Help for a person not good with balance

[CharlieB]

Not sure if I'm in the right forum area, but here goes.

I'm asking this on behalf of a friend of mine who told me, due to a medical condition, he is balance impaired, and he feels he may have trouble balancing on two wheels in a situation that required a hand off the bars, e.g. indicating.
So he asked me for advice, to which I said I didn't know the answer but I sure know a place that does!

He thinks a trike may be one answer.
Mind you, he's not loaded, and all the trikes I've ever seen look very bespoke (no pun intended) and high-spec, thus expensive. Is there a cheap or moderately priced trike out there, does anyone know?

Also he's wondering whether you can get stabilisers for adult bikes (I'm personally not convinced that's a good idea)?

 

[Aperitif]

A Pashley? Upright like a proper bike, not low down like one of those buzz-bomb things! £665 new approx

 

[srw]

An obvious question - have you tried him on a bike? His fears may be unfounded.

I remember reading a good piece of advice for an adult learner, which may be relevant in this context. Take him to an empty car park or a park, set the saddle low enough that he can touch the ground, take off the pedals and let him scoot around. Then add the pedals, and then as confidence is gained, gradually lift the saddle.

At some stage during this process you may both either discover that he's got nothing to worry about, or else that actually he does need a trike or something similar.

 

[Night Train]

I also have difficulties with balance.

On two wheels I wobble when I have to look over my shoulder of take a hand off the bars. I wobble a lot when I am aiming to do both.
Often I avoid doing either if the space is limited or there is a potential for pot holes or other surface changes as I can stray easily from my course. Even passing through a gateway or between bollards is a worry.

However, on the open road I am fine as the bike take care of the balance quite well and most of the time I just point it in the direction I want to go in. I do avoid kerbs, small gaps and the like when I can or I stop and paddle along with my feet.

I do now have my sub £100 Ratrike and that has boosted my confidence no end and on it I am quite happy tailsliding, jumping off high kerbs and racing through gaps and over BMX bumps. It didn't even worry me when I recently rolled a new KMX while attempting to slide it on brick paving. So much less distance to fall then on an upright.

I feel safer on a recumbent trike, like a KMX or a Kett-Weisel, at speed then I do on a Pashley upright trike at anymore then walking speed though.
It may be worth gettign your friend to try a Kett, fairly high seating for a recumbent and very easy to ride.

 

[Hilldodger]

Not sure if I'm in the right forum area, but here goes.

I'm asking this on behalf of a friend of mine who told me, due to a medical condition, he is balance impaired, and he feels he may have trouble balancing on two wheels in a situation that required a hand off the bars, e.g. indicating.
So he asked me for advice, to which I said I didn't know the answer but I sure know a place that does!

He thinks a trike may be one answer.
Mind you, he's not loaded, and all the trikes I've ever seen look very bespoke (no pun intended) and high-spec, thus expensive. Is there a cheap or moderately priced trike out there, does anyone know?

Also he's wondering whether you can get stabilisers for adult bikes (I'm personally not convinced that's a good idea)?

Never, ever use these things!

We sell a lot of Mission trikes to people with disability and special needs and have never had any problems with them. http://www.missioncycles.co.uk

 

[sheddy]

I'm not really qualified to say but I believe upright Trikes do need a certain knack in order to stay upright on tight turns

 

[Hilldodger]

I'm not really qualified to say but I believe upright Trikes do need a certain knack in order to stay upright on tight turns

A knack that takes about 20 minutes to learn.

 

[Zoiders]

I would have to say go with the tadpole format trikes or bents.

I don't like most adult trikes, the Pashley range are awful wibbly things that flex and the build quality is naff as well, I have got time for racing trikes but then I know how to ride one, I would never advise one as a ride for a person with balance problems.

 

[Riding in Circles]

I'm not really qualified to say but I believe upright Trikes do need a certain knack in order to stay upright on tight turns

Depends how fast you are going.

 

[jim55]

I also have difficulties with balance.

On two wheels I wobble when I have to look over my shoulder of take a hand off the bars. I wobble a lot when I am aiming to do both.
Often I avoid doing either if the space is limited or there is a potential for pot holes or other surface changes as I can stray easily from my course. Even passing through a gateway or between bollards is a worry.

However, on the open road I am fine as the bike take care of the balance quite well and most of the time I just point it in the direction I want to go in. I do avoid kerbs, small gaps and the like when I can or I stop and paddle along with my feet.


thats me as well!!

i noticed this creeping up on me over the yrs ,,tbh iv never had really good co ordination and balance and it has been a bit obvious (to me)at times ,,just wee things i notice like judging gaps and in gen being a bit clumsy ,lol ,,its when im really gubbed that i notice it most (like out of breath from a hillclimb),but on the whole its not a big deal ,,i actually went to the doctor /hospital over this ,,done a cat scan and they said (i cant rem its name )the bit at the back of yr brain that controls speech/balance /coordination wasnt firing as fast as most people ,,its not a big deal and im not worried about it at all ,,i just get on with things in my slightly clumsy way

 

[Arch]

I'm not really qualified to say but I believe upright Trikes do need a certain knack in order to stay upright on tight turns

It's a problem that's more likely to happen to someone who already rides a bike, and are conditioned to expect the machine to lean in corners. People who haven't, or can't ride a bike, often have little problem, because they just get on with no expectations.

Even for conditioned two wheelers, it is possible as Hilldodger says, to learn the knack, it takes longer for some, but usually comes in the end. The key is to have a nice large flat area to ride about in, slowly.

 

[Bigsharn]

It's a problem that's more likely to happen to someone who already rides a bike, and are conditioned to expect the machine to lean in corners. People who haven't, or can't ride a bike, often have little problem, because they just get on with no expectations.

I had HUGE trouble trying to ride my trike at first, gave my little brother (he's 16, with no balance) it and he was away like a rocket

I bought my trike second hand for £120 from a local shop... there's one on Ebay at the moment for £220 Buy It Now, but it's not worth that much

 

[Cyclox]

Never, ever use these things!

We sell a lot of Mission trikes to people with disability and special needs and have never had any problems with them. http://www.missioncycles.co.uk

I checked out the link you posted and I'm really interested in the Black Freestyle 20 inch wheel BMX trike......it looks so cool as well as being obviously practical for my needs. Thank you for posting the link I would never have seen this trike without you.......mmmwwahh.

 

[stevetailor125]

I'd recomend the Mission over the Pashley, my wife has balance problems and rode a Pashley but used to find a problem with grip on grass and gravel. Brought her a Mission and its fantastic, the problem is now getting her off of it.

 

[Bicycle]

Well, my only experience in this area is teaching a slightly dyspraxic child to cycle - many years ago.


1. The 'scooting' method already described on this thread is excellent. Lower saddle, remove pedals and just scoot. Some people are massively dismissive of stabilisers. They worked well for one of my children. I don't rate them hugely, but don't dismiss them altogether. However, for an adult (and for most children) I think 'scooting' is the thing.


2. A bicycle with a relatively upright riding position may be easier to balance and will certainly help with confidence. As soon as we have to reach too far forward to get to the handlebar, we tend to feel slightly out of balance. A bicycle that allows the spine to be nearer the vertical might help.


3. A trike may be the answer, but it may not. Worth having a go on 'sit-up-and-beg' bikes as well.