E-bikes have a great role to play but they are a solution alongside leg-powered bikes. While I'm happy to see how many people seem to have been attracted to bike transportation through e-bikes, I also see it as kind of absurd when able-bodied people feel that their 4-mile commute in our largely flat city needs an electric assist, and they couldn't imagine just getting a simple bicycle.

Given that I often pass e-bikes under leg power, I think masses of people hugely over-estimate the effort needed to cycle. Ironically, at least in my office, a lot of them are people who spend money and time then going to gyms to stay fit and healthy. One of the great things about a bike commute is it gives you exercise.

I like an assist for the hottest months (or if an area is hilly,) but in the Boston area, outside the hottest 2-3 months, I remove it in order to get a better amount of exercise in my life.