Disclaimer: I sell Trek Ride+ electric bikes.

As a bike mechanic who got into the biz partially because of the relatively elegant and simple nature of bicycle mechanics, I'm offended by ebikes, electronic shifting, and the like. I did not sign on to this job to deal with electrics and bikes with wiring harnesses are an abomination unto me.

However, using ebikes in practice totally rock. They will put a smile on your face as an invisible hand (not The Market...) pushes you by augmenting the power you put into the pedals. The Ride+ bikes are pedelec, meaning you have to pedal to get power out of them; no throttle, no free ride. There are four modes of boost, for every measure of energy input, the system will add in 20%, 50%, 100%, or 200% more. So at top boost, it's like there's three of you putting power to the pedals. On the Valencia, there are also four modes of regenerative power generation, but unless you life some place with long, steep downhills, in practice you'd never use it. The brake is also hooked up to the regenerative mode, so when you apply the rear brake, you get engine braking as well. I like little details like Hardcase flat protection tires and Slime tubes, B&M headlight. The Valencia also has the larger, 44 cell battery.

Downside is range -- at full boost, you're lucky to get 12 miles or so. Longer commute? You'll need to be judicious in your powered riding and use lower levels when appropriate. Also, you may find a need to either portage your charger or get a spare for your commute destination. Occasional firmware updates are necessary at the bike shop. There have been various issues like spoke breakage, mystery electronics like lights staying on when they're not supposed to, etc.

All that said, the Valencia+ is probably the most commuter ready out of the box, with fenders and disk brakes.

I rode the Transport+ around for a day as part of a promotional deal for the shop and had a hoot. When stopped on a steep hill while carrying a load, cranking boost up to full and starting in a high-torque gear made things much, much easier. Speed limit through town is 20mph, same as top speed, so it was excellent cruising at traffic speed without any real effort. That said, I could easily have done the same routine on the non-electric Transport we have in the shop, just with a bit greater effort.

Also, I come from a motorcycle background, so it was fun being on a two-wheeled thing with a motor. Wife and I were thinking of a Transport+ as a second car. Only change in her employment situation put the kibosh on that.

Summary: Ride+ bikes are fun but probably just unnecessary complication for most commutes.