Thanks for the infos. I did start looking into e-bikes... which is why I think it'd be a mistake, as she seems to getting to like riding (she's been riding with me on week-ends), so it'd be a waste of money to stick with her crappy, entry level bicycle and buy an e-bike for commuting which might not be necessary.
I googled around, checked what eg.
ChainReactionCycles has to offer, but am still looking for brands so I know what my options are, regardless of whether the brand is distributed here or not.
At this point, I think a good bike would be:
- as light as possible, while still being a good bike for commuting + day trips (ie. neither a road bike nor a real touring bike)
- to keep things clean and easy, hub lights + gears with a good ratio so climbing that hill is a breeze
- rear-rack + fenders
FWIW, she's ready to spend €1.500-2.000 ($2.000-2.600) on a bike.