Moto Knee 2: The Prosthetic Knee for Extreme Sports
With today’s advanced technologies, nothing—not even an amputated leg—can stop extreme sports athletes and enthusiasts from doing what they love. With BioDapt’s Moto Knee 2, above-knee amputees can go back to doing extreme sports as soon as they can.
Biodapt founder Mike Schultz conceptualized and created the original iteration of the Moto Knee. Before he got his leg amputated above the knee in 2008 after a snocross accident, he was an amateur motocross and professional snocross racer. Schultz even participated in the X Games and other national events.
Schultz went back to motocross and snocross as soon as he recovered. But it didn’t take long for him to realize that his new metal prosthetic knee—which worked well for walking in everyday life—was not cooperating when he was on his bike. He thought the knee wasn’t agile or durable enough to keep up with the sports’ demands.
But Schultz found a way to modify his prosthetic knee and the pedals of his bike. He perfected the design and had it patented. Soon he realized that the knee would also work in other sports, like alpine skiing, horseback riding, motorcycle racing, mountain biking, snowmobiling, and water skiing.
The new iteration of the original knee, called the Moto Knee 2, is designed for activities where the user needs to activate the quadriceps for a stabilized stance, better impact absorption, and assisted knee extension. Users can also easily adjust the prosthetic knee’s resistance and hydraulic dampening to fit different skill levels, activities, and weather conditions.
Compared to the previous model, the new Moto Knee 2 has a shorter build, lighter weight, and an optional flexion lock. But it still has the features that made the original version the choice of many competitive adaptive athletes, including medal-winning Paralympians.
BioDapt also has other products in its lineup, including the Versa Foot 2, Versa Foot 2 HD, and Alpine Foot.
Schultz continues to race in the Adaptive X Games and spends as much time outdoors as possible. He also allocates time to make more active sports accessible to other amputees.
Are you into extreme sports? If you are, have you tried the Moto Knee 2? What do you think about it?
