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I don't know if it counts as a "top commuter bike" but it is interesting that the Trek Verve+ is just under 45lbs (20.2kg) and is only $2500. That includes rack and fenders. See https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/bikes/hybrid-bikes/electric-hybrid-bikes/verve/verve-2-mens/p/28299/?colorCode=grey.

You can get a sense of motor reliability at https://pedelecmonitor.wordpress.com. It is in German but includes a Google translate option on the right. You can sign up on the web site and record your current drive system, motor type, and mileage (in km). The web site tracks the mileage and motor...

The Trek Verve+ might be an excellent choice. One important thing is what happens if things go wrong. If you get a bike from a dealer they should be able to fix any problems. As a bonus, people seem to have positive experiences with Trek and Trek dealers on this forum. On the other hand, if...

So you have a 10% grade with about 385 pounds of weight (heavy!). Doing some math: v = 500w/ (10% * 9.8m/s^2 * 175kg) = 2.9m/s = 10.5km/hr = 6.5mph. (I am not taking account the slight power loss of the chain/gears nor the air or rolling resistance, but these would be much, much less than the...

A thread a while ago gave some charts of motor power and torque vs. cadence for the major European and Japanese brands: https://electricbikereview.com/forums/threads/ebike-motor-power-curve-comparison-chart-bosch-yamaha-shimano-brose.14085/ Peak output power (which seemed to be what the...

I totally agree. The article at https://www.bicycling.com/news/a24110027/bike-helmet-safety/ gives a good overview of the pros and cons of helmet use and requiring helmets. It references a 2017 study review (https://academic.oup.com/ije/article/46/1/278/2617198) that found that helmet use...

On the thread https://electricbikereview.com/forums/threads/confused-about-class-1-legality.29379/#post-213490 "Dionigi" was stopped by a ranger in California who checked his Class 1 sticker. So, although enforcement may be rare, it does happen.

I have just ridden with the stock tires.

I have a Gazelle Arroyo and find that it does well on dirt and gravel roads; far better on gravel roads than the road bike I used to have.

I had a chance to try out the Aventon Pace 350 when I was in Ohio. (There wasn't a single place I could find to try one in the Pacific Northwest.) It seemed a nice bike overall and I will probably be ordering one for my daughter. One thing I did note is that it has a voltage based controller...

The Trek Verve plus is 45 pounds which is lighter than the LaFree (which from what I have been able to find is ~55 pounds, although Giant doesn't list the specifications). The $2500 price is similar, but you do lose the belt drive.

You can find actual data for Bosch motor longevity at https://pedelecmonitor.wordpress.com/mittelmotoren/mittelmotoren-2/bosch-mittelmotoren/. I believe the web site allows one to track kilometers and motor replacements. From that data, it appears 2nd generation Bosch motors are quite...

Mid-drives might be even more useful on e-bikes that allowed 45-55km/hr assistance than 32km/hr (20mph) assistance. Motors tend to be inefficient when running below ~50% of their maximum speed. If the maximum speed is 32km/hr (20mph), then the efficiency drops below 16km/hr (10mph), but not...

Bosch motors start to reduce power below 20mph and hit 0 assistance at 20mph. Thus, the cutoff isn't jarring, but I find myself going ~18mph with good/hard pedaling on assist. (Of course, you can meet/exceed 20mph if you supply all the force or on a downhill.).

It really depends on where you are. If you have a trail to yourself then 20mph is quite reasonable (assuming the trail isn't too curvy, site lines are good, etc.) On the other hand, 10mph is better for passing pedestrians. However, it would be very sad to see a 10mph trail speed limit...

I am not so sure. He only needed the bike to last a day or so to make the video. I would like my bike to last years, perhaps decades.

If the motor's peak speed is set for 20mph then the motor becomes less efficient below ~10mph.

If you are talking about a hub motor you probably want the opposite. Hub motors are inefficient at low speeds. Thus, I would bump the PAS level up and try to take the hill at a similar speed to the rest of the ride. Even with a mid-drive, due to the squared nature of wind resistance, you...

Multi-use path.

I could second that one. It is one of the least expensive mid-drive bikes, at $2400. However, I really liked it when I tried it. It comes with a Bosh ActiveLine motor that was very smooth and that was quiet enough that I couldn't hear it on the test drive. The components seem good. The...