To say "well, it hasn't happened to me and I've been riding for (whatever incredible, fantasy mileage)" means 'you're overdue', not you got a pass. ".. unforeseen circumstances befall us all (King Solomom)" - not 'some people get to opt out of inevitability because they're cooler than others'.
There are even folks that 'don't need turn signals', and drivers that always say "I've never been in an accident that was my fault" - but have 2 - 3 accidents a year - and that stop at RED LIGHTS, just to be double-safe too.
Having a throttle literally saved my life. So I know thinking 'it's not going to happen because it hasn't, I don't need any precautions' flies in the face of mathematical odds.
I go so far as to indict that not having a throttle is risky behavior and inconveniences others when you get caught at that 4-way stop in the wrong gear and PO all those 'ball-game' people looking for parking as you slowly trundle across the street, clicking like a madman.
And: What now if your shifter cable is called up to shifter Heaven?
An 'I never break down' bicyclist may forget to tell you his bike is a 250watt, 20Nm, EU regulated, 15mph slug (as evidenced by a photo of him holding it up by one arm, above his shoulders) running on 'cadence'.
So to get to the nub and ditch the chaff, I'll go out on a limb and say something definitive: +200Nm Ultras eat drivetrains and no old codger I know can one sided shoulder press my 65 - 75 lb ebike.
In fact, even lifting 65lbs that way can/ will rip your rotator cuff loose*. It's like posting photos of playing Russian Roulette to prove you have fabulous luck. So I can't help but think 'okay, show me more "stupid, risky behavior" to prove you're a reliable source'.
It's safe to say 'some people don't need/ want a throttle on their bicycle', but it follows that your 'get-home' safety options diminish by 100% in a whole list of possible scenarios ... and that not having a throttle serves no realistic purpose whatsoever.
Rear hubs add another layer of 'get-home' factor safety - but no, if the bike bursts into flames they won't help you either.
A correctly set up rear hub e-bike with a throttle increases the odds of survival from the most common breakdowns by a multifold.
Pedal strike? Throttle.
I lunched my ring-gear/ chain/ bash plate derailleur/ shifter cable/ crank ? Throttle.
My TS quit (on 70lb bike) and it's 4 uphill miles home ? Throttle
"This is dangerous. I'm leaving, RIGHT NOW". Throttle.
Get in a wreck. Break a bone - or two (maybe foot?). Gotta get home. Throttle.
Me: (lisening to "gee sir, you should have called medivac" while being patched up) Can I go now?
You in cardiac arrest at an $80,000.00 flight ambulance bill: Ghaaack, choke, choke.
Hell, I spun my dropouts, stopped, removed the chain, etc (sounds easy huh ? w/ no tools) and drove home (Throttle) with the hub axles just resting in the stays. Try that pedaling. Try that with a controller set to "current" (doing the off on/ off on/ off rhumba).
I weight experience against the wisdom of someone who's never had a breakdown any day.
The question really is: why not have a throttle? *2
Is there a reason that serves a purpose other than by it's very design and aim to deliberately control the admin rights to our available performance, reducing our Liberty ?
Will it give me cancer, or is it cuz mommy says ??
FnF
1*I stopped a lifetime of lifting iron a few years back. My max bench was over double my weight (at 360lbs) and I was repping 260lbs.
Even strictly following the rules, I was still hurt many times (even laid off 2 years), but didn't suffer one permanent injury in 50 years.
My motto is "no brain no pain". I've seen a parking-lot full of roid-geniuses that disobeyed the rules, made up new stuff and suffered permanent injuries. You see them in Gyms (for a year or two), all patched up joints wrapped (stinking of camphor) - working out with present injuries.
As a professional, I wouldn't even consider lifting 65 -75lbs above my shoulder on one side, but then I don't do steep incline presses either.
*2. Pre 1900, a vocal lunatic fringe element in the USA was vehemently against the automobile.
The US Senate even attempted to enact laws banning Autos - because as one put it "they are terrifying the horses".
