Mobility

Everyone can enjoy cycling. There are no limitations, because pedal-power is infinitely adaptive. Its purpose is to enhance and extend the incredible power of the human body, so the machine is built around that body, with details of design responding to details of need. So if your body's not conventional, cycle technology can adapt.There are as many disabilities as there are disabled people. Consequently, the diversity of bikes for disabled people covers a vast range of needs.They are made all over the world by inspired designers and engineers, many of whom are disabled themselves. The range goes from fairly standard bikes that are designed to be extra user-friendly, via easy-to-balance trikes and detachable wheelchair tandems, to ultra-light racing recumbent trikes with 84-gear hand-cranks.

Why do disabled people want to, or need to cycle? For the same reason as the able-bodied, and then some! The able-bodied have many activities which allow them to enjoy movement in the great outdoors: rambling, running, climbing, to name a few. But for the locomotor-disabled only the wheeled variety of recreation may be available, and the chance of a good bike ride can open up a whole new world.

The other reason is health. Most disabled people die not of their disability but of degenerative diseases associated with their inactive lifestyle. Swimming and 'wheeling' are limited in scope, but cycling combines exercise, pleasure, variety and practicality. In other words you can have a great time getting where you need to be, under your own steam, and keep fit in the process.

Cycling keeps you in touch with the sounds, smells and sensations of the real world. Sometimes the sky moves, the wind blows or the rain falls. Sometimes you stop to talk to people or to enjoy the view. Sometimes your muscles ache and you get fed up. That's what life's all about, whether you have a disability or not. Sitting passively in a car, cut off from nature and community alike, may be an unavoidable part of our lifestyle, but life-enhancing it is not.

Bikes for disabled people need to be extra-well designed and constructed. A problem which would be a minor irritation for most cyclists can become oppressive when even just getting on the machine is difficult. And of course, the implications of being stranded in the middle of nowhere, or crashing, are inevitably more serious.

The machines are often made in small production runs and may require considerable individual adaptation and the construction of special parts. So bikes for disabled people are often not cheap, although their cost can often be recovered from social security funds. But their potential for changing the quality of the owner's life makes a well-chosen machine more than good value for money.