E-bikes are definitely a divisive topic.

I see advantages:

1. People who would otherwise not ride may do so, so cycling becomes more mainstream. There are all kind of advantages to that. Less traffic, less impact on the environment, better health, more support for cycling infrastructure.

2. It also permits slower riders to keep up with faster riders and older riders to keep up the speed they want to ride.

3. It's another segment that will keep bike shops in business.

I see disadvantages:

1. Not a fan of the ethos that anything worth doing is worth having a motor do it for you. One of the truly wonderful things about bicycles is that they are elegantly simple machines that are solely human powered. E-bikes? Not elegantly simple, and not solely human powered. Adding a motor is no small change to the essence of a bicycle. It makes it something entirely different.

2. Anyone who rides bike paths knows that there is little or no law enforcement, and that will not change. Right now, speeds are self-regulating to speeds people are capable of riding. Motors change that, and e-bikes can be modified for higher speeds.

3. While greener than cars, they are not greener than pedaling, and some of those who turn to e-bikes are people who may otherwise have turned to cycling. I see a lot of e-bikes on my commute and 90% are ridden by people in their 20s and 30s, not older people who have difficulty riding.

4. Advantage #2 is no advantage to me. I am perfectly OK in riders faster than myself riding ahead, and I'm also happy to slow down to ride with someone I want to chat with. One of the nice things about cycling is that we tend to coalesce into groups of our own ability ... people we have something in common with ... and those common experiences form close friendships.

I'm over 60 and haven't seen too much decline in my ability to ride yet. I've always told myself that when I'm too old to pedal up the hills, I'll get a motorcycle (they sure do look like fun). An e-bike provides another option, and that is a good thing.

But for me, I plan to just ride slower and do it under my own power. For me, that's the whole point.