My main residence out in PA near Valley Forge National Park, less tax, less insurance cost, plenty of space there to ride and store toys.
I work in Brooklyn, reside in Hoboken during the weekdays.
Basement in Hoboken is where I store my commuting folding bikes, it gets really dusty & moldy down there if you don't ride frequently.
Bigger wheels can be built strong, combine with wider tires they can do fine, but well-built wheels are expensive, so are larger sized tires.
For city dwelling and taking bikes onto public transport, they do take up more space, more difficult to go through subway turn style.
Range on e-bike is highly dependent on the usage of throttle or how much pedaling you do along the ride.
I personally use the throttle very little, only when I'm carrying heavy load and difficult to start moving when stopped.
Once the bike is moving at cruising speed of 12-15 mph, PAS kicks in and battery consumption is mainly when you encounter hills.
The faster you want to travel, the more juice the motor consumes.
During COVID times, I try to avoid visits to the hospitals, so I keep the speed down to avoid accidents.
NYC cycling is mainly about survival for me, just getting from A to B in one-piece and no injuries. Stay well hydrated and don't get hit or assaulted.
I've bought my in-laws & employees e-bikes.
My in-laws are near 80 y-o, they just ride to local grocery store or fishing spot in Queen, 2-3 miles from their residence.
With COVID and home invasion stories on the rise, they've been riding very little.
Employees trying to quit smoking and cut down on transit/transportation costs, they are younger,
they don't really take care of their stuff; so cheap e-bikes are just fun for them.
They seem to hold up pretty well, and there are shops in Brooklyn that specializes in fixing these cheap (under $1K) e-bikes.
They get you to places you need and still perform decent, just not much to look at and heavy.
But they seem to be popular among the delivery folks in NYC.
If it's good enough for people that ride 50-60 miles every single day, in all weather, gets abused with throttle operation all the time;
that's gotta be a durable e-bike, right?
