Greenville Cycling & Multi-Sport | USA Hand Bike Circuit

Cycling tips from Olympic Coach Jim Cunningham

7/10/15

Hand cycles appear quite different than road bikes to many cyclists. Although there are lots of differences, there are many similarities. The largest difference between a road bike and a hand cycle is the frame. The shape and geometry is completely different. This makes a lot of sense as upright riders pedal with their legs and hand cyclists with their arms. The next major difference is number of wheels with hand cycles consisting of three wheels. Beyond these differences the parts; derailleurs, shifters, cables, cranks & rings, tires, etc. are very similar and in many cases the exact same parts used on upright, two-wheel road bikes.

When we move to the riding of a hand cycle, the kinesiology of riding a hand cycle if you will, there are major differences and not many similarities. First of all, kinesiology is the study of human movement addressing physiological, mechanical and psychological mechanisms (per Wikipedia). The movements made to propel a hand cycle come entirely from the upper body and many of its muscle groups including back, chest, shoulder, biceps & triceps and is some cases abdominal muscles. These muscles not only propel the bike but also steer the bike. This is one of the main reasons crank arms are non-opposed on a hand cycle. If they were opposed the bike would in most cases shimmy from side to side and turning would be a bit more difficult. As hand cyclists use smaller muscle groups compared to upright bikes it is also important to have appropriate gearing to allow for relatively high cadences or rpm’s. When cadences drop too low for a hand cyclist he or she often will simply stop. A hand cyclist, unlike an upright cyclist, cannot stand up and pull on the handle bars while not only pedaling with legs and glutes but also using body weight to continue to propel an upright bike.

Some very positive benefits of riding a hand cycle versus an upright bike include a low and sometimes very low center of gravity (varies based on hand cycle model), often much better aerodynamics and ability to corner at a high rate of speed (varies based on hand cycle model). Many hand cycles have a particularly long wheel base and this coupled with a low center of gravity and three wheels makes for fast speed through corners. Finally, with three wheels on the ground the potential for crashing is much lower than upright bikes. Bump wheels on an upright bike and chances are high for a fall. On a hand cycle, bumping is much more innocuous due the three wheels in tow.

So enjoy your hand cycle riding and look for some discussion of training modes and methods next time around!

Jim Cunningham
Head Coach & Founder
Greenville Cycling & Multi-Sport
www.GreenvilleCyclingMultiSport.com
[email protected]

 

Handcycle Racing by: Coach, Bob Kramer

11/17/15

Handcycling, by definition, is riding a tricycle using your hands and arms for propulsion instead of your legs. Like
bicycle racing, handcycling is an olympic sport. It has been included in Paralympics since 2004. So, there is now a wide
range of handcycle competitions and it is growing every year.

If you are interested in racing a handcycle, the training regimen will be similar to training for bicycle racing. The focus is
on Strength, endurance and speed. Following are some general guidelines to help you get started. First of all, you need
to determine what your strengths and weaknesses are. If you are very light with powerful arms and shoulders, you might
be a better than average climber. If you have the ability to accelerate your pedaling cadence (rpm) quickly and sustain a
very high cadence for a minute or so, you may be a better than average sprinter.

Or, maybe your forte is grinding away in a high gear for a longish distance, this could lead to some good time trial
results. You will need to ride for a few weeks and do some experimenting to discover what your strengths are. Once
you begin to figure it out, then your training should revolve around maximizing your strengths while improving your
weaknesses. As you improve, the knowledge of your strengths and weaknesses will guide you as to what types of races
you should enter. The most common options are Road races, Time Trials and Criteriums. Each type of race requires a
different set of strengths and cycling skills.

As a beginning racer you should try all types of racing. You may find that you excel at longer road races when you
viewed yourself as more of a sprinter.  Training and racing is really a journey of self discovery. You will be constantly
learning about yourself.  Your first 6 to 8 weeks of serious training should focus on developing cardiovascular endurance
and muscular endurance. This is usually accomplished with a combination of cycling and weight training. Start out riding
3 times per week and lifting 3 times per week. As you gain cycling endurance and skill, you will want to cut down to 2
time per week in the gym and 4 times per week riding.

At this time you would want to select a couple of races that you want to try riding. Your longest training ride of the week
should be 1 ½ times the distance of your longest planned race.  In this early phase of training (Base Building), the weight
lifting part should focus on lighter weight that enable you to work up to 3 sets of 20 reps each, to promote muscle
endurance. Exercises should include; bench press, incline press, lat pull downs, and chin ups. If you have movement and
control of your abdominal region, you will also include crunches, modified deadlifts and rowing. The goal in the early
stages of weight training is to develop good form, use as much range of motion as you can in each joint and build
superior muscle endurance.

If there is a stationary handcycle available at the gym, use it for your warm up, prior to lifting. If there is no handcycle
available, use the rowing machine for the warm up.

To be continued…