Lectric first debuted the M24 motor on the original XPedition. On a Zoom call with the brand’s CEO, Levi Conlow, he emphasized what he wanted from this motor: No road in America should be able to make the XPedition quit, and he even offered a bounty to his employees if they could find a hill the bike couldn’t summit. Trips along the California coast and up the infamous San Francisco hills ensued.
To my knowledge, he never had to pay up, and that bears out in our testing which confirmed that this is one of the more powerful motors out there. It’s a 750W rear hub motor with 1310W of peak power and 85Nm of torque—plenty strong for hauling heavy loads up steep grades.
This time around, the motor on the XPedition 2.0 is improved thanks to two key changes: the addition of PWR+ programming and a switch to an 8-speed drivetrain.
PWR+ is Lectric’s torque sensor that signals the motor to provide more power when you’re pressing harder on the pedals. Lectric’s approach combines the benefits of both cadence and torque sensors, giving the bike a smooth, easy start while also offering better power control. This allows the bike to respond with extra power on hills or maintain steady speed on flat stretches when the rider really hits the pedals hard.
The new gearing enhances the experience even further. I’ve made no secret of my distaste for the Shimano Tourney shifter—it’s acceptable on a budget bike, but the first thing I’d want to upgrade. I welcomed the new 8-speed Shimano Acera with rapid-fire shifters, which give you more control over your gear range to find the ideal climbing gear. Iit is also a wide enough range to give you some “bite” in the pedals when trying to hit the class 3 max speed of 28 mph.
The XPedition 2.0 is also quite comfortable, thanks to its suspension fork. The 50mm of travel helps soften the impact of bumps, and the quick-adjust stem makes it easy to find an upright seating position for better control of the front end. With this setup, the bike doesn’t require excessive front-end suspension; the travel provided does the job well.
Overall, the handling is solid. The XPedition 2.0 uses 20”x2.5” tires that offer good maneuverability. The only quirk I noticed was during curb drops, where the weight of the rear end can cause a hard “thunk” on impact—at least, that was my experience with the largest dual-battery setup.
Speaking of batteries, the XPedition 2.0’s only downside on paper is a smaller starting battery. The single-battery option starts at 13Ah, which is slightly less than the 14Ah of the 1.0 model. However, the ~7% reduction in capacity isn’t a dealbreaker, especially given the addition of the suspension fork and other feature upgrades. Also, the new torque-sensing capabilities of the motor give it, in theory, better efficiency than the older model, which was just a cadence sensor. We’ll test it out soon enough to confirm, but the one step-back isn’t much of one with proper context.
There are three battery options to choose from: the single 13Ah, the dual 13Ah (26Ah total), and now an impressive dual 17.5Ah (35Ah total), making it the largest capacity electric cargo bike I’ve seen so far. Prices are $1,399, $1,699, and $1,999 respectively.
We’ll have our test model in the office soon, but Lectric quotes a range of 60-170 miles, depending on the battery configuration and riding conditions. Such a high range brings the question of whether a cargo e-bike can truly replace your car closer to reality.
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