Help Me Choose an E-bike!

Ok, I’ve been lurking around these forums for about a week now and I get the impression that it’s primarily DIY oriented as it seems most of the e-bikes here are either custom built or kits. Well, I’m not that handy at fabrication and even less confident about working with electronics, but I just recently got excited about e-bikes when I found the Wikipedia article when reading up on mopeds. So I’m looking at purchasing a pre-built e-bike.
I’m looking to get an e-bike because I want a more environmentally friendly way to commute. I plan on replacing a good majority of my dirty combustion vehicle miles with cleaner, more efficient e-bike miles. Plus, it seems like a great way to get some added exercise! So I want something comfortable and reliable and I’ve widdled it down to these choices:

Tres Terra Europa $1500:
What I like - Twist-grip throttle; halogen head light & LED tail light, lighting system independently powered by a Shimano dynamo (generator) front hub; sturdy aluminium cargo rear rack; full fenders; suspension seat post & quick release seat height adjustment
What I dislike – It’s heavy: 65 lbs + battery 9 lbs = 74 lbs; & uses a brushed motor (apparently these require more maintenance?); 6 hours to recharge the battery
http://www.tresterra.com/europa.html

eZee Forza $2200:
What I like – choice of either eZee Assist Factor speed dial or pedal activate preset dial controller; Brush-less 36 Volt Servo motor peak 700 watt / continuous 350 watt with planetary gears; lighter: 49lbs, 58 lbs including Lithium-Ion battery pack; fenders, lights, & cargo rack included; aesthetically I prefer this bike over the Europa.
What I dislike – a bit pricy
http://www.ezeebike.com/products_forza.html

eZee Cadence $1700:
What I like - Brush-less 36 volt Servo motor peak 700 watt / continuous 350 watt with planetary gears; 2.5â€￾ wide balloon tires; fenders, LED lights, chain & mudguard, & cargo rack included; On & off-road capabilities
What I dislike – heavier than the Forza: 65 lbs with the NiMH & 67-1/2 lbs with the Lithium battery pack
http://www.ezeebike.com/products_cadence.htm

Schwinn any of the 2007 line $1500-$2000:
What I like – lightweight: 40-45lbs; range: 60 miles; charge time: 4 hours; they’re all very aesthetically pleasing & I would have trouble choosing between the Continental, World GSE, & Campus models
What I dislike – I can’t find them for sale anywhere online yet!
http://www.schwinnbike.com/products/intbikes_category.php?id=110

Other:
While I’ve looked into several other e-bikes & companies there might be some out there that I’ve overlooked that meet my needs. So, I’m very open to suggestions as well!
It's too bad TF discontinued their ebikes!

Thanks for your vote and/or input!

Tidalforce was bought out by the french company <A HREF="http://www.matra-ms.com/en/light-electric-vehicles/tidalforce.html">Matra</A> but only the Cruiser style by the look of it.

Supposedly scheduled for re-launch sometime in September but they have no plans to export to the U.S. for at least a year.

BTW TresTerra is run by a couple of Tidalforce ex-employees, an engineer & the former head of marketing.

Have one of our esteemed members: Ypedal or KNightmb build you a bike to order:

Good guys who make good bikes.

You sayin' Ed Benjamin & Mike Fritz aren't good guys?

It's tough to deliver a German quality motor & lithium battery for that kind of price.

BBTW, in addition to the TFX, Mike Fritz also designed the EVGlobal, hence the look & layout of the Europa & his fondness for the Heinzman.

They have the eZee Forte for sale in Seattle
http://www.electricvehiclesnw.com/main/ezeebike.htm
for $1835. I think it's pretty similar to the Forza model. Depending on where you live, shipping might be a killer. Building your own from a kit is not that hard though. I just put together my first in a couple of days.

Uplink said:

They have the eZee Forte for sale in Seattle
http://www.electricvehiclesnw.com/main/ezeebike.htm
for $1835. I think it's pretty similar to the Forza model. Depending on where you live, shipping might be a killer. Building your own from a kit is not that hard though. I just put together my first in a couple of days.

Click to expand...

Really? Got some pics?

xase building/assembling is very easy if you can remove a wheel and replace a tire you are halfway there I my case the battery had a mounting bracket that attached to the water bottle holder inside the frame then all you need to do is find somewhere to mount the controller and throttle (my controller is mounted under the rear rack so I needed to drill a couple of holes to it and depending on twist/thumb throttle take of the existing gear on handle bars and slot it in then replace existing gear
what then is left is running the cables and plugging everything in

My build took only a few hours of actual time spread over two days cause I needed a couple of extra washers and the local hardware store was closed

Here is a photo of the Forte... I think the only difference from the Forza is that the Forte has a Nexus internally geared hub instead of a dérailleur.

Uplink said:

Here is a photo of the Forte... I think the only difference from the Forza is that the Forte has a Nexus internally geared hub instead of a dérailleur.

Click to expand...

Hey thanks, but I meant pics of your bike. Sorry, I should've clarified.

numberonekiwi said:

xase building/assembling is very easy if you can remove a wheel and replace a tire you are halfway there I my case the battery had a mounting bracket that attached to the water bottle holder inside the frame then all you need to do is find somewhere to mount the controller and throttle (my controller is mounted under the rear rack so I needed to drill a couple of holes to it and depending on twist/thumb throttle take of the existing gear on handle bars and slot it in then replace existing gear
what then is left is running the cables and plugging everything in

My build took only a few hours of actual time spread over two days cause I needed a couple of extra washers and the local hardware store was closed

Click to expand...

Yeah, the more I think about it and the more I read on this site the more confident I am that I could really make my own and save a few hundred dollars.

But on the other hand I'm really diggin' the looks of the 415 Stealth Climber:

And I keep thinking about the range and looks of the '07 Schwinns too! Ah decisions decisions... well, I have until X-mas to decide. So I think I'll ponder it for a few more months and keep reading these forums.