A Tricycle is a type of human-powered land vehicle powered by the arms rather than the legs, as on a bicycle. Most hand cycles are tricycle in form, with two coasting rear wheels and one steerable powered front wheel. Despite usually having three wheels, they are also known as hand bikes.
Many manufacturers have designed and released hand-powered recumbent trikes, or hand-cycles. Hand-cycles are a regular sight at HPV meets and are beginning to be seen on the streets. These usually follow a delta design with front wheels driven by standard derailleur gearing powered by hand cranks. Brake levers are usually mounted on the handholds which are usually mounted in phase, unlike pedal cranks, which are usually 180° out of phase. This allows the rider to more easily use their torso to help propel the cycle. The entire crank assembly and the front wheel turn together, allowing the rider to steer and crank simultaneously.
Single Hand Drive Tricycle come in a variety of styles, making them accessible to people with a wide variety of disabilities. There are also hybrids between a hand cycle, a recumbent bike and a tricycle.
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| Single Hand Drive Tricycle |
Fork steer hand cycles represent the majority of hand cycles sold. They work well for both low and high-level spinal injuries, and most have adjustable footrests, seat angle, and come with a variety of gearing, wheel and tire configurations depending on intended use: racing, recreation, or touring. Manufacturers of this type of hand cycle include Invacare (Top End), Intrepid Equipment, Verna, Schmicking and Sunrise Medical.
Lean steer hand cycles are another type of hand cycle. In this type of hand cycle the rider leans into the turn to steer. There is a longer learning curve with lean steer hand cycles, and they are significantly less stable at high speed. The lean steer system feels similar to mono skiing: using your whole body to steer the hand cycle. Lean steer hand cycles can work well for lower-level injuries; although, some athletes with high-level disability use them as well. Manufacturers of this type of hand cycle include Lighting Hand cycles and Brike International Ltd.
Hand trike
Another type of lean steer hand trike has two steering rear wheels and one non-steerable, powered front wheel with handholds offset at 180°, similar to pedal cranks, that can be operated with only one hand, thus making it easy to ride on an up-hill[citation needed], and it can be ridden in a tighter curve with the automatic rear wheels steering system.
