Flyer Handcycle Press

With the internet and our connections in the bicycle industry, we've gotten a good deal of press. The most valuable is that written by an objective journalist who is also an expert handcyclist. We have Bob Vogel, New Mobility Magazine, and Sourcehealth.com to thank for those articles. What we really want, and what handcycling needs, is a comparison test with all the different brands of handcycles side by side. Car, motorcycle, bicycle and trade magazines of all sorts do "comparison tests" every month. Their readers become more informed consumers, and their sport/industry evolves more quickly. There is no substitute for reading the opinions of experts. Motorcyclists call them "moto journalists". Those of us in the wheelchair industry do without. Coming from the bicycle industry, where I grew to rely on the magazines, it's hard for me not to complain.

Thankfully, there is the internet. We have an amazing new way of informing our potential customers: we ask them to do a search. Go to your favorite search engine and type in "all terrain handcycle" or maybe, "handcycle rough climbing".

The following pages are a small sampling, mostly from bicycle magazines.

Sports 'n' Spokes Magazine, Cover, November 2001 Volume 27, Number 7

"[Mike] Augspurger came up with the innovative design that many of the world-class wheelchair racers in the world use today. In this design, the cycle allows the rider's legs to be folded back and strapped into supports. The rider's upper body can then lean forward, with arms extended down to reach the hand cranks and the chest resting on a pad. There are handlebars in front that can be used for steering when the cycle is going downhill; on uphill or flat terrain, arms must be used for cranking. Additionally, the sternum pad, which pivots and is connected by cables to the steering mechanism, can be turned left or right by moving the chest. Brakes and gearshifts are located on the handlebars. The near-prone position of the rider allows body weight to be used more effectively, and hand cranks, which are connected to the gears and chain, are mounted so that when the rider pushes down with one arm, the other can pull up, maximizing the rider's muscle power. Also, handlebar and sternum steering solves the dilemma of cranking versus steering."

October 2001

"High performance hand-cranked machines tend to fall into two categories these days: thoroughbred road racing machines, or all-out downhill machines with full suspension--relying on the ski lift to get them back to the top.

Mike Augspurger's patented 'Handcycle' hoped to fill the gap, by making a vehicle analogous to the all-purpose mountain bike. He takes the comparison further: whereas most hand-cranked machines put the riders in a seated position, like a recumbent bike, his machine has the rider upright--perhaps less comfortable but, he argues, a better position to apply the power, especially uphill. He finds that by having the cranks 'opposed', he gets far better power transfer than with the usual 'cranks together' position.

Mike's company, One-Off Titanium Inc., is working with several competitive handcycle athletes on the development of the machine. Pictured is Terry Ball of Massachusetts, who was paralysed from the chest down in a hang-gliding accident. A heavy fall of snow before the photo-shoot necessitated the fat tyres--with 20" (406) wheels, there are plenty of street tyres available, too.

The machines are currently made to order, and Mike appreciates feedback to help him improve the design. His background is more in conventional cycling: after co-founding titanium specialist Merlin Metalworks in 1996, he started One-off Titanium in 1989 to allow him build his own exquisite custom frames--including, on one occasion, a titanium Moulton. His wife Leni Fried offers artistic finishes for his handiwork, or for any frame whose paint is past its prime."

Bike Culture, July 1998

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"Combining Mike's innate design ability and testing by world class disabled athletes, One-Off has come up with a real all terrain vehicle that opens up entirely new possibilities for access and exploration, and of course, fun.

...So, does it work? In August of '98, One-Off debuted its creation to the largest possible audience of the cycling community--the NORBA National Championship Finals in Mount Snow, Vermont...

Terry, being the most experienced One-Off pilot, could maneuver with tremendous ability and control, carving those gnarly g-turns in a cloud of dust.

This is the new frontier of handcycling,a true all terrain vehicle. And the possibilities are just being discovered, as test-athletes Chris Waddell, Bob Vogel, John Davis, and T-Ball put the One-Off Handcycle through its paces, pushing the limit, giving the feedback to the ever-tinkering Augspurger.

Mike should be proud, what with all the late coffee evenings and crushing problem-solving induced headaches. His hard work is flowering into a thoroughly developed product. Did you see Terry go over that rock?! For more information and a great product video, contact: One-Off Titanium, Inc., 494 Stage Road, Cummington, MA 01060. Phone: 413.634.5591."

Dirt Rag, May 15, 1999  #72

more good press >>

Handcycling Links

Try a search for All Terrain Handcycle in your favorite search engine.

S+S Coupler - This is the S+S coupler.

Velo Vision Magazine - A great bicycle magazine from England.

Bike-on.com - Used handcycles and more...good people.

Mountain Drive - The Schlumpf two-speed transmission.

Please feel free to email us if you know about a site that you think we should add to the list.

Flyer Handcycle Specifications

How do you steer and pedal at the same time?

One of the most important features of any human powered vehicle is the ability to crank hard and steer precisely at the same time. From the very beginning, one of our most important measures of performance has been the up-hill switchback turn. We want to be able to climb a mountain, with all its tight turns, without having to take a hand off the crank handles. It's easy to design a vehicle where you steer with one hand and crank with the other, but that's not good enough.

The use of the handlebars is obvious and simple enough. That's where the brake levers are. For coasting downhill and for the most extreme steering maneuvers grab the handlebars just like the downhill racers. But speed and mobility come from maximizing the amount of time spent pedaling.

So the answer to the big question is: The sternum support (we like to call it the steering wheel) pivots side to side and is connected to the steering through a pair of cables. It works wonderfully. You have to try it to believe it! The round padded steering wheel rotates on its axis. The motion is smooth and intuitive. Rotate it to the side with your chest and you turn that direction. You automatically lean into a turn. For example, to turn right, you rotate the steering wheel to the right, which moves your weight towards the inside of the turn... perfect!

10 Reasons why the ONE-OFF handcycle is best:

#1: Maneuverability. Our turning radius is 9 feet. If you can't get out of the cycle to pick it up in order to turn around in a small space (none of the athletes I'm working with can do this), then a 30 foot turning radius completely flavors your ride. Maneuverability is fun. If you can't even turn as sharp as a car, then it is hard to feel comfortable in traffic. The ONE-OFF handcycle is completely in a class by itself when it comes to maneuverability. Ask me about the 32 foot center figure eight race. We are also happy to race any other handcycle in backing up or doing 3 point turns.

#2: Crank orientation: The ONE-OFF handcycle is designed from the ground up to use the opposed crank position. Over rough terrain, this allows the rider to hold their weight up off the steering wheel with the two crank handles in the horizontal position It allows the arm muscles to work in opposition for the maximum possible 360 degree power delivery, minimizing dead spots. On smooth level pavement, the road racers seem to be slightly faster, but as soon as the road starts uphill, our opposed orientation begins to take over. The steeper the hill, the more important it is to have the continuous power that our bike delivers.

#3: Rider positioning/power delivery: The prone rider position of the ONE-OFF handcycle allows the weight of the rider's upper body to be put to use in adding power to the cranks. Why is it that recumbent bicycles are known for their poor climbing performance? Because they have to rely exclusively on their leg muscles for power. The rider's weight, cannot be utilized. The ONE-OFF handcycle allows the rider to lean forward onto the cranks, straighten an elbow, and lean onto the cranks just like an able bodied cyclist getting out of the saddle.

#4: Rider Positioning/Unweighting: This is the key to our success at downhill racing. The prone riding position of the ONE-OFF handcycle places the rider's weight nearly straight above the cranks and handlebars. This allows the rider to lift their upper body up off of the sternum support and and take their weight onto their arms. This is again analogous to the able bodied cyclist getting out of the saddle. It does a lot more than just provide more power. It allows the rider to rise up to absorb bumps and rough terrain through the elbows instead of having to just sit and take it through the seat. The ONE-OFF handcycle, with a little practice, can be backed up and hopped in all sorts of ways. We go up bigger and bigger curbs every day. Who knows how good we will get at this. With the recumbent position, these skills are simply not available. The difference between sitting with all your weight on the seat, and being able to lift our weight up onto your arms is absolutely profound.

#5: Climbing traction: Weight transfer is everything here. Everybody else is front wheel drive. The super low gearing of the ONE-OFF handcycle wouldn't work without the traction that comes from placing the rider's weight onto the drive wheel. This is one of our favorite demonstrations. There is no way you can pedal up the super steep grassy slope at our local state park without cracking a smile.

#6: High speed cornering: You show me someone who says, My handcycle doesn't tend to tip over and I'll show you someone who either isn't going fast or isn't turning. Any vehicle light enough to be human powered, that has more than 2 wheels, wants to tip over during hard cornering. The key to overcoming this is to get the rider's weight as low as possible and/or as far to the inside of the turn as possible. High performance leg powered recumbent tricycles (Greenspeed, Wind Cheetah) do the best they can by placing the rider's center of gravity very low. But since they are recumbents, the rider is basically stuck in the seat and can't lean to the inside of the turn to corner harder. The best example I know of to describe how the ONE-OFF handcycle corners comes from racing motorcycle side cars. (see links) The way these people lean clear off the inside, with their shoulder practically touching the pavement, is very useful to see when learning to ride our bike. ONE-OFF handcycle allows extreme side to side upper body movement. This is equally true for side hills.

#7: High speed stability: Just like with high speed cornering, any vehicle light enough to be human powered has to really pay attention to this. There is nothing more demoralizing than cranking your brains off up a long climb only to have to brake on the downhill. Through extensive testing of adjustable prototypes, we have arrived at a basic understanding of 3 wheeled human powered vehicle performance at 40 mph and above. Go-karts with this same direct and quick steering are safe at 160 mph. The ONE-OFF handcycle gains stability as it gains speed. It takes a deliberate and strong turn at the handlebars to make a lane change at 40 mph. Some vehicles are inherently self stabilizing and some aren't. Ask any fork lift driver about going fast with a rear steering vehicle.

#8: Braking: Everyone knows about weight transfer to the front during hard braking. Racing motorcycles have two 12 inch diameter discs in front and practically nothing in back. A handcycle with one wheel in front and two in back obviously has one less wheel to brake with, but the comparison is more dramatic than that. With all the weight of the rider and vehicle transferring onto the one front wheel, the vehicle effectively becomes only one tire wide. Add in a downhill turn and the comparison of braking ability becomes all too obvious. Braking is like the previous two categories (cornering and high speed stability): Where the ONE-OFF handcycle is exploring the limits of tire adhesion and weight transfer, the other handcycles really aren't even safe to experiment with.

#9 Transmission: Being experts at bicycle components, we can offer any conceivable gear ratios. We have gone as low as 3/4 gear inches (this is really only useful for climbing up the side of a building with one hand). This super low gearing would be completely lost in wheel spin on a front wheel drive machine. Have you ever been riding a handcycle up hill and gotten stuck in a gear that is too high? I thought so. The lower speeds and recumbent riding position of most handcycles makes shifting on a steep hill much harder than a regular bicycle. With our transmission, if you don't like the gear your in, just stop and shift. You don't have to stop to shift, but it sure is nice to know you can. This is made possible by the two Schlumpf Mountain Drives. The Mountain Drive web site has a very good explanation of gear inches and how to calculate gear ratios. Also, please note the inevitable price increase in any of our competitors who copy our transmission.

#10 Safety/Moose Test: Last but not least, is safety. How can we encourage high speed descending and use of the chair lift and still claim to be safer?. It's true that we are giving you the low gearing and the huge rear tire to climb into some very nasty places if you choose. So in one sense, we aren't the mild mannered, bike path kind of "safe" handcycle. But when you first feel our three wheeled braking (It has been compared to a snarling German Shepherd coming to the end of its chain) you will feel safe. Likewise when you feel our "on center" handlebars, (and the way you can hit an unexpected patch of stutter bumps in a turn at 40mph) you will feel safe.

I like to refer to the Scandinavian car safety standard called the moose test. I guess significant numbers of cars roll over and crash off the road in Scandinavia from avoiding moose. It happens all the time, it's a basic element of wheeled vehicle safety: swerve and brake at the same time and then swerve back to avoid going off the road. No one would disagree, among handcycles, we are in a category by ourselves on the moose test.