Go Back  Bike Forums > Bike Forums > Fifty Plus (50+)
Reload this Page >

Bandit finished

Notices
Fifty Plus (50+) Share the victories, challenges, successes and special concerns of bicyclists 50 and older. Especially useful for those entering or reentering bicycling.

Bandit finished

Old 01-25-21, 11:10 AM
  #1  
tigat
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
tigat's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Colorado
Posts: 557

Bikes: 2021 Trek Checkpoint SL (GRX Di2), 2020 Domane SLR 9 (very green), 2016 Trek Emonda SL, 2009 Bianchi 928, 1972 Atala Record Pro

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 85 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 143 Times in 55 Posts
Bandit finished

For those of you who may not have been following my earlier posts on this topic, the pictures below represent a single hand control system on a Trek Domane nick-named the Bandit, a project that Trek started for me, a one-handed rider, some years ago.

Some great bikes resulted, but one of the project goals was to make the adaptation with easy to assemble, completely off the shelf parts. Last week, it happened. The bike uses Shimano Di2 components set up in synchronized mode, so both the shifter on the hood and the climbing button on the bar top engage the full range of gears. Likewise, both the brake lever on the hood and the Shimano GRX bar top, in line lever fire the front and rear disc brakes simultaneously with great modulation and very little lever pull effort. The result: full one-handed control of every braking and shifting component from the bar top/the hood/the drop. The device attached to the outlet portal on the GRX lever is a Pro Edition Double, made by a Korean company named Outbraker.

Long story short - this is awesome! I have never felt safer or more in control on a bike.

Please forgive the duplicate posting on several forums - you just never know where you might reach someone who has a friend who might benefit from something like this.


Finished bike

Front view

Close-up

Attachment

With Climber
tigat is offline  
Old 01-25-21, 11:46 AM
  #2  
big john
Senior Member
 
big john's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: In the foothills of Los Angeles County
Posts: 25,106
Mentioned: 8 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 8191 Post(s)
Liked 8,849 Times in 4,396 Posts
Why even have the left lever? I was dropped by an amputee rider who had some kind of device between his shoulder and the bar. I think it was to help him with control and he would take his hand off the bar to wave. He was a very strong climber and I saw him way up in the mountains.

Did you end up doing any more gravel/off road riding? I remember you were trying it out a while back.
big john is offline  
Likes For big john:
Old 01-25-21, 11:55 AM
  #3  
AlmostTrick
Tortoise Wins by a Hare!
 
AlmostTrick's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Looney Tunes, IL
Posts: 7,398

Bikes: Wabi Special FG, Raleigh Roper, Nashbar AL-1, Miyata One Hundred, '70 Schwinn Lemonator and More!!

Mentioned: 22 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1549 Post(s)
Liked 941 Times in 504 Posts
Beautiful pictures of a beautiful bike! I'm glad it's working out so well for you. Thanks for posting!
AlmostTrick is offline  
Likes For AlmostTrick:
Old 01-25-21, 12:06 PM
  #4  
shelbyfv
Expired Member
 
shelbyfv's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: TN
Posts: 11,459
Mentioned: 37 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3637 Post(s)
Liked 5,314 Times in 2,700 Posts
Nice color! Is Bandit a slot machine reference? Funny
shelbyfv is offline  
Likes For shelbyfv:
Old 01-25-21, 12:08 PM
  #5  
tigat
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
tigat's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Colorado
Posts: 557

Bikes: 2021 Trek Checkpoint SL (GRX Di2), 2020 Domane SLR 9 (very green), 2016 Trek Emonda SL, 2009 Bianchi 928, 1972 Atala Record Pro

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 85 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 143 Times in 55 Posts
Originally Posted by big john
Why even have the left lever? I was dropped by an amputee rider who had some kind of device between his shoulder and the bar. I think it was to help him with control and he would take his hand off the bar to wave. He was a very strong climber and I saw him way up in the mountains.

Did you end up doing any more gravel/off road riding? I remember you were trying it out a while back.
John:

1. Left lever is there for symmetry - looks - and when I loan the bike to my son.

2. There are some pretty cool prosthetics like what you described but they are of limited use to me given where my amputation is - at the shoulder..

3. Since long mountain climbs are largely in the saddle, an amputee is not at a great disadvantage. I have been doing the Triple Bypass and other mtn. climbing events for years.

4. Only about 500 miles of gravel last year. Hopefully, much more to come this year.
tigat is offline  
Likes For tigat:
Old 01-25-21, 09:07 PM
  #6  
jppe
Let's do a Century
 
jppe's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 8,316

Bikes: Cervelo R3 Disc, Pinarello Prince/Campy SR; Cervelo R3/Sram Red; Trek 5900/Duraace, Lynskey GR260 Ultegra

Mentioned: 59 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 651 Post(s)
Liked 879 Times in 408 Posts
Beautiful bike. Love what’s been done to it. I hope you get a lot of safe miles on it!

An off topic question. I have to really work on my bike posture. For whatever reason I tend to lean to the left when I ride. When I’m leaning, if I look straight down when sitting on the saddle and pedaling, the top tube is way right of the bottom bracket. It happens when I haven’t been riding often and especially occurs on really long rides. My left arm will get very, very tired. To correct it I make myself lean to the right until the bike frame under me is properly aligned. Maybe for me it’s just poor core muscles.

As hard as it is for me I was wondering if that’s something you deal with. I can’t imagine riding with just one arm. Mine would probably get extremely tired after a while. Do you do any additional efforts to work on your core?
__________________
Ride your Ride!!

Last edited by jppe; 01-25-21 at 09:17 PM.
jppe is offline  
Old 01-26-21, 04:53 PM
  #7  
tigat
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
tigat's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Colorado
Posts: 557

Bikes: 2021 Trek Checkpoint SL (GRX Di2), 2020 Domane SLR 9 (very green), 2016 Trek Emonda SL, 2009 Bianchi 928, 1972 Atala Record Pro

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 85 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 143 Times in 55 Posts
Originally Posted by jppe
Beautiful bike. Love what’s been done to it. I hope you get a lot of safe miles on it!
Thx Jppe. Me too.

I don't do any core specific work, although much of my time on the trainer (about 7 hours a week these days) I'm down in the drop or puppy paw off the front. Other than that, 47 years without an arm now and a really active lifestyle has pretty much done the trick. On super long rides - over 100 miles - I find myself sitting up a bit with my hand on the bar top, which is probably somewhat fatigue related. Makes me very excited about the bar top lever.
tigat is offline  
Likes For tigat:
Old 01-27-21, 03:29 PM
  #8  
John E
feros ferio
 
John E's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: www.ci.encinitas.ca.us
Posts: 21,765

Bikes: 1959 Capo Modell Campagnolo; 1960 Capo Sieger (2); 1962 Carlton Franco Suisse; 1970 Peugeot UO-8; 1982 Bianchi Campione d'Italia; 1988 Schwinn Project KOM-10;

Mentioned: 44 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1384 Post(s)
Liked 1,294 Times in 819 Posts
This is a brilliant piece of adaptive engineering -- thanks for sharing. I have a neighbor who lost his left arm at the shoulder in a freak accident at a construction site -- I'll mention it to him next time I see him out and about in the 'hood. I have another friend who is physically active and who years ago lost his right arm a few inches below the shoulder. What would be involved in adapting for left-only operation, which also might appeal to the bike polo set?
__________________
"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069
John E is offline  
Old 01-27-21, 04:29 PM
  #9  
tigat
Senior Member
Thread Starter
 
tigat's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Colorado
Posts: 557

Bikes: 2021 Trek Checkpoint SL (GRX Di2), 2020 Domane SLR 9 (very green), 2016 Trek Emonda SL, 2009 Bianchi 928, 1972 Atala Record Pro

Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 85 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 143 Times in 55 Posts
Originally Posted by John E
This is a brilliant piece of adaptive engineering -- thanks for sharing. ... What would be involved in adapting for left-only operation, which also might appeal to the bike polo set?
Thanks, John. This was truly a multi-year collaboration with my friends at Trek and some great local wrenches - one of the more satisfying things I've worked on since my days at the National Sports Center for the Disabled, when we were experimenting with technologies to get paralyzed skiers back on the slopes.

As for left side - right side, obviously the di2 brake shifter comes in both left hand and right hand versions, and the left lever can be programed to do exactly what the right does on my bike. The GRX bar top lever also comes in a left side version. The Outbraker has no idea what side it is on, so I think the lefties are set.
tigat is offline  
Old 01-27-21, 06:35 PM
  #10  
gthomson
Senior Member
 
gthomson's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2020
Location: Great White North
Posts: 1,213

Bikes: 2013 Cannondale Caad 8, 2010 Opus Fidelio, 1985 Peugeot UO14, 1999 Peugeot Dune, Sakai Select, L'Avantage, 1971 Gitane Apache Standard, 1999 Specialized Hard Rock

Mentioned: 10 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 543 Post(s)
Liked 469 Times in 299 Posts
Great looking bike and glad to hear you can do what you want to do without limitations. Biking should be for everyone!
gthomson is offline  
Likes For gthomson:
Old 01-31-21, 07:16 PM
  #11  
qcpmsame 
Semper Fi
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Posts: 12,942
Mentioned: 89 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1172 Post(s)
Liked 358 Times in 241 Posts
Wow, just plain WOW, this Bandit is one beautiful piece of engineering and adaptive design/craftsmanship. Good see you got it finished before the spring is upon us!! That green colourway is magnificent, great execution by the Project One shop at Trek. You have had some great collaborations with those wizards of bicycle advancement.

Bill
__________________
Semper Fi, USMC, 1975-1977

I Can Do All Things Through Him, Who Gives Me Strength. Philippians 4:13


qcpmsame is offline  
Likes For qcpmsame:
Old 02-01-21, 08:02 AM
  #12  
OldTryGuy
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: SW Fl.
Posts: 5,604

Bikes: Day6 Semi Recumbent "FIREBALL", 1981 Custom Touring Paramount, 1983 Road Paramount, 2013 Giant Propel Advanced SL3, 2018 Specialized Red Roubaix Expert mech., 2002 Magna 7sp hybrid, 1976 Bassett Racing 45sp Cruiser

Mentioned: 17 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1063 Post(s)
Liked 771 Times in 499 Posts
Cool Beans >>> enjoy
OldTryGuy is online now  

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off


Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.