Michigan Tech Students build a bike for wounded athletes


News Media Cavalcade:

Chevrolet Tests Hand Cycle at Marathon

A year after Michigan Technological University engineering students designed a more durable and comfortable hand cycle for wounded athletes, Chevrolet – the project’s sponsor – will test the cycle for the first time in Sunday’s Detroit Free Press/Talmer Bank International Marathon.

Operating the hand cycle – called the Tomahawk – will be retired National Guard Staff Sgt. Travis Wood of Cedar City, Utah. Wood, who lost his right leg above the knee in a 2007 bomb blast in Afghanistan, is among 20 members of the Achilles Freedom Team of Wounded Veterans competing in Detroit as guests of Metro Detroit Chevy Dealers.

Read More of this GM Article: Chevrolet Tests Hand Cycle at Marathon

From the Detroit Free Press:

A marathon of 26.2 miles daunts many an athlete.

But for six college students from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, the Detroit Free Press/Talmer Bank Marathon has been an equally tough engineering challenge.

The six, all seniors at Michigan Technological University in Houghton, spent much of this year designing and building a hand cycle, a type of three-wheeled bike that is cranked by hand in the marathon’s division called AWD, for Athletes with Disabilities.

Read More at Detroit Free Press

Another Detroit Free Press Article about the Detroit Free Press/Talmer Bank Marathon

MLive also featured the cycle:

Chevrolet will test a new unique hand cycle this weekend at a marathon in Detroit, according to General Motors Co.

The three-wheel hand cycle, which GM CEO and chairman Dan Akerson unveiled at the 113th Army-Navy football game in August 2012, was designed by Michigan Technological University students to make it easier for wounded veterans and others to compete in racing events, including marathons.

MLive article: GM: Chevrolet to test unique hand cycle at Detroit marathon

From GM Authority:

Chevrolet-Sponsored Hand Cycle For Wounded Athletes Makes Marathon Debut

Photo of April 2013 Version of hand cycle, a type of three-wheeled bike that is cranked by hand at MEEM Senior Capstone Design Day at Michigan Tech