Freewheeling independantly

My daughter Nicole (aged 12) has Down’s Syndrome and loves to go out cycling with us as a family. For the last few years we have used a Piggy Back 24in-wheel trailer trike by Mission cycles. Now Nicole is getting older, we are thinking of investing in a tandem. We don’t wish to buy a special disability tandem. It must be capable of going on a roof rack (for a tandem), and the front top tube should be low enough to allow my wife to ride out with Nicole, not just me.

Most importantly, the setup should allow for Nicole to freewheel at any time and not have to pedal constantly. She loves cycling but can only pedal in bursts.

Michael Armstrong

The Hase Pino or Circe Morpheus look like suitable candidates, but ‘upright’ independent-pedalling tandems are thin on the ground. You may be able to find an engineering company willing to experiment in this area. See the website davincitandems.com for ideas.

Richard Hallett

Cycle’s Technical Editor

This Q&A was published in 'Cycle' the magazine for members of Cycling UK. To contact the experts, email your technical, health, legal or policy questions to editor@cyclinguk.org or write to Cycle Q&A, PO Box 313, Scarborough, YO12 6WZ