Respectful rants are always a fun read. While I don't have a problem with folks wanting to ride their e-bikes, I myself started with a steel bike equipped with 1/2-step crossover gearing and a deep granny gear all shifted with cable fed bar ends and later with thumb shifters on upright bars when the spine began to lose it flexibility. Just never felt the urge to go beyond nor could I get over the cost hump of that new fangled e-stuff.