please help a desperate mum find a bike for my severly disabled daughter, she has little to no support or control of her limbs, she is 7 years old and is 19.5 kgs in weight, we all want to go out on family bike rides but we have no bike /trike /trailer for lucy !! any help is very gratefully recieved

we have just bought a new wheelchair for our little boy jack (10 years old) he weighs just under 3 stones it is more like a large pushchair jack doesn t have any control of his body or his limbs he is totally adult dependant.the pushchair is called kimba spring and is made by a company called otto bock you buy the seat and then there is different frames for it one of the frames is a three wheeler cross country frame and then the front wheel comes off and you buy the attachment from them and you then can fix the frame to the rear of your bike and then you can tow your child and go on bike rides.for us the three wheeler frame wasn t practical for everyday use so we got the other frame and then later on we are going to buy the three wheeler frame it is fantastic we had a home trial(not cheap but brilliant hope that helps i know i have looked for bikes and trailers in the past with no success but this is brill good luck

We’ve been looking for some way of transporting Ben (age nearly 7) for a while. At the moment we use a standard child trailer ( cost about£120) which has an extra front wheel so can be used as a buggy when you reach your destination. We’re still on the lookout for something to use as he gets bigger and these are a couple of websites I’ve found.

http://www.cycletote.com/special_needs.html

http://blueskycyclecarts.com/BSkyHandicap.htm

http://www.wicycle.com/special.htm

http://www.r82.com/Default.aspx?ID=971

http://www.frankmobility.com/

Road runner trailer http://www.tempolafaek.com.au/ride.html

The company that makes the roadrunner were thinking of selling it in the UK so it may be worth e-mailing them to see if they have. Another option is the kangoo buggy which can be towed behind a bike (its European but there is a company called Crafty that sell it here).

Good luck with your search and please let me know if you find anything good.

Kathryn

Hi,
I have bought my daughters bike through Theraplay, they are really good and have an attachment for everything, pully systems for ease of pedaling ect. You should be able to locate them on the net if not i will try and look out the info for you.

Hi there

My son has a theraplay bike, but it's not really suitable for family bike rides as you won't be going very far! It's great for getting the legs exercised though.

Have you heard of Christiania Bikes? http://www.christianiabikes.com/. They make special bikes with a box at the front that takes a wheelchair. They are Danish bikes and the Danes are very keen bikers and parents with disabled kids use them to get around.

We researched trailers for bikes for our 3 1/2 yr old son and ended up buying one from Canada. The ones in the UK were so overpriced which is what led us abroad. We also wanted one that would convert to a buggy so we could take it on the beach, to the park etc. The company is called Wike and their website is www.wicycle.com. In fact if you look at their special needs page you'll see us with our wike. We have been so pleased with it and their customer services is great. Even with the shipping it was $818 which is about £500. They were happy to have a go and doing some alterations for James to make it better for him to sit in. If you want to know anymore feel free to mail me.

By the way, the Kangoo is no longer sold by Craft (they emmigrated to Australia apparently - lucky things!) but is distributed by one of the special needs equipment companies. Last I heard they were having problems getting them imported from Germany but if your interested try Googling Kangoo. We had a rep round to demonstrate the Kimba Spring and found it very wieldy, not great engineering and VERY expensive.

[quote name='rachele' date='Mar 8 2006, 09:22 AM' post='4269']
please help a desperate mum find a bike for my severly disabled daughter, she has little to no support or control of her limbs, she is 7 years old and is 19.5 kgs in weight, we all want to go out on family bike rides but we have no bike /trike /trailer for lucy !! any help is very gratefully recieved
[/quote]

Hya, we have bought 2 bikes in the past for our son (he's 11 just now) both of which came from www.quest88.com both bike were fantastic and the new Draisin range they do really has changed his life and we are finally going for bike rides together. The best bit of all though was getting funding from the Caudwell trust for 80% of the cost!!!! http://www.caudwellcharity.com/

[quote name='Kathryn' date='Mar 11 2006, 10:21 PM' post='433 We've been looking for some way of transporting Ben (age nearly 7) for a while....']

It's over a year since this topic was last added to but I wonder if you're still looking for a Kangoo or similar. My son has just grown out of his medium size kangoo and we have advertised it for sale without joy. As it is no longer manufactured, I think people don't know what it is as there's little info on the web. It's in good cond and has a tow bar. Do let me know thru the forum if you're interested at any fair price. Thanks.

Hi Rachele,

There is a organisation that maybe able to help called action for kids, they provide specialist mobility equipment for children and young people up to the age of 26. I have worked for them and support their work.

The details you need are

Action For Kids
Ability House
15A Tottenham Lane
Hornsey
London
N8 9DJ

Telephone:
020 8347 8111

Fax:
020 8347 3482

Minicom:
020 8347 3486

Helpline:
0845 300 0237 (local call rates)

E-mail:
info@actionforkids.org

website address www.actionforkids.org

Good luck
Andrew

My son's physio recommended London Recumbents (londonrecumbents.co.uk) who are based in Dulwich Park, South London. They do a bike/wheelchair combi which looks like a lot of fun because the child is at the front, so has a great view rather than looking at your backside!

We are now awaiting delivery of a trike which we were able to get with the help of whizz-kidz.

happy pedalling,

Jon

About the Kangoo Buggy; we have had one for about a year. we purchased it through Amilly International of Peterborough with help from BDF Newlife for our son who is 2 years old. they are still made in Germany by BoGeTec ReHa Technik. we use it all the time for walks, shopping trips and cycle tours and would recommend it to any family with a disabled child who like to get out and about.

Hi there,

I know of a lady who had a special bike funded by David and Victoria Beckham, I assume it's a charity of theirs, other than that I do not know any info but you may well find some on the net if you type it in the search. Hope you find something suitable - please let us know how you get on.

Kind regards,