DIY Adaptive Bike Pedal for Bicycle

Hey there everyone!

Girl with Cerebral Palsy rides Bike.

You all would know by now that Kyra has mastered her Trike, Amazing right?

We never though this day would come. But just like that she moved on to a bicycle.

For Trike we used adaptive pedals from Kettler, They worked great but they did not fit our bicycle pedal. Now the question of why does she need adaptive pedals?

Kyra has foot drop due to Cerebral palsy, it's a gait abnormality in which the dropping of the forefoot happens due to weakness, due paralysis of the muscles in the anterior portion of the lower leg. The adaptive pedal allows foot to be strapped into pedal for a stable pedaling platform offering more stability to someone who needs more help with balance and leg strength.

Now finding an adaptive pedal for bicycle was so expensive, each pedal was $80. I can hardly afford that. So we started on a DIY mission. We did try those cheap amazon straps, but to be honest I didn't like them much, it did not keep Kyra's foot where it needed to be. She needed a platform to keep her foot strapped in.

This pedal is easy to make, and very cheap depending on how many tools you have on hand and very functional.

I am gonna show you how to make these pedals in pictures, they are pretty easy to follow, but if you have questions, let me know.

Things you will need:

Tools Materials

Jig saw Cedar wood - select the lightest possible wood

Wood staple gun Hex nut 1/4

Sandpaper Lockwasher med split 3/4

Carriage Bolt 1/4

Popcorn Box from dollar store - or any other flexible plastic, if its stiff it wont bend at heel

Instructions:

1. Trace an outline of the shoe on the wood. Cut the wood using jigsaw along the outline. Cut another smaller rectangular piece for the bottom. This piece has to be smaller than the shoe shaped piece, see pic 4 below. I forgot to take picture of it before I drilled holes in it, so dont get confused.

Sand all the edges of the wooden pieces you just cut.

Mark two 'x' keeping the wood at the center of pedal. Make sure the marks are outside the pedal and not going through it. Use the drill bits and make holes along the 'x', the drill bits used are as wide as the bolt.

Use Twist drill bit or a traditional one to make the hole first, syn these holes with the bottom part as well, they have to be in a line or else the bolt wont pass through it. Also make sure both parts are at center to bear the weight equally.

Then use Spade drill bit and carve out the circles on the wood so that the bolt is flused with the wood and is not sticking out.

This piece will Hold the foot in place so it doesnt move side to side or back. Take Dollar store popcorn box, or any other plastic container and cut it for the heel. It should not be higher than the shoe, or else it will hurt to pedal. It shouldn't be too low or it wont hold the foot in place. Cut with scissors.

Place the piece on the heel and staple it in place with wood staple gun. If you dont have this you can try small wood screws, but I am not sure if this flexible plastic will be able to hold a screw. In that case try a more stiffer plastic if you want to use screws and not staples.

Take a 14 inch long (depending on child's foot) cable tie, or single strap tie, or velcro. Loop it from under the pedal. Attach the adaptive pedal to bicycle pedal. First is the top part, then the velcro, then the bicycle pedal, then the bottom wood. Pass the bolt from top piece, attach washer and nut in the bottom one and tighten them together sandwiching the bicycle pedal.

Link for the Black pedal strap shown in picture below http://a.co/5m6oZH4

All Done!

See I told you it wasn't difficult at all. Kyra loved the pedals, they were not heavy at all. She was finally able to ride her bicycle all by herself and the smile says it all.