Just something to keep in mind. The derailleurs are the achilles heels of the mid drive bikes... if you break that derailleur on a rock, log, etc. you are walking that thing back from wherever you are. Not so with the hub drives. Pros and cons to both. For climbing any significant hills you definitely need a mid drive though. There are options.... figure out a way to protect the derailleur with a metal guard, just convert the bike to a fixed mid gear, carry a spare derailleur and tools etc.
I bought a Quietkat Ibex when they were clearing them out at like $1800 a few years back. It's a monster, but I have already had to fix the derailleur twice. Also... just be careful in general with e-bikes. I am almost thinking about leaving mine at home this year, just because I have been injured so much with the darn thing. You have to physically limit yourself to going MUCH slower than you think you need to. I've had some gnarly crashes especially on sand covered rock.... you loose all traction and brakes do not work. I've even crashed while absolutely crawling down a steep incline, hit some sand covered rock, locked up the brakes and I just kept sliding down the hill, gaining speed. Just something to keep in the back of your mind. The quietkat is so powerful I literally cannot get it to go slower than 10mph while pedaling , which is too fast for an area you are not familiar with.
