Is there a bicycle brake adapted for users with epilepsy?

Ellen has had epilepsy all her life. She has learned to live with unexpected seizures and tries to avoid the disease placing restrictions on her activities. She wants to be active and independent like others. Ellen wants to ride her bicycle. It creates endless opportunities and the feeling of being able to participate. It does not come without risk to Ellen. Ellen does not know if she will stop the bike if she should have a seizure. She always has a friend with her, but it does not help much if she cannot control the speed in time. 

Traditional bicycle brakes require the user to apply power to be activated. When a seizure occurs, a cyclist with epilepsy will typically lose control of the muscles and therefore not activate the brake. 

A quick search for “epilepsy brake” yields few results; few solutions are available in the market for this large group of people. 

The SmartBrake Switch is designed explicitly for epilepsy and Parkinson’s. We programmed the brake to work like a regular brake, only with the opposite movement. The user holds the lever in to release the brakes and releases the lever to achieve the braking effect. In a seizure, the user will experience that the bicycle stops safely. 

The wireless technology can also be combined with a companion control (buddy brake), so that a friend can brake on behalf of the user in the event of a seizure. 

But, is wireless brakes safe? 

Yes, SmartBrake has a built-in fail-safe that automatically activates the brake in low battery or signal failure. For example, the brake will be activated if a companion comes more than 30m away from the bicycle. The SmartBrake technology has been developed and thoroughly tested over many years and is based on a recognized and proven communication platform (RF / BLE). 

SmartBrake is modular like Lego, and you can build the kit according to your needs. Mounting the kit on your bike is easy and does not require special tools. You can order SmartBrake directly on our webshop or contact our distributors for assistance.