Innovation & possibility through design
Karen and the team are proud to be working with various enabling technology businesses on the POP project. Our sponsors Sinequa, BBraun & Anatomical Concepts are all about enabling technology in various fields. Specifically in Antarctica Karen will be testing new technology to enable movement on the ice. This includes:-
- Mechanical and engineering design technology in an ICE /Ztrike.
- Lubricants and puncture sealants designed specifically for low temperatures by Adhestik.
- Suspension ‘Loopwheels’ and wheelchair skis from Hickleys Healthcare to enable movement on snow and ice.
- Medical technology to manage healthcare in the wilderness, including catheter maintenance solutions by BBraun.
ICE and ZTrikes have created an incredible new hand-pedalled fat-trike. It was always Karen’s vision to explore Antarctica by handbike, but until now a sit-ski has been the only viable method. This will be the first attempt by anyone to hand-cycle in the frozen continent.
Driven by a desire to help improve access to nature for people without use of their legs, the Ziskind brothers at ZTrikes put their creative mechanical engineering minds to work. ICE (Inspired Cycle Engineering) Trikes have donated one of their full fat-trikes for Karen and the Pole of Possibility team to test, and ZTrikes have added their handbike design. This is a world-first attempt at creating a hand-pedalled attachment to fit a fat-trike.
The ICE leg-trike has previously created a World Record for the first person to cycle to the South Pole. Welsh adventurer Maria Leijerstam raced over 400 miles to the South Pole to beat two male contenders to claim the world record in 2013.
The leg-trike followed a hard-packed ice-road into the South Pole, whereas Karen and the team will be crossing virgin plateau ice.
The ZTrike designers Ran and Yos have been testing the bike with Karen in the landscape that inspired their design. Israel: in plus 35 C rather than minus 35 C! A little hotter than Antarctica 🙂
We are also fortunate to be working with Adhestick Innovations Ltd including Joe’s No Flats. The tech-team there have created special lubricants and puncture-sealing liquid that can sustain temperatures as low as minus 50 C.
You can read more about the story behind the ZTrike here and see a brief bit of testing action in the video below.
The Ztrikes are available to purchase.
Some of the great features are:
- Rear-wheel drive to maximise grip and traction.
- Huge gear range with a Rohloff 14-speed hub.
- Quick-release, easy-adjustable crank position.
- Ease of access to seat due to movable hand-crank.
- Easy to adjust seat position & angle to optimise power-production.
- Fits onto ICE trike to give fat-tyre options for serious terrain.
- Enables use of existing robust designs of trike technology.
If you are interested to order your own Ztrike, please message via ICE trikes.
