Tom Wheeler's preparation for a mountain bike ride is anything but typical. In addition to his helmet and gloves, he secures a custom-built arm brace—a piece of adaptive technology he designed himself.
Fifteen years ago, Wheeler lost the use of his right arm after a crash during a race in Rheola, near Neath in south Wales. "Right at the end of a track my hand caught a branch and I went flying over the handlebars," he recalls. "It was a huge impact. I just assumed I'd dislocated my shoulder. Then we realised that I couldn't feel my right arm." The accident tore out 80% of the nerves connecting his right arm to his body, leaving him without sensation or movement.
Yet even from his hospital bed, Wheeler was determined to return to the sport he loved. "The brace was something I dreamed up in hospital. I just pictured myself with this arm brace and getting back to doing what I always did," he says.
Collaborating with colleagues at the suspension company where he worked, Wheeler developed the first prototype of his brace, which incorporates a mountain bike damper—a key component of a bike's suspension system. "It was about three days since I got back home and I was already in the garage having a look at my bike and working it out," he says. "I was familiar with other riders who'd had similar injuries and they'd set their bikes up to use with just one hand. It wasn't easy."
Over 15 years, Wheeler has refined his design, adding Velcro to keep his fingers in place, shoulder straps for stability, and an emergency release mechanism for crashes—something he has tested extensively. "There's nothing worse than being strapped to your bike when you're going down with it," he notes.
Since its creation, the brace has attracted global attention. "It became really super apparent early on that this stuff doesn't exist. Almost instantly I'd got people reaching out going 'I want what you've got'," Wheeler says. "So that's kind of what I've been trying to aim to do. Just get people riding on adaptive set-ups all around the world."
One beneficiary is former Wales Para-athlete Morgan Jones. After finishing fourth in the T47 100m track sprint at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, Jones took up mountain biking during the pandemic. "I was getting into riding myself and starting to look for advice or support on how to get the most out of riding with one arm. This has transformed my riding," he says. Jones now uses a unique prosthetic hand designed by Wheeler, which integrates seamlessly with his riding setup.