Engineering students at the University of Wisconsin at Madison have devised a
more efficient trike for disabled people who cannot use their legs to get
around. The trike has a novel up-and-down pump drive mechanism that people work
with their arms. This provides more power than other cycles for the disabled,
which use hand cranks imitating bike pedals, or a rowing-motion. The trike’s
up-down handlebars also contain the controls for brakes and gear shifting, as
well as steering. The students have a patent pending on the new drive
mechanism.
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