Need help deciding! R1Up or Aventon?

[Alex.R.]

Hey all, first post here. Love the site; been spending a LOT of time on EBR doing research and watching videos.

I live in Hawaii and it's beautiful year round, so there's no reason NOT to get a bike. That said, there are only so many shops here that carry ebikes and most of the ebikes they have are ones like Bear, Haibike, and Reisse/Muller. Also unfortunate for Hawaii is that shipping isn't readily available, for the most part, without some work arounds, a reliable person in CONUS, and a sizeable chunk of extra money for shipping.

I'm looking at the following. A * means the manufacturer offers shipping to Hawaii via their website (price includes shipping) and @ means the bike is available at a bike shop:

Ride1Up 500* ($1465 w/ rack and fenders), 700* ($1685), or LMT'ed* ($1985)
Aventon Level@ ($1800)

I don't ride very far, but I ride 5 days a week and I ride to lots of face-to-face meetings (at least 3 per day). I'm not interested in getting a car since I should be leaving the island within the next year (plus the wife said no).

Everywhere I need to go is within about a 1.5 miles of where I live, it's relatively flat except for two easily-avoidable spots, and the roads are pretty decent, save for a few spots that are pretty worn down/chunked up.

Things I'm looking for are in no priority are:
Comfortable ride
Suspension (air or coil, not picky)
Integrated headlight and/or taillight
Rack and fenders provided (preferred) or available
"Soft" (e.g., not road bike tires) and wide tires
I really liked the cafe style handlebars on the 500, but it looks like when R1Up switched to the step through, the swept back handlebars are at a less "extreme" sweep

Any help you guys can provide is greatly appreciated.

Edit 1: changed a word. Tried to type this out while feeding four kids under age 10 and get ready for work.

 

[GenXrider]

One thing I preferred with the Ride1UP vs. the Avention level is that the RideUP1 allows you to use 9 assist levels vs. 5 on the Level, and I have heard that the lowest levels of assist on the Ride1UP provide less assist power than the lowest level on the Aventon level, so I thought that was better for dialing in the amount of assist as to allow me to get decent exercise at less than 15 mph.

 

[Alex.R.]

Thanks, GenX. Valid point. I feel like my trips are so short I won't need the precision of a 9 vs 5-level throttle response setting.

Another concern of mine is date of possession. Right now a shop on Oahu has the Level in stock; R1Up won't even begin shipping until Mid-Aug, so probably first-half September arrival at the earliest. That's almost two months away!

 

[PatriciaK]

Have you ridden the level? What did you think? You'll probably be very happy with either of those choices, so don't overthink it .

Personally, if I were ready to ride, I'd get the bike that's in stock now if I liked both choices anyway.

 

[Alex.R.]

Have you ridden the level? What did you think? You'll probably be very happy with either of those choices, so don't overthink it .

Personally, if I were ready to ride, I'd get the bike that's in stock now if I liked both choices anyway.

Unfortunately I haven't ridden any ebike before, let alone the ones I'm eyeing. I'm just kinda going for it and hoping everything works out.

 

[Nova Haibike]

Given your situation I would also advise getting the Level because of it being in stock.