Lectric xp1 unstable at speeds above 20 mph

[gracwheels]

Hello all! My friend just bought a lectric xp 1, he's enjoying it thus far except at high speeds. Above 20mph the bike wants to dart left and right, and doesn't seem stable, I was watching him from behind going at a clip of about 30mph and he was constantly having to center and upright the bike on flat level ground that was very smooth. Any idea why this might be happening?

 

[docw009]

Folding bike components, like the stem, were designed for 30 pound bikes with pedal/gears that limit speed to 16 mph, They should have switched to BMX bars on fat bikes, One of the fears on my own folders is the stem snapping off, and the Lectric Facebook groups has produced reports a few examples.

Why don't you inspect the bike and make sure the headset is adjusted properly and tight. Make sure the folder lock is snug.. Axles OK.

Could be unbalanced tires and warped rims.

 

[amberwolf]

Regarding stems snapping off....about two decades ago I had a brand new Columbia Comfort Bike (the only new bike I've ever owned, earned as a prize from my work at the time) with an adjustable stem whose welding broke while I was riding next to traffic...thankfully the wheel turned (on it's own since I was now holding handlebars floating in the air instead of steering the bike) to point me at a curb where it then jerked to a sudden stop sending me over the bars shoulder point / blade first to the ground and rolling until I was sprawled on the sidewalk, rather than into the moving cars. My shoulder has never been the same, though nothing actually broke...(and about a year ago I moved the wrong way which has made it worse, better now by some, but still not as good even as it was before that).

Too bad I contacted the company first to tell them about the safety problem so they could try to keep anyone else from getting hurt....when I should probably have talked to a lawyer (which might've gotten me help to fix my shoulder, at least...the company just sent me a new stem and I never heard from them again).

 

[amberwolf]

Regarding the stability problems....if a rider doesn't have experience at faster speeds on a specific type of bike, they may have trouble controlling it at first, but will usually learn to do so over a few dozen miles / days of riding, depending on the rider.

Could also be a hardware issue: if the bike is brand new, it may not be assembled or setup correctly yet. A bike shop should be able to take care of that.

If it's used, it could have any kind of adjustment problem or damage including bent frame or wheels that do what you see.

It could even just be built using a bike with geometry designed for slower speeds than what it's being used at. (even if it's an OEM electric bike it's likely they are using a bike frame/etc that already existed, rather than designed and built from scratch for them).


The first two can be fixed by adjustment or repair / replacement of problem parts.

The last might be fixable by changing parts to correct the geometry for faster speeds, or sometimes by adding dampers to the steering, etc.

 

[E-HP]

What tire pressure is he running?

 

[AHicks]

I have no experience with the 20" stuff, but one of the reasons I got rid of my 26"x 4" fatty was when running pavement tires (quiet w/no knobs) it was "darty" when crossing over high spots, making for a pretty scary ride even at lower speeds. If this 20" setup is running pavement tires, it could be doing the same thing?

I would try increasing the tire pressure to whatever the tire is rated for on the sidewall to see if that helps settle it down....

 

[hemmadroid101]

Hello all! My friend just bought a lectric xp 1, he's enjoying it thus far except at high speeds. Above 20mph the bike wants to dart left and right, and doesn't seem stable, I was watching him from behind going at a clip of about 30mph and he was constantly having to center and upright the bike on flat level ground that was very smooth. Any idea why this might be happening?

Folding bike components, like the stem, were designed for 30 pound bikes with pedal/gears that limit speed to 16 mph, They should have switched to BMX bars on fat bikes, One of the fears on my own folders is the stem snapping off, and the Lectric Facebook groups has produced reports a few examples.

Why don't you inspect the bike and make sure the headset is adjusted properly and tight. Make sure the folder lock is snug.. Axles OK.

Could be unbalanced tires and warped rims.

Last night I picked up a used folding Lectric bike for not so cheap. I'm told it works. What is implied by "It works"? maybe when hitting the throttle the wheel spins? Or the display illuminates?
The first thing I noticed about this folding bile is the headset feels......not loost but just wobbley. Ok, it does have a rather long neck and after reading this thread I'm seeing myself finding some good aluminum round stock and somehow TIG welding a simple flat bar handlebar set up.....My welder is a DC MIG so I cant do aluminum. I will probably start off by taking everything apart and inspecting it. maybe screw it up by running a couple fasteners through it to fuse it all together.

 

[Chalo]

The first thing I noticed about this folding bile is the headset feels......not loost but just wobbley.

Yes, it's a folding bike. There are good reasons they don't all fold. Folding bikes suck at everything other than folding.

Ok, it does have a rather long neck and after reading this thread I'm seeing myself finding some good aluminum round stock and somehow TIG welding a simple flat bar handlebar set up.....

No. That's not how aluminum works in bicycles. Every time you weld, you have to heat treat the part to restore strength to the material. "As welded" strength of structural aluminum is about 25% of its heat treated strength.

I will probably start off by taking everything apart and inspecting it. maybe screw it up by running a couple fasteners through it to fuse it all together.

You say you want to poke holes in its high stress areas, to tell it where to crack?

Gotta say, you come across as someone who has no business messing with a folding bike. Or a bike. Or any machine that could hurt you.