long story but i was looking for something to get me back to a car i sometimes have to park 3 miles away and ended up with my first ebike
i did not even want a bicycle lol
now i have 7 lol
take friends riding a lot and people love them
can honestly say you wont regret it if you buy one, they are tons of fun and you get exercise
i am 50 and had not been on a bicycle in 30 years
i tend to be partial to the fatter tire bikes for stability and the ability to change from gravel/sand/ dirt/pavement without the bike losing traction etc
this is helpful for my friends that want to ride and who have not been on a bike in years too
i also ride a lot of forest service gravel/dirt roads in the summers and these do great for that
disadvantage to fatter tire is they are heavier and not as nimble
since i am a more casual rider and stay around 8-12 mph the fat tires do well for me
unless you are already a serious cyclist i would look at some of these bikes we have been discussing
voltbike- good customer service, 1 year warranty i think, but havent hear anything bad about them and they seem to be supporting customers after warranty is over
rad power- i would say the same about rad power, they have been great with warranty and out of warranty stuff for me
the 2 companies above have fat tire and regular tire bikes- they are direct to consumer online stores
easy motion is a little pricier but has really good warranties- but you will need a shop to warranty the bike...
prodeco are not bad bikes and have 2 year warranties
rad power, voltbike and prodeco are hub motor bikes so easier for regular bike shops to work on...
mid drive bikes are usually more money, are supposed to have a more normal bicycle feel with giving you "bionic legs", need a little more maintenance and cost more to maintain long term
more serious cyclists tend to like mid drives because most are torque sensor bikes and feel more normal
planning to buy 1 mid drive in the next few months but most of my other bikes are hub motors with pedal assist and throttle option and i am very happy with them
i personally like having the throttle in case the chain breaks, i hurt myself and need to get back to the car without pedalling etc
i would say you cannot get a decent ebike for under $1200
1200-1600 tend to be decent entry range ebikes
https://electricbikereview.com/forum/
is an excellent website/forum with ebike reviews
https://crazylennysebikes.com
i have bought bikes here and they are probably the best prices in the US for some of the higher end bikes- if you contact them i would deal with ravi, he knows more about ebikes than anybody i know lol
hope this helps some
if you anywhere near az in the next few months you can try some of mine and see what you think