It痴 time for me to consider an E Mountain Bike and I知 not sure where to start. I had a little heart surgery 5 months ago and the recovery will limit my abilities. I知 afraid my days of climbing hills on my Karate Monkey may be behind me.

Not sure what to look at, but the online prices are frightening. I知 open to suggestions from those who have experience. Thanks

IDK and I'm not surprised at the sticker shock. My ebike is a gravel bike and a large investment.

Do you want full suspension or a hardtail? Metal or CF frame? Center drive? What class ebike?

Another approach might be converting your current bike if it's in good condition and you like it. What I can't guess is how suspension and handling might respond to the added mass.

Happy shopping!

Starting at $62hun......

If you have sticker shock now, you should try to locate a bike soon since a market glut has resulted in unprecedented sales. As above, if we knew more about your needs, we could provide more assistance. As a start, look at Yamahas.

You should consider prices after you have purchased a bike. Price is a factor but reliability and support are the bigger factors as those can be big money drains if you don't have them from the manufacturer. The Levo SL from Specialized is quite a nice full suspension mountain bike but there are a lot of other bikes out there depending on your needs. I would recommend if you are interested maybe go down to your local shop and talk with them or at the very least give us some information so we can help better find a bike for you. Bosch, Brose, Shimano STePS, Specialized (which uses both Brose and their own custom Mahle mid-drive), Fazua, TQ and others have good reliability so if you find a bike in that space you are likely to get something decent.

A neighbor recently purchased an Aventon Ramblas and is very happy with it. It's a hardtail, but says it's doing what he needs it to do. There is a local Aventon dealer which he mentioned was part of his decision, as he was able to actually see and test ride before purchasing. I asked and he mentioned the price and level of components was a factor. I seldom ride trails, but he's out on them quite a bit and haven't heard any negatives.

yamaha has some serious good sales going on.
https://yamaha-motor.com/promotions

And be aware that a Class 1 pedal assist is, in many areas, the only type of e-bike allowed on many trails. NY State as example, forbids Class 2&3 bikes with throttles on trails and paths on state properties. Many communities are starting this kind of limitation as well.

What do you plan to ride? what kind of trails and terrain? what's your experience? how much suspension travel do you need? How aggressive the bike has to be ?

Whatever you choose for suspension, if you also want e-assist, I suggest a mid drive like Shimano Steps, which is a torque based system. For me, my 2021 model, limited to 250W, provides a very natural feeling pedaling experience. To be honest, mine was the stock e-assist on my ICE trike, but the experience should transfer to a mtb or gravel bike, depending on what you want. I have a ten speed cassette and I use every one of those gears. In fact, I changed the front chain ring from 44 to 38T, and I changed the cassette from 11-36 to 11-42, and could still use some lower climbing gears sometimes. I strongly recommend against a more powerful hub motor with throttle, unless you want to give up pedaling.

I would suggest renting an eMTB before spending that amount of cash. A week end rental might convince you the money is worth it, or not.
Many bike shops will waive the rental fee if you end up buying their bike

Just rented a Kona full suspension with Shimano Steps and did some trails in Moab, specifically the Klonso trails. I was really impressed with the way it handled the trails which were quite tricky. The bike weighed a ton. It was Kona Process 130. No idea what they cost.

If you still have the Surly, consider converting it to electric by adding a mid drive motor kit.
Lots of info out there, check out Johnny Nerdout's YouTube channel.

The Yamaha Crosscore is on clearance/closeout for $999-1299,
Check the reviews (quickly) and then see if the size you need is still available.

If all my various ebikes were stolen, and they gave me $500 for insurance, I'd be spending it here.

https://www.electriccyclery.com/shop...waAiHtEALw_wcB

https://www.charlottecycles.com/prod...4pg1L_n4YOFbdE

Doc_Wui That's a really good deal. If I hadn't purchased an Lectric XP Lite 2.0 JW Black Edition I'd have jumped on it. I have a bike dealership near me with their bikes in stock...

I get the excitement around electric bikes. They make riding so much easier and fun! I think they’re perfect for commuting or just cruising around town. You get the best of both worlds—exercise and a boost when needed. Plus, it’s a great way to enjoy the outdoors without getting tired.If you decide to get one, consider buying bicycle insurance. It can save you a lot of headaches if anything happens. Accidents happen, and it’s good to be prepared. Trust me, it gives you peace of mind knowing you're covered.So, whether you are using it for errands or weekend rides, I think you’ll love it!

The wife and I have a pair of Specialized Levos with extender batteries, love them.