E-Bikes Save the USA?

Schwinn and Toshiba are teaming up to make a huge impact in bike commuting. Toshiba has made huge leaps in battery charging times and Schwinn is putting them on their E-bikes. "Electric bikes are a dramatically growing phenomenon within the U.S., and we intend to be a serious contender within the eBike category," stated Schwinn executive Bruno Maier.

E-bikes are an interesting option to take the edge off of a bike commute. People are more likely to hit the bike lane when the ride won't get them sweaty or the hills aren't too hard.

Here's a link to more on the story with the technical details.

E-bikes do cause a bit of controversy. Some die-hards say you should just ride a regular bike in the first place. What do you think?