I've seen them, even rode some bikes with electric shifters, but still don't want the complexity. One of my bikes is over 20 years old with the same Ultegra shifters, I haven't done any maintenance other than lubing once a season and they still work fine. I'd be surprised if the battery on electric shifters lasts that long.

You're describing a high-end e-bike, which is basically an e-motorcycle with less regulation.

A high-end regular-bike has electronic shifting and a power meter and that's about it. And you're talking many thousands of dollars worth of road bike. It's like seeing a Ferrari or a Lambo rolling down city streets. They exist but they're rare.

Yes, but we're discussing technology that will also be rare. It's not like these chainless electric drive systems will appear on big-box sporting goods store bicycles, so why compare it to a mass-market affordable bike's technology?

I think it's reasonable to compare a leading edge technology to a leading-edge existing product. Otherwise, it's like it's 2007 and we're complaining that this newfangled iPhone thngie can run out of battery in a day, while my POTS telephone works even in a blackout.

Yes, true, but apples, oranges.

Not necessarily. Shimano Di2 electronic shifting was introduced all the way back in 2001 and has been among the standards for high-end road bikes for many years now. It has all of those components. The electric motor doesn't have to drive the wheel.