Electric Bikes - Considering kit or new bike, help

I'm now in need of an e-bike to get me back and fourth to school

The only part I already have is this bike
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10660673&findingMethod=rr
and i'm not even sure it could handle it (rear wheel mount of course)

Other than that I will consider a budget of less that 450$ battery included

The cheapest kits I can find are on ebay but I'm wondering if they are garbage or not
e.g. http://cgi.ebay.com/500W-Hi-Speed-Electric-Bicycle-Bike-Hub-Conversion-Kit_W0QQitemZ390142785537QQihZ026QQcategoryZ158984QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

_______________

Other information:
I'm already 235lbs, and the bike is another 40lbs
My commute is 5 mi there and 5 back ( with the ability to charge in between)
The terrain is flat except for one hill


Any information you can give will be helpful and I appreciate it

I'm now in need of an e-bike to get me back and fourth to school

The only part I already have is this bike
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=10660673&findingMethod=rr
and i'm not even sure it could handle it (rear wheel mount of course)

Other than that I will consider a budget of less that 450$ battery included

The cheapest kits I can find are on ebay but I'm wondering if they are garbage or not
e.g. http://cgi.ebay.com/500W-Hi-Speed-Electric-Bicycle-Bike-Hub-Conversion-Kit_W0QQitemZ390142785537QQihZ026QQcategoryZ158984QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

_______________

Other information:
I'm already 235lbs, and the bike is another 40lbs
My commute is 5 mi there and 5 back ( with the ability to charge in between)
The terrain is flat except for one hill


Any information you can give will be helpful and I appreciate it

The conversion kit on ebay doesn't include batteries. If you haven't shopped for lithium battery technologies suitable for e-bikes (LIFEPO4 or possibly LIPO if you're careful and don't overcharge or discharge--mishandling LIPOs can be catastrophic--fire and explosion) you'll be in for sticker shock. You can get better buys, I think. If you want a hub motor, you should shop around and check out some domestic websites. That way if you have a warranty issue you won't have to spend a fortune to ship an item back to China. You can get a rear wheel kit without batteries for under $400 from Amped bikes and Hightechbikes.com and probably others. If you need a lot of torque, you might check out the Currie conversion kit. It's a non-hub motor (and an SLA battery is included, but you can upgrade to LIFEPO4 on our own). You can buy the Currie kit for $279 with free shipping from thesuperkids.com. (I got the Currie kit last summer from this vendor. I love this conversion kit--it's got the torque that I need living in the rockies west of Glacier National Park.)

It's easy to shop in a hurry without educating yourself about motors, controllers and battery technologies. However, you're likely to buy something you'd be unhappy with. I'd suggest that you take one to two weeks to educate yourself and then make an informed purchase that will meet your needs. I'd also suggest that you check out the Endless Sphere forums--the only bikes they discuss are e-bikes. They have sections on all types of e-bike motors as well as battery technologies. http://endless-sphere.com/forums

Good luck.

I began researching ebikes about 2 years ago and it took me a good month and a half to decide what would be best for me. Even then I didn't get my kit until last month and have only had it installed a little over a week. I went with a non-hub motor for the torque to get me over a big hill but since you said your commute is flat I am wondering if you are looking for speed or for convenience. Your commute sounds pretty mild and you could probably get away with a 200W hub motor and some SLA batteries. Sure you won't go 25 mph but it will get you there without breaking a sweat. Since you are looking for a hub motor I also advise looking local. You're more likely to get a deal and you get the support of the dealer. $450 should be easy for a setup like that but you definitely need to do your homework.

http://www.electricbikeandkits.com/product/BL36 $570 for a 600w with 36v12ah lithium battery (362 without battery). I cannot say anything about their kit, but it is linked from bicycleman.com, which is a bike store about an hour south of me. That's the cheapest non-SLA complete kit I've come across.

Amped 500w rear is $350 without battery and I love it. $475 for an Amped with SLA battery.

Either the hightekbikes Aotema kit for $330 -- hightekbikes.com

or

the kit from
e-bikekit.com

or

You could go with a 2805 or 2806 Nine Continent from http://ebikes.ca. Of course, you don't have much of a budget so it probably won't matter which one you go with. All 3 will probably go about 22 mph at 36v.
http://ebikes.ca/store/photos/M2806F26.jpg

with a controller...this one
http://ebikes.ca/store/photos/C3625-NC.jpg

That would be about $310. Then with the other $140...buy some 12v15AH or 12v20AH SLA(lead acid) batteries. You can buy 3 of these for $133...http://www.zbattery.com/CSB-EVX12200-SLA-Battery

That's not bad and they are 12v20ah so you'll get good range. I don't recommend anything lower than 15 AH on SLA's. SLA's kind of suck, though. You'd be better off with NiCD or NimH if you can afford it.

Wow, I wasn't expecting such thorough responses.
That's really great information you guys have given and I've already changed my mind a few times to try and get something
that better matches my needs so I really appreciate the links and the effort. Either way, I'll be sure to let you know how it goes!
This a great forum community, Thanks