Senior Project

The objective of my group's senior project was to design a device that our sponsor, Cal Poly ME Professor Andrew Kean, could use to mountain bike without relying on the strength in his left thumb to grip the handlebar. The following pictures provide a synopsis for our project's life from initial concepts to final prototype!

Due to a prior injury, Professor Kean would feel pain when squeezing the handlebar while riding, so my team designed a wrist brace with an integrated hook that clips onto the bare handlebar between two pieces of a handlebar grip. 

The hook is designed to take the load that would usually be set onto the rider's thumb and instead transmit it through the wrist brace and into the rider's arm.

The thickness of the hook matches that of the handgrip for a comfortable feel. The hook is made of 3D printed carbon fiber-infused nylon and is designed to feel secure when hooked onto the handlebar, but also loose enough that the hook will disconnect from the bike in a crash situation.