Apparently e-bikes are now about 1.4% of all bikes sold in the US and growing by as much as 70% per year. Since the majority of bikes sold in the US are Wally-world bike-shaped objects, ebikes are now a very noticeable portion of the market for bicycles that cost over $1000 (just estimating from the numbers, perhaps 5%). I think it's a bit of an overstatement at this point to describe e-bikes as sweeping the industry, but considering the trend might be bigger in Europe and is definitely bigger in Japan and China, it's either going to be a fiery crash and burn fad or e-bikes are coming to a hill near you.

Since I live in a community where cycling is dying, I support whatever shows promise for getting people on saddles. Riding back into town a while back, there was someone on a bike half a kilometer ahead of me. I fully expected to catch him on the next small rise and was surprised that he stayed a hundred meters in front. Then I noticed his rear hub and laughed at myself. To be honest, that was the only person on a bike I saw on that entire 100 km ride. If I was living where cycling was growing, I might feel less enthusiastic about e-bikes, but since they appear to be keeping some aging/injured riders going and also attracting new riders, I embrace the concept, even if I hope to not need one for decades.

https://cyclingindustry.news/u-s-ele...cycleelectric/

https://www.statista.com/statistics/...s-of-bicycles/