Adaptive Cycling Patient Views

Adaptive Cycling increases range of motion, boost cardiovascular endurance and strengthens the legs and hips!

We have a Freedom Concepts adaptive trike that my daughter rides. It is a custom trike that is supportive for her so she feels secure when riding. She has chest and waist straps and also feet straps to hold her in while she rides. Overall riding an adaptive bike is great cardio exercise and helps boost range of motion while also strengthening the legs and hips. Also its a great therapeutic option for at home to get fresh air and a workout while social emotionally being able to ride with family members and peers! Highly recommend!

We have found this really useful, my son has come on leaps and bounds and surpassed expectations set my his paediatrician. His strength and mobility has improved and cannot wait to see where this takes him moving forward

I can only ride a recumbent, but look up “pedal magic” on YouTube— I know people who have had success with that since it helps you get the balance down

Adaptive Cycling has overall been a real winner for our family with 2 boys with CP. But it hasn’t always been smooth sailing. There have been times when we have had to motivate my sons to self propel themselves with some chocolate-based reward, however, there is definitely great benefits for being out in the community, in the sunshine, in nature.

We have tried all different varieties of adapted trikes. From small and light, to big and heavy, and even an electric-assisted one! A few of ours have been bought second hand on Facebook marketplace for a steal - have a look there first!

Adaptive Cycling has overall been a real winner for our family with 2 my sons with CP. But it hasn’t always been smooth sailing. There have been times when we have had to motivate my sons to self propel themselves with some chocolate-based reward, however, there is definitely great benefits for being out in the community, in the sunshine, in nature.

We have tried all different varieties of adapted trikes. From small and light, to big and heavy, and even an electric-assisted one!

One of my sons now trikes part way to school each day as part of his morning funny program and we have coupled it with some e-stim as well. We have also used an electric assisted trike when we needed more support.

I have spastic CP but I literally had bike riding lessons for 4-5 years, we used my adaptive PE for it...and I never got farther than about 10 feet because I was constantly crashing to the side. Just incapable of riding a normal bike, lol. I don't need to anyway, but it was something I was insecure about for a long time.

I don’t really like the gym. All the weights and equipment are intimidating especially because they aren’t optimized for those of us who move differently. So I work out at home. Maybe with a friend, maybe not.

I try to find things I like to do or skills that I can learn while working out. I just got an electric trike—so fun! I’m trying to get my pedaling cadence down. My right foot gets stuck at the top of the stroke. But sometimes it will make it all the way around like the left foot. Haven’t figured out how to do that on purpose yet!

For now this is my workout and I know it will be something else in a few months and that’s ok!

You’ve totally got this! Rest and work need balance! 😊

Hi, I have the same situation as you with CP on my left side. I learned how to ride a bike at a very young age what I did was I grabbed an old BMX bike and I removed the pedals and basically I just started practicing balance from there took me about a year to start having proper balance then I moved onto bikes with pedals. I also recommend practice every day, it's gonna take you sometime.

I've always had issues with that too (with any type of bike) and they were able to install an adaptation that made the rotation smaller. Also added something to the pedals to keep my feet fixed onto them which also makes the rotations easier.

My testimonial about how the Alinker has helped my son: My son started using the small Alinker (see the size chart attached-however, these are sizes for adult Alinkers!). This is the key reason why the new XS Alinker for younger children is being developed. To find out more about the size options for the XS Kids Alinker, you must sign up for the newsletter. Quick note: When we first started, we didn't use the original seat-we swapped it at a bike shop so that the seat was about 7-8 cm lower than the original). We got the Alinker in August 2020, when my son was 9 years and 10 months old. This bike has been an incredible help for my son-we haven't found anything similar or better. Walking long distances around the city or along the Cannes promenade is no longer a problem! (Previously, it was difficult because, while my son could walk, his maximum was about 2 kilometers.

If we wanted to explore the city for longer periods, he'd get tired-this is likely a common story for parents of kids with CP or other neurological conditions. What do you do in these situations? Do you have to put your child in a stroller? And what happens when they're 5, or 7? On the Alinker, they're not just sitting -they're building muscles while they move! In short: (The creator of the Alinker, BE, and six parents from different countries, whose kids are older) made this video to reach other parents: We've used the Alinker instead of renting mobility aids, even after my son underwent two SPML surgeries. It's also been extremely convenient in airports. In fact, Dr. Nuzzo really liked it when we rode it to his office-if you know Dr. Nuzzo, he joked that he wanted one himself!