I test rode an E-Bike for fun, and what I walked away from that experience is that it would make me lazy and simply resorting to the motor drive instead of using my muscles to crank the bike.
If we're talking about the
assist bikes, the latest stats from where I'm at actually show the
opposite.
Since the assist takes the edge off climbs, headwinds and starting from stationary, the majority of e-bike riders actually end up riding(and pedalling)
more.
A little less max effort,
but an importantly bigger amount of average effort.
More destinations are suddenly seen as within reach, so more journeys are done by bicycle, with an significan't amount of propulsion coming from human effort.
There has also been some fires reported with complete destruction of the bike, so you have that minor distraction...
Well, there is a fair bit of energy in that battery, there's certainly potential for disaster. But we've had smartphones and hoverboards etc catching fire too.
There's one very basic tradeoff between charge time and heat build-up in the battery, one which the industry isn't addressing.
I usually charge overnight, so I could easily accept double the average charge time w/o it influencing my use of the bike. But the industry is certain that fast charging is the way to market domination, so that's what they supply.
..But you also have a bike that weighs at least 35 pounds unless you spend around $15 grand and get the Montanaro Volta that weighs just 19 pounds, that seems reasonable...
The industry standard seems to have been to build ebikes for those who not really like to ride, which has given us heavy bikes with huge battery packs. I was quite tempted to build my own to get away from the big battery and the sucky and heavy suspensin fork.
Now we are beginning to get e-bikes for people who like to ride too.