Regular bicycles also use hydraulic brakes and internal hub gears (and by the way, hub-geared drivetrains are less complex, just more expensive). All of the e-

Regular bicycles also use hydraulic brakes and internal hub gears (and by the way, hub-geared drivetrains are less complex, just more expensive). All of the e-bike rated parts are coming from the same companies that sell normal bike parts. The difference is with companies like Van Moof and Rad Power Bikes, which use proprietary stuff to save money by dealing directly with Chinese factories to design them, rather than just ordering normal parts in bulk from brand-name providers. Another issue comes with the actual battery and motor, because if you don't get a bike with a system from Bosch, Shimano, or Yamaha, chances are you're on your own for support. Bafang etc are much cheaper but the onus of support is on the vendor directly -- a bike shop can work with Bosch to find and fix problems, but for the Bafang gear they have to deal with whatever (possibly fly-by-night) vendor resold the gear, because Bafang won't help much.