Hello everyone. I'm a long-time cyclist who is looking for my first ebike for commuting. I've got a titanium road bike, a high-end mountain bike, and also a Co-motion tandem in the garage so I'm not new to cycling. And I spent my college years long ago wrenching in a bike shop so I don't mind working on, customizing, and rebuilding bikes. But ebikes are outside of my knowledge base. What I'm thinking is that I want a decent Class 3 bike that is well set up for commuting with lights, fender, racks, and a moderate riding position mid-way between road and cruiser.
This will probably be a strictly commuter and errand bike on suburban streets. When we do bike path riding and recreational riding it is usually with family and I will always bring one of my other bikes. So I don't really care about bike path access and the like. We live at the top of a 500 ft. hill in Camas WA (across the river from Portland) and I teach at 3 different high schools that range in distance from 5 to 11 miles away. It is mostly long flat suburban streets with bike lanes like this:
https://goo.gl/maps/NPb2dfB87HwPdGLJ6 but it is the steep hilly neighborhood where I live that kicks my 58-year old butt and keeps me from bike commuting and using a bike for local errands. I can't do a single errand by bike without facing a steep 500 ft. climb back home with lots of ups and downs.
I basically want to get a moderate workout too and from work, get there relatively quickly, be able to carry groceries and light cargo, and not be a sweaty mess every time I bike anywhere from home. Most of my commuting will be on wide suburban avenues where people drive 40+ mph.
The bike that has most caught my eye from digital shopping is the Specialized Turbo Vado 5.0 which is about at my max price range. My local shop that I am inclined to patronize (even though I'll pay more tax in WA) is a Specialized dealer but the only e-bikes they currently have in stock are mountain bikes. But I assume they can order me a Vado. I can drive across the river to Portland and find a bazillion e-bike and regular bike shops that seem to stock about everything (at least in theory). But because I'm fussy I figure I'll probably be ordering up something exactly like I want for delivery sometime in early 2022. One priority is world-class front and rear lighting for winter PNW commuting. I don't want to pay for some junky system on a new bike that I'm going to rip out and spend $500 to replace, Same thing with rack and fenders and tires. And I'll probably want XT level componentry if possible. An internal hub with belt drive would be really nice but I see very few bikes spec'ed that way so I'm resigned to probably getting a traditional drive train.
So, bikes that have caught my eye as possible options are the following.
Specialized Turbo Vado 5.0
Cube Kathmandu Hybrid 45 625
Bulls URBAN EVO 10 DIAMOND
Trek Allant+ 8s
Gazelle Ultimate C380+ HMB
DOSt Kope CVT (like the front rack option and belt drive)
The Bulls LACUBA EVO LITE DIAMOND also looks interesting but it is not Class 3.
I hope to spend the next month trying out some of these bikes if I can manage to find them in stock anywhere. And I welcome any recommendations for additions or subtractions to my initial list.
Some final considerations. The bike will be stored in my suburban garage where it can be charged in place so it will never be carried up stairs and I will pretty much never need to pull off the battery for charging. Also, theft is not a major consideration because it will mainly be parked in secure locations at home and work. And our local groceries don't get much bike traffic so I'm assuming (hoping) not much bike theft traffic.
