Do you have previous cycling experience, or have you ever had a bicycle properly fitted to you? I ask because without knowing exactly how a bicycle is meant to fit, buying a bicycle online – electric or otherwise – may end up for a less-than-optimal ride, especially if you intend for this to be your main mode of transportation.

If you’re not familiar with all the parameters of fitting a bicycle, I would very strongly urge you to seek a reputable local bike shop (aka LBS) to get fitted for a bike. Walmart or big box stores don’t know how to do this, but a proper LBS has staff to identify and avoid problems before you ever roll out the door. Such a LBS can also sell and maintain an ebike for you, which will inevitably be necessary. Get opinions from multiple LBSs if need be. Some will rent you an ebike to trial.

Specifically for online ebikes, please see this advisory published by the California Dept of Fire and Forestry on lithium battery safety, particularly the (page 2) recommendation for only UL 2849 certified products. Charging safely is a major consideration now, and everyone wants to be comfortable using, parking, and charging their transportation devices. I don’t see any certification marks for that Amazon listing.

My current ebike predates the UL standard’s publication, so I have to be extra vigilant when charging, such as only ever during waking hours and only after inspecting the battery and charger each time for damage or voltage irregularities. Needless to say, this is not an ideal consumer experience, hence why going forward, the UL standard should be relied upon to relieve this heightened vigilance.

Also, for reference, here in California, the most inexpensive ebike I’ve seen for sale that complies with the advisory, is backed by a brand with a dealer/warranty network, and is actually practical for these roads would cost $1100USD. I would not expect to find a quality ebike in California for less than $1k, so I can’t see how that Amazon listed ebike at $857USD would deliver years of quality riding without excessive maintenance.

As an aside, you may want to aim for a 750 W motor if available. Output power is normally useful for quick acceleration, but it shows its real worth on hill-climbs as well. Granted, 25 kph is not a particularly fast hill climb, but it gets annoying very quickly if your ebike has to slow down to climb a steep grade, even with full throttle input, especially if the bike is heavily loaded.