Jerry, I don't have any personal info to share on the BionX but if you do a search here and another on Endless Sphere you will find plenty to read about I'm sure. I do know that the cost when I looked in to them several years ago was significantly lower but still high compared to other hub motors. The fact that the controller is integrated within the motor seems to be a big seller for the system for some and a turn off for others.

That is too bad about your experience at NYCE but I have to say it can be typical of bike shops everywhere, there are good ones and bad ones, and the same goes for Trek dealers also. I think it will take awhile before they embrace the e bike thing and get up to speed on it though and I find that nothing beats good service if you can't do the work yourself.

As far as regen there are those for and against it on these boards and once again a search will reveal both sides of the issue. Mainly the consensus seems to be that there is not enough regen to put enough power back in to the system to be able to make a substantial claim. It can be used effectively as a brake but if you have good brakes on your bike then that is kind of a moot point.

There is another type of drive system that may or may not be on your radar but can be effective for hills and distance as seen here: http://store.kalkhoffusa.com/Articles.asp?ID=148 and a review here: http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/flecc/kalkhoff1.html I think that if I was in the market for a package deal this system is what I would consider personally. The Panasonic drive system was sold here under the Giant banner during the early/mid 00's and the ones I have ridden were quite good and with the advent of the newer batteries giving more range I would imagine better, although I haven't ridden one yet. I plan to next time I get to Portland which is where they are based however. Not sure how their dealer network is coming along but they are worth a look and are the only ones in the US at this time with the P Drive. You would need to contact them for more info on their current dealer network status.

And one more thing that I can only use as an example with no experience with the unit or the seller is this mid-mount system that is kind of related to the P Drive: http://www.hightekbikes.com/htb_midmnt.html. Once again it uses the bikes gearing to achieve more effective use of a low wattage motor. I am not all that happy with the placement of the unit as it looks like it would take alot of abuse from road grime. Also the stock battery is pretty low in the ah department but their pricing would allow for another to be added in parallel and still be under the price of the Trek/Kalkhoff. The full suspension bike is a nice option too.

In conclusion while the EU seems to be a veritable hot bed of activity in the e bike market with lots of support from the manufacturers and dealers because of consumer demand here in the states we are not up to speed yet. Best of luck!