I'll offer my thoughts here as I've owned 3 electric bikes. A little background on me. I used to ride a bike in my younger days. I am now 68 years old. I love adventures, fly airplanes, and am a commercial pilot. Life got the best of me and I stopped riding, exercising, etc.
A couple of years ago, I saw the electric bikes, and decided to try to ride once again. Electric bikes have opened up my world. I have a rather steep hill to my home, hence the electric bike to get back to my home after a ride around the neighborhood.
My first bike was a Raleigh step though bike with the battery in the rear of the bike. This bike got me started, and was very affordable. However, the battery in back bugged me and I felt it was unsafe to be riding with a rear mounted battery. I then saw the Trek, and purchased the Super Commuter 7+. I have ridden this bike over 2,000 miles in total. A very stable bike. However, the issue is the weight of the bike. It does not fit on a bike rack very easily, and is bloody heavy for me to lift. Even the dealer had issues with putting this bike on a rack.
Then the new bikes with the battery in the stem came out. I wanted another Trek, but Trek does not make a light weight bike for my height. I was greatly disappointed. After a lot of research, I found the Cannondale Synapse NEO 1, tried a similar Neo, then purchased the Neo 1. I had to wait to get one, as I need a small size due to being short (5'2"). She finally arrived last weekend and I have ridden her 21 miles so far.
In thinking of this progression. The first bike, the Raleigh, got me outside riding a bike. That was the first step. Breaking that barrier to I can't ride a bicycle again to whoo hoo this is fun was a huge step. The Trek really helped me push myself and ride further distances. And now the Cannondale will get me to ride even further and in different areas.
The difference between the Trek and Cannondale. The Trek is like riding a huge SUV. The Cannondale is like riding a little MG Midget. The weight of the bike is an issue when finding myself unsteady. I fell once with the Raleigh due to my own error going up the hill to my home, and once with my Trek, while trying to turn a corner and being unsteady. Because of the weight of the bikes, I did not have the strength to stop the fall.
I have named the Cannondale "Wild Thing", as she will very easily get away from me and I will not be able to control her. So, I slow down on hills going down, especially the one near my home. I get bumped around more on the Cannondale, but I am able to control the impact of those bumps better than the Trek.
Overall, it does not matter which bike you are riding. The important thing is to get on a bike and ride. It is a hoot and does have a positive impact on ones health and outlook on life. Be prepared to fall at least once. The first fall did not shake me too much but the second one did. I wear a helmet made for electric bikes and it has a face mask, which I highly recommend. Make certain you can be seen my traffic. Lights, and reflective clothing all help.
I love this web site and really appreciate all of the work Courtney has done in researching electric bikes. It is because of this web site, that I took the first step in purchasing an electric bike. Thank you, Courtney!