Developed by the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs office in Minnesota, this remarkable twist on traditional wheelchairs allows users to not only ‘stand up’ on demand (including paraplegics) but to move and maneuver while upright as well.

Standing wheelchairs are not new, but most lock into position and can only be moved again once the user finishes in one spot and sits back down. This modified invention allows for more flexibility, using a market-made system with a bottom anchoring pad, removing that anchor, and adding a chain drive allowing the user to move around while upright.

For the first time in more than 20 years, John Christensen can reach a book on the top shelf without any help. “Makes life a little easier,” Christensen said. “You don’t have to ask anybody to do something for you.” Dr. Gary Goldish took an existing standing wheelchair, and with the input of engineers and veterans, came up with design chances. “We modified it by adding a drive wheel that separated the push rim from the tire,” Goldish said. “The tire is on the ground each time, but it’s just transferring the load between the front and back faster. And that’s what makes it stable and mobile.”

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A fresh iteration on a previous prototype, this latest version of the Halfbike, like its predecessor, offers a more compact way to cycle through the city and uses your movements to turn quickly in bike or pedestrian traffic. Handlebars are still a means of support and indirectly a way to pivot, but it is the user’s body weight that makes the motion happen.

So why Half when you could just Bike (or walk)? “The standing rider position is very close to walking. It allows the rider to control the Halfbike using his or her whole body instead of just the hands like on a bicycle. Furthermore, the spine stays straight and the chest is not constrained between your hands like it is on a bike, which makes using the full capacity of your lungs easier.” It is also great for car trunks that might not have full-bike space.”

The handlebars fold down to make the entire unit more compact, allowing you to carry it or roll it along easily on its back wheels like luggage. The learning curve is supposedly not too steep and the mode of turning relatively intuitive, but it may still take some time to get a feel for the ride. Each vehicle is hand-built by the company, though presumably this will change if they get sufficient market traction.

More on the design inspiration and half-biking experience: “We took the core driving mechanism of a classical bicycle (a wheel connected to a crankset) but redesigned pretty much everything else. The result – a vehicle that trains your balance and reflexes in a new way. Not only on a physical level but it also affects the way you perceive movement and enhances your senses. The standing rider position is essential for the Halfbike. It brings you closer to natural walking and it’s the only way to control the vehicle with your whole body and not just your hands. Halfbike is a sort of an extension to the body that allows a smooth and intuitive ride.”

The post Halfbike: Standing Bike for Best of Both Walking & Cycling first appeared on Gajitz.