Was just in semi-rural Germany (villages every km or two, farmer's fields between, so not urban commuting) and I'd say half of the bikes I passed were electric

Was just in semi-rural Germany (villages every km or two, farmer's fields between, so not urban commuting) and I'd say half of the bikes I passed were electric assist. There weren't actually that many cyclists, considering the infrastructure available. Many bike/ped only paths near the roads, and many roads that are farmworker/ped/bike only, so no cars (but those tended to be significantly hilly, like 1k feet of climbing/10 miles). But for the most part, the people on the electric assist bikes were older, a distinct population from the ones out for a spin. They were also pretty mellow in terms of speed -- faster than the kiddos but I'd pass them pretty handily on my road bike. It's my impression that the electric bikes there definitely expand the cycling population, and don't detract from it at all. (ymmv, n=small and all that)