How Cycling Projects and Tomcat are helping make cycling more inclusive

Last week, Cycling Projects, a national cycling charity that promotes inclusive cycling, announced that it had joined forces with Tomcat SNI to design a range of trikes.

‘The Dragon’ is a robust, stable and affordable single speed trike for independent teenagers and adults up to 125kg and is ideally suited to multi-user environments.

“We’re a charity based in the North West of England,” says Cycling Project’s charity director Ian Tierney. “It’s the largest network of disability cycling centres in the country. We’re now over 60 locations where people can have access to a broad range of adapted cycles, so from trikes through to handcycles, quads, two-seaters.

“We’re not a manufacturer, we’re not an importer, but we do work with quite a few UK-based and European-based companies. Certainly, we’ve found that Tomcat is one of the manufacturers that listens to what people want, and that’s made a big difference. That’s given us an opportunity to suggest different seating arrangements, different gear ratios, different dimensions for a good quality adapted cycle.”

Tomcat has been supportive of the work of Cycling Projects Wheels for All sessions over the last few years, attending regular sessions and events with children’s and adult adapted cycles. This has helped the charity to identify the types of adapted cycles needed in such diverse multi-user environments and to design and create a new product that meets the needs of those that Cycling Projects regularly work with.

“It’s been really refreshing to work with someone who wants to know how well their end product’s gone down,” Tierney continues. “About a year back we started talking about a good quality but reasonably priced recumbent tricycle that could work well in all our Wheels for All centres, and both Bob and Nazia at Tomcat listened, and they went away with some designs and tested it in a couple of locations, and it’s gone down really well.

“We’re always looking for ways around, to make it easier for people to cycle, whether that’s with the backing of manufacturers, local authorities, and national governing bodies, it’s something that we’re quite passionate about, to make sure that there are ways. In this case, it’s been really well received.”

The Tomcat Dragon is currently available to try at Midland Mencap Parkride sessions at Sutton Coldfied, other locations are yet to be confirmed. Visit www.cycling.org.uk to find the nearest inclusive cycling session. Visit www.tomcatuk.org for further information about the range of trikes.