I have to admit to being a bicycle lover, and I could not care less if a bicycle can make it to only 14 mph on electricity. Most people cannot average even 14 mph when riding a bicycle more than a few miles.
I do understand what you are saying. My wife has had some serious injuries and she needs a comfortable ride on a tandem. Most of the time we ride a mountain bike tandem on the road to smooth all of the bumps out. But that heavy inefficient bike is not as enjoyable to me as our aluminum framed road tandem with quality components. It is a joy when you can feel the energy from your legs converted efficiently into forward motion. But the actual fun we have isn't that much different.
We have a collection of older bicycles, and each has its own amazing attributes even if they do not always translate into high speeds.
I tend to be impatient by nature. When I was in college, many of the students went on a canoe trip. My partner just wanted to float down the river and just use the paddle to steer. I was paddling twice as hard to try and move the canoe to the head of the line.