I always picture hummie swinging around a mostly empty bottle of Muscatel when he goes off like this.
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Just saying. Not like the car mechanic where it takes more knowledge to fix and the tools aren’t peanuts
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Just get the onix bike “for her” and borrow it when you want to go 60mph
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I want to believe me. But is way pricier 
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Our local skate shop is messing with ebikes as people keep asking about them. I built a 13S5P battery out of cheap 2000mah LG cells and it was overkill for the 1000W hub motor that the owner found for $150. Despite that price, I had no concerns with quality. I myself would prefer more power and a mid drive unit, but hub motors are fine for a commuter bike. Most importantly, it was a bolt-on kit. The battery tool longer to build than the bike itself.
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it is a fair point to state the tools and short learning curve are a quick fix with many components on a bicycle. I understood Sender was looking for a solution that was more bolt on and not interested investing time in building from scratch. some configurations such as hub motors would require tools and knowledge that would extend past a few bucks and an hour or two.
my intent is not to argue or contradict your comment, as it is quite valid, but rather provide an additional perspective on the LOE related to some items of an ebike build.
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My only other experience is with the Luna 3000 W controller. The same skate shop owner bought a 48 V electric scooter which I converted to 84 V. If you want enough torque to tear a hole in time… that will do the trick. 
I’m not arguiing although some seem to think I am. just saying if u get a bike in a box online it generally takes like ten minutes to get it running and at worst u might need 30$ of tools if it isn’t set up well. Way cheaper. Bikesdirect.com. I’ve bought at least 3 bikes from them. Their single speed mountain bikes are super cheap n nice at 350$ shipped. They have a unique 20” wheel road bike as well as many other good candidates for turning E
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thanks for the clarification john valid points
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Surely hub is more maintenance free? I hankered over the Luna cargo bike on sale previously, co-owner of Luna is the guy who hosts ES iirc
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@Sender both bikes you listed leverage rim brakes. this may be fine for your application, however you may want to consider a bike that uses disc brakes since you’ll be adding a motor to a bike that was not originally designed to stop a motorized vehicle. I understand that many cruiser style bikes do not use disc brakes and the style and color of bike is likely quite important to your wife. just food for thought, i’ll search for some cruiser style bikes with disc brakes and update this post. with success or failures
edit: electra page 3i has front disc brake. Note the name electra has nothing to do with electrification and i believe the “i” is referring to the internal geared hub. this is not an endorsement but rather an example
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I’d pick a hub motor as well with pedal assist so she can still have the bicycle experience and not just like a moped. Would still include a throttle in case the chain breaks she can still ride home.
Something like this:
https://www.ebikes.ca/shop/electric-bicycle-kits/direct-drive/9c-front-kit-advanced-pas.html
If it is mostly flat on her commute, I don’t see the benefit of a mid drive on a commuter bike.
For MTB however I’d pick a mid drive, 750w minimum.
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I don’t see either one as high-maintenance, but possibly. If you mean the guy from Luna with the Einstein hair, he’s awesome. Could watch him all day. Maybe I can be his Morty.
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I don’t really know, just from reading, plenty of experienced peops chiming in.
My thoughts were that drives/chains/belts need maintenance whereas a hub given some extra sealing love is reasonably maintenance free?
A pal of mine has shown interest in converting a fatboy and was reading into those bigass 3kw+ hubs which are cheap now, there’s a thread on ES somewhere.
For sure a weight disadvantage & without the gearing you need big hub torque.
Personally in @Sender’s case I would be tempted to avoid another project and look into a Lunacycle during Black Friday.
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You should really just make her walk Tim, you need her limber for all the hip throwing you guys do.
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You’re gunna weld on water bottle mounts on the down tube? that’s some serious doing vs plug n play.
Hubs for the easy maintenance-free and mid-drive for the efficiency.
I’m not hating on anything! How people get that idea. Just saying it’s not something I’ve ever even seen done. Not for everyone. I’ve seen the type of water bottle mounts that attach kinda like a rivet. They’re kinda weak and wobbly for a battery.
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With a still broken collar from the eskate I’m looking for something else to hook motors up to 
Like the idea of a gravity bike w truck n hubs on rear and 20” wheel or smaller on front. Not many girlfriends want on these though No matter how aero it is
This is nice but maybe w a hub:
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Girls like it simple, light and eye pleasant.
A friction drive has that:
https://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=86961
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