Cyclist Without Arms Needs Bike Repairs Funds
Donation protected
I was born without arms because of the Chernobyl disaster. I use my feet as you use your hands. Believe it or not, I also bike and am an avid cyclist drawing the attention of newspapers and blogs alike (https://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2013/09/22/Pittsburgh-bicycle-maker-builds-wheels-for-man-without-arms/stories/201309220017 https://bikeportland.org/2021/03/11/portlander-michael-trimble-has-never-faced-a-challenge-too-big-327667 )
Cycling for me has been more than just liberating and empowering. It has let me do so much more than I could have ever dreamed of. Biking has been an affirmation of just what is possible when physical limitations are not permitted to bind us from the can do mentality.
Last year I biked 10,868.2 miles. I did this despite the pandemic and the horrible air quality that choked Portland because of the fires that consumed large swaths of Oregon September of that very viral and deadly year. 2017 was the first year I started recording my cycling endeavors in earnest. I'd been biking since 2013, but moving to Oregon in 2016 shifted my cycling into some serious biking gears. I ended 2017 with 4,004.09 miles and biked slightly more in 2018 with 4,144.17 miles. 2019 was quite the cycling trek with me biking 6,724.18 miles. I really wanted to make 2020 a year for the books (and biking goodness me was it (and of course all for the wrong reasons!) I could look back on with fond cycling memories. 10,868.2 miles later, we were upon December. I would have biked even more miles had it not been for my Schlumf gear just falling apart on me mid ride. Not since then has my bike really worked. To have biked though 25,740.64 miles in all that time without any real major maintenance is definitely a cycling work of the biking behemoths!
But I suppose I had evaded the Bike Piper one mile too many and the repairs were long overdue.
I was in a very bad bike crash end of March this year that has left me with a steering handlebar I just can't steer any longer. As you can see my steering handlebar isn't your run of the mill. This steering handlebar has seen its fair share of crashes and sadly this crash completely did it in as the balance is way off and the stem it's attached to is literally in pieces.
I need a a brand new steering handlebar fabricated from scratch, and as fabrications go, they are not cheap. Right now I'm looking at $2,369:
8.5 hours-create bearing mounts, inside and out, assemble to fit standard, weld 31.8mm stem
3 hours-bend tube, weld to inside bearing mount, create yoke Material-Parts
$80 stem
$267 bearing and stock for bearing mounts, tubing
$22 GPS Headset topcap mount Estimate for setup and finish brazing and assemble (includes wiring and ongoing reconfigurations as I test out the new steering).
4.5 hours
Total 16 hours @ $125/hour =$2000 Parts $369
Total $2369
This Ti Cycles fabricator of cycling dreams is creating a movable joint that can pivot around the stem clamp for rotation, similar to how the original adapter was created. It appeared I also took advantage of some free-play that had worked it's way into the original set up so he is building the pivot joint around a spherical bearing that would allow movement in all directions. To limit the movement he's creating rubber stops that act as a cushion at the limits. The adapter is ~100mm shorter than the original to help accommodate a slightly more forward cycling position which should help me recruit the larger muscles in my lower back and glutes, the 8cm stem has been selected because it is 5cm shorter than the 13cm stem I had been using. This will allow me to slowly bend forward by using longer stems and continue to stretch out and extend the time I can use this adapter before I need to have another one built if a more extreme position is desired. He is also going back to the drawing board with my U part that I actually steer the handlebar with. Right now it is solidly welded into place, but he wants to place the U on a pivot joint around a spherical bearing that would allow movement in all directions. It will be very much like the movement of the handlebar at the end of the stem.
I would very much like to get back on my bike. So far I've been able to finance minor tweaks and repairs here and there, but these repairs have certainly derailed me off of my usual biking trails and lanes. No contribution is too small, and every dollar given is deeply appreciated.
Cycling for me has been more than just liberating and empowering. It has let me do so much more than I could have ever dreamed of. Biking has been an affirmation of just what is possible when physical limitations are not permitted to bind us from the can do mentality.
Last year I biked 10,868.2 miles. I did this despite the pandemic and the horrible air quality that choked Portland because of the fires that consumed large swaths of Oregon September of that very viral and deadly year. 2017 was the first year I started recording my cycling endeavors in earnest. I'd been biking since 2013, but moving to Oregon in 2016 shifted my cycling into some serious biking gears. I ended 2017 with 4,004.09 miles and biked slightly more in 2018 with 4,144.17 miles. 2019 was quite the cycling trek with me biking 6,724.18 miles. I really wanted to make 2020 a year for the books (and biking goodness me was it (and of course all for the wrong reasons!) I could look back on with fond cycling memories. 10,868.2 miles later, we were upon December. I would have biked even more miles had it not been for my Schlumf gear just falling apart on me mid ride. Not since then has my bike really worked. To have biked though 25,740.64 miles in all that time without any real major maintenance is definitely a cycling work of the biking behemoths!
But I suppose I had evaded the Bike Piper one mile too many and the repairs were long overdue.
I was in a very bad bike crash end of March this year that has left me with a steering handlebar I just can't steer any longer. As you can see my steering handlebar isn't your run of the mill. This steering handlebar has seen its fair share of crashes and sadly this crash completely did it in as the balance is way off and the stem it's attached to is literally in pieces.
I need a a brand new steering handlebar fabricated from scratch, and as fabrications go, they are not cheap. Right now I'm looking at $2,369:
8.5 hours-create bearing mounts, inside and out, assemble to fit standard, weld 31.8mm stem
3 hours-bend tube, weld to inside bearing mount, create yoke Material-Parts
$80 stem
$267 bearing and stock for bearing mounts, tubing
$22 GPS Headset topcap mount Estimate for setup and finish brazing and assemble (includes wiring and ongoing reconfigurations as I test out the new steering).
4.5 hours
Total 16 hours @ $125/hour =$2000 Parts $369
Total $2369
This Ti Cycles fabricator of cycling dreams is creating a movable joint that can pivot around the stem clamp for rotation, similar to how the original adapter was created. It appeared I also took advantage of some free-play that had worked it's way into the original set up so he is building the pivot joint around a spherical bearing that would allow movement in all directions. To limit the movement he's creating rubber stops that act as a cushion at the limits. The adapter is ~100mm shorter than the original to help accommodate a slightly more forward cycling position which should help me recruit the larger muscles in my lower back and glutes, the 8cm stem has been selected because it is 5cm shorter than the 13cm stem I had been using. This will allow me to slowly bend forward by using longer stems and continue to stretch out and extend the time I can use this adapter before I need to have another one built if a more extreme position is desired. He is also going back to the drawing board with my U part that I actually steer the handlebar with. Right now it is solidly welded into place, but he wants to place the U on a pivot joint around a spherical bearing that would allow movement in all directions. It will be very much like the movement of the handlebar at the end of the stem.
I would very much like to get back on my bike. So far I've been able to finance minor tweaks and repairs here and there, but these repairs have certainly derailed me off of my usual biking trails and lanes. No contribution is too small, and every dollar given is deeply appreciated.
Organizer
Mwt Valentinovich
Organizer
Portland, OR