My primary purpose for buying an e-bike was hunting. I am 73 years old, a buck-forty on a heavy day and 5'9" on a tall day, so your needs may differ from mine. After approaching paralysis by analysis, my mental list of wants/needs in no particular order was:
1. Step thru frame. While I can still swing a leg over, I knew that I would be carrying stuff on the rear rack that would make swinging a leg over difficult to impossible.
2. Twenty inch fat tires - I thought I would need to put a foot or feet down from time to time while riding in the woods. I was right. When riding in the woods, I lower both the seat post and the handlebar all the way and when cruising, I can raise them up for my preferred upright riding style.
3. Throttle - Most hub motors with cadence sensors have five levels of PAS. Level 1 typically tries to get you to 10-12 mph very quickly. For me, that is much too fast when I am pig trailing through the woods. My bike has nine levels, but even at level 1 it still wants to go 5 mph and even that may be too fast. The throttle provides infinite levels of power for slow speed maneuvers.
4. Rear rack capacity - Most rear racks are small and have low weight limits, usually 40-50 lbs. My stock rear rack is rated for 100 lbs, but it is still only 7x14 inches. I ordered a 20x18 inch platform rack from RAD and bolted it onto my existing rack which greatly enhanced the functionality and gave me room to mount Kolpin gun holders. I can now carry my crossbow, a fifty pound bag of corn, and my day pack with no problem.
5. Motor - Most people are probably going to say you need a mid-drive torque sensing motor for hills. I hunt in NW Ga., and there is not a flat piece of ground anywhere on the property. My 750W (nominal) hub drive has taken me anywhere I wanted to go and maybe a few places I shouldn't have gone. I think a 500W motor would probably work for me, but I wanted the largest motor I could legally ride in bike lanes. Probably a guy thing.
6. Suspension seat post - I didn't know I wanted one until my first real ride off-road. Rocks, ruts, roots, holes, and limbs convinced me pretty quickly how much I wanted one. I went with the Suntour and have been pretty happy with it.
7. Trailer - Last year, I bought a Hawk Crawler game cart. Amazing cart, but I still need to fabricate a hitch for the bike rack. I have pulled a Gorilla yard cart loaded with tree and shrub trimming just using the U hitch and pin designed for lawn tractors on my rack. It did surprisingly well over grass and sugar sand, but it did scrape the paint off my rack. At least aluminum doesn't rust.
I have ridden through weeds up to about eighteen inches high, but not all that thick (unless you count thick with chiggers) with no problem. I am not sure about some really thick stuff.
Good luck with your search. My e-bike has extended my hunting timeline.
