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This is an interesting read. -D
When Jake O’Connor approached the manufacturer who built his hand cycle and asked him to build him a different model with bigger wheels and suspension, “he kind of laughed at me,” O’Connor says. “And now I know why. It’s been a long process trying to figure out how to build these things better.”
Not only did he learn how to weld and fabricate his own off-road hand cycle, O’Connor now builds and sells the bikes, as well as hand cycle hitch racks and work stands, from ReActive Adaptations. The company, based in Crested Butte, CO, pushes the envelope of what’s possible with adaptive equipment. O’Connor just released three children’s off-road hand cycles and has a full suspension bike nearing public release. ReActive Adaptations is breaking down barriers that prevent differently abled people from enjoying themselves in the outdoors.
Lately, however, off-road hand cyclists are encountering a new hurdle in access, one that mirrors a burgeoning national conversation but that is particularly pertinent to their population: whether or not electric assist hand cycles should be allowed on non-motorized trails. According to O’Connor, one in two of each Nuke (ReActive Adaptations’ rear wheel drive recumbent hand cycle with rear suspension) he builds, is equipped with electric assist. We sat down with O’Connor and Kirk Williams, an ex-pro mountain bike racer and electric assist Nuke rider, to find out how electric assist benefits hand cyclists and about their hopes for inclusive federal regulations.
https://peopleforbikes.org/blog/elec...hand-cyclists/
Not only did he learn how to weld and fabricate his own off-road hand cycle, O’Connor now builds and sells the bikes, as well as hand cycle hitch racks and work stands, from ReActive Adaptations. The company, based in Crested Butte, CO, pushes the envelope of what’s possible with adaptive equipment. O’Connor just released three children’s off-road hand cycles and has a full suspension bike nearing public release. ReActive Adaptations is breaking down barriers that prevent differently abled people from enjoying themselves in the outdoors.
Lately, however, off-road hand cyclists are encountering a new hurdle in access, one that mirrors a burgeoning national conversation but that is particularly pertinent to their population: whether or not electric assist hand cycles should be allowed on non-motorized trails. According to O’Connor, one in two of each Nuke (ReActive Adaptations’ rear wheel drive recumbent hand cycle with rear suspension) he builds, is equipped with electric assist. We sat down with O’Connor and Kirk Williams, an ex-pro mountain bike racer and electric assist Nuke rider, to find out how electric assist benefits hand cyclists and about their hopes for inclusive federal regulations.
https://peopleforbikes.org/blog/elec...hand-cyclists/
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