I'm thinking of converting my wife's Novara Camera Pro to a mid-drive Ebike. This bike has an aluminum frame & drop handle bars. I'm looking at an ERad 500 W. motor and have not yet looked at batteries. I'm hoping for a range of 50 miles at an assist level setting of 1 on level terrain. My wife is about 160 Lbs. I'm completly new to this and looking for any advice and guidance this forum has to offer. Thank you.
One of the easier conversions would be a BionX rear hub. If you're new, and don't want to mess with all the problems of a mid-drive conversion, I would go the BionX route and let a dealer do the conversion. Some people enjoy the process of problem solving and trouble shooting that can happen during a self installation of a conversion kit... that's not me - I just want it on there and I want to ride away knowing that I have a very reliable e-bike. That was my experience with the dealer installed BionX. I ride the bike 4-5 days a week as a commuter - the system has been absolutely perfect and trouble free. I think you would get the range you are looking for from the BionX even though rear drive hubs are not as efficient as mid drives.
I do not have experience riding an aftermarket mid drive conversion. I've ridden several mid drive bikes that use the bosch mid drive. They are fantastic. However, bikes that use the bosch mid drive have OEM frames built specifically for bosch. the bosch mid drive is not available as a conversion kit.