ebikes typically have hydraulic brakes that require special equipment to service, more complex drive trains with internal hub gears, heightened strength require

ebikes typically have hydraulic brakes that require special equipment to service, more complex drive trains with internal hub gears, heightened strength requirements for chains and sprockets, etc. You mean, a mountain bike only with an electric motor? Because that's what you just described, minus a battery and motor. Hydraulic brakes have been on bikes for years, there's no more "specialist equipment" required than saying that a third-hand tool for caliper brakes is "specialist equipment". IOW, hydraulic brakes are bicycle brakes in a lot of cases these days. Internal gears? I'm approaching retirement, and multi-speed, planetary gear hubs are what I rode when I was a kid; nothing special there. As for the chains and sprockets, well, your local bunch of amateur racers will put out more wattage than the measly 250W + rider output that an electric will put out, and they use the same chains and sprockets that you do. (I'm not counting electric motorcycles with a "bike" label that put out 1000W.) So, yes, they are "just bikes" with an electric motor. The exception might arguably be the mid-frame motor ones that require the frame to be designed with the idea of mounting the motor, but even that's just an implementation detail: the rest of the bike is the same.