Interesting query, I think I can give some insight. I have an XL rise m20 (egregiously modified and made heavier, tires etc) and my wife has a medium m20 that is mostly stock. I've checked out the H series of rise's at my local bike shop and pedaled them around the parking lot to compare them to mine, my wife has not done that yet... but she has ridden hers with the range extender. I can feel the difference between my bike with the range extender on vs off. that just so happens to be the weight difference between the H series and the M series (all other things being constant). It's not detrimental to what the rise is as an experience.
The m series with range extender or h series without... is very much a mountain bike experience instead of a traditional full power/weight ebike experience. The extra weight of the range extender and the h series, makes it a bit harder to bunny hop the bike and makes the bike a single notch less nimble to direction changes and transitional lean over situations. That being said, my wife, who struggles with advanced techniques and does not ride assertively and confidently, does notice the extra weight when she is at her technical ability limit. I wouldn't say it stops her from achieving things on the bike or affect her riding negatively, but maneuvering the bike in/around the garage is more difficult, getting on teh bike rack is more difficult, getting the front wheel off teh ground requires more commitment from her, that she doesn't always have the confidence to do. For context, my wife is 5'8" - 120lbs on a medium. My wife is for sure, a novice rider across the board and doesn't do anything gnarly what so ever. I'm the exact opposite.
The summary version is that I wouldn't sweat it between the two, but the good news is that they are different enough that I feel, there is a set of if/then decisions to make that would lead you to one over the other.
I would chose the m series of the h series if:
-the majority of my ebike rides were going to be in the 10-15 mile - 1,500 - 2,000 of vertical rides
-I planned on buying the range extender so I could tailor the weight of the bike to the ride I intend to do
-if I struggled with issues dealing with moving the bike around, and getting it on bike rack and I had similar dimensions that my wife does (4lbs doesn't seem like much, but it does make a difference when you're only 120lbs)
-If I planned up having this bike for a long time, and was planning on upgrading it
I would chose the h series over the m series if:
-I had no intention of buying the range extender and just wanted a more simplified battery setup without choices
-was the kind of person that was hard on my equipment, and crashed a lot and didn't want to worry about it
-I wanted ultimate battery capacity, but still didn't want a full power ebike and the weight that comes with it
-had budget constraints and/or felt that I could get a better bike overall with the same budget, if I sacrificed a bit on overall weight, to move up a tier in model to get better suspension/brakes etc
I would chose either interchangably and not look back if one was in stock and the other one wasn't. In truth, they are both great bikes... for the most part, you can't tell the difference in the weight... but the m series does allow you to keep the bike under 38-39lbs in a medium or start with a light bike, and add double down tires and cushcore and still be under 40 lbs. The h series, allows you to have a more simplified, battery setup that matches a wider range of rides with this bike, at a crazy value price point.
TLDR? You win either way....
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Thank you for this very insightful reply.
I ride in BC, Canada and ride mainly black tech trails. The levo hasn't been an issue at all, but I've rolled pretty everything. I want to drop/do some light jumps and thats why I like the light bike. I can access amazing black trails right from my backyard, so I ride often and I ride pretty rough trails (rocky/steep). As I live in the mountains, I'd say all my rides are a minimum of 2000ft of elevation.
As you say, it seems I can't go wrong with either. I really love the idea of the M-series as, like you said, I can ride it without the extra weight that I don't need on 80% of my ride and use the extender when I do need more range.
As for availability, I can get both before summer, the H in the next 2 months and the M around May 2022 and I have the Levo anyway, so the delivery time isn't really an issue.
I do wonder if the price difference is worth it. While I can afford the M-series, is a let's say 2-3kg weight difference worth over 4000 extra (h15 is 9000$ vs the m10 with extender 13186 + tax on both)... I guess that is the big question. I wonder what one would think about that.