Thank you to all of the contributors here on the electricbikereview forum. I learned a lot!!!
I have been studying and reading and visiting bikes shops pretty steady for about four months.
now i'm official.
background, i purchased my "gateway" bikes in august 2019 and my wife julie and i put almost 1,000 miles on them in the first 14 monts. LUNA Mosso Folders. 20" wheels, bafang something 750 watt middrive, throttle, 9 assist levels. very, very, very fun. my wife got addicted right away and figured out how to "air pedal" looking like you are working but getting full power out of the battery motor. i think it's a LUNA Eric trick. pretty cool.
anyway, the folding handlebar folded on me at about 12-14 mph and i slammed into the concrete last november. hence the start of my search. so ... folders are great ... until they aren't. not sure i'll ever ride it again. plus, very unstable at ebike speeds over 20 mph.
fell in love with the specialized vado's ... but no 5.0 to be found, and i just couldn't bring myself to swallow the smaller 500 wH battery. looked at Giant, Gazelle, Cannondale, etc. but kept coming back to the Allant+8S for the 625 wH battery and overall build quality.
froze my fingers and toes on my first decent ride last evening. but i sure felt alive.
this thing is a mercedes S Class compared to my LUNA yugo if you guys remember the $3,999 new car from the 1980's. car and driver said, "if that's all the money you have for a car, get a used Chevette."
that's how i feel about the Allant so far. extraordinary design, engineering, attention to details, quality of everything. solid as a 56 pound tank should feel.
God willing, i'm going to be living on this thing.
sincerely, i thank you for all your help and kindness in this forum. some great dudes and dudettes here. TIM (in ebike little heaven)