Handcycle with limited hand function?

[Mary978]

My daughter wants to try out a handcycle. She has limited hand function, although she has a manual chair and does okay with that. She used to push by putting her palms on the tires and then having her fingers rest on the handrim, but then she upgraded to the Natural Fits and that's been working a lot better.

She can use her wrists and her hands, but she can't grip anything with her fingers. Is there a way to affix her hands to the handcycle so she doesn't have to use her hands to hold on to anything??

Thanks much!
Mary

[Colin83]

Maybe some sort of special glove and Velcro. I'm not too sure. What kind of cycle ?

[Patrick Madsen]

Hi Mary, yes, it's limitless on the various setups for your daughter. Ther are many c4/5s competing bigtime.

You could contact disabled sports to see if there is a location close by that would have a h/c and adaptive gloves. or internet. I have people trying out my bike all the time.

You can get an idea of gloves out there by going to Bike-on.com and look in accessories. They might be a good resource for a local contact also.

There are basically two types of h/c. Uprights which are at wheelchair seat height and lower recumbents. For comparison, you could look at the Top End excellartor(upright) Top End ForceR( lower recumbent Racing) and the Freedom Ryder FRH1(Inbetween). I ride the FRH1. The Excell. and Force R can be seen at Bike-on.com. The FRH is [url]http://www.freedomryder.com I find the uprights a ittle too tippy and harder to transfer.

We have a memeber on cc who sells power assists for the handcycle. It allow a person to work as hard as they want or just cruise for the ride. That would be a big benefit. roadracepowerpod.com.

There is funding available for h/c. Challenged Athletes Foundation is a great source.

Golves, shifters, sitting positions, getting in and out is all doable.
You could google John Squires and take a look on his setup for higher quads.

It's good that your daughter wants to try it out. It one of the best things she could do for herself. There's nothing like being on the road cruising and out of the chair. It'll work her cardio and strength to really maximize her potential.

[iburkhart13]

I've never used them but I've had my eye on them for awhile. They seem pricey so I bet you could adapt something along these lines.

http://bike-on.com/product/bike-on-c...-grips-733.htm

[cheesecake]

I've never used them but I've had my eye on them for awhile. They seem pricey so I bet you could adapt something along these lines.

http://bike-on.com/product/bike-on-c...-grips-733.htm

When I have done the NYC Marathon a few people I know use these. The drawback is if you lock them into place you need to get help from a passerby.
One guy I know uses them but does not use the pin to keep them in place.

[-scott-]

http://www.quadgrips.com/

I use these. They work really well.

[Patrick Madsen]

Nice looking grips Scott. I see John is looking good there. He was saying he just bought a new set of carbon wheels for racing.

[Aly]

When I have done the NYC Marathon a few people I know use these. The drawback is if you lock them into place you need to get help from a passerby.
One guy I know uses them but does not use the pin to keep them in place.

I use these and mine do not lock in place. You can loosen the barring in them to make them tight to stay in better or loosen them. I keep my left tighter than my right so I can pop out and change gears with my right hand.