Disabled rider adaptations

[sjmlancs]

Hi everyone,

I've just bought my son a trials bike to start riding & he's asked me to get one so we can go to some practice days together. 

I was involved in a motorcycle crash some years ago which has left me disabled. My right arm is locked at 90 degrees on the elbow so I cannot straighten one of my arms. 

I know the boat has sailed for competing but I would like to potter around. I was wondering if anyone knows if anyone does any disabled handlebars or some kind of adaptations to help. 

 

Thanks

 

Simon 

[faussy]

Can't really help I'm afraid. All I can say is the selection of trials bars is pretty limited. MX bars come in a far greater range of sweep angles and heights and riser clamps especially if your clamps are 7/8 size. Robert dunlop the road racer after his arm injury had both clutch and a thumb brake lever fitted on the same side of the bar

Edited Wednesday at 11:56 AM by faussy

[on it]

hi   , there was a lad i knew with much the same problem   he used a set of cow horn / steel bars that he got bent  to be comfortable for him to use  ,   just giving you another option to try  hope it helps

[sjmlancs]

Thanks guys, I'm 6ft 8 so I need them. I only want to play at inch perfect & other places locally. I'll come up with something I'm sure, looking forward to joining in again. 

 

Thanks

Simon

[RonH]

I have a similar problem with my right arm also. I was severely injured when I was 12 years old and I loved riding my bike. After the injury I couldn’t reach far enough to hold the bar with my right hand so my dad put an extra piece of bar (6” or 7” long) on a hinge near the end of the original bar. The shorter added on piece extended it closer to my body. It was able to swing about 180°. Then he mounted a grip and rear brake onto the extension. When I turned to the right the extension swung outward and the opposite happened when turning left. I had very good control with both hands on the bars. It worked for me. Since then I’ve had some surgeries to give me more freedom of movement and I don’t need one now but I’m not doing splats or anything like that just mainly trail riding and having fun.

Best of luck to you!

[mcman56]

Maybe something along the lines of a Japanese flat track handlebar?

 

 

[konrad]

4 hours ago, mcman56 said:

Maybe something along the lines of a Japanese flat track handlebar?

I knew I had seen something like that before, and kept thinking antique board-track racer (which was not right).

You can clearly see from the photo it's just a cut-and-welded standard bar -- not even a custom bend.

[mcman56]

On 9/11/2024 at 4:07 PM, RonH said:

y dad put an extra piece of bar (6” or 7” long) on a hinge near the end of the original bar.

That sounds unique.  Any pictures?

[RonH]

Sorry but no. He did that in 1975 for me. The bike is long gone.