Help! Mobility/chair/bike build thingy.

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druss
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Joined: 3 Sep 2015, 9:20pm

Help! Mobility/chair/bike build thingy.

Post by druss »

Hi Peeps

I'm looking to build a electric bike/chair thingy as like others on here I struggle with walking more than a few meters due to heart problems.

I have a wife and 4 kids, they have always been very active walking/cycling geocaching on dartmoor etc and am really missing being able to join them, I dread being 40 y.o. and on a crappy mobility scooter.

I havn't got the energy to pedal/keep an e bike upright so was looking for a three wheel mountain bike tyred bike/chair but there are none on market that fit the bill.

I have been playing around with a design concept and wondered whether you could all weigh in on pros or cons.

Please bear in mind it does not need to go super fast, I am not looking to corner at breakneck speed. I am looking to use a 1000w 48v motor on the rear wheel, just for the torque it can offer on rough ground/trails/dartmoor.

I am using invalid carriage restraints with regard to size. max width of 850mm etc and would like to keep length at around 1400/1500mm for ease of getting into car.

Steering and front wheel mounts are on my learning curve, Id appreciate help or advice greatly!
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531colin
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Location: North Yorkshire

Re: Help! Mobility/chair/bike build thingy.

Post by 531colin »

Its a long time since I was on Dartmoor, but in Yorkshire the tracks fall into a few rough types.....
1) Tracks kept open by sheep/walkers/mountain bikers....."singletrack", ie one tyre width
2) Tracks used by the sheepfarmer/gamekeeper on his quad bike two tyre tracks
3) Tracks used by the farmer/gamekeeper in his Landrover/tractor..deeply rutted
4) Tracks maintained by the shooting estates so that paying customers can travel in comfort in 12 seater Landrovers.

a 3 wheeled vehicle is at a huge disadvantage on all of these tracks except (4)

The first "quads" I saw were these.......

Image

I think they didn't last because there is nowhere for the third wheel to go on most tracks, and it didn't "make its own track", as its un-powered and lightly loaded....its in my mind that the Boers' field guns were faster than the Brits in the Boer war because of a similar problem with the guns and horses fitting the available tracks, although why I should have that in my mind is anybody's guess.
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breakwellmz
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Re: Help! Mobility/chair/bike build thingy.

Post by breakwellmz »

At least the two wheels are at the the front.I often had my Reliant on two wheels on the bends, never took it off road though! :shock:
Have you seen the Terrain Hopper?-

http://www.terrainhopper.com/
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NUKe
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Re: Help! Mobility/chair/bike build thingy.

Post by NUKe »

Druce talk to ICE engineering as ICE recumbents they have an all terrain Trike
http://www.icetrikes.co/explore-our-trikes/full-fat
which might be adaptable for what you are looking for, And I believe although have no first hand knowledge they have done quite a few adptions already. . Also the CTC head office can probably help point youin the right direction.
There are a couple of company with off road electric wheel chairs/ buggys but I couldn't tell you where to start looking.

Another option depending on your wifes fitness could be something like a HASe Pino tandem.
http://bike123.com/tand.htm
NUKe
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druss
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Joined: 3 Sep 2015, 9:20pm

Re: Help! Mobility/chair/bike build thingy.

Post by druss »

Love the ICE trikes, have visited them as a rep when I was working not so long ago beautiful machines but unfortunately way way out of my budget!

Tadpole design is deffo more stable than a robin reliant single front wheel when cornering!

I do need to be sitting way higher than a normal recumbent for three reasons.

1 Id struggle to get up/down from a full recumbent.
2 By highering the seat the wheel base can be shortened making it much easier to store in family mpv.(galaxy)
3 I prefer being on a higher level so i feel I'm with my family when they are walking/riding alongside me,

I have several bikes that friends have given our family when they moved away so have some spares I can use, the thing I cant wrap head around is front axle mounting on the frame. Toying with idea of mocking frame up using 48.3mm aluminium scaffolding tube and kee scaffold tube clamps so I can test stability of higher seat.
tatanab
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Re: Help! Mobility/chair/bike build thingy.

Post by tatanab »

druss wrote:Tadpole design is deffo more stable than a robin reliant single front wheel when cornering!
Writing as a tricyclist with almost 50 years experience and having ridden both - this is not necessarily true, and it's Reliant Robin by the way not the other way around :D

By highering the seat the wheel base can be shortened making it much easier to store in family mpv.(galaxy) I prefer being on a higher level so i feel I'm with my family when they are walking/riding alongside me
The problem is that you have a comparatively narrow vehicle with a comparatively high centre of gravity. Your drawing appears narrower than a tricycle which is typically 27 " (700cm) over hubs so it goes through most doors. I admit that your battery and motor will lower the C of G a little but it is still dominated by your own weight. This means it can topple over quite easily and you don't need to traverse much of a gradient for it to become unstable.

Just things to consider.
tatanab
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Re: Help! Mobility/chair/bike build thingy.

Post by tatanab »

531colin wrote:The first "quads" I saw were these........
The term quad bike (spits in disgust) had not been invented at that time. They were simply known as ATV (All Terrain Vehicle).
Edwards
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Re: Help! Mobility/chair/bike build thingy.

Post by Edwards »

druss wrote: . . . . on rough ground/trails/dartmoor. . . . . .

Where do you live as I may be able to help with the recumbent at the right price?

Xap Bob might be able to help with the electric conversion know how.
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DaveP
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Re: Help! Mobility/chair/bike build thingy.

Post by DaveP »

druss wrote:1 Id struggle to get up/down from a full recumbent.
2 By highering the seat the wheel base can be shortened making it much easier to store in family mpv.(galaxy)
3 I prefer being on a higher level so i feel I'm with my family when they are walking/riding alongside me.


Some thoughts:
1 & 3: Your call - but this might be the price you have to pay for stability. Your own weight needs to be as low as possible, especially with a short and narrow wheelbase. As you want this for accompanied rides could you get by with assistance?
2: If you extend the wheel base to accommodate a lower seat you could still retain a degree of portability by making the frame separable.
Years ago my place of work was at the end of about a 1/4 mile of dirt road. One old boy use to come in with a reliant robin. It was almost impossible for him to miss a pot hole bigger than about 12" across with all three wheels.
Sorry I couldn't be more encouraging. Have you considered the possibility of adapting a tandem? The back wheel might need particularly expert construction but lots of space for a big battery!
Trying to retain enough fitness to grow old disgracefully... That hasn't changed!
druss
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Re: Help! Mobility/chair/bike build thingy.

Post by druss »

Thanks for all the advice, what ive decided to do is adapt the frame so it can extend using round telescoping tube, so if I do go for a serious ride at the very least I can have a longer wheel base, as the motor will be on the rear wheel its very difficult to have frame in two seperate parts as controllers etc need to be under the seat.

Frame will have a single main beam then struts supporting seat this allows me then to have pivots on the front arm to allow the arms to be folded, overall will be about 90cm by 40cm folded(seat removed) so easy for kids to pack into car for me.
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syklist
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Re: Help! Mobility/chair/bike build thingy.

Post by syklist »

I don't know what your budget is but HP Velotechnik offer electric assistance on their trikes and an s-Pedelec trike based on the Scorpion fs26. The Scorpion fs26 plus is a more upright recumbent with better ground clearance that can be fitted with an electric motor. They also have options for higher seats. Changing the road tyres for MTB ones would give help off asphalt performance.
So long and thanks for all the fish...
Fogey
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Re: Help! Mobility/chair/bike build thingy.

Post by Fogey »

Have a chat with the people at Get Cycling in York. http://www.getcycling.org.uk/

They specialise in getting people with disabilities onto cycles of all types, and have a lot of experience with specially adapted machines as well as electric cycles. They also have a workshop and staff who know an awful lot.
Vorpal
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Re: Help! Mobility/chair/bike build thingy.

Post by Vorpal »

How about an off-road powered wheelchair? Some of those can handle fairly extreme terrain.

Or you can add a motor to a mountain trike?
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[XAP]Bob
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Re: Help! Mobility/chair/bike build thingy.

Post by [XAP]Bob »

There are some serious of road quad mountain bikes - more used for spinal injuries though.

A 'normal' second hand trike could be raised quite significantly by using 26" wheels at the front. If you use an explorer rather that a sprint as the base then you have a fairly good seat height.
I'd not rule out a kett design though - in he RR the weight is too far forward for the single wheel to be steering at the front, on the Kett it isn't...
[youtube]5567FDvkw1c[/youtube]

Because all the real action is at the rear (not enough weight up front to do much) the front boom can easily be retracted/detached/folded (just the steering linkage to consider) for storage.
OR the batteries etc can be put on low riders over the front wheel to give it some grip...


Add a dual freewheel and power the rear wheels through that for good off-road two wheel drive.
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
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breakwellmz
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Re: Help! Mobility/chair/bike build thingy.

Post by breakwellmz »

Very impressive and entertaining.
I`m surprised at how stable they appear.I was reminded of how i used to `pick up` the sidecar wheel of my old Jawa outfit and ride round LH bends leaning the `wrong` way! :lol:
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