“People are too damn lazy to peddle a frickin’ bike’
The e-bikes open up the possibility of distance riding to a lot more people. And these are not motorcycles; the standard mode of operation is “pedal assist” where the rider pedals and the motor adds power (either a fixed amount depending on a selector or a variable amount according to the torque the rider is already applying).
I understand that the “pedal assist” is required by law, otherwise they would have to be registered as motor vehicles. If you don’t pedal, you don’t go.