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Calling all Engineers (for a good cause)

ricrellim

Chimp
Aug 19, 2008
39
0
Colorado
I am trying to do something awesome for my best friend. He has no idea I am doing this and I feel real nervous about posting it.

I know there are a lot of guys with some pretty big hookups that hang out around here. I figured it was worth a shot to see if anyone could help. I have made a video that looks like something my grandpa would make.

Please watch it and pass it along to anyone you think could make this happen. Thanks in advance.

Page not found on Vimeo
 

Whoops

Turbo Monkey
Jul 9, 2006
1,011
0
New Zealand
OK - can't help directly, but there was a guy that I saw riding in the UK (Aston Hill) a few times (Tom?) who had lost a hand.

He had a quick release mechanism of sorts attached to the prosthetic, and used the other hand to work both front and back brakes (two levers). I think there was a photo or a write up in DIRT mag around the same time (4 years ago maybe).

He was fast as hell. Made me feel like a fool. :-)


Good luck, and good on you.
 

Yeti

Monkey
May 17, 2005
877
0
yeti cave@the beach
that would be a cool project for a bachellor or semester thesis for any engineering student. I would recommend you to go to local universities to the "structures" institute of the mech.eng. departments and ask the professors if they would be interested. I know here in zürich they could be interested by something like this, but unfortunately colorado is sort of really far away from here. I don't think you could hand him the finished product as a gift since the r&d would certainly need real feedback from him. good luck!
 

Whitey

Chimp
May 25, 2009
1
0
This is a link to a guy who had been riding the local North Vancouver trails for years with only one arm. He went on to develop a prosthetic to be use while riding a bike. I personally rode with him numerous times and it never seemed to be an issue for him to use. It has a wicked little safety device that allows the arm to disconnect in a crash.
Check the link below.

http://www.prostheticarm.com/page3.html
 

ricrellim

Chimp
Aug 19, 2008
39
0
Colorado
That arm with the fox shock is awesome engineering. If he can pull that off I think this may be an easier task than I had expected. Especially if I can buy off the shelf parts!!!
 
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- seb

Turbo Monkey
Apr 10, 2002
2,924
1
UK
OK - can't help directly, but there was a guy that I saw riding in the UK (Aston Hill) a few times (Tom?) who had lost a hand.
Aye, he was certainly a lot quicker than me too - Tom Smart. Last time I saw him he was helping run a race at Bringewood a few years ago, not seen him on a bike for years.

Another Tom has done a rachel atherton on himself recently, and torn all the nerves out of one arm and now rides DH with one arm only. Nothing attached to the other side of the bars at all, the "dead" arm is just in a sling. Only seen him once, scared the bejesus out of me! :D
 

William42

fork ways
Jul 31, 2007
3,908
634
Check out the santa cruz side of mtbr. There is a dude who posts on there called "Man w/ one hand" who's written some stuff. He lost his arm in a motorcycle accident, he set up a VPP type suspension link for the elbow. Worth checking out. Super friendly guy, and very helpful.
 

karpi

Monkey
Apr 17, 2006
904
0
Santiasco, Chile
Where in Colorado are you? See if you could go to boulder and ask in the Colorado University, I bet some teachers could help you there... just my two cents. Great idea by the way!
 

Huck Banzai

Turbo Monkey
May 8, 2005
2,523
23
Transitory
Head over to MTBR.COM forums and seek out 'Man w/ one hand'

Definitely a strong 'lead' down that road.


EDIT: as usual I didnt read ahead and William42 sent you in the right direction.


I have heard of several riders with one arm, there was even a competitor in Race Face UFC in 2007 who had one arm and was SENDING it big time!
 

Pegboy

Turbo Monkey
Jan 20, 2003
1,139
27
New Hamp-sha
http://www.mertshands.org/

I could not download the video from work but judging by the comments, uo have a friend who is missing a hand? I am a Prosthetist, (fit and design artificial limbs) and am also missing my leg above the knee from a motorcycle accident. I have ridden DH/bikes for years and was also a member of the US Disabled Ski Team for years and consequently have a lot of connections and exposure in these industries. I have fit the above linked hand and it is pretty slick, but very expensive. Feel free to PM me and I'll send you my phone number so we can talk if you would like. I may be able to steer you in the right direction.
 

ricrellim

Chimp
Aug 19, 2008
39
0
Colorado
He is not missing a hand. He is fortunate enough to only be missing most of his fingers. He still has a palm and a thumb. His ideal fix would be a clipless shoe type design that he could sew into his gloves. He has to hand sew each glove he buys to get a custom fit.

Thanks again for all of the great input and ideas.
 

RMboy

Monkey
Dec 1, 2006
879
0
England the Great...
OK - can't help directly, but there was a guy that I saw riding in the UK (Aston Hill) a few times (Tom?) who had lost a hand.

He had a quick release mechanism of sorts attached to the prosthetic, and used the other hand to work both front and back brakes (two levers). I think there was a photo or a write up in DIRT mag around the same time (4 years ago maybe).

He was fast as hell. Made me feel like a fool. :-)


Good luck, and good on you.
I remember seeing that mate. Yeah he was meant to be really fast.

But really good luck with that mate. Im doing Industrial design and Uni and that is something we would do, and i may look into..
 

mullet_dew

Monkey
Mar 22, 2009
224
0
Bellingham WA
He is not missing a hand. He is fortunate enough to only be missing most of his fingers. He still has a palm and a thumb. His ideal fix would be a clipless shoe type design that he could sew into his gloves. He has to hand sew each glove he buys to get a custom fit.

Thanks again for all of the great input and ideas.
If he has a functional thumb it may be possible to make some articulating fingers that could move based off wrist movement to grab the bike(or possibly a solid piece that mimics a hand closed on the bar, he could use the thumb for griping and releasing), that may be a better all around solution that could work off the bike to some extent. It would be many times more costly, but if a University team took it on as some suggested it would be doable, and applicable to other people with similar injuries. Either way good luck.
 

Pegboy

Turbo Monkey
Jan 20, 2003
1,139
27
New Hamp-sha
OK, I get the idea. I have made something similar to what you are describing instead of using the Lawill Hand. I would suggest getting some sort of wrist protector (think Rollerblading wrist guards) and do one of two things. First, reinforce the plastic guard with some kind of lamination, such as a carbon fiber wet lam. You could then use T nuts to mount an spd type of cleat, although a road cleat may work even better but I'm not sure how much "float" a road cleat would have and/or if that would limit things. Or, instead of reinforcing the plastic insert you could use stock bar aluminum to replace it or fab up a solid carbon replacement which would probably work better.

Next, (this is what I did but it was 5-6 yrs ago so my memory is foggy) get a pedal to modify. I used an old 747 shimano because it has a lot of aluminum to work with. You can basically remove the cleat mechanism off one of the sides, pull the axle out and modify the body to contour with the bars. I believe I was able to thread right into the pedal body and then used a DH stem faceplate on the underside of the bar to attach it with. It worked out very well and a road pedal may or may not be better because you wont have to remove one side of the clip in mechanism, but I'm not sure how the cleat bolt pattern would fit on the wrist guard.

I think the wrist guard will be essential in providing some sort of leverage to clip in and out. I wish I had some pictures for you but I think you get the idea and could accomplish this with some basic tools and mechanical skills. Let me know if you need any more info or help.
 

ricrellim

Chimp
Aug 19, 2008
39
0
Colorado
I think the wrist guard will be essential in providing some sort of leverage to clip in and out.
Its not a bad idea but I am concerned that he may lose too much wrist mobility. I think just locking the palm is the best option. I could use the wrist guard and just cut the palm area out as a base.

I have this vision of an egg-beater as a grip. It would be nice to have his hand as flat on the bar as possible because It would probably feel weird to have one hand an inch higher than the other.

I like the idea modifying existing items to suit our needs. Which manufacturer makes the smallest / thinest clip?
 
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ricrellim

Chimp
Aug 19, 2008
39
0
Colorado
The Velcro works well at keeping him stuck. But it is real sketch. If he eats it and his hand is stuck to the bike it could cause serious damage to his tendons, ligaments, yada, yada.

The last time he ate it he came out of the glove. A fall at a different angle could be nasty.
 

Pegboy

Turbo Monkey
Jan 20, 2003
1,139
27
New Hamp-sha
Ok, a few more ideas. What about molding a piece of plastic molded over the bar (remove grip) with the back side cut out so it is shaped like a C. Essentially you could slide it over the end of the bar, his thumb would close the gap but if he falls the opening would allow the "glove" to pop off the bar. I would still think using the wrist guard as a platform and then modifying it by replacing the stock plastic with what I've described would be the way to go.
Picture for general idea of plastic shape although I would close the opening more to prevent unwanted disconnect.
http://www.oandp.com/products/trs/sports-recreation/bicycling.asp#CBH

Or, high grade self adhesive velcro wraped around the bar and then with a big patch sewn into the glove. With enough surface area that stuff holds you pretty well.

Lastly: the cheapest and easiest possibility-Lifting straps. When you wrap these around the bar and have your palm on it with your thumb locking it into place, these things hold WELL. In case of crash: let go. You would still have wrist motion and everything..

http://www.amazon.com/Harbinger-Black-Cotton-Lifting-Straps/dp/B001P3YXPE/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1243370943&sr=8-9
 

Ithnu

Monkey
Jul 16, 2007
961
0
Denver
I'm not familiar with the design, but I am a structural and mechanisms analyst in aerospace. If you need help picking materials, joint design, etc that is different from off the shelf combination let me know.

I'm in Denver and could give you some advice on any custom parts you may need. I have several CAD and analysis packages at home, so I could work on it completely separate from my work.