Hi
You have a reasonable budget so you should have a decent choice of bike. If your completely new to it you are better starting by going to local shops trying bikes out for size and getting test rides. This is not easy given the current crisis, another issue is that most online dealers will be cleared out of most of the bargains, what might have been had for £1500 is now probably over £2000 now.
I would use the net to see whats available during lockdown then go local to see and try the real thing. You could also try hiring a bike when that becomes possible. I did that up at Loch Katrine last year, it lets you see how a bike will perform in real conditions, some of the hills there are a real trial.
Hub drive bikes tend to be reliable and simpler, however the less powerful models will be more challenged by hills so avoid 24v motors.
Bikes with expensive crank motors tend to perform better but the electrics can be very expensive to repair if out of warranty. These are made by Bosch, Yamaha, Schimano, also mid drives used by Halfords. These drives however would have no issue with any of the hills around Helensburgh. The Bosch type is particularly good to ride and if potentially high repair costs dont worry you then these are well worth considering. These drives are absolutely not DIY and often not even reparable by the dealers leading to an expensive replacement only option.
E bikes seem to be like NASA you can have cheap, reliable and good performance pick any two, sometimes you may only get one.
Local service is a thing to think about, if you rely on dealers to service the bike, especially the electrical items this could be problematic. If your DIY then you have a lot more scope (but nut with Bosch, Shimano or Yamaha.
There are a few places you can go to which might be useful after the lockdown.
Halfords is the obvious one, however referring to the above post some of the bikes are not the best. I have not really been impressed with any of them, but I only saw what they had on display. These tended to be at the lower end of the market with a small battery and cheap components.
Cycle Republic in Glasgow, they are unfortunately in the process of being taken over, they will however be specialising in electric bikes, scooters and the like in future. They had a reasonable choice of e bikes before and did online, they also do repairs. They might be worth a look as they should have more choice
Love Bikes in Dumbarton road Glasgow, this is a specialist in e bikes, they do bikes based on the Bosch system. They are pricey but give the impression of descent customer service, you should get reasonable advice and test rides.
The Cam Glen Bike Co Op Rutherglen, they are not too well known and do not do online so there is a chance they might have reasonable stock, as they will almost certainly have shut their doors at the start of the lock down. They are a bike charity that is also a dealer for Raleigh bikes. The Raleigh e bike range has less expensive hub drive bikes up to Bosch mid drive types with integrated Batteries, from much less than your budget to much more than. They did have a reasonable choice and will give you a good test ride. They have workshop facilities as well.
Most big bike shops do e bikes to some extent so a wider search might dig up other manufacturers not covered by these
Worth considering also the Scottish Government give interest free loans on e bikes through the Carbon Trust, 4 years interest free, so your 2k bike would cost you £41.66 a month. Camglen push this a bit but you could get it on any bike you bought from any dealer. It could help you a bit if you get budget creep or just to ease the pain.
