BODY LEAN STEERING    

In 1984 Brike Int. Ltd. was building a low seated, foot-powered three wheeled design that used a patented "body lean steering" method. Our design used a two piece frame. You sat on the front section that includes the seat, the front wheel and the crank assembly. The rear section housed the rear wheels and the handlebars. The front part of the frame articulated (tilted and turned) on two pivot points between the two frame pieces. As you leaned your body towards the apex of the corner, the front wheel, the seat, and the cranks tilted and turned with you.  Two very important aspects of a high performance three wheeled cycle are the ability to lean your body to counteract centrifugal force during a turn, and the ability to pedal throughout the turn. 

Over the years, many people who had varying types of injuries came to us because they couldn't ride conventional bicycles.  They were overjoyed to find our three wheeled design made it possible for them to rediscover the sport of cycling.  Ultimately, some people came to us who had very limited use of their legs, or had no use of them at all. It was then that we noticed that our design had several inherent design aspects that lend themselves perfectly to a handcycle. The first aspect was that you simply leaned your body to steer the bike.  Also by simply moving the foot crank assembly from ahead of our front wheel to above the wheel we could allow our bike to be hand powered. With this combination of developments, the first low seated 'handcycle' was born.  There were a couple of other designs on the market which either bolted to a wheelchair or had a seat height similar to a wheelchair with bicycle type front fork for steering.  Our design was completely different than what was currently on the market and had significantly higher performance.  Not to mention, it was the most fun handcycle to ride.        

The FREEDOM RYDER also uses self-centering steering geometry, so after you complete your turn it will return upright to center. This lean to steer design counteracts centrifugal force just like a bicycle, and is the most efficient way to execute a corner. Not only does it feel like slalom skiing on land, it also feels like you are easily flying down the road. This thrilling feeling quickly becomes totally intuitive and is unlike any other handcycle. 

    Because FREEDOM RYDER was the first high performance handcycle out there, word soon spread and handcyclists everywhere were setting all kinds of distance, speed and time records on Freedom Ryder handcycles. (see World Records)  As time passed and the market grew, more and more companies started coming out with their version of a handcycle. Because our bike was a patented design, the other handcycle manufacturers predominantly used the bicycle front fork steering design.  This design had some inherent design limitations.  When turning the front fork the tire would contact the riders inner thigh.  Also, when trying to turn a corner and pedal at the same time the cranks would become out of alignment with your body and this made pedaling and cornering at the same time quite difficult. 

    However, the success and higher performance of our handcycles caused the other manufacturers to employ as many design aspects of a FREEDOM RYDER as they could. That's why so many of the handcycles on the market today resemble a FREEDOM RYDER.  On all handcycles, the low center of gravity, the rider’s body position, the means of supporting the rider’s legs, the cambered rear wheels, the side by side crank position and the adjustment and triangulation of the crank assembly were all Freedom Ryder "design firsts". The one thing they didn't copy, because of our patents, was the "body lean steering design." 

WIDE CRANK SET

 

    These new wide cranks from Freedom Ryder are unlike any others on the market.  They are made of thin walled 4130 Chrome Moly steel and the finest tool steel shafts to handle even the strongest handcyclists like Greg Hockensmith.

 

    If you haven't noticed by now, we at Freedom Ryder do things differently.  We spend the extra design time and expense so we can offer only the best products on the market.  That said, notice that on our cranks, the main bearing shaft mounts straight into the crank arms.  It's welded directly into the arm on the right side and on the left side the arm slides straight over the shaft with a pinch bolt and locking pin.  This design is far stronger (and simpler) than any other wide cranks on the market.  There aren't any weak joints to bend or break and the single bend design is much cleaner, stiffer and lighter.  You also don't need a special crank puller wrench to remove them like you do with splined or tapered shafts. 

 

    Another proprietary design first is our 'short and offset' spindle design.  The 'short spindle' design gives you more leg clearance between the crank arms than any other cranks when mounted in that 'low crank' position.  More important, is the 'offset spindle' location.  This unique design means that your fingers do not have a shaft located between them.  You'll be amazed at how comfortable this new design feels.  You won't want to use any other T-handle after you've used these, guaranteed!  As your powering up that steep hill you'll realize that more comfort means more performance too!

 

    Combine these design improvements with top quality FSA bearings and sprockets.  Notice that unlike other manufacturers crank sets, our FSA sprockets come with shifting ramps and pins so they shift like they should.

   

    Maybe now you can see, even on something as simple as a set of cranks, there is more to the picture than meets the eye.   Sizes available in 24" or 26" widths.  

    Combine these revolutionary design aspects with the highest quality materials available and you have the finest handcycle on the market today.