My Wife and I each have electric bikes. Hers is a Diamondback step thru by CurieTech with a rear wheel motor and mine is a Path Plus with center mount motor. Both are considered Pedal Assist where one has to pedal to make the motor work but hers has a Throttle Assist which allows the motor to run without pedaling.
We have electric bikes because she has an artificial knee and I have heart problems. We have put thousands of miles on them. One problem is that neither one has shocks in the front or back and riding some of the rough trails can be annoying. We have Thud Busters in the seats that help.
One hint: if you buy an electric bike be sure there is a local service shop that can handle them. They are more complex than the standard and not every shop has people that know about them.
