byTechnical University Munich

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Since 2023, more e-bikes have been sold in Germany than conventional bicycles. But the number of crashes has been rising just as sharply. Doctors at the Technical University of Munich's TUM University Hospital analyzed patterns in e-bike crashes and found that older men face a particularly high risk of serious injury. The data also revealed clear patterns in the underlying risk factors.

When riding a bicycle becomes more physically demanding, bikes with electric pedal assistance open up new possibilities. "E-bikes help people with heart and circulatory problems in particular stay active despite the limitations they face in everyday life. This is a proven and effective form of prevention, which we as doctors naturally support," says adjunct teaching professor Dr. Dr. Michael Zyskowski, a senior physician in the Department of Trauma Surgery at TUM University Hospital. But for Zyskowski, the growing number of e-bike crashes is a cause for concern.

For thecurrent studypublished inInjury, he and his team took a close look ate-bike crash casestreated by the hospital's trauma surgery department between 2017 and 2023. In total, 103 injured e-bike riders were treated. Nearly half of them were seen in 2023 alone, the final year of the study period—a50% increaseover the previous year. "We are continuing to see this trend," says Zyskowski. "We are now seeing significantly more e-bike crashes throughout the year."

More than a third of the patients treated after an e-bike crash had to be admitted to the hospital. Of these, 10% were treated in the intensive care unit, almost all of them with severe brain injuries. These patients, almost all men, had an average age of 77. None of them had been wearing a helmet.

More information Frederik Aasen-Hartz et al, Injury Characteristics in Pedelec Users: A 7-Year Study Highlighting Risks in the Elderly Male Population at an Urban University Hospital in Germany, Injury (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.injury.2025.112940