Hero Lectro C5 27.5 SS: ChooseMyBicycle.com Expert Review

The Hero Lectro C5 27.5 is built on a full Alloy frame. Electric bicycles are generally considered heavy due to the battery and motor but the use of Alloy as the frame material helped keep the overall weight in check. The frame geometry was standard with a slanting top tube. This geometry helped with having a upright posture which was perfect for leisure rides and commutes.

The rigid fork was bladed and aerodynamic in design. Whilst some might think that a suspension is needed for urban roads this frame’s Alloy helped absorb most vibrations of the surface and in turn give the rider a smooth ride experience.

The Hero Lectro C5 27.5 which I test rode came in a full Dark Blue primary colour on the frame with a Lighter Blue used as the secondary colour for the graphics. The gloss 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 a normal Bicycle and hence making the frame look neat and also protecting the battery from external dust.

This Electric Bicycle comes with a Single-Speed drivetrain. There is no compulsory need for an Electric Bicycle to have gears as the battery is going to over-power the gears. 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 E-Bicycle a little.

The Hero Lectro C5 27.5 Electric Bicycle runs on a rear hub BLDC 36V,250W 40Nm rear hub motor. This motor is powered by a 36 Volt, 5.8Ah 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 give 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 E-Bicycle. The LED button display on the left side of the handlebar has the On/Off button, Assist level changer, Walk mode button and also the Battery level indicator. The LED button display comes with a white semi-transparent thick sleeve to protect it from rains and water leaking in. 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.

With 1 full charge this Battery is capable of giving 30kms in Pedal Assist mode and 22-25kms in throttle mode. These mileages might differ a bit with the 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.

One of the upgrades from the previous model of the C5 is the introduction of a Mechanical Disc Brake at the rear as well.. The Clarke branded Mechanical Disc Brakes at the front and rear were powerful enough to get the E-Bicycle to stop safely and quickly at 20-25 Km/hr. The power of the brakes are ideal for City riding.

The 27.5” x 2.0” Spur branded tires on the Hero Lectro C5 were fast rolling on smooth and rough urban roads and were perfectly suited for an Electric Bicycle when riding at 25km/hr. The treads were perfect to give good traction on slightly rough roads and fast cornering.

The Saddle has seen a considerable upgrade on the newly released C5 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 while riding the C5.