Adaptive Mountain Bike Hire – Bowhead RX

The answer to this question can get complex but here's a few things to consider when thinking about if our Bowhead will suit you. There are a lot of modifications that can be made to a Bowhead to suit an individual rider who purhases their own bike and customises it but the club bike comes standard.

Use of Hands

Good control with both hands is required. There is a brake lever on each hand grip. The right grip also has the gear shift buttons next to it which you need to operate with your thumb.

Height of rider

The foot rest can be moved closer in and further out to adjust for riders of different height. If you are an amputee, your legs may or may not reach the calf rests/foot rests. We're happy to take whatever measurements you need to help you decide ahead of time whether the bike will be suitable for you. If you are very tall, it may be that the foot rest does not extend far enough out for your legs to sit completely flat, so you may have to ride with a slight knee bend. Ideally the flatter your legs sit, the less likely your knees are to cause interference with the cranks, however having the footrests at full extension does also decrease the front clearance so you may need to ride with a bit more of a knee bend.

Weight of rider

There are two waist straps to hold a rider in place. There is a padded elastic strap which is done up first and provides some padding between the body and the outer plate which is the main restraint. Some riders with a larger waist measurement may not be able to use the padded strap. The straps on the outer plates have a lot more adjustment and can suit a wider range of body sizes. It is not a safety concern if the smaller padded strap does not reach around your body, the outer plate is what keeps you locked into the bike.

Fitness of rider

The Bowhead does have a motor but a few things will help you enjoy the experience more and pick up the riding skills more quickly. The bike is pedalled by your arms, and the motor assists that. Your arms need to be rotating the cranks whenever you are not going downhill so good arm strength and endurance is required. This is something you can build up if you ride a bike like this regularly, but if it's not something you are already used to, you may find the test ride tough on your arms even with the motor. You also need arm strength for riding downhill where you will feel and need to push against/brace one grip or the other during downhill cornering as well as use your body.

Core strength is also helpful when riding the bike. Due to the bike's ability to articulate and lean, you use your body weight and core strength to help with steering, so good core strength is helpful. Other styles of bikes such as 4 wheelers require less core strength and are much more stable, but are less capable on the trails.

There are heaps of exciting videos online showing what the Bowhead is capable and some amazing riders who absolutely shred at incredible speed.

Like any skill, something new takes time to learn so be prepared that even basic trails may be challenging for you the first time. You might pick up it quickly and progress quickly, or you might discover that there is a lot to think about once you factor in pedalling, gears, brakes, power mode, angulation etc. Sometimes it takes a while to develop those new brain/body pathways for the new skills required to ride this bike faster or more smoothly.

The test ride is not about pushing your limits or the limits of the bike but to find out if the bike is suitable for you as a future option. Riders should remain in control to look after themselves and the bike.

If riding an adaptive bike is completely new for you, we suggest a 2 or 4 hour hire only. Allow an hour for getting fitted to the bike and some instructions/training at the trailhead before using the remainder of your time.

Everyone is different, has different bodies, learns differently, progresses differently and runs out of energy differently.

This depends on your experience and skills.

For brand new riders, riding around the skills parks area at the trailhead, the rail trail or the closest green trail on repeat might be good options until you get used to the handling of the bike. For some riders, that might be all they do on their first time hiring but it will be enough to give them a sense of what riding a Bowhead is like.

More experienced rider might venture further afield, testing out more trails and progressing onto more difficult trails. We will talk to each rider about where they might ride.

It's important to get foundational riding skills under your belt before heading off onto harder trails. If the club member handing over the bike to you has concerns about your ability to handle the bike, they may request that you stick to a particular trail grading or riding area. This is to protect the rider and bike from damage due to lack of skill or control.