I have both:
- two Radrover 4" Fat tire 750w/80Nm rear hub with throttle and cadence sensor 20 mph Class II
- Himiway Cobra Pro 1000w/160Nm 4.8" fat tire mid drive full suspension with tq sensor 28 mph Class III
I ride them on paved roads, paved/unpaved bike only trails, and single track. Most places I ride don't have any restrictions for Class I/II ebikes. I can ride anyplace a regular bike can ride (sidewalks, against traffic, bike only paths, etc...). Some places have restrictions on 28 mph class III ebikes and don't allow them on bike only areas (only off road or share the road bike lanes). I have to keep my Himiway below 20 mph when on the bike only paths.
The rear hub is "fall off a log" easy to ride. The rear hub is very forgiving for beginners levels on moderate level trails, can handle most hills like you find in subdivision neighborhoods, and easy to ride on paved/unpaved bike trails. I'm +300lbs and always felt the rear hub had enough power for any moderate hill during riding. Having the throttle came in handy to bump the power if I slow down too much at the top of the hill in PAS 2 or 3. Rear hub ebikes are usually cheaper in cost, easier to maintain, put way less stress on gears/chains, and you can still ride if the chain breaks (or if you need a break from pedaling with throttle). I didn't have to change gears a lot with the rear hub (mostly stay in 4th-7th gear). I can stay in 7th gear at a stop, pedal+throttle at 0 mph, and PAS 2 or 3 only once I pick up speed above 5-10 mph. I added a suspension seatpost and larger Cloud-9 seat to give a feel of a full suspension with the hard tail Radrover (very comfy combo).
I had to train my brain to ride my mid-drive ebike. It was almost like driving a 10 gear manual transmission. I had to shift gears with every speed change and anticipate the right gear for upcoming hills. If I didn't, I would put too much stress on the chain or be in the wrong gear for proper acceleration. The Himiway has a throttle and it required the exact same gear selection process for speed changes or hills. All power is transmitted with the chain and that 160Nm does put a lot of stress on the chain/gears. I did purchase an extra chain and I might end up replacing both chain/gears sooner with a mid-drive compared to rear hub. My mid-drive also has a tq sensor. This means the harder I pedal adds more power. I can ride to +20 mph in PAS 1 if I pedal hard enough (maybe 12-15 mph with rear hub in PAS 1 with rear hub). I find it easy to match my speed on my mid-drive with my wife's speed on her rear hub 7-speed 750w step-thru Radcity. I find my battery range is increased with my mid-drive because I can stay in PAS 1 90% of the time compared to needing PAS 2/3 for my rear hub to maintain the same exact speeds. Having 2X the tq with the mid-drive is also helping me stay in PAS 1 for most riding conditions.
It might be worth a road trip to test ride both types to get a feel for the riding dynamics. The wife and I had a vacation planned in California and found a local business that had Radrovers to rent. I would also add in routine maintenance, flat repair, adding accessories like rack+bag or front basket, any upgrades like suspension seatpost/pedals/mirrors, adding aux lights, transportation with vehicle (hitch rack vs folding ebike in hatch/trunk), and home storage. My retired bro/sis in-laws love have folding 20" fat tire ebikes they can carry in the back on their SUV on road trips in two storage bin (if the ebike is dirty or wet).
