Hi All,
Looking for suggestions/ links to other people's projects.
A friend who is ~300lbs and has severe cerebral palsy and balance problems is looking for solutions. The guy is about 6-5? and super strong, but very poor muscle co-ordination. He's broken a couch in half by sitting down too hard, and numerous chairs. He did learn to ride a bike as a kid, and was able to go really fast, but now he's in his 30's and hasn't ridden since a teen. He really wants to get out of his place and have a way of socializing with people. If he could ride over the little overpass to our local park it would really mean a lot to him. His mom just bought him an A-Linker strider thingy, but he had trouble getting on & off, it doesn't look nearly stable enough for him, nor strong enough for him. He said he wished it had a tractor seat. Throwing a leg over anything is a real challenge, ideally he could just walk sideways in front of a highish seat and sit down a bit.
I think ideally a 4 wheeler with very upright seating, seat maybe 30" off the ground, and designed for maybe 600lb including impact loads would be about right. He can't control a top speed much higher than a walking speed, so doesn't need cornering speed or stability. Efficiency and light weight aren't much of a consideration because he has tons of strength. He can park in a parkade. For exercise and reliable operation I don't think he needs electric assist. I'm thinking either industrial chain drive, belt drive, or slip-clutch to prevent him snapping the chain. Gearing would be nice, but I don't think he could operate shifters accurate enough, and normal bike deraileurs and hubs would likely get destroyed unless cushioned by a slip clutch or something. Maybe motorcycle wheels or trailer wheels for durability?
Thanks for any suggestions,
John
Looking for suggestions/ links to other people's projects.
A friend who is ~300lbs and has severe cerebral palsy and balance problems is looking for solutions. The guy is about 6-5? and super strong, but very poor muscle co-ordination. He's broken a couch in half by sitting down too hard, and numerous chairs. He did learn to ride a bike as a kid, and was able to go really fast, but now he's in his 30's and hasn't ridden since a teen. He really wants to get out of his place and have a way of socializing with people. If he could ride over the little overpass to our local park it would really mean a lot to him. His mom just bought him an A-Linker strider thingy, but he had trouble getting on & off, it doesn't look nearly stable enough for him, nor strong enough for him. He said he wished it had a tractor seat. Throwing a leg over anything is a real challenge, ideally he could just walk sideways in front of a highish seat and sit down a bit.
I think ideally a 4 wheeler with very upright seating, seat maybe 30" off the ground, and designed for maybe 600lb including impact loads would be about right. He can't control a top speed much higher than a walking speed, so doesn't need cornering speed or stability. Efficiency and light weight aren't much of a consideration because he has tons of strength. He can park in a parkade. For exercise and reliable operation I don't think he needs electric assist. I'm thinking either industrial chain drive, belt drive, or slip-clutch to prevent him snapping the chain. Gearing would be nice, but I don't think he could operate shifters accurate enough, and normal bike deraileurs and hubs would likely get destroyed unless cushioned by a slip clutch or something. Maybe motorcycle wheels or trailer wheels for durability?
Thanks for any suggestions,
John