Originally Posted by
gsa103
This is a bike that someone would carry into their workplace and secure in their office. It needs to be light enough to be relatively easily carried. A 65lbs eBike lives a different life than a 30 lbs carbon eBike. At my work place, there's a ton of cyclists. The <$500 beaters are mostly parked in the racks outside, and the >$2k bikes live in offices. One of those takes significantly more abuse.
Also, the motor+battery on an eBike is a minimum $600, so even a minimum spec bike is ~$1000. At that price there's no point in going with less than an Aluminum frame.
I like the integrated lighting. One of the most frustrating parts about eBikes is having to charge the batteries for lights. I'm sitting on 600Wh battery, it'd be really nice to use it for lighting also.
One counter: A steel frame is the optimal frame for a commuter bike, given its ability to stand-up to wear and tear of urban cycling. So when you say "less than an aluminum frame" I would argue ALU is a worse material. And with the e-assist, weight is less of a concern. But I get your point.
However - I worry that the benefits of commuting by bike (exercise) is being lost by people basically just riding motorized scooters, which use coal powered electricity to recharge.