Nearly 24,000 Australians are diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Although relatively small compared to the better-known diseases, MS is the most common chronic disease of the central nervous system amongst young Australians.

Unfortunately, MS is unbelievably difficult to understand and diagnose due to the complexity of its often invisible symptoms.

Our task was to help educate the public and health professionals and help raise funds for treatment.

Objective 1: Help raise $300K via donations.

Objective 2: Create a better understanding of MS amongst the general public and health professionals.

The film opens tight on what looks like a normal bicycle.

We hear…

“This is a terrible bike.”

“This bike has Multiple Sclerosis.”

The film is a making of “the bike”. Introducing us to Paralympian gold medallist Carole Cooke and the team of neurologists, physiotherapists, bike mechanics, sport scientists and people living with MS to build a bike.

We are walked through the building of the bike. We witnessing teeth being removed from its gears to mimic spasticity. The grind of the cassette served to create a whirring sound suffered by many people with MS. Ball bearings were tucked inside the handlebars to create pins and needles. The frame being made heavy and the wheels being buckled to cause fatigue and offset balance forcing the rider to constantly fight against it just to keep it straight. The seat being twisted to made hard to simulate numbness and pain.

Firstly, we built a bike with the symptoms of MS hidden inside its parts.

To improve the understanding of MS and raise funds, we created a bike with MS.

Teeth were removed from its gears to mimic spasticity. Ball bearings were tucked inside the handlebars to create pins and needles. The frame was made heavy and the wheels buckled to cause fatigue and offset balance forcing the rider to constantly fight against it just to keep it straight.

Then the Bike was launched at the MS Melbourne Cycle

The bike was ridden at a MS charity event by Olympic cyclist Shane Kelly. Live-streamed to an audience with a direct link to fundraising, spectators witnessed him struggle to even finish the charity ride. Shane commentated via live feeds on the massive toll the bike was taking on his body, shedding light on the symptoms of MS in an entirely new way.