The purported reason for keeping electric scooters and electric assist bikes at 200 watts is supposedly to keep them at 20mph (30kph), therefore not requiring license and registration. But that makes going up any sort of continual uphill difficult, and trip planning an exercise in creativity. There are 350 to 750 watt motors that give the uphill power, but don't go above the legal 30 kph.
Although regulations vary by state, federal law classifies electric bikes as bicycles, and no license or registration is required as long as they don't go faster than 20 mph and their power doesn't exceed 750 watts.
Price largely determines weight, quality and battery type. A few hundred dollars gets you an IZIP mountain bike from Amazon with a heavy lead-acid battery. For $1,400, you can buy a 250-watt folding bike powered by a more-powerful, longer-lasting nickel-metal hydride battery like those in a camera or a Toyota Prius. At the high end, $2,525 buys an extra-light 350-watt model sporting a lightweight lithium-ion battery similar to a laptop's. Most models can go at least 20 miles before plugging in to recharge.
I'm not looking to set any landspeed records, but considering how hilly it is where I live, a bit more oomph to get up some of these hills would be nice.
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