I like a front geared hub motor bike. If I rode a lot of hills off road I might prefer a rear hub motor bike. Front tire does slip on grass up 8% or more grade. I'm 74 and ride a drop frame.
I do not know a mid-drive motor that runs without a display, and I ride in the rain a lot. Rain destroys displays and buttons. Scooter controllers run just fine without a display, using only throttle. I put the sealed power-on toggle switch in a pill bottle under the seat. Plus my 8 speed chain lasts 5000 miles. 10 speed mid drive chain, some users report changing under 1000 miles. PITB to change a chain, I always mis-route it, more than once the first time. Plus takes 2 special tools to open & close those click type master links, ones you have to carry if you are not going to call your Mother/Wife to come get you after it breaks. 2 more tools to keep the chain from snapping apart by the derailleur and falling off the front sprocket while trying to install the link. My bike won't fit in our car.
Disadvantage of geared hub drive, they wear out gears & clutches. ~4500 miles on one of them. But they are cheap, and faster to change out than a chain. I keep one or two new ones in the garage.
Mid-drives cool better than geared hub motors. If you are slogging uphill for more than hour at 5 mph, you might burn a geared hub. IE the rockies and sierra mountains. I have 77 short hills up to 15% grade on my twice weekly 27 miles summer commute. 1000 w and 1300 w geared hubs have no problem with that. My motors of that wattage start fine without help at 330 lb gross weight on a 15% grade.
The most widely sold mid-drives drag the motor with your feet if the electricty fails. Rain often shorts the throttle if I forget to carry a plastic bag and a vegatable tie, or a sudden shower surprises me. NWS predicts rain 2/3 of the days here, are wrong about half the time. It rains somewhere within 60 miles of the airport but not where I am. I ride without throttle bag a lot of the time then get surprised. Have to dry out the throttle with a hair dryer at either end.
No dealership willl stock a bike for short people except a pink one with 7 speed derailleur and rim brakes. If I want to try a small bike, I have to pay in advance without seeing it even at a dealer. One rider told me the local ebike dealer (only brand available 2017) was incompetent at service. So I bought a bike from 3000 miles away based on the measurements, and features. Am very happy with it 7 years later. I had never had cables brakes and shifters that did not need adjustment every 200 miles before. Kiddie bikes like I had been riding have imitation steel cables and garbage shifters. Plus one shimano 6 speed axle broke under my enormous 180 lb corpus, and one shimano 7 speed axle came unscrewed and dropped the balls on the road. The shimano 8 speed rear is a quality product. Have ~13000 miles on it. On the 3rd chain, 2nd front and rear derailleurs.Rear takeup was destroyed by a stick through it. I do my own service.$40 for a controller, $12 for a throttle, $250 for a hub motor, what else is there to go wrong?
Happy shopping & riding
