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Bruce Dean’s story is one of inspiration and creativity.
After a skiing accident left his knees badly injured he was prescribed a mobility scooter to help him get around, something he personally viewed as “a death sentence.” He didn’t want to be confined to a motorized chair to get around. Even though it might save his knees, he feared it would lead to inactivity, obesity and further health issues. Instead, he came up with an innovative solution – he created a custom e-chopper bicycle to help him get around.
For Dean’s condition this chopper is perfect; he’s now highly mobile and getting plenty of exercise in a knee-friendly fashion, and he can use the electric motor to assist him whenever he needs it. He’s even able to pull a trailer behind him and take his daughter to school on his awesome-looking custom ride, making it a truly versatile mobility aid. “The only slow thing about [this bike] is people trying to stop me to talk about it,” he commented.
While the vast majority of attention that Dean receives is positive, using this bike is not all high times and easy riding. The laws regarding e-bikes, especially in his native British Columbia, can be quite restrictive and not easily navigable. This has even lead to confrontations with authorities who believe that his bike might violate street laws, even though it is far less powerful than a traditional scooter. He’s hoping to demonstrate the enabling power a bike like this can have and call for a reevaluation of local legislation to make e-bikes more accessible.
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