A little bit to add to the E-Bike debate..

BTW, I read that article - very good! Now, if you are in the Mojave desert...140 degrees and run out of water/feel bad - having a bit of help to get the feck out of Dodge would be a very good idea indeed. It also sounds like the tester had a blast. They have their place, no doubt.

Not everyone would class that as a negative, tbf mate! 

Haha ...and do you really think that I haven't tested myself against what the best of what this country & Scotland has to offer ...I get it ..you like to think of yourself as some big rough tough mountain man ...manly means ...!
Seriously friend you are only deluding yourself and are in denial if you think you won't be knackered after riding one of these...take it from someone who actually knows...not what you think you know .

I buy numerous bikes a year... and have trialled most of them for less than 5 minutes... if at all...and was fully capable of assesing them..why for arguments sake... would I require to test an Ebike longer?...

Here we go again...lol
I never tried one to say if it rides well or not! After reading the article I'm sure I would also like it...why wouldn't I...if it assists me going up those fecking long steep climbs...of course I would like it! And that is another reason why I will never try them...because I might like their benefits too much! It's a bit like driving an automatic...you still need to play with the gears, you are still driving the car...but it just makes it much more relaxing, easier (and IMHO more enjoyable...and this is also when you get loads of guys, proper machos, Stig wannabes, who never driven a modern auto, saying its shit and not proper driving...another debate, but it's bullshit!?)!
But the main reason why I will not want one is because I think it goes against the basic principles (mine at least) of the sport...in fact the only reason why I started was to stop having motored two wheeled vehicles!?
As much as I appreciate and in a way agree with the argument that if it's the only way to make someone (assume older) to still ride, they have their place...I think people, no matter their age, need to always want to do things by their own means and always have this mentality rather than taking the easiest route!?

Isn't fitting an expander sprocket to your cassette the same (in principal) kind of cheating?

No that's allowed as it's blingy, and cool...

Exactly...this is the new "29er" debate a few years ago, in the way that a lot of people say the big hoops are shit without even trying them, and they are not! But this one also plays a bit with "morals" in a weird way and that is why it's harder to accept for the majority of people.

For the people who think..."this is my way out later to ride, etc"...don't think that way...just think, how can a train and get stronger and fitter to never need one of those, and if you do, you should never need one of them anyway. That's the way everyone should think IMHO.
I remember a good friend of mine who started doing thriatlons when he was in his late sixties...winning the Iron Man in his category...what a legend!

So Shimano DI2 Is cheating?