But cheaper doesn't mean cheap. I haven't found a single under $2k ebike that compares with its overall quality, and the majority of the under $1k conventional bikes are inferior as well.

My old '76 Raleigh Sports was of superior quality, and weighed 45lbs. I don't remember the riding dynamics of it to be too noticeably different, and I was much younger and heathier at the time.

A Raleigh Superbe weighed 52lbs!

I mean the Retroglide IE wasn't a particularly exceptional bike, Raleigh is on the way out these days and has been for a while. It is sad but it is unfortunately the truth. There are plenty of similar bikes to it on the market at that 2k mark. This would be one that while not a great bike has a great motor and punches pretty high for the price it is the Ride1 Up Prodigy which in this iteration has a Brose mid-drive.

I am not a vintage Raleigh expert by any means but if memory serves the Sports and Superbe were more on the entry level of things, granted back then that meant a lot more than it does now and they were good quality bikes but not designed for lightweight anything.

​​​​​​ITYF that gyroscopic effect has been shown to have minimal influence on the stability of a bike, such that you might notice it when riding no-hands, but not otherwise, certainly not when starting from stationary. Motorcycle wheels do exhibit gyroscopic behaviour, but they are more massive and spinning faster.