A public service for bicyclers wishing to know more about electric hybrid bikes

Hello again-
long time no here, so to speak.

Life kept me from these pages for 4 years but I am back again on a mission from the God of my latest perseveration, that of Electric Hybrid Bicycles.

In order to battle the bulge, to downsize the middle-age-spread into a more manageable size, I had to get back into physical exertion after a 4 year absence from the realm of fitness. Since I no longer live anywhere near civilization with public or private swimming pools, and my arthritic joints no longer allow the pounding upon pavement, bicycling is the only outdoor exercise I can still swing without collapsing in agony.
I have long enjoyed non-motorized transport, and have had a variety of 'bent and upright bikes. I have settled for the past few years on a Giant Suede GX "crank-forward" bike which neatly splits the difference between a semi-recumbent and and traditional upright bicycle, with the pedal crank several inches forward of the seat post. This particular bike has a [relatively] large comfy seat, a cushy seatpost suspension as well as a front suspension fork, to iron out the rough country roads around where I live. Unfortunately, my expanding aged posterior mean I need a little assistance on some of the longer hills, as I cannot continue just standing on the pedals and brute-forcing my way up them- the last time I tried, the chain broke and I fell down hard upon the handlebars, greensticking a few ribs. Ouch. So I started thinking about some electrical assistance with uphill propulsion and came upon various electrified bikes on the web, in various configurations, and finally settled upon a regular upright that would let me stand on the pedals when the battery petered-out. I went to my local [in the next county] bike store and saw a screaming deal [40% discount] on a closed-out Giant Twist Freedom DX hybrid bike in extra-large framesize, so I simply had to take it out on a test ride. The Twist has low-rolling-resistance tires whose harshness was partially ameliorated by a 60+ pound bicycle weight as well as a very cushy front suspension fork and seat suspension post [with a little more stiction than is comfortable but is still better than nothing]. The Twist has a 250-watt variable output brushless motor on the front wheel hub, in direct drive mode. This motor emits very little noise unless one is trying to climb a hill in top gear, at which point it whines in protest. The rider would be wise to be kind to this valiant "little-engine-that-could" by using the lower gears on the hills. On the handlebars is a red LED powermeter with selectable econ-normal-sport pedal assistance modes, each adding approx. 20% more boost, as well as an L or R switch for each battery, the pair of which rests aside the back tire, for a lower center of gravity. Each battery is a $300 5-pound gray brick, with a claimed recharging capacity of 600 cycles. This model has twin batteries, each with a claimed range in excess of 35 miles, or 75 miles for the pair. Per Giant's disclaimer in the owner's manual, this published range is dependent on how heavy/bulky the rider is as well as how hilly the routes are to be ridden. Butt [mispelling intentional] my 6'3" & 200 pound tuckas is heavier than what this bicycle was prepared to schlepp around, for when I did an informal 20 mile ride on the hills and dales of my corner of Hooterville, I found that this drained the battery from 5 lit LEDS down to 1 & 1/2 - extrapolating from this, I estimate a realistic range of 25 miles per battery charge, fully using the lower gears on the hills. The batteries take an average of 5 hours to recharge, each. A competing but far more expensive bike, the Schwinn Tailwind, uses a Toshiba battery system which allows for 1/2-hour recharges. The power selector has only a modestly perceptible difference in boost between its 3 settings. In anycase, thank God the Twist has twin batteries, one for each way of the trip into town- otherwise, pedaling this 60-pound tank for 20+ hilly miles [sans assist] is real work.
The Twist doesn't allow use of the 8th gear of its superbly smooth Shimano internal hub tranny, on any but the flats, and will only provide supplemental propulsion up to 15 miles per hour, which is insufficient- I kept running out of assistance, so it needs to push until 20 mph- but I realize this is a design consideration for battery life. Maybe if I lived in town [really just a wide spot on the road] on the flats I'd get better mileage. Maybe if I were Lance Armstrong I'd be getting better mileage but then again If I were made like him I wouldn't need the electric assist in the first place.
But I am glad I have this bike, as it puts a smile on my face when I go tooling 'round the neighborhood with it. I can outrun even the most fleet bad barking dogs and their yahoo owners. It is a benefit to be able to climb the steep hills between me and civilization, which is largely impossible for me to do with the Giant Suede GX- if only it had a motor. I like having a cutting-edge product, especially at a bargain, as I would never have considered this [otherwise] pricey item otherwise. Giant [the firm] seems bullish on this bike, having built a huge new factory for international distribution and sales. As for what I like and dislike about it:

*I wish it were crank-forward like my Suede GX;
*I wish it had a less-sticky suspension seat post;
*I wish it would push past 15 miles per hour;
*It really needs to come standard with a more steatopiguous-booty-friendly seat;
*I wish it had the quick-charging Toshiba battery setup;
*I believe it could benefit from more juice than 250 watts, at least in the form of a boost button;
*I wish it weren't so damned heavy! This tank of a bike weighs over 60 lbs! Lifting it onto the bike carrier is a chore.

All in all, I recommend this bike to anybody with cutting-edge interests and deep pockets with lots of metal burning a hole in 'em, or to the lucky fella who finds one discounted as I did.