OK... I have no problem agreeing, that an E-Assist bike is "different" than a "regular bike" that is used for riding for fun, riding for work, riding for touring... But: how different is it? THAT IS the sticking point for most people I believe, (and I maybe/probably am wrong, for the "purist" among you.) What types of E-Bikes are there?.... Well. now... Let me count the ways E-Bikes are dealt with...

1; You have to pedal, and you get a % of assist type of E-Assist bike with no more than 350 Watts (in some countries in Europe its as low as 250Watts) of assist and no throttle, can assists up to 20 MPH (but in some countries it only assists to 16MPH and it cuts out)...

2; You then get to N. America, where you have to pedal but can get up to 750 Watts of assist, when ever you want it and no throttle, sounds acceptable but... or... Wait a minute...

3; You can pedal and get 750 watt of assist, or not pedal and get 750 watts of assist and use a throttle, doesn't seem to matter, it's still considered a legal bicycle in some instances... And then,

4; You can get up to 6,000 watts+, of assist, and use a throttle for "off road", IF, you are a normal CITIZEN AND FOLLOW THE "RULLES" It can still be a legal bicycle if you switch it to the legal setting manually... (or not, and you can just pretend to be a Legal E-assist bike)

5; Oh, and then there there's 750 watts with a throttle and 28MPH cut out for the electric "assist" is still a bicycle under some conditions...

And that is why people see E-Bikes just blowing by them and not even pedaling... "Illegal" use... "Irresponsible" use... Basically these E-Bikes are used as mopeds (even more like electric motorbikes that "look like E-Bikes") and are circumventing the laws... That is where the real problem lies... IMO...