I just did an 8 mile test ride to meet some friends (see photo) on my new electric bike, and I'm pretty pleased. I did not get a kit, I selected parts individually and converted a used road bike I was gifted 9 years ago but have too-rarely if ever ridden.
The purpose of the bike was to replace sitting-time burning gasoline with exercise-time avoiding gym fees. I also wanted the opportunity to begin getting direct hands-on experience with electric drive systems (via baby steps). So the bike has a 23 mile range (very optimistically), but all I need it 12 max on each leg of my commute. I expect to pedal much/most, except the toughest of the heart breaker hills around here.
At 44lbs it is lighter than the $7,000 #10 bike on this list of top ten lightest ebikes:
https://www.electricbike.com/10-light-electric-bikes/
I spent about $1300 for the highest quality parts, and got only the features I wanted for my specific purposes:
500+ watt, 250 rpm, eZee geared hub motor on the front.
14 Ahr LiFePO4 battery mounted in back
CycleAnalyst dash
Half grip throttle on right side
26" wheel (front) with 1.5 inch tire (back wheel is the original 700c
Aluminum road bike frame and steel mountain bike forks
I made mistakes along the way, ruining the red OEM forks you see in the picture with poor filing of the dropouts. And I didn't know at first about the importance of torque arms. I could have badly injured myself if my first test ride had been too exuberant. Be careful, friends!
BTW, I'm calling it black & red ...
How do I set up a bike log signature on EM again?