askchapo

The most important thing is: get an ebike. Then you have an ebike.

Proprietary bullshit is the rule not the exception. You can always trade your bike if you're getting pissed off with it. Just make sure you keep up with maitenance, and it should be reliable. I use Bosch stuff on my bike, and I've made peace with it - it works fine, and I can get any replacement parts I need on eBay, and the local shop can service the electronics.

These e-bikes feature the non-proprietary generic batteries and hub motors that increase repairability and don't keep you forced to an ecosystem that you're not sure will have replacements in 5 years.

There's a balancing act here, since generic equipment on your bike will be attractive to bike thieves. The integrated battery definately helps with that... but it's annoying in other ways, and in any case thieves will prioritize taking the entire bike. Maitenance is a risk, especially since we've seen some manufacturers fail and then parts becoming difficult to find. But I think if you're handy and keep up with maitenance, you may find that your bike just keeps on working well beyond that 5 year mark. The battery does get affected by cycle time, but modern battery chemistry is pretty good, so there are a lot of old batteries out there that still have 85%+ of of their capacity even after a couple of thousand cycles.

I lock up my bike outside for several hours at a time most weeks. Having a decent lock, and then just making sure it's not locked up in a dark alley overnight has kept it safe so far. But I accept that my ebike might get stolen someday, and try not to let it prevent me from using it.

Don't buy a no-name brand. You'll always be able to find Bosch batteries, but without the risk of fire or the warranty not being honoured. Zazawork seemed to pop up a year or two ago and the market is so oversaturated with brands that I doubt they'll be around by the time something breaks on that. The extra weight and speed with ebikes means components are under a lot more stress, so it's a good idea to pay more upfront for name-brand parts that will last.

I would also consider going with a cargo bike if you are using this as a car replacement. That rear-rack will hold like 10kg and make the bike really unstable because it's so high up. With my Aventon Abound LR, I can fit 60kg on the back with a low centre of gravity and wide tyres to offset the extra mass. That also means it handles better in winter. It is so much more practical that I always use it over my commuter-style ebike that has better components.

I put an IED on mine

Also only buy from a local shop if you can't repair yourself. If you can repair yourself, you need to be absolutely certain parts won't be discontinued or have a backup plan

a lot of these batteries come on sleds. if youre worried about the battery, you can usually remove it and take it with you if youre concerned about the theft. example on amazon

one thing thats kind of annoying is there isnt really much of a standard for displays and motor controllers. i have a display that cracked and rain got in and it stopped working. i cant find the exact same display, so i have to replace the controller as well. (i tried a few similar looking displays that didnt work). probably wont be an issue for you for a couple years, but keep that in mind.

also depending on how comfortable you feel with it, most of these bike batteries are just banks of 18650 batteries, so you can referb the battery (replace cells) yourself if that doesnt scare you.

There is a French battery brand, Gouach, that sockets rather than welds the 18650s, but they recently decided to only do business fleets now instead of individual customers. However, it might be possible to get an old stock or used one. I am hopeful other brands will take up cell socketing instead of welding.

whatever bike you get, just get one with a removable battery so you can take it with you.

you should look at bikes that are easy to service and repair, sure, but not everything is easy to do and you should also look at bike repair shops near you to see what they can or can't fix. also repairability isn't just a factor of closed vs open systems, I would say that it's a function of popularity like Bosch or Bafang are probably the most common motors so there's likely a lot of documentation and shops willing to work on those. I'm not sure about batteries but I wouldn't get a shit bike just bc the generic battery is repairable. a more expensive bike will likely have better components (like brakes, saddle, pedals, handlebar, etc) and be potentially lighter vs a no-name brand.

That 400€ might mean you buy it in person from a shop and it has a warranty that can actually take care of issues if they come up.

A lot of them have batteries that lock to the frame, with keys to unlock.

I've been thinking about working on an alarm that can warn you via wifi or cell modem when a bike is being tampered with. Could even go with a gps chip hidden under the seat to track location.

Putting rare earth magnets in any driver slots like for hex bolts will provide some extra deterrence(You can remove when needed with another REM, and they aren't normally part of a bike thieves' kit, but it's becoming more well-known so not foolproof)

Like with anything it can eventually be stolen by a motivated thief with the right equipment and enough time. A GPS tracker that you hide somewhere like inside the frame(Do research because a metal frame can act as a Faraday cage, suppressing the signal) if your configuration grants you access is a very good investment for pretty much any bike imo

Even the “proprietary” built in ones are almost certainly available on alibaba, and they’re simply chock full of 18650s (which you probably know) so it’s all doable if you’re enterprising enough.