Question

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Bodilyfirefly

New Member
Hi.

My name is Samantha and I live in a small suburb south of the Twin Cities in Minnesota. Recently I've been looking into the possibility of adapting a bike for my use. I'm disabled and trying to find a more affordable way of achieving independence with my community. I've basically concluded a motorized bike would be the most cost effective solution.

Given my special needs it would probably have to be a Tricycle although a traditional recumbent might not work for me particulary if the seat is close to the ground.

Part of what I'm trying to figure out is if it would be better to have the bike built from the ground up or if I could buy an existing motorized bike and just have it adapted. If I buy a ready made model I might get it through Spooky Tooth Cycles. But I'm not really sure.

What I know for sure is that I'm going to need to be able to sit mostly upright and have three wheels instead of two for balance purposes. My elbows are fused at about a 30 Degree angle on the left and just over 90 on the right. So I'd have to adapt the steering and breaking system.

If anyone has any recommendations I'd really appreciate input. Being able to make this happen would profoundly change my quality of life and level of personal independence.

~Sam
 
There are a lot of trikes out there, but you may need to have someone help you build one.

I am not familiar with the one from Spooky, but you can post a link to it after you have a few posts here.

Welcome to the club! :)
 
Firefly would something like this help you? I build them..trk
 

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If you need someone in your area to help you build one, or to help you find a quality one, you can search this forum for members close to you. Here's how:
At the top of the website, click on "Members list"
You will then see a spot that says "search list". Click on that.
Now you will see an option for "advanced search"
This will bring you to a page with many search options. All you need to fill out is the "location" area with a town(s) near you.
I am also new to this forum, but I know you will be able to find someone near you that would love to help you by building one or helping you find one that will suit your needs.
Good luck and welcome to the forum.
 
FireFly,
Since you posted this in the proper place I have to assume maybe you've looked at some of the trikes that have been built by our members. I did one from a trike designed especially for the physically challenged. ( http://motorbicycling.com/f44/2doors-titan-trike-13591.html ) It was originally made by the Trailmate co. It's called the Joyrider and is made for easy entry and exit to the rider's seat. They are still available from Trailmate, a Florida company with dealerships located around the country. I do not have a link for them but just Google 'Trailmate' and I think you'll find them. I feel it would make a perfect potential motorized trike for you. Installing a motor is a task for someone with fabrication skills but feel free to contact me for any help I could offer in that respect. Please keep us posted.
Tom
 
Considering that her elbows are fused, I have a feeling that steering a bike with traditional handlebars would be difficult for her.
I am thinking she could use something more along the lines of a lever on each side of the seat, like the Big Green Machines child's bike, popular during the late 70's and early 80's.
Braking and such could be done with a coaster rear hub and hydraulic caliper up front.
 
Good observation, Gear.
I'm not sure how it would work for her but I know that some of the recumbent trikes use side mounted handlebars, more like tillers, for steering and brakes. In a case like this it would be a great challenge to actually sit down with her and design out a steering system that she could use. There is a company that does just that for people and build a bike/trike designed especially for that person. I lost the link to them but have seen their work. I'll see if I can find it again. I'd like to be involved with a project like that. You could really go crazy with the engineering necessary.
Tom
 
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I've been thinking about this project all day.
What about steering with her feet? You steer an airplane on the ground with your feet, why not a motorized trike. She could operate throttle and brakes by hand without the need to steer. I'd really like to design something that would be adaptable to someone with special needs. Wish she would get back to us.
Tom
 
I initially thought the same thing, steering with foot pedals. However, since this is a bicycle, that would leave her to pedal with her arms, and that sounds out of the question to me.
 
Okay, I'll concede that. ( I was fixated on motor power) How about this? Leave the pedals and steer with a mechanism similar to a tank or bulldozer. The nose wheel, front wheel, would be free castering, to a degree, I see it with some type of spring-return-to-center device, then by braking either rear wheel the trike would steer to that side. Naturally, this design would be limited to a very slow speed but I don't think she's planning on entering the 'Death Race' with it. Also there would be a learning curve associated with mastering the steering. Then again, you could still steer with a yoke, or tiller, designed to accomodate the limited functions of her arms. See, I told you this would be fun to work with. Get back to me, Gear.
Tom
 
Now that is an excellent idea! I have a trike in my yard right now that has an open diff rear end. It would work out perfect for such an application. I plan on making a 4 wheeled bicycle out of it, a sit down type like a pedal powered go-kart. Legal around here IF I do not convert it into an MB. (DRAT!!!)
Hmmmm......... How to work out a braking system. 2 V or linear pull calipers and a cable each hooked up to the stick, or a hydraulic disc brake system which would require specially made wheel hubs but be stronger....Naaah! That would be overkill!
Rim squeezers should suffice. It's gotta be one of those side step type of trikes that she could just sit down into as well. As for a spring return device on the front wheel, I don't think that would not be necessary. Just a simple caster action should work out fine. Like you said, she would not going for any speed records. For that matter, a stick could also steer the front wheel too. Pull right, push left type of linkage, really simple. Throttle and brake with the other hand.
I can see many variations in the theater of my mind right now....
 
You're probably right about the spring-return-to-center front wheel. That wouldn't be necessary as long as the geomtery was correct. It would just naturally want to go straight. I'm not a fan of electrics due to the short range but maybe in this case it would be better. No pedal starts or pull starts. If her objective was short jaunts to the store, etc, an electric might suffice. It would also simplify the drive section of the build. Going electric would also make for easier control, eliminating the throttle/clutch. However, what I see now is just an electric wheelchair and I don't think that is what this lady is looking for. I wish she would get back to us with a reply. I find it strange when people ask questions then disappear without responding.
Tom
 
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2door said:
I wish she would get back to us with a reply. I find it strange when people ask questions then disappear without responding.
Tom
Click to expand...

I concur wholeheartedly.
I enjoy helping folks when I can, And it is disheartening to be ignored after being asked for help.
Why ask for help if you are going to fall out of the picture?

Electric drive does make more sense for short trips.
After you suggested that, I was thinking an electric start engine could work too, but the only ones I know of are the cheap Chinese scooter ones that I do not trust for reliability. They seem to need frequent tinkering like the HT engines do.

I am going to sit on this one and wait to see if Bodilyfirefly gets back to us.
 
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