Been looking at e-bikes this week at work. Jamie keeps picking me up free bikes that are never quite right for me. He enjoys working on them and then they end up being passed on. Like this cute little blue bike:

I work as an emergency teacher at a really good school, with mostly senior classes in charge of their own learning, so I'm a glorified baby sitter really. It's good money, and since the daily organiser is super fair and nice, I know I'm almost guaranteed two days a week work in term time, which will enable me to buy said e-bike.

So, as I listen to conversations amongst students such as whether they grew up on Star Wars or not, the big bang theory and expansion of the universe, how Oedipus Rex is better than any Shakespeare, the Dunning Kruger effect, matrixes and alternative universes, hieroglyphics, queen bumblebees being able to breath under water, whether mole skin coats are made of moles, and various other topics, I'm in an ebike rabbit hole.

Chat GPT and Claude are helping - but they start getting confused, and they don't always turn up bikes that I know are available. Claude keeps trying to wrap up the conversation and telling me I've found the right bike for me, or being a smartarse and telling me I've found the right bike, or I've already asked that question or am talking in circles. They miss and forget things. But I'm learning a lot, and it's easier to ask them than wait for a human to answer my emails or search through online reviews which are usually tied to vested interest, or forums where it's more likely to get complaints that praise. No one goes online when they're happy.

What I need seems to be impossible:

🚲Under 3000, prefer under 2k
🚲Torque sensor
🚲Can handle hills
🚲Can handle gravel
🚲Not too heavy
🚲Decent range (because if we travel, we don't want to be charging every 20k)
🚲Good components
🚲Step through
🚲Front shocks
🚲 Can get up hills easily.

Kinda feels like I want the moon on a stick, right?

I've narrow it down to two bikes - the NCM T7s stepthrough (28 inch) and the Aventon Pace 4. Sadly the Aventon doesn't have front shocks, which I want for comfort, and it's more a commuter bike. The NCM sounds good enough, and it's cheaper, but stupidly they have Apple Air tag tracking which is DAFT as I'm an android user through and through. Seems if they have one thing, they're missing another.

I guess the air tag is a moot point really - a thief can just take it. I like how the Aventon has geofencing and other security but it costs like a grand more.

Basically, I'm not really a cyclist - that's my husband's forte. I'll happily go out for a ride if I can have some assist getting up hills, but I'm never going to do full on mountain biking, much to his sadness. He's so keen to get me out doing any cycling that we are researching hard.

Facebook Marketplace is also not bringing the goods. Older bikes mean you take a real risk with the battery, and there is a lot of cheap bikes on the market! I don't want a fat wheeled bike either.

Do you have an electric bike? What would you choose?