Hey guys!

I was wondering if anyone could explain the difference between the sports (handcycling and wheelchair racing, that is).

I'm doing a little research on both (just started, of course) and it's not very clear from what I can get from the web... just thought maybe someone's tried both or something?

Any personal experience/insight would be great if you wanna share!

Thanks in advance!
Mar.-

Hi

My boyfriend does both. The racing chair and the hand cycle are completely different pieces of equipment. The racing chair involves sitting on your knees and propelling yourself along using the wheels as you would in a regular wheelchair except you are leaning forward while you do it. The hand cycle requires you to lean back with legs straight out in front of you and the pedals are directly in front of you. They both turn at the same time, not like a regular bicycle. Hope that's a help. What else do you need to know?

C

perfectly clear! ...now I get all the pics I've been looking at a lot better...

so, both chairs use 3 wheels, right? do you think you have to have stronger arms for any in particular? guess they're both exhausting, but maybe one is harder to practise than the other?


thanks for your reply!

M.-

actually its a little bit more complicated than that. Wheelchair racing is a forward lean position, combined with an up and down piston like motion with the arms. Unfortunately, those who do quite a bit of wheelchair racing can wind up with some serious shoulder problems, and believe me your rotator cuff is not something you want to damage any time soon. Handcycling has two different main categories -- the knee seat and the long seat. Knee seat is for lower injuries who have abdominal strength. Its still a forward lean but the pressure is more of a forward and down push into the rotation and they sit a little higher, but they have a lot more power and speed thanks to the abs. A long seat is usually more for higher injuries, although there can be some variation just according to preference. If you are handcycling for recreation, there are several cruiser type models. If you're looking at getting into racing though, don't make the mistake I did and get a high profile beast. Your body acts like a sail at higher speeds. My bike has a terminal velocity of about 28 Miles per hour, seven gears on an internal hub, and is fairly heavy (quickie shark). The race I just went to in Southern California was dominated by the athletes riding the Top End Force. Sleek, low to the ground, longseat, 27 gears, 50+ miles per hour on the downs, and just a rocket. (in case you can't tell, that will be my next bike. I think they just came out with a Force "R" but I don't know all the specs on it yet. Anyway, handcycling saves the shoulders... less impact, and works a wider muscle group. Hope that helps.

I guess to put it simply a handcycle is a modified bicycle of sorts whereas I see wheelchair racing as something akin to a footrace and a track and field event. I prefer handcycling--I was never into running track and field before my injury and I tend to stick to adapted versions of sports I enjoyed before my SCI.

Wheels, that Top End Force sounds kick ass.