People who've used both, how different are Lectric and Aventon bikes? (mainly looking at the Level 3 Aventon and Xpress 1 Lectric)
Posted by Glowingtomato@reddit | ebikes | View on Reddit | 21 comments
Never had an e bike but used to ride my analog Trek FX1 often about 5 years ago when I lost a bunch of weight. My car is also getting old and I'd like to pick up biking for short trips, my 5 mile commute, and rides for fun without taking all day.
I went and rode two bikes at a bike expo thing my city had. One was the Aventon Pace and I loved it. The torque sensor felt really nice and the bike wasnt that bad to pedal without any assist. I assume the Level 3 will ride similar.
I have local shops that carry both brands so that's what I'm looking at since I don't want go much over 2k. Is the alleged higher quality of the Aventons worth the price increase? Or do the things like the 750w motor on the Lectric make up for the quality?
My area doesn't have crazy steep hills but it was enough to make me struggle trying to get back into biking with my worn out FX1.
I've also be looking into the Aventon Soltera but I know the estimated 46 range will probably be lower compared to the 70 mile range on the Level 3 and the Xpress
Suitable_Voice_5432@reddit
Don’t buy Lectric. Battery died second year and they are asking me to pay for a new $300usd battery. Infuriating.
musicfan-1969@reddit
my friend has a Lectric and it's pretty much the quality of a box store BSO with an electric motor strapped on it. I'd stay away
RoundSyrup4424@reddit
I love my Level 3, but you might as well go with the new Level 4 REC at this point.
Are you ok with the aggressive handlebar setup though? It's not like the Pace, and not everyone likes it.
BodSmith54321@reddit
The Xpress 2 just came out and is much improved. The Level 4 is also out.
Relative-Display-676@reddit
Aventon has its own manufacturing facility in China while lectric is like any other drop shipper that rebrands other people's good from a catalog.
I'd go with trek above these two as they are much easier to service.
JeffePortland@reddit
I won't chime in on build quality etc but Lectric designs their own bikes. They do not just put their name on a product someone else builds.
ScarlettTrinity@reddit
I went to many different shops before I bought my E bike and neither one of those were well loved even though they sold them. A lot of my local shops have stopped carrying Aventon because they've been difficult to get parts from for service and deal with. Lectric is in shops a lot too.
CriticalAd2425@reddit
The shop I was in an hour ago was out of Level 3 bikes, as the Level 4 takes over. Level 4 is awesome, bought one for my wife.
NewspaperMuted6858@reddit
Having local shops that service both Aventon and Lectric is a massive advantage, and honestly, since you loved the natural riding feel of your old Trek FX1, you will likely appreciate the Aventon Level 3 much more. The biggest tradeoff between the two is refinement versus raw power; Aventon typically features cleaner frame welds, better paint, and a significantly smoother torque sensor tuning, whereas the Lectric Xpress offers incredible value and a punchier 750W motor, but its power delivery can feel a bit more utilitarian and less like a traditional bicycle. The Soltera is incredibly fun and nimble, but with the hills in your area, you are spot on that the larger battery and stronger motor of the Level 3 will serve you much better for commuting. If you love that refined, analog-bike feel of a torque sensor but want to see what else is out there in the sub-$2k range, reliable brands like Velotric and Tenways also make fantastic, sleek commuters; I filtered a few comparable torque-sensor options here if you want to see how their specs stack up against the Aventon:
https://www.ebikesfinder.com/#brands=Aventon%2CTenways%2CVelotric&priceMax=2000&sensorType=Torque
onlyTryingtoBeNice@reddit
let me put it this way, I work at a small shop that specializes in ebikes, we sell aventon but do not sell lectric (we are a service center for them), our service department survives on lectric customers
Music_6@reddit
100% agreed. Same shop I had to recently take my brand new Lectric bike to said the same thing to me. Literally everything you could imagine could go wrong did right out of the box. Zero quality control and absolute headache nightmare with my first purchase of an e-bike from supposedly the number one selling e-bike company (Lectric). Eventually they realized how much of a garbage dumpster fire this bike was and apologized and refunded it.
But I still lost a lot of money (new gear, rideshare needed to get to work) and time on it all. Stay away from Lectric. They’ve grown too fast and don’t have the properly experienced customer support and totally are lacking quality control, which feels dangerous to be putting bikes out that are this egregiously bad.
Glowingtomato@reddit (OP)
Yeah that's something I've been seeing about the Lectric that they often need some work. I'm honestly leaning to the Aventons since I really liked the quality but being able to save a few $100 on a Lectric is tempting.
I think that cost saves won't be worth it if I need to service the bike more often
Ok-Type-8917@reddit
Lectric has more customers service reps than most companies have US based employees.
dickeybarret@reddit
If you've spent a fair bit of time on the fx already, might I suggest taking a gander at the fx+1s? A frame feel you might already be used to and very similar feature set to the other models you listed.
If that's not an option I'd go with the adventon due to a bigger support network.
Glowingtomato@reddit (OP)
They don't sell the FX+1s in my state, I have been looking into the regular FX+1 but the price is even higher and it has a 50 mile range. I do want to check on out though. I've had probably 1,500 miles on my old FX1
dickeybarret@reddit
If you've got a Trek shop near you the ONLY reason i'd suggest it over the others is the network of shops to take care of you. Full disclosure, I work at a Trek shop and have dealt with adventons, rads, Treks, Specalized, lectrics, etc. The whole gamut really. It's simple for me to get support and parts for the Treks, not so easy for the others. Honestly, go with whatever brand is going to give you the best support. With ebikes it's not a matter of IF the electric components will fail, but when...and when they do its nice knowing you've got that support. Thats the price premium for the legacy brands, the support network and (at least in my experience with Trek), the no questions asked warranty coverage.
Superb_Raccoon@reddit
REI is another retail option.
Sypsy@reddit
Also consider the Velotric Discover 2 or 3. I've seen it compared to the Aventon Level 2 or 3 recently
Glowingtomato@reddit (OP)
I looked it up and the local shop that carries Lectric also has Velotric. I'll have to research them, they are in my price range
Sypsy@reddit
The discover has 750w motor and other features.
Aventon has better build.
Better to test drive both because they have different geometries
anavrin0001@reddit
I have an Aventon Level 3 I have put 1200 miles in I got back in October and a Lectric Xpedition 2 I got to cart my kids around a few weeks back and have put 350 miles on already. From a pure fun and utility factor I have been preferring the lectric. The aventon bike is also great - but after riding the lectric with a 750 W motor the aventon feels a little underpowered. For what it’s worth, both were purchased because of ability to service locally and have not regretted either purchase yet.