CLEVELAND, Ohio – Tim Comerford commutes year-round on his e-bike from Cleveland’s West Park neighborhood to the Spin Bike Shop in Lakewood. For him, it’s a practical alternative to driving the four miles that allows his household to get by with just one car.
From the hospital, though, Dr. Michael Kelly, sees the flip side of the booming popularity of e-bikes. As chair of MetroHealth’s Department of Neurosurgery, he’s treating patients with injuries from e-bike crashes that resemble motorcycle wrecks more than bicycle spills.
Meanwhile, local officials in communities across the region – from Avon Lake to Solon – say residents have been pressing them to address the growing problem of riders zipping along sidewalks and racing down streets and through parking lots without following traffic laws.
Together, these perspectives illustrate the paradox of e-bikes as both a solution and a problem — a sustainable, affordable form of transportation that also brings new safety challenges. Even fans of the trend agree that education about the rules of the road is needed, especially for young riders.
“I think it’s like with any other device. With kids comes inexperience,” said Comerford, sales and social media specialist for Spin Bike Shop. “Have someone show you the ropes and best practices. … Make yourself predictable.”
Kelly has seen the consequences first-hand. “They’re treated like a bike when they are more potent than a bike,” he said. “It’s easier for people to go more quickly without much effort, especially among kids.
Sales are surging
The popularity driving those concerns is undeniable.
“The United States has been one of the slowest to adopt electric bikes,” said Ed Benjamin, chairman of the Light Electric Vehicles Association. “But they are becoming increasingly popular.”
Locally, Avon Lake Police Chief Caleb Robinson said, “It just exploded on us. We had seen them last year, and then this spring and summer they showed up everywhere.”
An e-bike – short for electric bicycle – looks much like a traditional bike but comes with a small battery-powered motor that either assists riders while pedaling, or in some cases, propels the bike without pedaling at all. Most top out at 20 mph, while some models are capable of going faster.
Benjamin’s research projects that the surge in sales that really kicked in during the early years of Covid-19 will continue, rising nationally from a projected 2.1 million e-bikes sales this year to 4 million to 6.5 million by 2030 – almost all imports or mostly made with imported parts.
“Americans seemed to have decided that electric bikes have a role in their lives,” Benjamin said. “Electric bikes’ most important role really is transportation, usually short-range transportation. … With e-bikes, you don’t get sweaty, you don’t get tired.”
Comerford sees that trend reflected by customers where he works.
“They’re usually looking for it to keep up with what they used to do,” he said of many adult customers transitioning from traditional bikes, adding that others want them for short errands or getting around places like campgrounds where golf carts or even cars may otherwise be used.
Just like with traditional bikes, pricing varies widely.
Online or at discount stores, e-bikes can be had for just a few hundred dollars. Comerford compares the starting point of $1,800 at the Spin Bike Shop to a traditional bike of similar quality that might sell for $700 or $800.
At the $1,800 starting price point Comerford mentioned, the manufacturer claims a range of about 60 miles per charge — though he said actual distance depends on factors such as rider weight, pedaling effort, and terrain.
Ebikes.org, a consumer-oriented website, says most e-bikes can cover anywhere between 20 and 50 miles on a single charge, but a top-quality battery will enable rides of up to 100 miles.
Local communities respond
Most of Spin Bike Shop’s customers are adults, Comerford said. Meanwhile, most of the concerns that council members and police across the region report hearing involve kids. For some, it’s an outgrowth of concerns that already existed with regular bicycles.
“For us, you can substitute ‘e-bike’ for ‘bike,’” Brook Park Police Chief Edward Powers said, “though e-bike is more of an issue because it goes faster. Most people don’t realize they have to follow traffic laws.”
Much of the regional discussion centers around aligning local laws to match Ohio’s 2019 e-bike law, which clarified classes of e-bikes, rules and where e-bikes can be ridden. It’s an approach endorsed by Bike Cleveland, an organization that advocates for safe bicycle travel.
“We don’t like to see municipalities have different rules from city to city,” said Jacob VanSickle, executive director of Bike Cleveland. “We often encourage municipalities to adopt the state code around e-bikes.”
Class 1 e-bikes, with the help of pedaling, can reach speeds of 20 mph. Class 2 e-bikes can top out at 20 mph without pedaling. Class 3 e-bikes can travel at speeds of up to 28 mph with the help of pedaling. Motors are designed to cease operating above those speeds. People under the age of 16 are not permitted to drive Class 3 e-bikes.
Other key things to know about the state law include:
Sidewalks: E-bikes are permitted on sidewalks as long as the motor is not engaged. Although some cities allow only people of a certain age to ride on sidewalks, no jurisdiction can require bikes to be ridden on the sidewalk.
Helmets: There is no statewide helmet law for Class 1 and Class 2 e-bikes; helmets are required for Class 3.
Multi-purpose trails: Class 1 and Class 2 e-bikes are permitted on multi-purpose trails designed for bicycle use, including those in the Cleveland Metroparks and the Tow Path in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Local jurisdictions can ban them. Class 3 e-bikes are not permitted on these type of trails unless permitted by local rules.
Laws of the road: State law requires e-bike operators to follow traffic and equipment laws that apply to bicycles.
State laws and local ordinances, however, do little good if kids are unaware of them or choose to ignore the rules.
Powers recalled one crash, for example, in which an e-biker entered a lighted intersection and struck a car that had the right of way. Others have reported similar concerns.
Perhaps the swiftest and most stringent response regionally came shortly after the start of the school year, when Solon schools banned e-bikes equipped with throttles from campus after a student on an e-bike was struck by a car in the high school parking lot.
The district in a letter to families cited “multiple reports from staff and community members of unsafe behavior involving e-bikes.” City council is now considering legislation that could align local law with the state code and possibly include a helmet requirement.
“The issues with e-bikes have to do more with people not following bike laws than it does with e-bikes being the issue” said Jeremy Zelwin, chair of Solon City Council’s safety committee.
In Avon Lake, city council updated its bicycle laws in June to clarify that e-bikes, just like traditional bikes, can use sidewalks — but only with motors off, matching state law. The ordinance also removed a decades-old ban on bicycle riding in business districts.
Avon Lake Councilman David Kos said an important benefit that came out of the discussion was a new effort by police to educate students and other community members about the rules of the road.
“It’s a regional issue, and really a national issue. Communities are struggling with how to safely allow e-bikes into their communities,” Kos said. “At no point were we looking to ban e-bikes. We simply wanted them to be used as the state of Ohio allows.”
Strongsville in July passed an ordinance requiring helmets for anyone under 18 on Class 1 or Class 2 e-bikes – those limited to 20 mph while the motor is running. Anyone of any age on the faster Class 3 bikes must wear helmets, under state law.
Brook Park followed in September with a similar helmet rule and updated city bicycle laws to include the term “electric bike.” Councilman Jim Mencini said he raised the issue after witnessing “packs blowing down the sidewalks. It was an accident waiting to happen.”
In Bay Village, city officials recently held safety committee discussions after residents raised concerns about reckless riding and dangerous modifications to the bikes.
Police blotters in September reported an 11-year-old girl crashing her e-bike and a resident reporting a near-miss involving a child. And Mayor Paul Koomar, noting the need to make “sidewalks safer for everyone,” told residents in a recent community newsletter that police school resource officers would be talking to students about e-bike safety.
Hospital perspective and injury trends
The growing popularity – and danger – of e-bikes is evident at hospitals as well.
“With increased use, you’re going to see increased accidents,” MetroHealth’s Dr. Kelly said.
Among the concerns, just like with about any vehicle, are speed and distracted driving.
“We’re seeing people on their cell phones or they’re just not paying attention. They’re going at very high speeds, and they treat them more as a bike than they do like a motorcycle or car,” said.
He’s treated both e-bike users and pedestrians struck in sidewalks by e-bikes.
E-bike-related visits to MetroHealth’s emergency room have risen from 17 in 2023, to 42 in 2024. In just the first eight months of 2025, the hospital has treated 36 victims of e-bike crashes.
Kelly advises helmet use and attentive riding, especially for younger riders. “I have small children, and they don’t have e-bikes, but the reason is because I don’t think they’re quite ready for them.”
For Kelly, the concern now is how to harness the benefits of e-bikes while keeping riders — and everyone else — safe.
“I think that there needs to be a serious discussion about the role of these bikes, how we use them in our communities, what’s a safe way to use them,” Kelly said.
“I don’t want to take away from e-bikes. They can be very beneficial, and they can be a way for people to travel distances faster. But I think putting some guardrails around them would be a good idea.”