Bike for amputee

[drosen]

Hi there, I am a teacher in the area and have a student (11 years old) who has no legs below the knee. He has a huge interest in biking and his parents are at a loss to find a bike that meets his needs. He uses prosthetics for walking and is adept and well balanced. He would like a bike that is "normal". He has problems getting going and his parents are at a loss as to what to do about pedals. He uses artificial feet and keeping them on a pedal is a challenge. His parents are leery about clipping in his shoes. Can anyone give me an idea on how to help them? They're not looking for a handout, just a direction on where to look for a bike. Thanks

[edki]

How about strapless toe clips? It might help hold his feet in place but still allow him to easily remove them from the pedals. Beyond that I'd just suggest a ride with fat tires and a low center of gravity.

A quick search turned up http://www.amputee-online.com/amputee/onyerbike.html and http://www.mtb-amputee.com/

seems like a good place to start...

[q`Tzal]

http://www.greenspeed.com.au/gth.html

Greenspeed is an Autrailian manufacturer of recumbent tricycles. They make a very durable product and the hand bike is not just a prototype.

A little research to support my highly biased support of Greenspeed turned up: The HandCycle Store (http://bike-on.com) which has a wide selection of products to support the need you describe.

Wandering around their website proved quickly that there is more available than what I had previously thought.

Ah, my blind obedience to a brand is shaken ...

[Jeff Wills]

Originally Posted by Q`ztal

http://www.greenspeed.com.au/gth.html

Greenspeed is an Autrailian manufacturer of recumbent tricycles. They make a very durable product and the hand bike is not just a prototype.

A little research to support my highly biased support of Greenspeed turned up: The HandCycle Store (http://bike-on.com) which has a wide selection of products to support the need you describe.

Wandering around their website proved quickly that there is more available than what I had previously thought.

Ah, my blind obedience to a brand is shaken ...

Coventry Cycles on Hawthorne has a selection of recumbent bikes and trikes. I'd talk to them to see if they're willing to work on an adaptation of a recumbent or something more conventional.

[Haven_kd7yct]

Handcycles are cool and all, but if he's looking for something a little more "normal" (as in, a road or mountain bike), a handcycle or 'bent might not be what he's into.

If he's got good balance, start off with a cruiser, or a mountain bike. Don't worry about toe clips until he gets used to maneuvering around on it. Work up to toe clips, if he's going to be doing a lot of miles or hills-- let him get comfortable at his own speed.

Kind of bike sort of depends on the terrain he'll be riding it-- if he's doing a hilly route, like the one I get to do to work and back or Vincentpaul's route, he'll want a mountain bike. I don't think a cruiser is very good for our hills-- at least, not for my knees! If he's taking routes that are flatter, a cruiser would be a good place to start. Then, when he upgrades, he can give the cruiser to his parents, so there will be at least two bikes in the family right there!

I would think that, eventually, he'd be able to work up to something speedier, and clipless pedals might not be out of the question.

[Grant]

A standard pedal with Power Grips? I found them easier to get out of then clips and they did a good job holding my feet on the pedals.

[Philosophography]

Hi, I'm a SPED teacher and I'll definitely second the idea for a recumbent. These bikes eliminate a lot of struggle with pedals. Coventry Cycles is great to work with as well and the owner is hip to disability issues and equipment. The only thing that I really hate about recumbents is that I am convinced that they are unsafe in urban environments because they are too low to the ground--that's a big issue.

Power Grips are horrible if you don't have a clear sense of where your feet are and they collapse trying to get into them.

If you are going for an upright, I would get these pedals:

# MKS Grip King (Lambda) Platform Pedals PD532 $54.95

http://www.universalcycles.com/shopp...&category=3259

[Philosophography]

I recently discovered Rans bikes. They make several crank-forward bikes that you could think of as a compromise between recumbent and upright. Here is one example: http://www.ransbikes.com/07Citi.htm This may be the prefect solution. With the cranks forward, one can easily see where one is putting one's feet, but the upright position makes it safe and "normal." I would get this bike with the the Grip King pedals.

[Philosophography]

Hey, if your kiddo thinks lowriders look cool, a lot of these have forward cranks, and they're cheap. You can find them used too. They also feel really fast even when you're going slow--fun, cool, but not quite normal: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pdxbike...l-pdxworkbikes

[OldCog]

Boy I don't know a lot about pedaling mechanics but I have a feeling its going to be very important for this kid. And I don't think clips are a good idea until he is much older IMHO.

I don't know how he would keep his "feet" on the pedals of a recumbant - gravity would want to pull his prosthesis down ... or that low rider might put too much strain on his thighs.


If I think about pedaling - I'm using my large thigh muscles to push the pedal down to the 3-4 o'clock position then my calves and foot muscles kick in for the push to the 6 o'clock position. So this kid really has no extra push to get from 3 to 6 o'clock. No wonder he has a hard time getting going. Bottom line is I think hes needs a basic cruiser (properly fitted by a bike shop) AND most importantly it need to have an internal hub shifter.

The reason for internal hub is you can shift it while not moving --- why is that important --- because this kid will always need to start in low gear to get going. With a derailleur you've got to be moving to shift which also means you've always got to be thinking ahead and down shifting before you stop. Kids are kids - keep it simple and give him a bike he can shift in to low speed at any time - even if he is already stopped.

Good luck