bike stabilizer for the old and infirmed

[deacon]

Latest attempt at a stabilizer and this one seems worth trying once I get a doctor's release.




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The cables keep it from slipping too far down so that I can maneuver it about the shop.. I just noticed how much this thing looks like a suspension bridge lol

 

[deacon]

I switched out those rear cables for a large piano hinge It works much better than cables. It keeps the trailer from sagging but it also keeps downward pressure on the trailer. I can sit on the bike not moving and with my feet on the pedals and the bike is stable. I stays upright.

 

[deacon]

since as I rode down the driveway, against doctors orders, the bike isn't rock stable like a trike would be, I took the stabilizer off to see if there was a difference. There is a world of difference. So I built a new version of it and it seems to work pretty well but still there is the possibility of a tip over. I think the stabilizer would need to be a yard wide to really make it perfectly stable. I'm going with pretty stable and let it go at that. This one is a lot different looking anyway. It uses the 12 inch scooter wheels, there is a picture of those somewhere in this thread. The are configured like that last stabilizer.

 

[deacon]

Failure is still a learning experience. I could never get the stabilizer to be stable enough. I learned a lot about why I couldn't get it to work but I never was satisfied with the results. So I learned what won't work and why. If I could have anchored the additional wheels so that they absolutely could not move, it might have worked. But the simple act of getting on and off the bike caused the wheel platform's geometry to change. There was a twist. The same twist occurred when I cornered. with the bike. So I think in the end the Stabilizer would have been more dangerous not less.

I came to this conclusion at about the same time I decided to purchase a Tricycle to motorize next. I am supposed to pick it up today.