Outdoors For All Foundation

Bicycle Arm Prosthetic for Fittings

Outdoors for All is looking for a light-duty arm prosthetic for people with amputations or limb-differences to try riding a standard bicycle or recumbent trike with two points of contact at the handlebar. While a bike's controls can be moved to one side of the handlebar and people can balance and ride with one arm, it is safer to have two points of contact at the handlebar for steering, balance, and body-weight support. This device would allow students to practice planning, designing, and producing a mechanical product that would impact an underserved population. The product this student team is working to develop should easily attach to the handlebar of a standard bike and be adjustable for many different users. This is not intended to be used in aggressive or technical riding such as mountain biking, but rather as a fitting and trial tool to inform the user of whether purchasing a more expensive dedicated prosthetic is a good decision for them. The prosthetic the student team will work to design should be adjustable for different lengths, children and adults, left or right side, with both above and below the elbow capability. It should have a universal socket to accept the users residual arm and a way to attach securely to the elbow or shoulder. It can articulate to simulate elbow and wrist movement. It should be able to bear the users upper body weight, but does not need to support aggressive biking - just test riding. The outcome this student team will work to achieve is a product that Outdoors for All can use at its Adaptative Cycling Center or other programs to conduct fittings and trials of bikes.