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Long reply, as I put in information that covers the situations on why I would select the BBSHD over the lower capabilities of other mid drive options from Bafang. Other brands like Bosch are also options, but I'm not knowledgeable enough with other brands to recommend them. Mid drives for less than 1k? Sure. A kit cuts down the price considerably. People tend to worry about putting it all together, but it's plug and play. At worst you just need some tools to put the items on the bike. Things one should already own for bike maintenance. If you were to order from Alibaba or AliExpress, you can find a wide range of prices. I'll stick to the most expensive, BBSHD with a long standing seller on Alibaba. Dongguan Lvsheng Vehicle Co. Ltd. Has been on Alibaba for 9 years (don't have experience with this company personally) This link is BBSHD full kit including battery of either 48v or 52v @ 20Ah. the maximum price depending on what options you can select is $787, $790, or $792 depending on bottom bracket. https://www.alibaba.com/x/B22riY?ck=pdp Note, talking directly with the company can lead to lower pricing. Usually doing a direct payment method as less seller fees nets them more discounting and less potential taxes. At maximum price of $792, remaining balance of $208 for a bicycle to slap it on. Walmart has huffy 24" and 26" mountain bikes at $112. They don't have rear suspension. For me that's a hard pass since roads around here (Appalachian mountains) are not very smooth, tons of potholes, and our sidewalks are best described as snaggletooth. This bike is closest to what I would buy (for round keeping close to budget) is $220 https://www.walmart.com/ip/18449723428?sid=306c0198-a70d-495a-84ab-4957dd02f390 I dislike that it folds but I'm not everyone. The brakes are dual caliper but uses a cable rather than being hydraulic. I knew someone with this style brakes and I actually like it better (at least without using, actual usage could change my mind). There's a spring that pulls the pads back when not engaged. With hydraulic, you need to clean the piston walls between pad swaps. So extend each piston and clean it with your same brake fluid, push it back in, and extend, clean.. over and over till they're clean as new, then final pass is lubricating with excessive fluid and pushing them back flush and wipe away the excess fluid. otherwise you'll have lazy/stuck pistons that don't retract/extend and can drag. I say that as someone that has Magura mt5e brakes. Remember bbs02 or anything bafang M### that's under the build capability and cooling of BBSHD is (far as I'm aware) a good deal lower in price. I've seen kits at $280 to $400 that I personally could buy and still be ok with for most of the rolling mountain roads around me. They may or may not come with a battery. I didn't dig too deep. One of the best builders (if not the pinnacle) of batteries is Amorge. They're very cheap while using top tier battery and Ant BMS. Their bms with has Bluetooth to check a lot of information and gives the user customizable settings they can configure. Personally I would stick with full suspension, BBSHD, & 52v, as I would like the ability to tow more weight as I have a Schwinn Daytripper Cargo Trailer https://www.target.com/p/schwinn-174-daytripper-cargo-trailer-red-gray/-/A-52359544 I could slay our insane road grades, while loaded with camping gear, food, water, and whatever else I fancy. For perspective there's a road up this way with 37% grade and many others between 24% to 28%. Two well known trails in the Appalachian mountains go from Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C. spans 334.5 miles along the Great Allegheny Passage (GAP) and the C&O Canal Towpath. The GAP (150 miles) is a smooth crushed-limestone rail trail, while the C&O (184.5 miles) is a flatter, rougher dirt/gravel towpath. Most cyclists complete the journey in 4 to 6 days, going PITT to DC, as it's more downhill than DC to PITT. You definitely don't need a BBSHD for the gap and c&o, they were built on railroads that no longer were in service, known as "rail to trail". You may want it for sightseeing/exploring around towns and cities branching off of them. If you live somewhere that isn't rolling mountains, bbshd could definitely be overkill. Hopefully this helps.