The impact

Anna Connors
Competitive runner and modern dancer

3 years of Alinkering

Hi!

My name is Anna & I am a proud Alinker user for about 3 years now. I didn't realize how big of an impact this cool yellow trike would have on my world. Little by little this piece of equipment became a part of my everyday life. I happen to have Multiple Sclerosis. This disease has slowly ripped away the life I once knew and loved. My right side became weak, my gait was off balance and labored, my fatigue would kick in at opportune times. I used to be a dancer of ballet and modern dance, a competitive runner and a rabid gym rat. When I was diagnosed with this dreadful disease it gradually stripped away the person that I was. I no longer felt like “me”.

I was becoming someone that I didn't recognize or even like anymore. I started to give up on things that I used to love to do because I felt insecure with myself and my physical capabilities. I sure didn't want to ask for help from others! I have always been independent and I wasn't going to let that change now. So I would gradually excuse myself from outings and concerts (that I love dearly) because I didn't want to be a burden to others.

Walking became difficult and I was always afraid of tripping and falling. I was so unsure of myself with my walking limitations and frankly didn't want to appear weak or as someone to feel sorry for. I was now using a cane (which I hated using) but decided to decorate it to make it cool. I knew eventually I would need a walker as my disease progressed. This just horrified me! NO WAY were you going to catch me using that! Not that there's anything wrong with walkers in general. Just not going to fit my lifestyle.

Fast forward and here comes the Alinker into my life. I happened to see it online an I was immediately intrigued! It was a bike and a walker married. There is nothing out there like it. I felt that this was my destiny! I got to converse with the fabulous BE and my life has changed in a way that I cannot explain fully to do it justice. This was my ticket to freedom and rebirth! I really thought my life was going to slowly crash and burn and now I AM the rising phoenix!

My world has opened up in a big way. I am back to dancing. I am now a part of a Gypsy Fusion dance troupe that entertains at nursing homes, senior events and fairs. I'm back at the gym working out, I volunteer weekly for a reading service for the visually impaired, I've learned to play ukulele with my friends and we perform at a local park weekly. These activities are all made possible because of the Alinker. I wouldn't have even thought any of these activities would be possible without my Alinker. Not only did the Alinker help me physically, but I know that it has engaged my brain during all of this activity! I feel more focused, more in tune with the world because I am a part of it again. I wouldn't have felt confident enough to do all of these spectacular things if it weren't for this fabulous freedom roller!

The Alinker has indeed opened my world in all of these physical ways, but it has also made me more socially acceptable and approachable. I'm a at eye level with the world. I'm smiling because I feel so confident and downright cool. When people see me on the Alinker they immediately want to meet me and find out about this cool yellow trike. I of course LOVE talking to people about it! I am enthusiastic about what it has done for me and people just pick up on that. I am truly blessed and love to share with the world what one little yellow trike can do for one's life and world!

BE, you are an incredible individual who has made life for others be reborn again!

LET FREEOM ROLL!!
Anna

BE's hive

It takes longer than we hoped

This pandemic has worked it way into affecting our manufacturing and timelines. So bear with us, we do everything and beyond to get the production slots that were scheduled, and to progress with designing, prototyping and testing the new Alinker products.
I would like to give you a little peak behind the scenes of what it takes and all that is involved with developing a new product. And we don't just develop one, we do a few.

Since the lockdown, worldwide demand for bicycles has gone up, and with the bad relation between China and the USA, producers from China turn to Taiwan. So Taiwan is under pressure and we have to work so much harder to keep our production going. As a small company, it is hard to put your foot down, but we do and luckily we have good relationships with our producers, but... we start seeing delays. So bear with us, it is not all in our control.

So far we have talked about the XS, for smaller adults and taller kids, all the final changes have been incorporated in the design, and we just gave the order for the tooling.

Machining of the bending molds for the Alinker frame.

Tooling means machining all the molds for production, the forging, injection molds for the pads, extrusion, bending, alignment and welding molds. That phase takes around 45 days we estimate, but in this time it might be longer. With the final tooling, the final prototypes are then made, and testing for strength and capacity can happen. We already know though, that the capacity will not be much higher than 85Kg/190Lbs, so we came up with the thought to make an in between Alinker. What if we put the smaller wheels of the XS on the Small, cut the rear end of the frame, and put a solid seat pen in. The HS will then be suitable for people with an inseam of 24.5" and up to 120Kg/265Lbs. So we are putting that concept to the test.

And then the XXS, for smaller kids is in the final engineering phase before prototyping... And there are a few parts we are developing which we will all put on our website as it is updated before the end of the year with a brand new product page!

We will all announce it in due time and all new products will be on our new website before the end of the year.

Sunday 18th October
1pm EST CLICK here
Join Asya and BE for the

Launch of 10 new campaigns

on the Alinker Instagram LIVE
and meet the new campaigners!

So far we have completed:

133 campaigns together
133 people who couldn't afford an Alinker
133 times we showed up in community
133 lives changed

Time to do a few more! Join us to create access to health, together

For larger donations of corporate sponsorships, please visit The Radical generosity Collective campaign. It is our collective campaign is the one to feed all, for larger donations.

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