Well-written review Buffet! Having now tested both a high-powered (heavy) e-bike and a "super-light" low-power e-bike for several hours each on our Cape trails, if I were to buy an e-bike, I'd get the most powerful one I could afford. The high-powered ones are where the fun is. An under-powered e-bike offers you the worst of both worlds. You get a bike that is still very heavy by real bicycle standards, but noisy, slow and doesn't offer much in the way of cheap thrills. If it's exercise you're after, you're not shopping for e-bikes anyway. For that kind of cash you're in 10kg XC bike territory and your S-works, Scalpel, Pyga Stage etc will bring you huge satisfaction, efficiency and riding pleasure without the whining noise, battery anxiety, complexity and weight. I mean, if you're going to exploit the loophole of being allowed to ride an electric motorcycle on dedicated mountain-bike trails, don't half-arse it. Having half a kilowatt or more on tap, without any effort of your own other than a token turning of the cranks, really is a lot of fun, there is no denying it. Even the most hardened anti e-biker will feel like a naughty schoolkid on the right e-bike. The one I rode for 30k in Jonkers, you could even spin the rear wheel on uphill switchbacks (not that I did this deliberately ) in the max setting - basically a motorbike disguised as a bicycle. If my knees conk out one day, then I'm going to get myself something badass. Not to replace my bicycle, but as an alternative to a petrol motorcycle, because you can commute at high speed without getting sweaty AND have a blast with it on our trail network (for now). Currently, for less money than Buffet's demo bike reviewed above, you could be riding something like this: https://stealthelectricbikes.com/stealth-b-52/ with 2kW of glee on tap, a top speed of 80kph (!!!) and 100km of range. Just look at it! The pedals are almost like optional accessories.
