Originally Posted by
McBTC
Trek's Domane + ALR is said to have maximum continuous rated power 250 down from 350 from the originally introduced 2019 model. Seen the use of them increase exponentially since 2019 but in most cases it's usually a couple sitting upright on their balloon tire bikes doing over 15 mph... if I had one, pretty sure I'd probably lose the enjoyment I feel going that fast with a tailwind when I could pretty much do that anytime with a little auxiliary power and being a weight weenie wouldn't serve much purpose, let alone a racing saddle that's tough on the ischials. Might be fun enjoying a cigar while riding though (having a margarita in the water bottle)... could join a bike group and be the official draftee lead puller. Will probably open up the Bicentennial Bike Route from Oregon to San Diego for more riders (coast of Washington isn't that interesting).
That comes down to the question: "Why do you ride?" Many of us ride for fitness and the enjoyment of being fit and thus able to do whatever we want. Whether or not one uses some electrical help here and there is immaterial. The idea is still to get your HR up and work your legs. It comes down to a question of character.
For instance, my wife and I ride a tandem. We used to ride our singles, but if we rode together, I didn't get the workout I wanted, so we bought a used tandem. This is an analogy to having a helper motor on the bike. It happens that my wife will often outdo me in relative effort, as we can see by looking at our HR levels after the ride, even though her power is about 2/3 of mine. That's her choice. She wants to be strong, and she is strong, and she got that way on purpose. We went for a day hike in the mountains today. I wore ~25 lb. pack to even things out so we both got about the same workout. Same thing.
That said, there is a rider in our group who uses an electric bike. He will turn up the electric specifically to pass folks who are not electric. He gets no respect and people talk about it behind his back. The older woman who uses an ebike works hard and usually comes in last. She gets respect big time.