I've heard it makes you more likely to actually bike around since it is easier.

Avoiding much of the sweat of exercise would be the point, no?

From what I've been able to gather, on average you exercise about a third as hard. If it makes you bike three times more often, it's worth it. It also means you will be bothered significantly less by wind or other variability in travel time (maybe you are tired that day, for example).