In Cambridge, MA, USA, and nearby communities, bike advocates have made real progress with lanes and paths and general infrastructure. Also the city requires that new builds have a proper bike room. This building was recently gutted and fitted out and this is the bike room today - overloaded, and the building is barely half full... Looks like they will need to find more efficient bike racks!
Meanwhile in a recent commute I was in a queue of 30 bicycles at a light at which about 6-8 cars get through at a time. 10-15 years ago I was one of the few bikes on the roads at any time.
Hats off to the advocates and representatives of the local cities that have made this happen through continuous pressure and work over decades...
E-bikes have a great role to play but they are a solution alongside leg-powered bikes. While I'm happy to see how many people seem to have been attracted to bike transportation through e-bikes, I also see it as kind of absurd when able-bodied people feel that their 4-mile commute in our largely flat city needs an electric assist, and they couldn't imagine just getting a simple bicycle.
Given that I often pass e-bikes under leg power, I think masses of people hugely over-estimate the effort needed to cycle. Ironically, at least in my office, a lot of them are people who spend money and time then going to gyms to stay fit and healthy. One of the great things about a bike commute is it gives you exercise.
I like an assist for the hottest months (or if an area is hilly,) but in the Boston area, outside the hottest 2-3 months, I remove it in order to get a better amount of exercise in my life.
I am not interested in purity or commitment to some ideal, I'm interested in practicality. If we're talking about city cycling, an e-bike is just flat out more practical and flexible as a vehicle for more scenarios, uses, landscapes, and body types. But to be clear: I am not trying to convert cyclists to e-bikes, I'm interested in converting drivers out of cars. And to them, an ebike is a much much much easier sell.
I'm also interested in practicality and I disagree that ebikes are flat out superior for many people and locations. That is my point, that many people vastly overestimate the difficultly of cycling.
I don't disagree with you, but it's worth pointing out ebikes' potential as a gateway to cycling in general. My friend got into cycling by ditching his car and getting an ebike. He was originally planning on eventually getting another car, but he's now talking about getting a gravel bike instead. But I don't think he would have been willing to go from his car directly to traditional cycling.
My take is that all of it is good and one doesn't have to be deemed superior, just better for that individual. Just like how there are truck people and compact car people, it all comes down to what they feel is best for their life and budget.
I agree that E Bikes can be good gateways for people who may not realize what they are capable of with simple pedal power. But that doesn't make it the best call for everyone.