Okay Vik, if it wasn't to be derogatory, why did you choose that term? E-bikes are bicycles that have electric motors added to them. You can even add a motor by swapping the rear wheel. Electricity added to a bicycle = e-bike. You may not like the name but that's what they are called. You may even think it's the wrong name, or as you said above, a ploy by bike companies to allow them to gain acceptance. That doesn't change what they are called. We all refer to duff-covered trails as loam. Technically this is incorrect, but this has become the name and we all know what it refers to. A name doesn't need to be technically correct for it to be the name, although I would argue that e-bike is the correct name for an electric bicycle.
For reference, this is a moped:
It is gasoline-powered. It can be ridden without touching the pedals at all. It doesn't determine power output based on the input of your legs. It has a throttle. It can't be ridden on a technical mountain bike trail. There is a consensus about what a moped is and it aligns with the photo above. Which is nothing like the Santa Cruz Heckler in the photos below. I realize you are aware of this, which means you are using the term incorrectly for some purpose. What is that purpose then?
Making the point that e-bikes have motors and should, therefore, be classified similarly to other motorized off-road vehicles is a reasonable one that can be easily made. Name-calling doesn't give that argument more weight.
You may not appreciate or care about civil discourse, but considering what the rest of the internet is like right now, either on other mountain bike sites or on Facebook, I think it's becoming more important than ever.
Call it whatever you like, but using moped 7 times in a post about e-bikes is the sort of strategy I'm more used to seeing in a Facebook post some republican has made about "Shillary" or "Killary" Clinton.
April 22, 2020, 4:40 p.m. - Cam McRae
Okay Vik, if it wasn't to be derogatory, why did you choose that term? E-bikes are bicycles that have electric motors added to them. You can even add a motor by swapping the rear wheel. Electricity added to a bicycle = e-bike. You may not like the name but that's what they are called. You may even think it's the wrong name, or as you said above, a ploy by bike companies to allow them to gain acceptance. That doesn't change what they are called. We all refer to duff-covered trails as loam. Technically this is incorrect, but this has become the name and we all know what it refers to. A name doesn't need to be technically correct for it to be the name, although I would argue that e-bike is the correct name for an electric bicycle. For reference, this is a moped:  It is gasoline-powered. It can be ridden without touching the pedals at all. It doesn't determine power output based on the input of your legs. It has a throttle. It can't be ridden on a technical mountain bike trail. There is a consensus about what a moped is and it aligns with the photo above. Which is nothing like the Santa Cruz Heckler in the photos below. I realize you are aware of this, which means you are using the term incorrectly for some purpose. What is that purpose then?  Making the point that e-bikes have motors and should, therefore, be classified similarly to other motorized off-road vehicles is a reasonable one that can be easily made. Name-calling doesn't give that argument more weight. You may not appreciate or care about civil discourse, but considering what the rest of the internet is like right now, either on other mountain bike sites or on Facebook, I think it's becoming more important than ever. Call it whatever you like, but using moped 7 times in a post about e-bikes is the sort of strategy I'm more used to seeing in a Facebook post some republican has made about "Shillary" or "Killary" Clinton.