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Non mountain biking friends (in the 60 to 70 yr old range) who have done extended bike touring in Europe, New Zealand, Japan bought e-bikes this past year.   Their bikes are Specialied S-Works somethings, they swapped out the drop bars for flat bars and added about 1.9" tires with a smooth rolling tread.  They set it up so the battery is external and not inside the frame.  This lets them  pack the battery in a carry on when they fly with their bikes.  Also, one can just carry the battery inside a hotel room for charging.  We did a partly gravel (caliche!) road ride with them in the  Round Mountain area a few weeks ago, and I picked up one of the bikes -- it's 30ish pounds, if  that -- feather light.   They are in Spain/Portugal right now and reported that the bikes did great on some incredibly steep roads.   Side note: Google "e-bike + solar panels".  Lots of interest on the topic of charging e-bikes with solar panels. 

YouTube has saved me hundreds in refrigerator repairs. Now that I am mostly retired, I'm willing to try a lot of things because I have the time to putter around with them. Since I still do a little bit of consulting, I know what my "per hour" rate is so I can judge that against the amount of time and effort to get someone out to do things for us. I still find that, despite having a decent bike workshop in the garage, I still take my FS to Bicycle House for anything suspension related. Or anything requiring me to remove the crankset because a.) it is impossible to get off even with a breaker bar and b.) DUB sucks. My next bike will definitely not have a press fit bottom bracket, that is the devil.

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That helps to understand your experience, thanks! The power output isn't more or less because it is a lower weight bike. Most weight savings will come from carrying a smaller battery. Though I expect motors to continue to have higher power/weight ratios as the technology improves (same power from smaller motor), they will always be governed by the software. Available power will be determined by the max output of the motor, with the ability to limit this further by the Mode selected for operation. Most e-mtbs will have from 3-5 modes to select across a range of power output levels. These can usually be configured via a phone app to provide a variety of combinations based on % of total power, and to avoid exceeding a chosen % of what the battery can deliver. This way the rider can vary how they use their bike for any specific ride distance, elevation gain, etc. in order to conserve battery and/or get more of a workout. I'd like to think that most e-mtb riders don't leave it in max power mode all the time. I certainly don't do that. Being able to add a little help from the bike has me riding a lot more, and riding like this would be a markedly different experience than what you shared. Next time you have a chance to try one out, ask about how to switch between modes to select lower assist levels. One guy I ride will will select to ride without assist at all through flatter sections of Rocky Hill while winding through the trees. As with anyone experiencing new technology for the first time, I think if you had been provided a short briefing on the handlebar mounted control buttons you might have come away with a different perspective. Happy trails

We had about 70 folks start off. Good turnout for an iffy weather day. But the rain held off until the very last. Good event