eTrike Conversion - as Mobility device! ... ?

Most granny trikes move at walking speed, when they move at all. At walking speed, having a coaster brake on one rear wheel is good enough.

Upright pedal trikes don't lend themselves well to powered applications, in my opinion.
 
Sam and others reading this thread, I think the Sun EZ-3 USX (Underseat steering model) is a good choice. The trike has good brakes, is very comfortable and easy to pedal, corners better than other trikes with it's VW style slanted rear wheels. It is stable at 20 MPH, I once had a pusher trailer that would move it close to 30 MPH with no issues, but I didn't like that high of a speed. It works great with a simple front hub.

Docnjoj's wife rides one. I had one which my Daughter-In-Law currently has. It fits all sizes with a simple seat adjustment. I am over 6' and Daughter-In-Law is under 5' tall.

Downside, the trike is large and so is the price tag.
 
Thanks Rassy. My search for a decent, well built, traditional tricycle is coming to a sad ending. They just don't exist. I will likely end up with the Sun EZ-3 USX as you suggested, or the same model with the regular monkey handle bar. It appears to be easier for a handicapped person (BIL) to get in and out. This used one is listed on Houston craigslist for $800.

Nice to hear from you Rassy. Have a good weekend.
SunDeltaTrike.jpg
 
Yeah, you should go for the unsuspended, above seat steering model. The USX is heavy like you wouldn't believe, an odious chore to work on, and really slow for any given amount of pedal effort. No, thanks.

There is a reason that there are no high quality, intelligently made granny trikes for street use. That layout makes it impossible to make a trike that rides worth a damn, regardless what features you include. So people who care about the ride don't bother with them. The better granny trikes (e.g. Worksman Adaptable) are completely out of their element on the street, but they are great for doing what they're designed to do-- hauling a basket full of tools and supplies around an industrial site at 4mph. For 25 years in a row.
 
Yes, the EZ-3 SL (or AL) delta is ok. After his stroke, I gave my brother his choice and he wanted the OS model (Over Seat Steering). He's been using it for several years now and really likes it. No motor, but he lives in a flat area. He has limited use of his left leg and no use of his left arm. He clips in to help control his left leg and allow mostly right leg pedaling. The SL isn't quite as stable as the USX, and just has a 16" front wheel, but the handlebars do give him something to hang on to when getting on and off of the trike.

The one pictured above looks like a newer version. It appears to have dual rear disk brakes where as my brother's has a rear disk in the driveline which thus only stops one rear wheel.
 
Great! Thanks for pointing out the 16in front wheel. At first I thought it was 20in like the rear ones. Hmm... not sure if I can lace a 9C 2810 into a 16in rim.
 
Good! I didn't think about radial lacing. Fitting between the fork should not be a problem at all. The 9C is quite narrow. Thanks Rassy.
 
I have an old upright handcycle (Quickie Mach III) that I am converting into a mobility device. I got rid of the cranks altogether. So, it'll just have a BMC V2T to power it. There are platforms for the rider's feet. I dumped the stock fork and put a strong "chopper" fork on it (disc tabs and all.) It might end up going to a quadriplegic friend of mine. So, I'll have to make some mods to accommodate him. It should be more stable than traditional pedal trikes. Still, it isn't something I'd feel all that safe on at 20+ mph.
 
I know it is a bit expensive, but I wonder if the V3 beta Cycle Analyst would be a good add on to any potential mobility device application. I made my wheel base 42" or 107cm, so my tipping point center of gravity is 21", but this is way outside of mobility device range. The narrow wheel base needed for one of these is pretty dangerous. I don't have any experience with the V3 cycle analyst, but it offers current based control over your motor, so...I wonder if it might not be a good add on for anyone thinking to electrify. Use it to find the speed you are comfortable with.

Or a nuvinci, which I have. That also allows you to program the speed you want, and the gearing allows you to keep the motor in its happy place, and...the start-ups are better.

I think fechter did some work on a circuit for current based control as well, but I am not sure about the thread location.

But whatever a person comes up with, I think they are going to want to start slow and work their way up to a comfortable spot. I am not sure that many of the motors commonly used are even necessarily the best option for a mobility device. Maybe a controller with 3-speed switching would be useful? I wonder if some of the cheaper motors used well below rating might be ok? Only problem is slow has such a heat penalty.
 
About the only "safe" way I can see making a trike you could ride on the street at faster speeds, that could also fit thru doorways and be usable within a home (or many businesses) is to make it's track width adjustable, with perhaps two positions: "street" and "indoors".


Switching physical modes would also engage an interlock taht switches the controller into a compatible mode, so it would be speed limited (possibly power limited as well) when indoors, vs the normal operation for street mode.


There probably are other ways, but this would work, if you could come up wiht a simple and mechanically reliable way to do this.
 
amberwolf said:
About the only "safe" way I can see making a trike you could ride on the street at faster speeds, that could also fit thru doorways and be usable within a home (or many businesses) is to make it's track width adjustable, with perhaps two positions: "street" and "indoors".
Click to expand...

How about a hydraulic jack that raises the seat from KMX low and reclined to wheelchair high and upright on demand?
 
Could even use an electric actuator for that, rather like the wheels on AussieJester's bikes (perhaps witha bigger motor or better gear ratio).

(and I forgot about the seat height thing--thanks for remembering!)
 
I just spotted the trike thing and I concur with Rassy that the Sun USX is a good choice. The regular bars would make it easier to get on and off the trike compared to the USS. My wife has a 9C on her front fork but it is the 20" wheel on the USX, not 16". It could work on 16" wheel as stated but careful measurement of the fork width about 4-5" up is imperative. The stability of the negative camber rear wheels is remarkable!
otherDoc
 
@SamTexas, I think I gave you a bum steer earlier. I was looking at some stuff on the shelf, including both a Bafang and a WE BD36 that are radially laced into 16" bicycle wheels. The problem isn't the lacing, but the space for the valve stem when you use a large motor like the 9C that has a 10" diameter. I think someone on the forum actually reported this problem a while back.
 
Rassy said:
@SamTexas, I think I gave you a bum steer earlier. I was looking at some stuff on the shelf, including both a Bafang and a WE BD36 that are radially laced into 16" bicycle wheels. The problem isn't the lacing, but the space for the valve stem when you use a large motor like the 9C that has a 10" diameter. I think someone on the forum actually reported this problem a while back.
Click to expand...
Actually I had that problem with my wifes Bike-e and the 16" front wheel. The solution is a right angled stem that you can purchase at RV stores for dual wheels. Worked fine for years. I somehow laced an old Crystalite brushed motor using 12 ga spokes. Crazy as it was my first wheel build. Used 1 cross! Nuts! I'm not sure a 9C would fit but you can measure. Think 20 mm radial spokes.
otherDoc
 
Maybe people hav already seen this, but I thought it migh be useful for this thread. A guy out of Ireland (probably a member as far as I know), came up with this device which attaches to a standard wheelchair, and turns it into an electric trike. Some good features in terms of rider placement COG, and it seems like a few more modifications at the attachement point it could easily be made into a "leaning" trike.
[youtube]JikRgENekuw[/youtube]
 
I thought there was a thread for that somwhere...but I can't find it. I think it was called the "DaVinci Mobility"; just a front boom that clips onto standard wheelchairs to turn them into a powertrike. I think another one was called the PDQ but I am not usre it was the same thing.

EIDT; also, it had that same video in the thread, IIRC.
 
amberwolf said:
I thought there was a thread for that somwhere...but I can't find it. I think it was called the "DaVinci Mobility"; just a front boom that clips onto standard wheelchairs to turn them into a powertrike. I think another one was called the PDQ but I am not usre it was the same thing.

EIDT; also, it had that same video in the thread, IIRC.
Click to expand...

csm: Making an electric trike out of wheelchair in seconds(video)
http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=39976
 
That "Irish wheel chair" trike looks very similar to the "Lightfoot" trike I'm interested in.
 

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I'm glad I have my trike as an occasional "mobility device". Last Sunday after a 20 mile ride I was making dinner and "Bam", Biff" Bap" my right knee went bad out of nowheres. Luckily I have crutches and got to the doctor Monday for some steroids and pain meds. Off the trikes until today when I put on my clipless shoes and went 15 miles, full spin and no pressure on the knee. It worked and my knee only hurts a little when I walk. Psoriatic Arthritis says the sawbones. The orhtopedist wants my knees replaced but the x-rays don't look that bad. I had this shit in both knees about a year and a half ago but short cranks made it go away. I could not have ridden a conventional bike or 2 wheel recumbent. Also a study just got published saying that people who have knee replacements gain more weight than folks who don't. I am definitely on the "don't" list!
otherDoc
 
"Studies" and their paraphrased results tend to bother me, because they rarely include all the necessary information to draw the conclusion given in the paraphrasing (or the included information is used selectively to create the illusion of that conclusion being "correct"). In that study, what other factors were also common to the replaced ones that werent' common to the non-replaced? Were they less active? Was the weight gain noted as permanent over lifetime, or only tracked for a short time after the surgery, when the patient would have necessarily been less active and thus more likely to gain weight if they continued the same diet they had when they were more active?

Lots of possible things could be causing the weight gain, other than the replacement itself--if so, most likely there is a solution for the weight gain while still getting the replacement if you really need it. ;)
 
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