Cycling with a disabled child

[ufkacbln]

oh oh....just showed him this and his face lit up. I asked him if he'd ride something like that and he said yes and it was cool lol
There is a place near us that does disability bikes etc, maybe I'll see if he can have a ride on something similar

Byegad beat me to it

The KMX are brilliant for kids.

There are other options such as a trailer bike, tandem etc, but IMHO these are not going to reinforce the independence that you seek, and he needs

All I would say is that if you go down this route, be careful how you "sell" the idea


KMX were designed as robust kids trikes and NOT as disabled equipment

For this reason there is a lot of footage on YouTube and the likes of kids simply having fun on these machines

Selling it as a fun and cool trike would be more of an incentive than a "Disabled" aid

Unfortunately, you cannot reclaim the VAT as (from what I understand from your posts) the machine will be standard and can "be ridden by a non-disabled rider"

The same problem I had when I bought my wife's Gekko

 

[Dave 123]

There is an organisation called Charlottes Tandems who loan tandems to disabled people for free.
This may not be what you're looking for exactly, but they might just know a few people who have to deal with issues such as this.
I would also get onto British Cycling (quickly, whilst you still qualify......!!!) as they should know how to help.

 

[MikeW-71]

A Trike seems an excellent solution to me.

The issue seems to be his balance and hence a huge fear of falling off. He either has to defeat the fear by practice, (and progress may be so slow as to put him off completely) or remove the fear by using something that he can't fall off.

IMO the trike wins. He can come out cycling with you, he has no balance issues, you don't have to worry about him falling off, he gains confidence by being more independent. Everyone's a winner

He can always try an upright bike again when he's older.

 

[Learnincurve]

I'm in the same boat, I bought him a bike but he's scared of trying to ride it, I know he wants to though. I'm going to try the adult stabilizers but when he gets older it's going to be a tandem so he can't ride away from me.

 

[rvw]

Not sure I can help a great deal, but just a couple of thoughts from a tandemist's perspective (as a stoker):

- the balance thing may be an issue, as a wobbly stoker is the last thing a captain wants. @srw finds it hard if I so much as wriggle a bit without notice!
- would your son be happy to have less control? Being unable to stop at will, when he sees something which he doesn't like, could be quite frightening.
- from the back, the restricted view might mean that he is taken by surprise by oncoming traffic - again, this might be disconcerting.

None of these are reasons not to try - but hiring or borrowing first would definitely be good, to get some idea of whether it would work!

 

[Eagone]

Can't offer any more advice than already given, apart from don't give up!

Small steps - your'll get there!

 

[ScotiaLass]

Im

Not sure I can help a great deal, but just a couple of thoughts from a tandemist's perspective (as a stoker):

- the balance thing may be an issue, as a wobbly stoker is the last thing a captain wants. @srw finds it hard if I so much as wriggle a bit without notice!
- would your son be happy to have less control? Being unable to stop at will, when he sees something which he doesn't like, could be quite frightening.
- from the back, the restricted view might mean that he is taken by surprise by oncoming traffic - again, this might be disconcerting.

None of these are reasons not to try - but hiring or borrowing first would definitely be good, to get some idea of whether it would work!

not going the tandem route.
He likes the look of the trike so we're going to try and get him a trial on one first

 

[Nigeyy]

Just want to add my best wishes and good luck -keep us posted with how it goes. Seems to me you have a pretty good attitude to this already. Not that I'm an expert at all, but it's nice to see the suggestions too.

 

[young Ed]

No personal advice, but these seem to be well thought of - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Adult-Bike-Stabilisers-Fit-Wheels/dp/B0082A6SYC

Considerably cheaper than a trike as well.

Good luck!

a amazon customer review that sounds like it could almost be @ScotiaLass !

i brought these for my sons bike as he has balance problems and cant ride a bike with out them was a lot cheaper than buying him a 3 whealer trike

Cheers Ed

 

[Charlotte's Tandems]

Tandeming is the way forward.

We've had lots of children, like you have described, riding our tandems nice and safely.

Charlotte's Tandems is nationwide and we lend tandems for FREE for two months at a time.

See lots of feedback from past Borrowers on our website, CharlottesTandems.co.uk

 

[PaulSB]

Im

not going the tandem route.
He likes the look of the trike so we're going to try and get him a trial on one first

Could I suggest you don't rule out tandems completely, especially in the future.

My middle son Tom has Downs Syndrome and dyspraxia, his balance, in cycling terms, is non-exsistent and basic road sense, in terms of learning to cross the road unaided, has not proved possible to date. Consequently cycling alone, i.e. on his own bike, whether escorted or not, is not achievable. Tom will be 26 this year and is leading a very full life with Supported Living in the Community.

We used child seats and when Tom became too heavy I used a variety of what I'll describe as "tow-a-bikes" - it's a while ago now and I can't remember the specific ones we used. We reached a point when it be came too dangerous, weight and stability became a problem, to use these and Tom's cycling with myself and his brothers had to stop. We then found ourselves on holiday one summer in Cornwall and got the chance to hire a tandem for use on a local traffic-free route - again can't recall exactly where. This was an immediate hit with Tom, sometime after the holiday ended I was able to buy a very good secondhand Orbit tandem which is still in use today.

I fully understand every parent wants their child to achieve as much independence as possible, especially those of us privileged to care for special children, and if your son can learn to ride solo safely this has to be the right route. However this was never achievable for my lad and the tandem is the answer. A local cyclist has become a volunteer to take Tom cycling every Wednesday, so successful has this been Tom's shared house has been able to borrow a second tandem from a similar organisation to Charlotte's Tandems (might even be one of hers) for another young man from the house to join these rides.

Tom shares with three other young men, one who cannot go on a bike, another who rides solo but must be escorted, another who is good on a tandem. Using the tandems, one carer and one volunteer three of these young men can get out to the shops, local rides and full day rides.

The next target is a tour!!!! The plan is to take two tandems, one bike, and two carers on bikes and head off for a 25-30 miler, overnight stay and then home the next day!!

 

[Chopster]

good luck with the trike! I have a son with disabilities too, started out on a mission trike, then once he had got the hang of steering and pedalling and built up confidence he did eventually move to two wheels. He still lacks stamina, strength and is a bit nervous and lacks road awareness, but he does enjoy it now. I think the trike is def the way to go.

 

[jack smith]

Any update on this @ScotiaLass im rather interested

 

[Big Nick]

My mate has a son with some mental and physical disabilities and bought a tandem!

His son absolutely loves it and being effectively joined to his Dad overcame his nervousness

 

[mickle]

Talk to me @ScotiaLass, I sell bikes for people with disabilities for a living. And I've got some used Kmxs for sale. And I'm visiting Scotland soon.
Mick.allan(at)getcycling.org.uk