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I don't know of any brands but I would think a folding one would be better - out of sight much better than exposed even if locked. Lipo charging - Use a battery bag. https://www.amazon.com/Fireproof-Accessories-Explosionproof-transport-19-2x5-5x5-9Inches/dp/B0C4LWCTTM/

A couple of other things: Depending on how hilly the areas you're going to ride on are, you'll likely want a 500W motor mininum. The more hills, the bigger the motor. 750W is the next common step up, and 1000W is about the maximum for "standard" ebikes. Over 1000W, you're getting into the range of "hyperbikes" which are more like electric motorcyles than bicycles. There's 2 common types of motors - hub drive (the motor is in the hub of the wheel, power is generated right at the wheel) and mid-drive (the motor is at the crankshaft, power is transmitted through the chain/belt from the cranks to the wheel). Hub drive is fine for most, however it will always put out the same torque no matter what gear the bike is in as it's independent of the gears. Some hub drive motors have low quality internal gears made out of plastic that eventually fail. Mid drive typically tends to be much more expensive, but usually has much more longevity. Do NOT get a front wheel-only hub-drive bike. I don't think I've ever seen one sold new, usually they're just retrofits to "regular" bikes. If the bike you're getting has only one hub-drive wheel, it has to be the rear wheel. There are some bikes with BOTH front and rear wheel hub drives - they can be good as long as the controller is well tuned to synchronize the 2 motors.

Tech (of any kind) is one of the rare categories that often DROPS in price over time (think: calculators, laptops, etc.) I'm wondering if a purchasing delay would be on my side? What's your best guess? Do you think these e-bikes are going to get cheaper or more expensive over time? Also, is there a best season to buy? Now might be a good time - Just bought my first 2 e-bikes about a month ago after watching "the market" for a while. There are prices dropping everywhere. A couple places to watch for deals: https://slickdeals.net/newsearch.php?q=e-bike+ebike&searcharea=deals&searchin=first&isUserSearch=1 https://www.reddit.com/r/ebikes/comments/15sh53w/monthly_rebikes_promo_thread/ I do worry about the ones that have caught fire (big discussion on electric vehicles in general in the 1A Lounge, and I know that's a problem, albeit a rare one). It may be rare, but when consequences are potentially catastrophic, one does need to consider! I don't have a garage, so would either need to store in an outdoor storage cabinet - or - in my walkout basement. Any firemen out there with recommendations? Do we know if those fires happened spontaneously when the bike was just sitting there? Or only when it was being charged? How to mitigate? Charge the battery outside, away from the house with an extension cord? Store the whole bike outside in a cabinet? Or pull it into the basement but remove the battery and store THAT inside a fireproof container? (or perhaps wrapped in welding fabric)? Other thoughts/ideas? The "cheaper" your e-bike/battery/charger, the bigger a risk this is, but yeah, it's always a concern. Fires can happen because the battery pack is shoddily constructed, not vibration resistant, has poor quality wire/buses between individual cells, or has low quality battery management/charging electronics. In general you want the battery to have been constructed with either Samsung or Panasonic cells. If the battery that comes with the bike doesn't specify one of those, then you should consider it to be "cheap" and higher risk. Personally I charge the bikes only in the garage over a concrete floor and away from anything flammable. My understanding if that if a battery pack DOES ignite there is nothing commonly available to consumers that will extinguish it; it will burn until it exhausts all the energy in the cells. Are there known brands out there that are considered better than others? The brand names I'm seeing mean nothing to me yet. It's more the e-bike components than the bike name that really matters. Anything with Bosch batteries/controllers is probably top of the line. Samsung/Panasonic battery cells preferred. Bafang motors are also highly regarded. Brakes - disc brakes are pretty much "standard", but get hydraulically actuated brakes instead of mechanical/cable actuated ones if you can. I've never had a rack of any type on my car (2000 Audi A4)... is it safer (in terms of theft) to have a folding model INSIDE the car and out of sight? Or do those racks with appropriate locks dissuade most bike thieves? Folding models tend to have smaller diameter wheels. Great for space saving, but smaller wheels are way less pleasant to ride on. If you have a way to run a cable or padded chain lock around the bikes and through the rack that should be sufficient to deter theft. I would strongly recommend a hitch-mounted rack, and not something that just "sits" on your car with straps. Also, see battery concerns regarding vibration above - I'd recommend removing the battery from the bike when transporting on a car rack. Any other thoughts/suggestions? Any input is much appreciated! These are costly items... I really want to do my due diligence and make a sound purchase whenever I'm ready. Do not buy an e-bike from Aliexpress unless you've REALLY done due diligence on it. Most likely you will get the crappiest quality possible. There's not much standardization in ebikes yet, so high possibility of buying a "low-to-mid-tier" bike and the brand/company disappears a year later leaving you without recourse for parts. Wheels/tires/brakes/shifters, yeah, you can probably replace those, but custom battery cases, "no-name" motors, controllers and displays are going to be a pain if they die after the manufacturer/brand goes dark.

So now the 500 errors hit frequently on the first opening of pages. But a refresh brings the page up immediately.

Trek is a pretty solid brand of bike. https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/bikes/electric-bikes/c/B507/ They even come in colors that you might like (although, no leopard print)!

Midsouth Shooters Supply is advertising (at least in the email I received today) a sale on CCI small pistol primers. $69.99/1000. Shipping and Hazmat will run that price right up, but if you need a lot, or someone wants to set up a group order, you could amortize those costs to something more reasonable. At least, reasonable in the current sales climate.

I got home from Tennessee overnight. Picked up 1000 Winchester LPP for $108.65 after tax, at a pawn store/gun shop. Overall I'd say powders were more available than primers. Couldn't find powder I was after though. If I saw it I probably would have bought. Prices on primers and powder were competitive, once factoring in shipping and hazmat. Didn't see many projectiles, but I wasn't looking for them either. Ammo prices seemed high to me. I'd originally intended to make some more stops on the way back, but I was in "get home mode", plus it was after hours during most of my time on the road.

Vdep217 nailed it in my opinion. The thing that saves us is that one permit covers all guns you own, except that you have to submit a form listing the guns you own, except the courts limited the guns you can carry, except that the court removed itself from the process that they put in place to add additional guns to the permit. So many contradictions that I think the state's prosecutors are in a weaker position then if the law was never passed.

This state is a shit show.

The national picture. At $3.82, Gas Prices Take New Inflation Toll | Newsmax.com

Glock 19.