From transforming daily commutes to bridging the gap for non-cyclists, e-bikes are the most significant evolution in cycling since the mountain bike—and that’s a win for all.
In Europe:
gazelle is solid, but just okay for the price. They generally have very bad shock absorbtion in my testing. Many of them have a fork with no shocks making for an extremely jarring ride because ebikes are heavy.
Norta for great bang for your buck
Flyer for a bit more expensive but very good quality
Riese & muller for when you just have way too much money to spend.
Stromer for speed pedelecs (45kmph vs the normal 26kmph)
Then there are a ton of bikes with the standard Bosche Active Plus (performance is better), 500Wh battery (625Wh power tube is best). They are probably all fine, but use the same parts in general with just a different frame.
Belt driven instead of a chain if you want extremely low maintenance. The cost of a belt replacement is approximately 3x a new chain and the chain has to be replaced 3x as often, so it comes out about the same.
