@ebikehawaii: Thanks for your input. I'm pretty new to this whole ebike thing. It seems the field is in it's infancy, like the wright brothers trying to decide where to put the wings. will be interesting in 20 years to see where all this goes. My izip has a brushed motor, I expect that is why it can only go 8 miles on a charge, and can't do hills. Maybe replacing the motor with that $19 BLDC motor would smarten it up. Shouldn't be too much modification on the mounts. nahhh, I think I'll find a bike I like and buy it.