Thanks Court. I appreciate your prompt reply and noticing your input throughout this site am also very grateful for your helpful and frequent input. It makes entering the ebike scene (which is not cheap), much easier to navigate and is a great contribution in my opinion to this area... As mentioned this is a pretty significant investment for me (3X what I paid for my non e-bike) so I especially appreciate this site and your input...
I have ridden a bike to work for 20 years, but the ride was three miles, downhill to work and no shower ever needed. I switched jobs last year and now have a 7.5 mile commute with several hills, some of which are pretty steep. It took me 50 minutes on my regular bike and I was pretty sweaty on arrival. The hills are daunting and after a couple of trips, I simply ended up commuting by car and have missed the biking experience since. I got into the ebike idea by accident (I know no one who has one) and after a test ride of the path plus and dash was sold on the concept. Life is busy and I haven't been able to get regular exercise time. From all I've read, an ebike is so much "fun" that one looks forward to commuting or errands or simply riding around...
Thanks for your specific feedback. I had what I felt to be a very good experience with the dealer who took time with me and made me feel pretty comfortable, so I think that they are honorable. To give a bit more information, the dealer and his staff have accompanied me on two test rides (about 15 minutes each) and felt that I looked comfortable on the medium Neo Cross (the one they had in stock). It did feel pretty comfortable truthfully, but I had to have the seat post pretty high (still a good 1" from the maximum) and didn't quite extend my knee fully. The dealer felt that the shape of the frame of the neo cross allowed a smaller frame to fit most people and said they hadn't needed to stock the larger frame for this reason. We did spend 15 minutes trying to figure out whether to take the in-store model or order a large frame (21") and again, to the dealer's credit, he said he felt based on what he observed and my height, it was a borderline call and the choice was mine. I would have loved to try the large side-by-side but this isn't an option currently and so I have opted towards getting the larger frame based on my measurements. The BH site for example suggests a large for someone with my measurements and quick internet research suggests there is lots of individual preference but most guides would go with the large (21") for someone of my height - this informed my decision. I am mostly interested in comfort and a bit more of an upright posture for my commute, so I hope that the larger frame won't interfere with that too much and will simply right-size me on the bike and allow me to keep the seat post not so high.. The dealer will be installing an attachment that allows me to adjust the height of the handlebars so I'm hoping that I'll get a great fit.
Any significant disadvantage to my decision to go for the the larger (21") frame that outweighs from your perspective? It's hard to tell how much heavier the larger frame is than the medium or if that extra weight (whatever it is) would make a significant difference to the experience (especially riding without assist).
In the end, I really liked the Dash and the Path plus but the integrated frame/battery on the neo plus the hydraulic disk brakes plus the feel (great torque in eco assist) won me over. It felt the most like a real bike that I could actually pedal unassisted for a while. Also, I got the impression that the company has longevity and is very responsive to issues ( I am sure Currie is too). BH certainly has a longer warranty than the Izip bikes. Finally, again to their credit, the Seattle dealer outfits all of his Neo Crosses with fenders at no extra charge (it is Seattle after all) which minimized the advantages of the path plus. I asked to add mirrors and a Topeak rear rack so it should be delivered and ready for commuting by next week. I am quite excited, imagining returning to bike commuting once again!!
Any further input is welcome (including reassurance that getting the larger frame without being able to ride it was not a dumb idea)!
Dan