it's not taboo, it's just that the joy of cycling for a lot of recreational cyclists is in propelling yourself with your own power, suffering, finding your phys

it's not taboo, it's just that the joy of cycling for a lot of recreational cyclists is in propelling yourself with your own power, suffering, finding your physical limits and pushing them, getting stronger, these sorts of things. sort of like asking why segways are taboo for cross country runners. e-bikes are just a benefit in utility, like you said, to get from point a to point b faster. but once you have electric assistance you're no longer truly cycling, you're doing something in between cycling and riding an electric vehicle. the ability to have assistance stops it from being an athletic experience, which defeats the entire purpose for a lot of people. the other thing: a change in chainrings and cassette makes a much larger difference in "ease of pedaling" than a fancy carbon frame. if you buy a fancy carbon frame and carbon wheels the reason is to go faster while suffering just as much. want a easier time getting up hills, slap a mtn triple crankset, long reach derailleur, and wide cassette on your clunker. now you can exert yourself as little as you want and you spent $150 instead of $2000.