Check out the Lose the Training Wheels program. They are experts at this type of thing.

Also an interesting new product is coming out soon: The Gyrobike

My recommended method for teaching people to ride bicycles is this:

1. Remove the pedals of the bike and lower the seat such that the rider's feet can easily touch the ground, this way the rider can scoot around and get the feeling of the bicycle's dynamics. If you use training wheels or support the rider with your hand it doesn't allow the person to feel how the bicycle actually handles.
2. Once the rider is comfortable on the scooter, add the pedals so they can try self propulsion.

People learn very fast with this method.

Jason Moore
http://mae.ucdavis.edu/~biosport/jkm/
moorebicycles
Bicycle Dynamics Lab, TU Delft
Sports Biomechanics Lab, UC Davis
Bike Church Minister, Davis, CA
Netherlands office phone # : +31 15 278 6932

On Mon, Mar 2, 2009 at 7:16 PM, josh brown <josh@communitycycles.org> wrote:

Howdy all.

I'm wondering how/if any of you have worked with populations or individuals with disabilities who come into your shops or who approach your organization for help. We've had this type of thing happen before, where someone who has experienced head trauma, or has severe balance issues is looking for an adult tricycle, but we never seem to have any quality ones in the shop when they're needed, and inexpensive but decent ones are in the 6-8 hundred dollar range.

I received the below email this morning, and while i welcome the challenge and experience of getting a 10 year old with CP and Autism on a bicycle, i'm a little overwhelmed at the prospect.

What kinds of experiences have you all had? I know Boulder and Colorado both have some excellent non-profits that deal with folks with disabilities, and I'll start making phone calls to them, to see what types of things to be aware of. I'm interested in your experiences as community bike shop staff.

If anyone reading this has some type of circumstance which requires some sort of modification to their own bike to accommodate balance, reflex, or a body that's different than most of us have (ie, amputee, etc) issues, PLEASE get in touch. I'm interested both in your experiences personally as well as resources you've found to be helpful or not so helpful.

I've personally worked with folks with all kinds of issues, just not in my work with bicycles...looking forward to bringing those two worlds together...

thanks!

josh.
community cycles.

Hello,

We have been looking into your program for our son but I have a couple of questions.

Our son has Cerebral Palsy and Autism, both are mild, however he has difficulty in riding a two wheel bike as he has balance problems. He is 10 yrs old, (11 in June) and has out grown bikes that we can place "training wheels" on. We know that there are stabilization wheels but not sure how to go about working with them on multiple speed bikes.

Do you work with children with disabilities? and Would you be able to help us in getting a bicycle that would meet his needs?

He would dearly love to be able to ride a bike and we are most happy to work with him and get him the proper set up. Any help or information would be greatly appreciated. You are welcome to call us at our home phone or email. Your program sounds very exciting and we look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you, Sue and Paul

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