A typical kid riding a normal pedal bicycle can cruise down the street at about 10 mph, maybe faster if they’re really cooking.
A kid on an e-bike can hit speeds of up to 28 mph.
But a kid riding on an e-motorcycle, a machine that may resemble a bicycle or may look more like a dirt bike, can go much faster — sometimes above 50 mph depending on the model. One consequence of this is increasingly showing up in the Children’s Hospital Colorado emergency room.
“When you are going faster, the speed of your impact with the ground is faster,” said Dr. Maria Mandt, an emergency medicine specialist and the hospital’s medical director of EMS and critical-care transport. “Children tend to be catapulted off and lead with their heads. Far and away, the most common injuries that we are seeing are severe traumatic brain injuries and severe facial trauma.”
Between 2024 and 2025, Children’s saw an 84% increase in traumatic injuries due to e-scooters and a 184% increase in traumatic injuries due to e-bikes at its main hospital in Aurora. (Children’s lumps e-motorcycles in with e-bikes for these numbers.) The hospital saw similar increases at its emergency room in Colorado Springs.
In raw numbers, the hospital in Aurora documented about 100 traumatic injuries combined in 2024 and 2025 due to e-bikes and e-scooters. There have been more than 60 such injuries treated at Children’s hospital in Aurora so far in 2026, and these figures do not include less serious injuries that may still be consequential but do not require consultation with a trauma surgeon.
“We know that this trend is going to continue to increase,” Alicia Melven, the hospital’s injury prevention and outreach specialist, said Thursday during a news conference outside the hospital.
Mandt said traumatic injuries from e-bikes and e-scooters now far surpass those from nonelectric pedal bikes, and it is typical for her to see one during every shift she works. Traumatic injuries due to motor vehicle crashes are still more common, she said.
“Some children face weeks or months away from school, sports and other activities they enjoy,” Mandt said of e-bike injuries, “and, tragically, some are never the same again, requiring chronic medical care.”
Not only is the increased use of high-speed e-bikes concerning for doctors, it’s also illegal in some cases.
Colorado State Patrol Lt. Col. Josh Downing said bikes that can travel faster than 28 mph or that have a motor exceeding 750 watts are no longer classified as bicycles. They are motorcycles, meaning they need to be registered and have a license plate. Their riders must have a driver’s license with a motorcycle endorsement — in other words, they have to be 16 or older and have extra training beyond what’s required for a basic driver’s license. And they must be insured.
Downing said troopers see kids all the time not following these rules, including one recently involved in a crash who was only 7. Specific rules vary by county or municipality, Downing said, but in general e-motos cannot be ridden on sidewalks or multiuse trails.
“They’re constructed to be small, quick and quiet,” Downing said. “This is not a benefit when you’re riding in traffic or coming up on a pedestrian in a path. Unfortunately, what we’re seeing is far too many parents and caregivers are unaware of what their child is actually riding.”
Downing encouraged parents to check the specs on a bike before buying it and make sure their kid is actually allowed to use it. What’s its top speed? Is it approved to carry a second rider? What are the rules in your community?
Melven noted Consumer Product Safety Commission guidance for kids and e-bikes: Those under 12 should not operate a product that travels faster than 10 mph — i.e., no e-bikes. Those ages 12 to 15 should use only up to Class 1 e-bikes, which don’t travel faster than 20 mph. Those 16 and older also should start with a Class 1 and move up as ready.
Because e-bikes sometimes can be modified to go faster than their stated top speed, Downing warned parents to talk with their kids about why it’s important to stay within the rules.
Melven and Mandt, meanwhile, noted the importance of both a proper fit on the bike — bikes that are too big will be harder to control — and a speed-appropriate, well-fitting helmet. That could mean a full face-covering helmet similar to a motorcycle helmet. So far this year, only about 38% of patients with traumatic injuries from e-bikes or e-scooters were reported as wearing a helmet.
“Many of the injuries and life-changing events that we see every day,” Mandt said, “are preventable with the right precautions and the right supervision.”