Trike for person with minor cerebral palsy?

DIscuss anything relating to non-standard cycles and their equipment.
Quicksilver89
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Re: Trike for person with minor cerebral palsy?

Post by Quicksilver89 »

UpWrong wrote:Cycling recumbent developed muscles that needed developing. Getting up and down from mine is a little tricky but I have no parking brake. How tall are you are you and do you have spd shoes? Thinking you might be able to try my Catrike. Though it doesn't have short cranks.


I'm 5ft 7, don't have SPD shoes unfortunately. Crank length I'm not sure what that would need to be... my upper thighs can bend to a 90 degree angle if that helps.

I've been researching some of the recumbents, one that seems widely available is the performer JC70, is that any different to the catrike 559?
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Cunobelin
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Re: Trike for person with minor cerebral palsy?

Post by Cunobelin »

Tigerbiten wrote:I agree with UpWrong, it take at least 1,000 miles of regular cycling before you build up "bent" legs.
So don't be discouraged if it's as hard as your hand bike to start with.

But you really need SPD shoes to safely ride a recumbent trike.
The risk is your foot slips off a pedal and gets stopped when it hits the ground.
The cross bar on the trike then gives you an extra bend in your leg.

My Sprint is setup for 5'8", if you're around that size and want to try a bent with ultra low gears I may be able to run down.

Luck ......... :D



I agree with the importance of feet being secured, butters are options

My wife could not manage the "flick" needed to disengage, so we fitted these:

Image

Kept the security, but far easier to mount
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squeaker
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Re: Trike for person with minor cerebral palsy?

Post by squeaker »

Quicksilver89 wrote:I've been researching some of the recumbents, one that seems widely available is the performer JC70, is that any different to the catrike 559?
Which country are you in?
As far as I can determine, the JC70 frame is made in Taiwan, has a 700c rear wheel and a FRP seat, whereas the Catrike 559 frame is made in USA, has a 559 rear wheel, a mesh seat and, most significantly, folds for travel / storage. Common to both is direct steering and 406 front wheels, but otherwise aimed at different markets, IMHO.
"42"
UpWrong
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Re: Trike for person with minor cerebral palsy?

Post by UpWrong »

Performer doesn't seem to have a dealer network in the UK and the prices you seen on eBay are not the prices you pay after import duties and VAT. If you are registered disabled you might be exempt from paying VAT on a recumbent trike (because it's a mobility aid). London Recumbents are probably the experts on this and on adaptations so talk to them, http://www.londonrecumbents.com/

For second hand, speak to Kevin at D-Tek.

To be safe I'd suggest restricting your search to ICE, HP-Velotechnic and Hase machines. And try them all.

The human powered vehicles forum here will also be of interest and able to provide more advice if you are going down this route.
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Cunobelin
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Re: Trike for person with minor cerebral palsy?

Post by Cunobelin »

UpWrong wrote:Performer doesn't seem to have a dealer network in the UK and the prices you seen on eBay are not the prices you pay after import duties and VAT. If you are registered disabled you might be exempt from paying VAT on a recumbent trike (because it's a mobility aid). London Recumbents are probably the experts on this and on adaptations so talk to them, http://www.londonrecumbents.com/

For second hand, speak to Kevin at D-Tek.

To be safe I'd suggest restricting your search to ICE, HP-Velotechnic and Hase machines. And try them all.

The human powered vehicles forum here will also be of interest and able to provide more advice if you are going down this route.



Not quite that easy

Unless the trike is significantly modified, it does not qualify

We bought a Gekko folding trike with Bionx and were allowed to reclaim VAT on the pedal extenders and stand aids only
Quicksilver89
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Re: Trike for person with minor cerebral palsy?

Post by Quicksilver89 »

UpWrong wrote:Performer doesn't seem to have a dealer network in the UK and the prices you seen on eBay are not the prices you pay after import duties and VAT. If you are registered disabled you might be exempt from paying VAT on a recumbent trike (because it's a mobility aid). London Recumbents are probably the experts on this and on adaptations so talk to them, http://www.londonrecumbents.com/

For second hand, speak to Kevin at D-Tek.

To be safe I'd suggest restricting your search to ICE, HP-Velotechnic and Hase machines. And try them all.

The human powered vehicles forum here will also be of interest and able to provide more advice if you are going down this route.


Thanks :)

I've also noticed that the kmx cycles is close to me in Portsmouth and I'm tempted to check those out as they are a similar type of bike to the ICE recumbents. How do these bikes compare in performance? The KMX venom for example looks suited to the road.

When I first got into handcycling, I only got a cheap upright bike. It did the job but I quickly got the cycling bug and went through another 2 bikes till I was satisfied with the speed :lol:
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Tigerbiten
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Re: Trike for person with minor cerebral palsy?

Post by Tigerbiten »

Quicksilver89 wrote:I've also noticed that the kmx cycles is close to me in Portsmouth and I'm tempted to check those out as they are a similar type of bike to the ICE recumbents. How do these bikes compare in performance? The KMX venom for example looks suited to the road.

I would say that KMX and Performer are good basic quality trikes.
While ICE and HPV trikes are a level above them in built quality and cost.

Quicksilver89 wrote:When I first got into handcycling, I only got a cheap upright bike. It did the job but I quickly got the cycling bug and went through another 2 bikes till I was satisfied with the speed :lol:

You'll do the same thing with a trike if you're not careful ..... :lol:
I took me 4 years and 2 trikes plus various mods on both before I was completely happy with mine.

But the best bit about going the second hand trike route is they hold their value.
So you'll not lose a lot if you pick wrong first time.
UpWrong
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Re: Trike for person with minor cerebral palsy?

Post by UpWrong »

Cunobelin wrote:
UpWrong wrote:Performer doesn't seem to have a dealer network in the UK and the prices you seen on eBay are not the prices you pay after import duties and VAT. If you are registered disabled you might be exempt from paying VAT on a recumbent trike (because it's a mobility aid). London Recumbents are probably the experts on this and on adaptations so talk to them, http://www.londonrecumbents.com/

For second hand, speak to Kevin at D-Tek.

To be safe I'd suggest restricting your search to ICE, HP-Velotechnic and Hase machines. And try them all.

The human powered vehicles forum here will also be of interest and able to provide more advice if you are going down this route.



Not quite that easy

Unless the trike is significantly modified, it does not qualify

We bought a Gekko folding trike with Bionx and were allowed to reclaim VAT on the pedal extenders and stand aids only


Shame but thanks for the clarification.
UpWrong
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Re: Trike for person with minor cerebral palsy?

Post by UpWrong »

I'd forgotten about KMX. Certainly worth taking a look at the KMX Venom. I like the styling and rear rack design. Bentrider likened it to the Catrike Expedition. It uses bushes rather than headsets on the kingpins but so did some of the earlier Catrikes.
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Cunobelin
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Re: Trike for person with minor cerebral palsy?

Post by Cunobelin »

The Expedition had a speed wobble that was sorted by replacing the upper bearing set with a Teflon bushing
Quicksilver89
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Re: Trike for person with minor cerebral palsy?

Post by Quicksilver89 »

I think the KMX venom seems like the most tempting bike to look at as it isn't too expensive. Looking online I can't find many second hand bikes at the moment.

So I think I may go for a test ride, still not sure whether to make the switch from handcycling to leg cycling. My average handcycling speed is around 12mph in the relatively flat terrain of the New Forest. (https://www.strava.com/activities/1199458807) If I train seriously would it be easy to surpass that on a tadpole trike? Legs will be able to generate more power then just arms I presume? It'd be interesting to know what people's average speeds are.

I do like looking at the scenery but speed is also important for me too :mrgreen:
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Cunobelin
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Re: Trike for person with minor cerebral palsy?

Post by Cunobelin »

The Hase Kettwiesel is available in both a hands cycle and pedal cycle version


I do not know the key mechanics, but at a guess the rear frame will be standard and the boom forward is the adaptation.

Is it possible to buy one that can be converted between the two?
Quicksilver89
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Re: Trike for person with minor cerebral palsy?

Post by Quicksilver89 »

Cunobelin wrote:The Hase Kettwiesel is available in both a hands cycle and pedal cycle version


I do not know the key mechanics, but at a guess the rear frame will be standard and the boom forward is the adaptation.

Is it possible to buy one that can be converted between the two?


That would be ideal but I haven't come across such a bike yet.

The key factor in me getting something like a KMX is whether it will help me become substantially faster. I expect to struggle at first but with regular exercise I may get much faster.

Doing a load of internet searches its difficult to tell whether I will be able to go faster then what I do in my Force R. I do like it but it has a major lack of ground clearence (much worse then the recumbents I'm looking at). The turning circle is poor and the brake cable/gear cable is prone to snapping because the brake/shifter are attached to the handle bar. Every pedal rotation therefore adds a bit of pressure.

Though the handcycling is a lot of fun and if there is little potential improvement to my overall performance from switching then I may just keep things as they are.
Quicksilver89
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Re: Trike for person with minor cerebral palsy?

Post by Quicksilver89 »

I've also noticed that some of the two wheel recumbents also have low ground clearance (such as a raptorbike), perhaps I could use one of these. It would be a question of being able to swing my legs around to fit into the bike when I am sat on my seat though.
UpWrong
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Re: Trike for person with minor cerebral palsy?

Post by UpWrong »

If your legs have strength to stand up and walk around then it's reasonable to assume you'd be quicker using them. 'Bent bikes are much more difficult because of the starting and stopping issues of balancing and getting underway. More difficult than uprights I'd say.
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