Hero Lectro C3i 26 SS: ChooseMyBicycle.com Expert Review

The Hero Lectro C3i is built on a full Alloy frame. Electric Bicycles are a bit heavy due to the battery and motor but the use of Alloy as the frame material helps in keeping the overall weight in check. The frame geometry was standard with a downward slanting top tube which makes it easy and safe to get on and off the bicycle. This geometry helped with having an upright posture which was perfect for fitness rides and commutes. The front suspension fork comes with a 60mm travel which is ideal to tackle the bumps and speed breakers on city roads.

The Hero Lectro C3i which I test rode came in a full Light Grey primary colour on the frame with Yellow and Black as the secondary colours for the graphics. The suspension fork was Black in colour and was aerodynamic in design and also in good contrast to the frame colour. The matte finish paint job was of great quality with a smooth finish to it. The concealed battery inside the bottom tube made the E-Bicycle look like any normal Bicycle and hence making the frame look neat and also protecting the battery from external dust. The front and rear LED lights are great design and safety additions on this bicycle. The front LED light is powered by the bicycle’s battery and the rear LED is solar powered. The rear LED light will have to be detached and kept in sunlight for it to be solar charged. In a new cycle, the rear LED light has a small transparent strip jutting out of the bottom of the light, which has to be pulled out for the light to start working.

This Electric Bicycle comes with a Single-Speed drivetrain. There is no compulsory need for an Electric Cycle to have gears as the battery is going to over-power the gears on speed. For short commuting needs there will be no necessity of gears and this Single-Speed drivetrain is also easy to maintain. The lack of gearing components also decreases the weight of bicycle a little.

The Hero Lectro C3i Electric Bicycle runs on a rear hub BLDC 36V 250W rear hub motor. This motor is powered by a 36 Volt, 5.8 AH Lithium-Ion battery. The throttle on the right grip was easy to use and also brought out the fun factor on this E-bicycle. The 3-Level Pedal Assist termed Low, Medium and High gives three different levels of power assist from the battery for each pedal. There is also a Walk Mode which helps get a constant speed for easy walking with the Bicycle. The LED controller on the left side of the handlebar bar has the On/Off button, Pedal-Assist level changer, Walk Mode/Front light switch, Battery level indicator and RFID sensor. This model is part of Hero Lectro’s i-smart range and there are 2 RFID tags given with it. After switching on the controller, you will have to just show the RFID tag on top of the controller and the bicycle will power on. This technology helps in mishandling of the controller and also protection from theft. The Hero Lectro app can be downloaded on your phone and can be connected to your E-Bicycle to access a few riding parameters. The maximum speed using battery power is 25Km/hr. As a safety feature there is a button next to the right hand side gip accelerator which can be used to switch On and switch Off the accelerator function.

In 1 full charge this battery is capable of giving 30 kms in Pedal Assist mode and 22-25 kms in Throttle mode. These mileages might differ a bit with varied riding conditions and rider weight. This battery takes 4 hours to charge from 0 to 100% with any normal Indian plug point. The charging point for the battery is on the left side of the frame above the bottom bracket. The small downside to this charging method is that the bicycle has to be near a charging point as the battery is not detachable.

This Electric Bicycle’s stopping power is controlled by a Mechanical Disc brake at the front and a V-brake at the rear. Both these brake were powerful enough to get the bicycle to stop safely and quickly even at 20-25 km/hr.

The Alloy riser handlebar on this E-Bicycle was of the perfect length to give a comfortable riding posture for the rider. The grip throttle on the right was smooth and easy to use to accelerate.

The 26” x 2.0” Kenda tires on the Hero Lectro C3i were fast rolling on both smooth and rough Urban roads and were perfectly suited for an Electric Bicycle when riding at 25 km/hr. The width and treads were perfect to give good traction on rough roads.

The Saddle has seen a considerable upgrade on the newly released C3i with an extra layer of padded cushion which makes it as good as having an external gel/foam seat cover. One can be sure that there will be no saddle soreness when riding the C3i.