Originally Posted by Biker395

I get what you're saying. I guess I'm responding to arguments I've heard elsewhere that adding a motor to a bike is no more of an assist than adding lower gears.

It's nonsense, of course. And I think they know it's nonsense. If it were really the case, why would someone spend all the $ for a motor if inexpensive gears were the same thing? From a mechanics standpoint, gearing only allows you to complete the same amount of work with less force (or torque), but it takes proportionately more time, so the amount of work performed is the same.