Electric assistance is not uncommon in the Netherlands among the 50+ age category, and we don't even have significant hills to speak of.
They always seem to be heavier-set than your typical bike commuter, so if the motor's getting them out on the road and getting some exercise and fitness in, I think that is just fantastic. Anything to get people out of their cars! Maybe they'll even upgrade to a real bike some day :)
As for showering, I think that will probably start to matter less as time goes on. In the last few years, in the Pacific NW, I've noticed it's become somewhat acceptable to show up to meetings a bit sweaty, if you've just gotten off your bike. At least, among the business meetings I attend, of course.
It's an honest question, really, I don't know! (though I know what I'd prefer!) What do you think?
Denholm Reynholm in the stress episode of The IT Crowd may have been hilarious in London, but he wasn't too far off the mark in Portland.
He wasn't too far off the mark for Reading (boring town west of London, where it's set). That was entirely the point of that episode.
(While a long-term trend away from sterile-squeaky-clean might be useful, I still have a strong emotional aversion to "sweaty at console": I'm not comfortable that way if it's me, plus everyone starts smelling when sweaty. At one job, I even washed up quickly using the hand sink, just to avoid this)
Several stories I've read about ebikes point to stats about nearly all ebike owners getting hooked and continuing to buy them instead of regular ones.
That said, an ebike turns into a regular bike immediately after you turn off the assistance.
To give my anecdote, I'm considering getting an e-bike for commuting, or perhaps retrofit onto my regular bike: the ride is not long (~10 miles x2), but hills on both sides are significantly easier with an assist.
Btw. I've had an ebike for 4 years and I'm a skinny 34-year-old man. It can still be plenty of work to ride it during the Finnish winter :)
That was in Cupertino, California. Then in 1992 I moved to Seattle, Washington to a place on the low side of the U-distract. I got on my bike, took one ride around the block, and learned that while fat guys on bikes might work out fine in relatively flat Cupertino, not so in Seattle. That once around the block felt like it almost killed me. The bike has been in the closest/shed/garage ever since.
An e-bike sounds like it would have been perfect. Let it do the work when I need to go up hill, and let me do the work when I'm going across the hill.
(Now I'm across Puget Sound from Seattle. It's not flat like Cupertino, but it is not nearly as un-flat as Seattle. I've pulled my bike out of the garage and am trying to get it back into riding shape. I'm pretty sure I'm significantly under my Cupertino weight, so I think I should be able to find plenty of places to ride).
I don't have one myself, but I know that in Europe, they can't go over 25km/h (higher than that, they're not considered as bicycles anymore) so the interest is to lower physical effort.
> So why would I choose an electric bicycle over my traditional one?
Not everybody enjoy exercising on their way to work, but even if they do, with electric assistance, they can cycle on longer/hillier commutes than what would be possible/convenient with a regular bike.
The other appealing thing would be hailing a trailer for groceries and still being able to make it up the steepest hills.
I rode a Stromer for a while it's best feature was a top speed that could easily exceed the auto speed limit on local bike routes (some of those that are still 25 mph instead of 20). Taking the lane at the speed limit sends a clear message to cut through drivers.
The electric assistance can push these folks over the hump.
They are also useful in cities (e.g. Madrid) where hills maybe problematic for normal bikes.
But the ultimate answer is maybe you wouldn't choose an electric bicycle. That's ok.