26" wheel zippy commuter other than Stromer ?

I'm looking at a Cannondale Contro-e that has 26" wheels right now. We had been looking at the Specialized 3.0 which is a beautiful thing to behold. The 3.0 was priced at $3,499 and the Contor-e is currently at a deep discount locally, from $4,499 to $2,999. Both are nice bikes. Asthetically I liked the 3.0 better. The Contro-e looks a bit more versital because of it's 26"X2.15 wheels and a handsome bike. They both rode well. I didn't like the seat or the handle bar grips on the Contra-e but on the road it felt stable and capable. The 3.0 felt great overall but once you reached speeds above 22 mph, even using the highest gear, the cadence was too fast to maintain for any real distance. At speeds over 22 The Cannondale's cadence is slower and easily maintained. It looks somewhat like an off road bike but was designed for the road and commuting. It has a single shock forward that takes some of the bump out and the wide tires help as well. It handled some potholes and train tracks on my test ride but I wouldn't use it for any serious off roading. I would think it could handle a dirt or gravel road though. From what I hear, Cannondale is trying to move them because they weren't a popular model. Not sure why. Tires on the 3.0 are 28"X1.85". Tires on the Contro-e are 26"X2.15"
 
My wife has a 26 inch Pedego City Commuter. It's not as zippy as my Crosscurrent S, but unless I put mine in Sport mode and up the cadence, she keeps up just fine.
 
I'm thinking it has a lot to do with the motor programming and gearing because the Contra-e Speed with 26" wheels was zippy and felt comfortable doing 25 mph.
 
You might want to look at the Evelo Aurora. It is a heaver bike, but comes with comes with a 750W upgraded version that should give plenty of zip. And even the 500W should be zippy enough. Or there is also the Evelo Delta X, if you want some beefier tires and maybe want more of a hybrid that can do a little more off paved road riding as well as commuting.
 
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