The difference is that you can put a hardware limiter on it to make it compliant with E-bike regs, which are laughable because if a person on a 10 speed can do 35 in traffic or bike lanes no one complains, but add a battery and if it does 21 everybody screams “Moped! Motorbike!”.

I saw a Long John Cargo Bike Driver get tackled off his bike from behind by enforcement in a video. He went to dispute the ticket and the fine he had to pay to get his bike back and the enforcement officers said that they took him off of his “Chopper Style E-Moto” because it was too powerful, and he and a technician then testified it is a cargo bike and it limits its ground speed but it is more powerful because it can carry a months worth of groceries and pull a trailer to haul more groceries and still go at a ground speed of 22 before it limits the rider, and the bike isn’t chopped it is designed to carry cargo. Turns out he was jumped because of the size of his battery pack.

The court ruled that he could get everything but the money he paid to get his bike back. Got to love Ontario Enforcement.