Oddly enough it's a return to the first year of the forum Dave, 2007/08. Then there were few e-bikes to choose from and one model dominated, the eZee Torq. A staggering 38% of the members had one, mainly due to it's performance, assisting to 22 mph and the way it did that very appealing. Many of the remaining members owned eZee Sprint models and the eZee Cadence and eZee Quando were also present, meaning it was mostly that one brand talked about.
The Giant Lafree models were also at the height of their popularity then, but their reliability meant few posts were necessary about them. Otherwise the minorities were mainly old style SLA Powabykes, Powacycle and some low cost Chinese bikes. Kit choices were minimal.
Most of today's brands simply didn't exist as e-bikes eight years ago, nor did proper off-road e-bikes, bottle batteries, variety of hub motors, many of today's battery chemistries and constructions. Full suspension scarcely existed and even suspension forks were rare.
The expansion in choice in all those areas began right at the end of 2007 and continued rapidly to 2012. Hence that liveliness you noted three years ago, generated by the exciting new choices constantly arriving. Now we are at the stage of being somewhat blasé, having got used to it all. The main problem many experience now is confusion due to too much choice and e-bikes not settling to a few accepted standards.
