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Eleven million. That's how many people in the UK officially have a disability. About 17% of the population. 6% of UK children are disabled, and as we get older we acquire disabilities through illness injury or the onset of old age. And the longer we live the more likely we are to be disabled. 80% of those over the age of 85 have a disability.
How about this? What if we start from the point of view that everyone is disabled. If all of us fall somewhere on a scale of zero to 100% how does that change the way we think about people? I have, for example, a bit of early arthritis in my fingers and hips. I have really terrible number memory and facial recognition - a consequence of falling off my bike hard one time too many. It's really terrible (people think I'm rude! I'm not!) I also, am a cancer survivor, though my goolies did not survive. I have to apply testosterone gel daily. However none of these things is particularly 'visible'. No one passing me in street would have a clue.
Custom build for a small person who may or may not have an invisi-disability.
Two years ago I became one of the official 11,000,000. But until that moment, for the most part none of these things affected my life. Certainly none of them affected my ability to ride a bike. I'm lucky. But hold on... just yesterday I tweaked the angle of my handlebars to take the pressure off my wrists. I've had to give my gear ratios some consideration to reduce the load on my dodgy knee. I fitted 'cross-top' levers so that I can brake from the top of the bars as well as the drops. Which of these things is a disability ? Which of these things is early onset old age? Who cares?
So if we don't think of disabilities as 'disabilities' - but as individual needs for which we need to provide individual technological solutions. That might be as simple moving a brake lever to make it easier to reach, or it might require a whole new design of bike. It's all just a matter of degrees.
No-one is 'disabled'. Everyone is disabled.Or, as the late, great, sadly departed Ian Dury famously sang: ''I'm Spazticus!''
We're all Spazticus. We're all just humans.
The provision of bikes for people with disabilities is all about ticking the right boxes ... which makes it sound simple, but unfortunately many of the boxes that people would like to tick are mutually exclusive. If you were in the market for a ‘rear steer’ 'tandem' 'tricycle' with 'electric assist' and 'puncture resistant tyres' for example, that’s all feasible. But you certainly wouldn't be able to also tick: ‘lightweight’ or 'folding' or 'fit in the car'. And definitely not the box marked: 'inexpensive'!
So it's a matter of prioritising - deciding which of the features that you have in mind are essential, and which you'd be able to do without. Very often all that's required is one tweak, one part swap. And very often a bike which has been adapted for the use of someone with a disability is indistinguishable from the next bike.
Whether mainstream or specialist, a bike retailer's job is to provide their customers with all the information they need to come to the right decision. To give the right answers they must ask the right questions. And then use that information to match the customer's needs with the available hardware. Consideration must be made to how their chosen parameters (ticked boxes) relate to the range of bikes that's available, assess their dimensions and proportions, their abilities and limitations and of course, their riding ambitions - whether it's an occasional pootle to the pub or a world tour.
From the ground up - how and where a person intends to ride has a big influence on wheel size and what kind of tyres they need, how many gears, luggage capacity etc. For some folks the technical solution that gets them rolling might be as simple as moving a brake lever from one side of the bars to the other. Or it can be extremely complex – and the options limited. Your local bike shop will offer you 100 different models, but if your needs are not mainstream your options can quickly become limited. Sometimes there’s just one or two suitable bikes, and for some folks only a custom, one-off solution will meet their needs.
Here are some of the parameters:
Number of riders.
Solo bikes need no explanation. Except for certain adapted trikes which have supervisor handles for pushing or steering - solo bikes are ridden and propelled by one person.
Tandems are usually designed for two but can be built to accommodate three, four or more riders, either as active pedallers or passive passengers. A conventional tandem locates the 'Captain' at the front in control of the steering, brakes and gears with the 'Stoker' behind 'enjoying the view'. Some specialist tandems place the Captain behind (rear-steer tandem) or even beside the Stoker (sociable tandem).
Tandems are a great choice if a pedalling partnership has different power or stamina levels – or if a person has difficulty with one or more of the skills required to ride solo – such as ability to operate the controls safely, or perhaps an underdeveloped sense of direction or danger!
‘Tandemisers’ - If your Stoker is a child - trailer bikes or ‘Tag-a-Longs’ are a popular (and easily the cheapest) way of converting a regular bike into a tandem.
Number of wheels.
(Outside of a circus) pedal cycles or hand cycles can have two three or four wheels.
Bicycles - Riding and balancing on two wheels utilises exactly same brain software as walking around on two legs but a bicycle has a tendency to fall over at low speeds. You need to be rolling at a decent trot to be able to balance it – and the faster you go the more stable it becomes.
Tricycles and quadricycles have the advantage of not falling over at low speed but become less stable at higher speeds. Trikes come in two formats, commonly 'delta' with one wheel at the front and two behind, and 'tadpole' with two front wheels and one rear, like a tadpole's tail. Quads are very rare but with a wheel at each corner are even more stable than trikes.
Wheel sizes. There are only a handful of common rim standards: 16”, 20”, 24”, 26” and 700c. Taller wheels are a bit more efficient. Smaller wheels are stronger. Skinny tyres prioritise speed whilst fatter tyres prioritise comfort and grip. Knobbly tyres are for soft terrain – smoother tyres are for hard surfaces. Very often most of these choices have been made by the manufacturer, but it is possible to swap tyres out at the point of purchase to fine tune their suitabilty to your particular needs or the terrain you’ll be riding.
Propulsion.
Handles and/or pedals. Deciding which limbs to use to propel your cycle is usually a straightforward matter. Legs, having the greater muscle mass, are the preferred option, but if legs aren’t available then there are various kinds of hand powered cycles out there. A very few companies make combined hand-and-foot cycles. Some tandems use pedal power for the Captain and hand power for the Stoker.
Almost any machine can be equipped with Electric Power Assist. EPA systems are available from the factory on certain models, or as a retro-fittable kits. The type chosen depends on the shape of the machine in question and fall into three general types: Front Wheel – which replaces the front wheel hub with an electric hub motor and drives the front wheel, Mid-drive – which fits in or near the bottom bracket and drives through the bike/trike’s transmission and Rear Wheel - which replaces the rear hub with an electric motor. They each have their pros and cons. Factory fitted is almost always the preferred option, partly because fitting an electric assist to a bike which is not a conventional bike shape can be incredibly complicated and time consuming. Unfortunately, at this point in history it’s not possible to buy a good, useable, reliable electric assist system which is also cheap.
Riding Position.
Traditional high-performance road racing bikes are at one end of the ‘upright >> recumbent’ spectrum. On a racing bike the seat tube angle will be steep and the bars will be low for aerodynamic efficiency. At the other end of the scale are high-performance high-speed recumbent racers where the riders lie flat on their back – but race bikes at the extreme ends of the scale aren’t easy to live with.
On a city bike the seat angle will be a little more laid back and the bars set higher for a more upright and comfortable riding position. Nearer to middle of the spectrum a more relaxed seat tube angle – like a Dutch bike – makes the ground easier to reach with the toes whilst sitting squarely in the saddle. The even more relaxed seat angle of a semi-recumbent brings the ground even closer, super easy to get the feet down and to achieve maximum stability very quickly.
A bit more ‘recumbentness’ requires a full seat with a back on it – and this step change allows the seat to carry a greater proportion of the rider’s body weight. In turn this reduces, or removes altogether, any weight on the hands and wrists. A full seat delivers great stability, support and unrivalled comfort.
Seat height comes into play too. Low recumbents have a correspondingly lower centre of gravity for high performance cornering. The trade off is that a lower seat height is a long way down and can be difficult to get out of with your dignity intact – so a balance of performance versus usability is crucial.
Frame Shape.
The onset of old age, injury or disease affecting the joints can severely affect someone’s ability to sling their leg over a regular bike and prevent them from riding – or feeling safe on a bike, even though they might be perfectly capable of turning the pedals. A traditional ‘Ladies’ frame drops the top tube a few inches to make it slightly easier to get a leg over but modern low-step and super low-step frames (which are just a few inches off the ground) allow a bicyclist or tricyclist to literally stride through the frame to get aboard. Many recumbents and semi-recumbents are also designed with easy access in mind.
Adaptations.
Pedals. The challenge for any bicyclist is choosing a pedal which keeps the sole of their shoe safely on the pedal when they want it on - but allows them to take their foot off quickly when they need to stop – and all kinds of shapes and surface treatments have been devised to achieve this. High performance riders can use toe-clips and straps or clip-in pedals (which require special shoes). Tri-cyclists can use pedals with greater retention security than a bicyclist because, of course, they don’t need to put their foot down instantly when they stop. Pedals are available with regular clips and straps, with adjustable foot beds and even calf supports.
If you have reduced knee joint articulation, one leg shorter than the other or unconventional foot angle there are a range of products which can accommodate – including Swing Cranks, Crank Shorteners and Pedal Axle Extenders.
Again, if a dedicated product isn’t already available which meets a person’s specific needs it’s often possible to design a one-off engineered solution.
Back support. On an upright trike a back support, with or without side supports can provide additional stability to riders who might struggle to sit upright. Some machines come equipped, but they are also available to retro fit. Usually used with some kind of harness or strappery.
Rear Steer Handle. Not retro-fittable. These must be designed and built into the trike at the point of manufacture. Usually fitted to children’s trikes they allow a supervising adult to control the direction of travel and help with a bit of a push.
Upgrades.
All the best bike retailers help a customer identify the machine which most closely meets their needs and then they’ll adapt and fine tune it if necessary. The most important components are the contact points – of the bike with the road and the rider with the bike. Modern puncture resistant tyres deliver near 100% peace of mind and should be top of any upgrade list. And things like handlebars, grips and saddles can make a huge difference to the ergonomics and to a rider’s enjoyment of their bike.
Accessories.
Lights, locks, helmets, luggage systems, trip computer, bells etc. Every bike shop sells them and widely available online. We recommend that you consider buying from your local independent bike shop. They’re not very much dearer than the big players but buying from a LBS keeps your money local and you never know, you might need a bike shop one day!
See also: Funds Seeking for Adapted Cycles
How about this? What if we start from the point of view that everyone is disabled. If all of us fall somewhere on a scale of zero to 100% how does that change the way we think about people? I have, for example, a bit of early arthritis in my fingers and hips. I have really terrible number memory and facial recognition - a consequence of falling off my bike hard one time too many. It's really terrible (people think I'm rude! I'm not!) I also, am a cancer survivor, though my goolies did not survive. I have to apply testosterone gel daily. However none of these things is particularly 'visible'. No one passing me in street would have a clue.
Custom build for a small person who may or may not have an invisi-disability.
Two years ago I became one of the official 11,000,000. But until that moment, for the most part none of these things affected my life. Certainly none of them affected my ability to ride a bike. I'm lucky. But hold on... just yesterday I tweaked the angle of my handlebars to take the pressure off my wrists. I've had to give my gear ratios some consideration to reduce the load on my dodgy knee. I fitted 'cross-top' levers so that I can brake from the top of the bars as well as the drops. Which of these things is a disability ? Which of these things is early onset old age? Who cares?
So if we don't think of disabilities as 'disabilities' - but as individual needs for which we need to provide individual technological solutions. That might be as simple moving a brake lever to make it easier to reach, or it might require a whole new design of bike. It's all just a matter of degrees.
No-one is 'disabled'. Everyone is disabled.Or, as the late, great, sadly departed Ian Dury famously sang: ''I'm Spazticus!''
We're all Spazticus. We're all just humans.
The provision of bikes for people with disabilities is all about ticking the right boxes ... which makes it sound simple, but unfortunately many of the boxes that people would like to tick are mutually exclusive. If you were in the market for a ‘rear steer’ 'tandem' 'tricycle' with 'electric assist' and 'puncture resistant tyres' for example, that’s all feasible. But you certainly wouldn't be able to also tick: ‘lightweight’ or 'folding' or 'fit in the car'. And definitely not the box marked: 'inexpensive'!
So it's a matter of prioritising - deciding which of the features that you have in mind are essential, and which you'd be able to do without. Very often all that's required is one tweak, one part swap. And very often a bike which has been adapted for the use of someone with a disability is indistinguishable from the next bike.
Whether mainstream or specialist, a bike retailer's job is to provide their customers with all the information they need to come to the right decision. To give the right answers they must ask the right questions. And then use that information to match the customer's needs with the available hardware. Consideration must be made to how their chosen parameters (ticked boxes) relate to the range of bikes that's available, assess their dimensions and proportions, their abilities and limitations and of course, their riding ambitions - whether it's an occasional pootle to the pub or a world tour.
From the ground up - how and where a person intends to ride has a big influence on wheel size and what kind of tyres they need, how many gears, luggage capacity etc. For some folks the technical solution that gets them rolling might be as simple as moving a brake lever from one side of the bars to the other. Or it can be extremely complex – and the options limited. Your local bike shop will offer you 100 different models, but if your needs are not mainstream your options can quickly become limited. Sometimes there’s just one or two suitable bikes, and for some folks only a custom, one-off solution will meet their needs.
Here are some of the parameters:
Number of riders.
Solo bikes need no explanation. Except for certain adapted trikes which have supervisor handles for pushing or steering - solo bikes are ridden and propelled by one person.
Tandems are usually designed for two but can be built to accommodate three, four or more riders, either as active pedallers or passive passengers. A conventional tandem locates the 'Captain' at the front in control of the steering, brakes and gears with the 'Stoker' behind 'enjoying the view'. Some specialist tandems place the Captain behind (rear-steer tandem) or even beside the Stoker (sociable tandem).
Tandems are a great choice if a pedalling partnership has different power or stamina levels – or if a person has difficulty with one or more of the skills required to ride solo – such as ability to operate the controls safely, or perhaps an underdeveloped sense of direction or danger!
‘Tandemisers’ - If your Stoker is a child - trailer bikes or ‘Tag-a-Longs’ are a popular (and easily the cheapest) way of converting a regular bike into a tandem.
Number of wheels.
(Outside of a circus) pedal cycles or hand cycles can have two three or four wheels.
Bicycles - Riding and balancing on two wheels utilises exactly same brain software as walking around on two legs but a bicycle has a tendency to fall over at low speeds. You need to be rolling at a decent trot to be able to balance it – and the faster you go the more stable it becomes.
Tricycles and quadricycles have the advantage of not falling over at low speed but become less stable at higher speeds. Trikes come in two formats, commonly 'delta' with one wheel at the front and two behind, and 'tadpole' with two front wheels and one rear, like a tadpole's tail. Quads are very rare but with a wheel at each corner are even more stable than trikes.
Wheel sizes. There are only a handful of common rim standards: 16”, 20”, 24”, 26” and 700c. Taller wheels are a bit more efficient. Smaller wheels are stronger. Skinny tyres prioritise speed whilst fatter tyres prioritise comfort and grip. Knobbly tyres are for soft terrain – smoother tyres are for hard surfaces. Very often most of these choices have been made by the manufacturer, but it is possible to swap tyres out at the point of purchase to fine tune their suitabilty to your particular needs or the terrain you’ll be riding.
Propulsion.
Handles and/or pedals. Deciding which limbs to use to propel your cycle is usually a straightforward matter. Legs, having the greater muscle mass, are the preferred option, but if legs aren’t available then there are various kinds of hand powered cycles out there. A very few companies make combined hand-and-foot cycles. Some tandems use pedal power for the Captain and hand power for the Stoker.
Almost any machine can be equipped with Electric Power Assist. EPA systems are available from the factory on certain models, or as a retro-fittable kits. The type chosen depends on the shape of the machine in question and fall into three general types: Front Wheel – which replaces the front wheel hub with an electric hub motor and drives the front wheel, Mid-drive – which fits in or near the bottom bracket and drives through the bike/trike’s transmission and Rear Wheel - which replaces the rear hub with an electric motor. They each have their pros and cons. Factory fitted is almost always the preferred option, partly because fitting an electric assist to a bike which is not a conventional bike shape can be incredibly complicated and time consuming. Unfortunately, at this point in history it’s not possible to buy a good, useable, reliable electric assist system which is also cheap.
Riding Position.
Traditional high-performance road racing bikes are at one end of the ‘upright >> recumbent’ spectrum. On a racing bike the seat tube angle will be steep and the bars will be low for aerodynamic efficiency. At the other end of the scale are high-performance high-speed recumbent racers where the riders lie flat on their back – but race bikes at the extreme ends of the scale aren’t easy to live with.
On a city bike the seat angle will be a little more laid back and the bars set higher for a more upright and comfortable riding position. Nearer to middle of the spectrum a more relaxed seat tube angle – like a Dutch bike – makes the ground easier to reach with the toes whilst sitting squarely in the saddle. The even more relaxed seat angle of a semi-recumbent brings the ground even closer, super easy to get the feet down and to achieve maximum stability very quickly.
A bit more ‘recumbentness’ requires a full seat with a back on it – and this step change allows the seat to carry a greater proportion of the rider’s body weight. In turn this reduces, or removes altogether, any weight on the hands and wrists. A full seat delivers great stability, support and unrivalled comfort.
Seat height comes into play too. Low recumbents have a correspondingly lower centre of gravity for high performance cornering. The trade off is that a lower seat height is a long way down and can be difficult to get out of with your dignity intact – so a balance of performance versus usability is crucial.
Frame Shape.
The onset of old age, injury or disease affecting the joints can severely affect someone’s ability to sling their leg over a regular bike and prevent them from riding – or feeling safe on a bike, even though they might be perfectly capable of turning the pedals. A traditional ‘Ladies’ frame drops the top tube a few inches to make it slightly easier to get a leg over but modern low-step and super low-step frames (which are just a few inches off the ground) allow a bicyclist or tricyclist to literally stride through the frame to get aboard. Many recumbents and semi-recumbents are also designed with easy access in mind.
Adaptations.
Pedals. The challenge for any bicyclist is choosing a pedal which keeps the sole of their shoe safely on the pedal when they want it on - but allows them to take their foot off quickly when they need to stop – and all kinds of shapes and surface treatments have been devised to achieve this. High performance riders can use toe-clips and straps or clip-in pedals (which require special shoes). Tri-cyclists can use pedals with greater retention security than a bicyclist because, of course, they don’t need to put their foot down instantly when they stop. Pedals are available with regular clips and straps, with adjustable foot beds and even calf supports.
If you have reduced knee joint articulation, one leg shorter than the other or unconventional foot angle there are a range of products which can accommodate – including Swing Cranks, Crank Shorteners and Pedal Axle Extenders.
Again, if a dedicated product isn’t already available which meets a person’s specific needs it’s often possible to design a one-off engineered solution.
Back support. On an upright trike a back support, with or without side supports can provide additional stability to riders who might struggle to sit upright. Some machines come equipped, but they are also available to retro fit. Usually used with some kind of harness or strappery.
Rear Steer Handle. Not retro-fittable. These must be designed and built into the trike at the point of manufacture. Usually fitted to children’s trikes they allow a supervising adult to control the direction of travel and help with a bit of a push.
Upgrades.
All the best bike retailers help a customer identify the machine which most closely meets their needs and then they’ll adapt and fine tune it if necessary. The most important components are the contact points – of the bike with the road and the rider with the bike. Modern puncture resistant tyres deliver near 100% peace of mind and should be top of any upgrade list. And things like handlebars, grips and saddles can make a huge difference to the ergonomics and to a rider’s enjoyment of their bike.
Accessories.
Lights, locks, helmets, luggage systems, trip computer, bells etc. Every bike shop sells them and widely available online. We recommend that you consider buying from your local independent bike shop. They’re not very much dearer than the big players but buying from a LBS keeps your money local and you never know, you might need a bike shop one day!
See also: Funds Seeking for Adapted Cycles
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