Wheelchair bike

Joined
Sep 17, 2020
Messages
183
Location
Ohio
How about a bike that is a wheelchair front end with an upright rider in back. If you have someone in a wheelchair you want to take on a ride, they sit up front Possibly even have pedals and foot rests so they could choose to pedal for exercise/rehab or not. Not sure if the wheelchair pedals would be hooked into helping the bike move or just resistance so they can participate or not as they're able.
 
Joined
Oct 19, 2012
Messages
2,384
Location
Wakefield, UK
I'd think it would be easier to build a trike with a wheel chair style front to take a disabled person, rather than build a machine to connect a wheelchair to. In other words have the disabled person swap machines rather than attach a wheelchair to a contraption. Wheelchairs are generally built to take low loading as they move at walking pace so utilising one leaves a lot of strength to be added. You could effectively design the machine without having to compromise around the wheelchair and would end up with a lighter end product. Also if you make it so a wheelchair attatches you confine that disabled person to that specific chair. I can only see one advantage in making a wheelchair attatch and that is that the user would have the use of the chair at a destination. If that is wanted then a lot of compromises, weight and extra engineering is needed.
 
Joined
May 31, 2013
Messages
3,980
Location
South Benfleet, Essex, England, UK
Joined
Oct 20, 2019
Messages
7
Not sure if this is relevant or should be its own thread, but I'm wanting to build an e-assist for my partner's manual wheelchair, using an electric scooter front wheel motor. A pretty common way to do it seems to be something like this:
However, my partner's legs still work, they use a chair for fatigue. I've been toying with if it would be possible to steer & control with your feet somehow.
 
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