I agree with the premise that an electric bike is a great way of commuting 5-20km. However, the problem is the same for electric bikes as it is for good qualit

I agree with the premise that an electric bike is a great way of commuting 5-20km. However, the problem is the same for electric bikes as it is for good quality push bikes: theft. Bicycles get stolen like nothing else in a lot of places. In cities where bicycle transport is common (The places I have experienced this have been Amsterdam & Beijing), they seem to have arrived at an inelegant solution to this: Cheap bikes you can afford to lose. That way you can rely on a combination of crappy wheel lok (no need to tie to a pole), low resale value & indifference to losing a bike or two a year. For me, this is what keeps me from replacing my driving with cycling more often.