E-bikes can be great: I still ride my regular bicycles too, but on days where I'm in a hurry, am beat up from rides, or have to haul a lot uphill, e-bikes have been fantastic. I have a Ride1up Portola with a front rack.

Ive been falling off of bicycles and having a great time since I was six years old, and I couldn't believe how people in my local riding groups acted. If you don't have the "right" equipment then you aren't one of us.

Thats fine, 20 years ago I got a recumbent and I've ridden the drivetrain off of it multiple times now. Im shopping for an e bike mostly because theyre different and ive never tried one.

Cycling changed profoundly when the US manufacturers like Cannondale entered road racing, they turned it into rampant consumerism and enshittified it before enshittification was a thing. Now it's douchebags on $20,000 bikes.

Same. The MAMIL cult is exhausting. A lot of these types like spending money, and talking about riding more than riding.

I do have an ebike though. It makes commuting in the heat bearable, but I go back to the acoustic when it starts to cool off.