[antisthenes]

I've been an e-bike advocate since the first time I rode one. It's an amazing feeling being able to effortlessly overcome hills and riding as fast as 28mph on flat terrain without struggling too much.

The major downsides are: weather extremes (that are going to be more common). The bike is generally heavier (much more effort to get it into the building or onto a bus).

And of course, the biggest one of them all - you are now vilified by both car drivers and pedestrians, while taking on more risk than either one. And of course suburban sprawl being the center-point of US culture, anywhere takes too damn long to get to even on an e-bike.

It's unfortunate that the US isn't more dense, which would make an ebike an ideal mode of transport in ~80% of cases.