raleighnut said:
Or 3 wheels.
I can kind of see more point to having an e-trike rather than an e-bike, because the 3 wheeler could be rigged up with a box on the back and used as a utility to lug heavy shopping around etc if the rider doesn't drive. In that case the extra battery weight would be more justifiable. I do find it strange people will swap out all sorts of components on a 2-wheeler to save a few ounces here and there but will then happily lug around several pounds of battery and drive hub.
My personal view is e-bikes will ultimately prove to be a bit of a fad and once the first generation ones start incurring high maintenance costs associated with failing batteries etc, their riders will either go back to conventional bikes or get something with an engine in it.
One of the main benefits of cycling is that it can be pretty much free transport if the rider wants to make it so by obtaining cheap used bikes and harvesting spare parts off junkers.
This is one of the appeals of basic 26" rigid MTB's, and MTB-derived commuter hybrids. You can pretty much swap any part from bike to bike, so long as the gear counts are compatible. None of the nonsense you now get with expensive road bikes especially carbons - where a lot of the bits are specific to that brand of bike and are not interchangeable with anything else. That just facilitates rip-off pricing for replacement bits.