Able Bodied: Adaptive Cycling Audit
Making High-End E-Assist Handcycling Accessible and Affordable
📽️ Adaptive Tech: The E-Assist Advantage
Able Bodied is a 501(c)(3) non-profit based in San Jose and Sebastopol. They aren’t just a bike shop—they are a community-led movement helping people with disabilities experience "able-bodied" adventures through electric-assist handcycling technology.
Transitioning from a wheelchair to a handcycle can be intimidating. Able Bodied utilizes specialized ramps designed to elevate the handcycle, allowing for a nearly level transfer. This small engineering detail removes a massive barrier to entry for many users.
🚲 Free 1-on-1 Lessons
The heart of the program is mentorship. All cycles in their fleet are equipped with electric assist, allowing riders to keep up with friends on standard bikes and tackle steep local hills like Mt. Hamilton without exhaustion. They offer specialized cycles optimized for various needs, including the Stricker Tetra Lipo Smart for quadriplegic riders.
💰 Bridging the Financial Gap
Handcycles can cost upwards of $15,000. Able Bodied helps riders navigate grants from the Challenged Athletes Foundation and provides "DIY" knowledge for adding electric motors to standard cycles to keep equipment costs under $2,000.
🔓 Freedom in the Mountains
Disability doesn’t have to stop you from exploring the backroads of the Santa Cruz Mountains. By focusing on e-assist and community knowledge, Able Bodied takes the "struggle" out of adaptive cycling and replaces it with pure speed and independence.