Mine is still in the build stage at the moment , still waiting for maxxis hookworm tyres to cope with the extra weight and speed ,their double walled and puncture resistant and extra wide for a smoother ride , but will get pictures up in a week or so .
Generaly tho the rear drive hub motor is king of middle to fast speeds and moderate hills , which personley is all i need ....... Pros with this is fast , you can just use the throttle without changeing gears and cruise along if you choose or you can pedal hard . Also more economical on the flatish areas over long distance .... Cons , will struggle especialy at standing start up higher inclines , less economical on steeper hills and may nott manage the sheerest of hills .
Mid drive kits , the best on hills in general and most economic , they work diffrently bye powering the pedal crank so you must use the gears as you would a normal bike , but if you go through the gears properly as you would a motorcycle , car , then you can get great results from them ..... Cons Higher maintanance , chains takes alot more strain and need to be upgraded sometimes , harder to fit tho not that difficult .
Sounds like your both into a bit of speed ;-) , its true even the 250w can give great results with pedal assistance etc , but ide go for a bigger kit , something that will keep that smile on your face and give you that thrill factor when you want it , at the end of the day you can still pedall when you want to . But its personal choice of course .
Cant be anything worse than getting a kit , then you realise you wished you gone for the bigger one , like i suspect many do .
A good idea is look at rear and mid drives on you tube videos and youl get a real good idea of what each are capable of in various surroundings . Then you can work out what power etc suits you and your needs .
For me i looked and considerd even bigger engines than the 1500w but decided the speed and talk were too much for the handeling and structure of a normal MTB frame and you would need more of a moped motorcycle frame or a custom made one like greybourg that would handle everything better . Average MTBS get a bit hairy to ride after about 35/40 mph and become too dangerous .
With the battery if your doing a 26 mile round trip commute ide go for a 15ah battery , and for a 50 mile run at least a 20ah .
Hope this helps .... Rik
Ps .... your onley here once treat yourself , you deserve it ;-)
