The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak when it comes to ebikes for me. I used to ride a lot and sadly over the years, it's fallen off. Time flies and excuses are easy to make, I was shocked at the end of this summer that I had not touched my bikes since the fall of 2017! I finally got a couple of rides in this month. I have a road semi-converted commuter bike and a folding bike. I have just ridden the folding bike which I use as my townie. Small and nimble for errands. Not excited about the road bike--it lays untouched. The road bike isn't great for winter riding too. That's the issue over the years, once it gets cold and icy, I don't want to be on the roadie because of the skinny tires and lack of fenders. But each spring I would get out there again. Didn't happen this year.
The truth is I just don't have the energy I used to--no more 125-150 miles of weekend recreational riding. Now I want to bike for transportation--with an ebike. I don't have a car so it's not exactly a replacement, so it wouldn't be cheaper. I already have $0 car cost. I use Lyft occasionally and on most of those trips, I do sigh a bit because they used to be trips by bike.
So I want an e-bike and though it would be my biggest purchase since my last car buy (in 1999), it would not be a financial stretch. The big hangup is weight and storage. I live in apartment and my building has two small sets of stairs to get to the lobby door. I'm a petite person and ebikes are heavy. Then there is storage and security. I live in a very safe neighborhood. My building doesn't offer any bike storage options. So I park my bikes in the tiny lobby which I share with 2 neighbors. I lean the bikes against the wall and lock them to themselves. Never had any problems. But my two beater bikes aren't exactly 2-4K ebikes. I would also sweat bullets about security when I bike to other areas that aren't as safe.
If I could resolve the issues above, I would treat myself to an ebike. It's spendy, but I think an ebike would go a long way to getting me back on the road. I miss being a cyclist.
Ysette9, that's a fantastic program--wish there was something similar at my company. Is there a way for you to keep the bike after 6 months--at a discount?