I understand your use case for the throttle here, either getting to a cruising speed, or even just enough so you’re balanced and not wobbling. I’m sure this could be resolved with higher sensitivity on a torque sensor or having a great-granny gear, so to speak.

Kinda, but you’d still have trouble if you forgot to downshift or were trying to start uphill. And since we’re talking about a heavy vehicle used for utility cycling (often carrying kids), you might be in traffic where you need to be able to get moving right now and can’t just pick it up and carrry it to the curb to get out of the way. In that sort of situation, a throttle is a safety feature. It just needs to be designed not to facilitate misuse.

What you describe with your old ebike reminds me of the Reevo. It was designed so poorly if you were walking it, the pedals could still turn and activate the power assist and produce a feedback loop that saw the bike take off away from you and into the sunset.

I knew what video that was gonna be before I clicked it, LOL.

For the record, the bikes in question are the first and second-generation Lectric Xpedition. (Mine unfortunately had a problem that caused it to be replaced under warranty, and they gave me the new version.) The second-gen definitely has some important improvements (notably the torque sensor and a much better kickstand), but the first-gen was still a good bike — nowhere near as bad as a Reevo!

(I’m a big fan of my Lectrics, but damn I wish they’d make an affordable bakfiets.)