Hand cycles are great for those who simply cannot use their legs, or those who are not yet accustomed to using prosthetics. They are also helpful to those with injuries that initially prevent them from riding an upright bike until they can gain enough strength and stamina through rehabilitation and recovery to ride an upright.
Just like an upright bike, hand cycles can be adapted to suit the needs of those with amputations, spinal cord injuries, or other injuries.
The Invacare Force series of hand cycles seem to be the best series for what we do at Ride 2 Recovery: adapting for injuries.
Force G is for those that have use of their back, and even their legs. This bike allows the rider to use their back as part of the pedal stroke, and this creates core strength, arm strength and of course a great riding experience. The Force G uses a sitting upright type position. On the Force G both the seat and handle bar position are adjustable.
Next is the Force RX. This is for those that cannot use their back, usually because of paralysis/spinal cord injury. The Force RX uses a more laid back position to support the rider’s back. The rider uses mainly their arms on the Force RX. The handle bars are adjustable, and seat back can be moved up and down.
Both the Force G and RX are extremely adjustable to the rider. Sometimes waste straps are needed to secure the rider. The leg mounts are adjustable to leg length and the rider should have about a 10-degree bend in the arm at full extension.
The Force K is a special custom-built hand cycle and it is not adjustable. For this bike, the rider must go to the factory to be set up. This is a high end, lightweight and super-fast machine for those that are already using a Force G and want to take it to the next level.
