Originally Posted by
Caretaker
No, but if people who are cycling or who would be inclined to take up cycling turn to Ebikes and convince themselves that they're making the same gain because it's just 'assistance' then that, in my book, would be an adverse side effect.
Are motorists likely to give up the comfort and status appeal of the automobile for a battery powered bike? Apart from a very few eccentrics I personally doubt it. Much more lively they'll buy a proper motorbike .
Again, this is taking us far from touring and should be addressed in the proper subforum.
I am in the US and here there is no "status appeal" to an auto. In the US there are, generally, two groups riding bikes to work, those at the extreme bottom, and those well above the middle (yes, we are at a bike enthusiast site; so you may find exceptions here). As far as buying a motorbike to commute on, very unlikely in the US, yes, some do it; but they are primarily motorcycle enthusiasts looking for another reason to ride, not people just looking for a good way to get to work.
As far as the "gain" from riding an e-bike, there are so many people telling their stories of health benefits from e-bikes that it would be pointless to recite them all. You fear that it is not the exact same level of gain that they would have gotten from a conventional push-bike; you have a point, except they they were not using the push-bike, they were driving a car.
The reference point for fitness gain (if fitness, and not transportation, is the end goal) cannot be whatever one considers to be the "ideal" (which probably isn't cycling, it might be a rolling elliptical, or jogging with a rucksack full of stones). The reference point needs to be what the person was doing.