving (my ain value positive the ebike’s 60-plus (66.4 pounds with the battery), I ne'er felt similar I was struggling oregon similar my legs were giving much effort than the bike. I could person ridden conscionable arsenic comfortably had I loaded up my pannier bags and tossed them connected the bike’s included rear rack. And acknowledgment to a exertion Lectric calls Stealth M24, the centrifugal delivered powerfulness successful a smooth, azygous way, ne'er forcing the motorcycle to consciousness jerky oregon retired of control.
Some of that value is acknowledgment to the bike’s battery, which adds different 6.4 pounds to the wide total. It’s a battalion that, acknowledgment to an easy-to-access outer port, you tin easy complaint without removing it from the bike. Though, if you similar to complaint inside, the artillery is easy removable from its location beneath the bike’s downtube. And, portion astir of that artillery is utilized to powerfulness the bike, immoderate of it delivers powerfulness to the bike’s agleam 90-lumen headlight, brake light, and broadside signals.
The artillery took a spot little than 7 hours to complaint from dormant to full, which Lectric claims tin get you up to 60 miles. Of course, those 60 miles are successful perfect conditions, apt with a overmuch lighter-weight rider, and connected perfectly level roads. Thanks to my size, the hills astir my town, and that I bask the thumb throttle a spot excessively much, I didn’t get astir that benignant of scope connected a afloat charge. But, I was capable to get conscionable implicit 30 miles retired of a afloat artillery arsenic I toggled betwixt the assorted powerfulness settings and opened up the throttle each the way. For the purposes of commuting oregon conscionable cruising around, I recovered that artillery beingness to beryllium much than sufficient.
For each of that go, you inactive request to stop, and the bike’s monolithic 180-mm, 2.3-mm heavy rotors paired to hydraulic brakes efficaciously brought each 300-plus pounds of me-plus-bike to a harmless and tenable stop. During testing, I ever felt successful power of my speed, adjacent down the backside of a hill. The motorcycle besides has a creaseless SR Suntour XCM32 suspension fork that features 80 mm of travel, which easy tamped retired immoderate of the insignificant bumps, holes, and asphalt divots I regularly encounter.
Often, cruisers tin consciousness much similar an water liner than a speedboat. However, contempt its upright riding presumption and the bike’s wide heft—both of which could person easy made the motorcycle consciousness lumbering oregon conscionable plain boring—the XPress2 has a nimbleness that cruisers often miss retired on. This is owed successful ample portion to its 27.5-inch wheels and its 2.1-inch heavy tires, which find the saccharine spot betwixt heavy capable to withstand unsmooth roads and constrictive capable to consciousness similar you tin truly rip. The tires are besides puncture-resistant, preloaded with Slime tyre sealant, which prevents flats by filling tiny holes without the rider adjacent knowing. These details, successful summation to a comparatively compact wheelbase, allowed maine to zip and weave done the car and pupil postulation of my small assemblage municipality with easiness and aplomb.
Should You Buy the XPress2?

Photograph: Michael Venutolo-Mantovani
After a week of riding, I lone recovered 2 issues with the XPress2.
The archetypal was during the assembly process, which you tin debar by bringing your caller motorcycle to your section motorcycle store and having them physique it for you. Check present to spot if you unrecorded adjacent a store wrong the Lectric Repair Service Network, though immoderate section motorcycle shops volition assemble ebikes for a interest (plenty of others volition diminution with hardly disguised scorn).
That is, the over-complication of the beforehand wheel’s thru axle, which utilizes the SunTour’s Q-Loc exertion successful spot of a modular threaded thru axle. It features a spring-loaded collar that secures the thru axle successful place. And while, yes, it is simply a tiny spot faster than a threaded thru axle, it’s an improvement that seems to maine wholly unnecessary, arsenic it neither makes the motorcycle safer nor easier to use. Having ne'er seen a Q-Loc thru axle before, I struggled for a bully 10 minutes trying to fig it retired earlier yet retreating to YouTube to find an explainer.
Then determination was the bike’s sheer mass, which was truly lone a occupation erstwhile I wasn’t riding. At much than 66 pounds with the battery, the XPress2 is simply a beast, and I recovered myself struggling to maneuver into my garage, safely astir my cars, and to the small nook wherever I store my bikes.
Ultimately, the Lectric XPress2 is much than the sum of its parts. Sure, it has a almighty centrifugal with respective options and combinations for assistance: It has a sturdy rear rack and comes with tires that volition combat against flats. It’s besides reasonably priced. But beyond each of the bike’s value, utility, sturdiness, and bully looks, the Lectric XPress2 is, perhaps—most importantly—a super-fun motorcycle to ride.
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