Posting on a phone for a few days doesn't make this easy, but here goes (in installments).
There are some key decisions, mainly around type of riding, frequency of use, and budget. Combinations of these will drive you in different directions.
Almost 9 years ago I bought two ebikes for SWMBO and myself. It was largely driven by a desire to explore more easily, and at a greater distance from the motorhome. Budget was not a great constraint, but the desire for overall range, and a couple of good days riding potentially without charging was.
In those days, ebikes were niche with limited choice. (Things are very different now) I test rode a number with largeish batteries and various drive systems, front hub, rear hub and crank drive. The latter stood out (by a mile) as the most balanced and natural, and we ended up with two Kalkhoff bikes with the same crank drive and 540wh batteries (the highest capacity then available, and competitive even now) but very different frames.
Both these are still in use, have lasted really well (they are built like the proverbial brick shipyard) and the batteries are showing no sign of dropping off (both still register between 80-100% of original capacity even now).
In normal mixed riding they'll offer in excess of 70 miles between recharges, (though I am no lightweight, and carry panniers, I'm sparing on assistance. SWMBO, at half the load, could manage 100 mile range on a good day).
I now have a second bike, driven largely by two factors; the Kalkhoff is a great road and smooth track bike, but suffers a bit from narrow rims for rougher stuff, it is also undergeared for me. (the latter isn't always easy to change on an ebike, given the more complex drivetrain and the software being programmed for the original gearing). SWMBOs bike had smaller wheels and wider rims from scratch, and the gearing suits her, so she elected to stick with it.
So, the new one was driven by previous experience, and is a Haibike, Yamaha crank drive unit with more off-road geometry, wider rims, wider gearing and a 500wh battery.
Today's ride was a fairly challenging on and off road affair, with relentless gradients (it's the Lake District after all). Just over 33 miles on 60% of the battery gives an overall range of 55-60 miles. That's about the lowest I'll ever see.
A bit more generic stuff about current availability to follow
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