The Citroen Ami – tiny electric car with no boot, 28mph top speed, 46 mile range

There's some conditions that riding a bike are far less safe than a car. [0]

I've had interest in an e-bike in the past, the problem I personally run into is that I'd still need a car for most trips due to the way my region is laid out. (I think I had -one- job where an e-bike was viable for a commute range-wise, but only based on published specs which probably wouldn't fit the real use thermals of my region.) [1] Speaking of, the 'too cold' argument holds a bit more water for e-bikes; I doubt many have the thermal protections of a BEV, which could lead to a destroyed pack.

Also, IDK what it's like in other parts of the world, but in the US much of the population sees decent bicycles as a 'hobby/sport' rather than a mode of transport.

Personally I blame big box stores and terrible, cheap, 'disposable' bicycles. Aside from having cheap, unreliable, unsafe components (my favorite: I was fixing one of these, while trying to run through the gears, the grip shifter broke in such a way it shot a plastic shard at my eye,) they are at time assembled by people that are paid based on production rather than hourly. [2]

Bike shops, as a result, tend to cater to either the MB hobbyist or the Road folks. (At least in my region.) To be clear many of these are good reputable shops, but it means that oftentimes the items you would want to make daily riding practical (i.e. the right racks/bags for a reasonable grocery trip, are at best special order.)

Honestly?

If someone wanted to really give e-bikes a spiffy image in the US, I know exactly what to do. Take two Sun EZ Classics [3] and the SxS kit [4]. I also know at one point they made a middle 'rumble' seat as well as a special drape shroud for the SxS [5]. Redesign the SxS kit with an 'E-Motor' option (I'm not sure whether you could get by with just one or if dual would be required.)

Bam. You have a comfortable e-bike that has some protection from the elements and has some room for crap in the back like groceries/etc. Additionally, you have the ability to have a 'passenger'. I'm -guessing- in volume you could sell the finished product for ~2000-3000 USD, but that would assume that you are doing enough volume to make it worth it to all involved parties. (Why the wide swing? Last I knew the SxS kit was done by a small, low-volume shop, making it almost as much as one of the bikes.)

[0] - To be clear, safety is different than comfort/ease of ride. I've ridden through 3 inches of snow, and while it was a grueling ride, It was honestly safer than a typical ride due to everyone's reduced speeds. OTOH I've had times where there was no snow but enough (black) ice on the roads/sidewalks that snap physics calculations became important.

[1] - As we have observed with BEVs and the like, cold weather has a pretty big impact on battery efficiency. Even in my Hybrid I can see a 5%-10% fuel economy difference between 28F and 40F

[2] - At least, that's what happened at some of the stores around here. They would essentially abuse a system where infirm people can be paid less than minimum wage, by an 'output' system compared to how much a normal hourly worker would produce (easily rigged with the right person as a 'benchmark', of course.)

[3] - https://www.sunseeker.bike/index.php/products/ez-classic-sx/

[4] - https://www.sunseeker.bike/index.php/products/ez-classic-sid...

[5] - We actually did one of these full setups at the shop once for a family that had a child who had physiological/mental developmental issues but loved the feeling of riding. He could pedal when he wanted to. Them picking it up was the happiest sight in the world. Things you miss about working at a simple bike shop I guess.

Hello, I come from the land up over

As in I come from Norway and winter tires for bikes work just fine :)

Just wanted to add a "me too" vote: 2013 Nissan Leaf bought used for $8900, 10 of 12 bars of battery remaining, roughly a 25 mile commute ~3 days per week. Miles of range: ~82@city, ~60@highway and ~45@freeway, minus 10 miles if using heater or air conditioner. It's effectively a supercar doing 0-40 mph in about 2-3 seconds, and there's nothing quite as satisfying as leaving expensive sports cars in the dust at a green light. Yes they roar past me at 40, but they paid 10 times more than I did hahaha.

I don't believe in artificial limits for electric vehicles. There's no reason why they can't use a stronger motor, perhaps with extra aluminum wires (to address resource limits around copper and rare earth metals) that engage at high amperages so maybe efficiency drops from 95% to 85% while you floor it. There's no reason why an ultracapacitor couldn't provide twice the amperage for a few seconds of acceleration. $1000 for twice the performance would be worth it IMHO.

So I see these boutique electric vehicles as kind of a gimmick.

Waterproof bags have existed for centuries - waxed fabrics, well-treated leathers, and I'm sure plenty of more modern textiles. Or just put a plastic/metal box on the side/back of your bike and use it exactly like you do the trunk in your plastic/metal box of a car.

My problem is the lack of infrastructure. We have a few streets in the entire city with decent bike lanes. Mostly you're on the road with cars going 90km/hr right beside you with no barrier or even road markings. I'm not going to do that in anything but perfect weather and even then not very often.