I got the handle extenders in today ... and I could lower the crankset head 1/2 inch! That made such a difference ... NOT! Well, maybe a little bit.
It DID get the handles out closer to square with my shoulders - 18" versus 22" center line to center line of the shoulder joints.
The extensions are the longest I can use ... and to be honest, they are probably too long - I can see the crank arms flex and torque under maximum push/pull on the handles. That is going to lead to work hardening and stress fractures of the crank arms - I can see it now.
Short term, I can use the handcycle as it is now. Long term, the crank arms, etc need to be changed out.
Now that the handcycle is in realistically usable condition, I'm going to be putting a LOT of miles on it. I have a bunch of races later this year (up to 50 Miles in the Tallahassee Ultra Distance Classic), and I will be doing a LOT of training. We will just have to see how it holds up under the stress.
Perspective - I put well over 200 miles on the leased handcycle in the 3 months I used it. I anticipate putting in that much every month during training. Between training and actual runs, I can easily foresee cranking out 3000 Miles every year.
3000 MILES?!? What can you expect? Replace the tires; replace the chain (probably); the lower end quality cassette and crankset will both be showing signs of wear; those pesky aluminum crank arms could very well suffer fatigue failure within the first year; etc. It can get expensive real quick ...
It DID get the handles out closer to square with my shoulders - 18" versus 22" center line to center line of the shoulder joints.
The extensions are the longest I can use ... and to be honest, they are probably too long - I can see the crank arms flex and torque under maximum push/pull on the handles. That is going to lead to work hardening and stress fractures of the crank arms - I can see it now.
Short term, I can use the handcycle as it is now. Long term, the crank arms, etc need to be changed out.
Now that the handcycle is in realistically usable condition, I'm going to be putting a LOT of miles on it. I have a bunch of races later this year (up to 50 Miles in the Tallahassee Ultra Distance Classic), and I will be doing a LOT of training. We will just have to see how it holds up under the stress.
Perspective - I put well over 200 miles on the leased handcycle in the 3 months I used it. I anticipate putting in that much every month during training. Between training and actual runs, I can easily foresee cranking out 3000 Miles every year.
3000 MILES?!? What can you expect? Replace the tires; replace the chain (probably); the lower end quality cassette and crankset will both be showing signs of wear; those pesky aluminum crank arms could very well suffer fatigue failure within the first year; etc. It can get expensive real quick ...
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