Couple mark year of helping disabled riders

One year on and the pair, who operate the business, Good Designs, out of their garage in East Morton, near Keighley, are keen to expand their overseas sales, while continuing to source as many components as possible from local businesses.

The stabilisers, known as ‘adjustabilisers’, are fully adjustable, both vertically and laterally, and as the rider gains confidence, slight adjustments can be made at each stage until he or she has fully acquired the skill of cycling. Good Designs, which has a turnover of around £6,000, has secured custom in the Netherlands and Spain, but Mrs Muff said: “We want to reach more people. If there are children in the UK that find them valuable then likewise there will be overseas.”

The couple have a son with hemiplegia, a condition which creates weakness down one side of the body, and the founder of the business, David Good, initially designed the ‘adjustabilisers’ for his son with the same condition. Mrs Muff, who has for many years volunteered for the charity HemiHelp, which supports parents and carers of children with hemiplegia, said she spotted an advert in its newsletter detailing Anglesey-based Mr Good’s intention to sell the 15-year-old business so he could retire. “He was at great pains to keep the product available because there is nothing else like it on the market,” said Mrs Muff.

She added: “We keep our 
costs as low as possible, making a small profit, and one of the 
aims in taking over this business was to keep the product available.”

Mr Muff, who has recently retired from a career in technical sales, has created a Good Designs website to promote ‘adjustabilisers’, which have been tested by Bureau Veritas, an inspection and certification company.