The main demographic for e-bikes is going to be riders over 50. Not sure how you can have no mention of them in a 50+ forum.
I did a 36-mile group ride with my cycling club today on my e-bike with the assist turned off. So the only difference I had with the non e-bike riders was that my bike weighed more than theirs. It was great to see a couple of older riders (70+) with e-bikes ride with the group where without an e-bike they would not have been able to.
There is a lot of false assumptions and misinformation about e-bikes by some non e-bike riders. I faced a similar thing when I purchased my electric vehicle two years ago, and still do. EVs are somewhat understandable because I tend to run in conservative circles and EVs have been politicized (unfortunately). I must admit I'm shocked to find a disdain of e-bikes in a 50 plus cycling forum. Maybe not for you, but not for anybody because not for you?