Hand bike
The handbike (also known as a handcycle ) is a vehicle, comparable to a bicycle or recumbent bike , but which is driven solely by the arms.
species
There are two basic types: the adaptive bike, which can be attached to almost every commercially available wheelchair , and the pure racing bike, which does not require a wheelchair.
The adaptive bike is suitable for everyday use and for medium-length tours, while the racing bike is actually only suitable for racing or training.
history
The first vehicle similar to a handbike was invented and built around 1655 by the then 22-year-old Stephan Farfler (1633–1689), a handicapped and technically skilled watchmaker from Altdorf near Nuremberg .
Modern handbikes were first manufactured in the USA in 1983. Individual pioneers dealt with handbike constructions, such as the Swabian inventor Hans Olpp in 1988. In 1989, Reinhold and Edgar Stricker became the first commercial supplier of adaptive bikes, which was soon followed by others. In 1990 Shadow's Cycle-One came to Europe. Chris Petersen, Top End (USA) developed the first pure sports equipment in 1991 and in Europe around 1993 Kees van Breukelen (NL) and Gregor Golombek (D). 1992 Alois Praschberger brought an adaptive bike on the market, with derailleur was already suitable for racing and a fixed connection to the wheelchair.
run
The first races took place within the framework of the human-powered vehicles scene (recumbent bikes), where there was an “arm-powered” class for the first time at the 1993 European championships in Switzerland. Since around 1998 most of the races have taken place within the framework of city marathons or cycling criteria. In the meantime, however, their own racing series have also established themselves, for example the Handbike Trophy, NHC or the EHC. Handbiking is recognized by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) - handbikers took part for the first time at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens .
Term "handbike"
The term handbike is made up of the English word for hand and the English word bike . Bike is the short form of bicycle , in German two-wheeler . Since handbikes are equipped with three wheels, the term is actually wrong. In English, handwheels are called a handcycle . Handbike is essentially used as a sham Anglicism in the German scene and is due to the inappropriate translation of Fahrrad in Bicycle / Bike .
