How tall are you? How long are your legs (pants inseam)? Do you want to sit up straight with a straight neck, bend over some, or crouch down with drop handlebars for maximum speed & efficiency? How wide a seat to you want? Do you want your hands parallel to your sides (cruiser) or perpendicular like a mountain bike.
How fast do you want to go? I have no suspension, 2" tires, I go about 8 sitting straight up. Do you want to pedal your way home or call a tow truck if a problem occurs? Will you ever shop off the bike & carry things home?
Can you remember to downshift before you stop (derailleurs okay) or do you want the convenience of shifting when stopped (IGH).
It rains in Seattle, I highly recommend disk brakes, as I don't think any sort of rim brake works in the rain.
I'm age 69, like sitting up straight on a wide cushy seat. Like not lifting my leg over a bar anymore, started having trouble about age 60 with that.
Do you like a lot of statistics & reports about your ride or do you just want to watch the traffic & the scenery?
If I wasn't afraid of pitching over the handlebars, I liked the features of the estream catalina that mike's ebikes said was okay.
https://electricbikereview.com/foru...xstream-catalina-cant-decide-need-help.33189/
Particularly the combination of torque sensing with a geared hub motor for simplicity & long chain life.
99% of posters here are convinced the word "hill" equals "mid-drive". Crossing 77 hills on my 30 mile commute, I like my geared hub drive just fine. Particularly the new chain every 5000 miles part.
My stretch cargo bike left has solved the pitching up & throwing me on my chin on bumps or sticks problem I had previously. Apparently I'm the only human in the US that can't hold the handlebars straight when I hit something. All 26" bikes have the same trail, no increase in stability has been allowed since 1946.
There are lot of shops in Seattle. Get out & visit some and sit on some bikes. They may have to bring the bike out to you on the curb, but phones are good at contact for that. Having a dealer solves some of the risk of buying a lemon (which happens).
