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Handcycle

Bicycles and Human-Powered Road Vehicles

A handcycle is a human-powered vehicle propelled by turning hand cranks rather than pedaling with the feet, allowing riders to generate propulsion using their arms and upper body. Handcycles are most closely associated with cyclists who have limited or no use of their legs, and they range from simple attachments that convert a wheelchair into a cycle to purpose-built recumbent frames designed specifically for speed and endurance. Handcycling has also become a dedicated competitive category, contested as a paracycling discipline at events including the Paralympic Games.

Facts
Partially Attested
Year
1655 1
The source dates Stephan Farffler's manumotive carriage to 1655 as an early precursor; it is not the modern handcycle.
Manufacturer or Builder
Invacare (Top End), Intrepid Equipment, Varna, Schmicking, Sunrise Medical (Quickie) 1
The source names these manufacturers for one style of handcycle; the handcycle is a generic type with no single builder.
Significance
Human-powered land vehicle powered by the arms rather than the legs 1
Sources
1. Handcycle, Wikipedia
  • History section, sentence on Stephan Farffler
    Stephan Farffler was a Nuremberg watchmaker of the seventeenth century whose invention of a manumotive carriage in 1655 is widely considered to have been the first self-propelled bicycle.
  • Description section, defining sentence
    A handcycle is a type of human-powered land vehicle powered by the arms rather than the legs, as on a bicycle.
  • Article text, sentence listing manufacturers of this type of handcycle
    Manufacturers of this type of handcycle include Invacare (Top End), Intrepid Equipment, Varna, Schmicking and Sunrise Medical (Quickie).
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