Handlebar integration
 

What is everyone's thoughts on eBike handlebar integration? Do you even look at that stuff when buying an eBIke? I'm not really counting DIY conversions, but some people do seem to tidy up their cables a lot.

More integrated can mean more hassle to re-route cables or adjust things. So...if that wasn't a problem, is better cleaner integration appealing to you? Would it actually sell the bike better?

It's been decades and decades since you could see a cable when sitting in a car. It's just a sea of plastic now. I personally like it. But...the stuff behind a dashboard doesn't wear out, it's all electronic. Not the same as a mechanical shifter cable that needs yearly replacing. So...electronic shifting for all? ;)

A bike with a clean cockpit would be a necessity if I were looking at blowing 2-3k on an ebike. But at some point 'integration' becomes 'less points of adjustment' and 'proprietary hardware/more difficult to repair' and, to me, overall less attractive. Using standard parts with smart cable routing is often the best way to go, unless you just happen to come up with a brilliant way to hide cables in a way that doesn't cause more labor or great amount of expense.

I was recently in the bike shop. They had replaced a customer's handlebars because the grips were proprietary and you can't put different grips on the bars since they are also proprietary. I would prefer everything on a bike to be standard designs.