BUYER'S CHECKLIST

Nineteen checks between you and a good buy.

Print it, take it to the shops, and tick as you go. Anything that fails two checks isn’t your bike.

01Before you shortlist

Battery capacity in Wh (volts × amp-hours) — budget 10–15 Wh per km in mixed riding, not the brochure range.
Torque suits the terrain: 40–50 Nm for flat commutes, 65 Nm+ for hills, cargo, or a loaded rack.
Weight you can live with — carrying it upstairs or onto a car rack? Sub-20 kg is light; cargo bikes run 30 kg+.
Max payload covers rider + panniers + child seat with margin to spare.
Legal class: 250 W pedal-assist cutting out at 25 km/h rides like a bicycle in AU — anything hotter needs rego or stays on private property.
Battery certification (UL 2271 or EN 15194) — insurers and apartment buildings increasingly ask for it.

Test ride with the assist OFF — that's the bike you'll be pushing home when the battery dies.
Do a hill start in the highest assist level; listen for motor strain and drivetrain clunk.
Brake hard from 25 km/h. Hydraulic discs are worth the premium on anything heavy or fast.
Check the battery unlocks and slides out — charging inside an apartment changes everything.
Lift the bike five centimetres and drop it. Loose guards, racks, and cables announce themselves.
Fit beats specs: standover height, reach, and seat height for your actual body.

Battery warranty in years and charge cycles — 2+ years of battery cover separates serious brands from box-shifters.
Replacement battery price, and whether it's in stock today rather than “coming soon”.
Who does warranty work — this shop, or a courier freight to the importer?
Are consumable spares (derailleur hanger, controller, display) stocked locally?

The headline is “1000 W peak!” but nobody can tell you the continuous rating or torque figure.
No-name battery cells, no certification paperwork, or a warranty measured in weeks.
The price undercuts every comparable bike by 40% — the margin came out of the parts you can't see.

🏷 DEAL ALERTSHear when something drops hard

When a bike we track gets a serious price cut, we send a short roundup — no weekly filler, just the drops worth knowing about.

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