Adult Tricycles

I'm considering a tricycle for a handicapped adult in my life. I've
been looking on eBay at the various options and have some vague idea
of the market. I'd want to go with the widest wheelbase option...
most are 29" or so such that they fit through standard doors. That
seems narrow to me. I'd give up doors for stability.

Does anyone have any experience with balance-impared adults and
tricycles? Any suggestions or advice?

Jones

"!Jones" wrote in message
...
I'm considering a tricycle for a handicapped adult in my life. I've
been looking on eBay at the various options and have some vague idea
of the market. I'd want to go with the widest wheelbase option...
most are 29" or so such that they fit through standard doors. That
seems narrow to me. I'd give up doors for stability.

Does anyone have any experience with balance-impared adults and
tricycles? Any suggestions or advice?

Jones

http://sheldonbrown.org/greenspeed/index.html



--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

On Oct 7, 9:31 pm, !Jones wrote:
I'm considering a tricycle for a handicapped adult in my life. I've
been looking on eBay at the various options and have some vague idea
of the market. I'd want to go with the widest wheelbase option...
most are 29" or so such that they fit through standard doors. That
seems narrow to me. I'd give up doors for stability.

Does anyone have any experience with balance-impared adults and
tricycles? Any suggestions or advice?

Jones

If you haven't already, take one for a ride. Regular adult tricycles
(google Worksman) are pretty scary to ride. Tricycles dive into every
angle and divot on the road. To stay straight, you have to steer in
the opposite direction, which puts your weight to the outside.
Compounded by the fact that the positioning is very upright, it's a
creepy feeling even for someone with normal balance.

Something low, like the Greenspeed, does seem preferable.

Scott

I too had an experience with adult tricycles. My mother, a non driver and
cyclist (dutch style) her whole life was becoming scared at the thought of
balancing and having to get off and on her bike. I took her to test ride an
adult trike, a delta model (2 wheels in back). She promptly fell over as she
turned near the curb dip. She didn't hurt herself but the trike experience
was over. The bike shop suggested trying her with a Townie. (
http://www.electrabike.com/townie/ ) These bikes you can have your feet flat
on the ground without having to get off the seat. The pedals are mounted
somewhat forward. Haven't gotten her onto one but tried it myself and thnk
it may be the solution.

Grolsch


"!Jones" wrote in message
...
I'm considering a tricycle for a handicapped adult in my life. I've
been looking on eBay at the various options and have some vague idea
of the market. I'd want to go with the widest wheelbase option...
most are 29" or so such that they fit through standard doors. That
seems narrow to me. I'd give up doors for stability.

Does anyone have any experience with balance-impared adults and
tricycles? Any suggestions or advice?

Jones

!Jones wrote:

Does anyone have any experience with balance-impared adults and
tricycles? Any suggestions or advice?

Sun EZ-3 is one of the best choices for that situation. It's a lot
lower (and therefore a lot stabler) than a normal upright trike, but
it's a whopping lot cheaper and more widely known than the many
specialty 'bent trikes out there.
And it's way easier to mount and dismount than a tadpole trike.

Remember, it's not the track width that counts, but the angle between
the center of mass and the contact patches with respect to the
vertical.

On Oct 8, 1:20 pm, Chalo wrote:
!Jones wrote:

Does anyone have any experience with balance-impared adults and
tricycles? Any suggestions or advice?


My wife had a severe accident and has made a progression from a
Trailmate Joyrider ( http://www.industrialbicycles.com/joyrider%20trike.htm
) to a Sun EZ-3, and ultimately, to a Townie.

The Joyrider is desperately heavy, awkward and really doesn't have
enough stability to be driven at anything but very slow speeds. But
it's main advantage (for my wife) was that you can just walk into the
frame. (You don't have to raise your leg over a bar.) It comes as a
one-speed, but given the weight, the optional 3-spd Sturmey Archer
gearing is really needed. The optional "mag-style" plastic strut
wheels were useful, too, because if she got a little stuck, she could
reach back and grab the rear wheels to get going.

The Sun is far more stable, lighter (she got the aluminum frame
version) and more fun to ride, and is mostly built out of standard
mountain bike drive train components (easy maintenance). It doesn't
feel like an "industrial" trike, as many of them do.

The Townie rides like a typical cruiser, but with the cranks moved
forward, you can get fairly reasonable leg extension but still put
both feet flat on the ground while you're in the saddle. The seat is
also low enough that she can straddle the rear wheel and just walk
forward and sit down on the saddle. (She still isn't comfortable
standing on one leg and swinging the other over the saddle.) Many
gearing options are available (internal hubs, cassette/derailleur).

!Jones wrote:
I'm considering a tricycle for a handicapped adult in my life. I've
been looking on eBay at the various options and have some vague idea
of the market. I'd want to go with the widest wheelbase option...
most are 29" or so such that they fit through standard doors. That
seems narrow to me. I'd give up doors for stability.

Does anyone have any experience with balance-impared adults and
tricycles? Any suggestions or advice?

Scott Gordo wrote:
If you haven't already, take one for a ride. Regular adult tricycles
(google Worksman) are pretty scary to ride. Tricycles dive into every
angle and divot on the road. To stay straight, you have to steer in
the opposite direction, which puts your weight to the outside.
Compounded by the fact that the positioning is very upright, it's a
creepy feeling even for someone with normal balance.
Something low, like the Greenspeed, does seem preferable.

Yes, that's all true.
Your comments perhaps lend new meaning to the Holdsworth Tricycle
Conversion ad slogan, "Ideal for Spastics":
http://www.yellowjersey.org/photosfr...st/HWTRIKE.JPG

from:
http://www.yellowjersey.org/holdsw.html
--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

"Exclamation Point" Jones wrote:
I'm considering a tricycle for a handicapped adult in my life. I've
been looking on eBay at the various options and have some vague idea
of the market. I'd want to go with the widest wheelbase option...
most are 29" or so such that they fit through standard doors. That
seems narrow to me. I'd give up doors for stability.

Does anyone have any experience with balance-impared adults and
tricycles? Any suggestions or advice?

Here is a dealer that specializes in human powered vehicles for the
handicapped: http://thebikerack.com/page.cfm?PageID=82.

If it is just a matter of balance with no other issues, there are plenty
of good tadpoles and a few good delta trikes out there (these are also
suitable and much fun for the non-disabled).

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
A Real Cyclist [TM] keeps at least one bicycle in the bedroom.

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

!Jones wrote:
I'm considering a tricycle for a handicapped adult in my life. I've
been looking on eBay at the various options and have some vague idea
of the market. I'd want to go with the widest wheelbase option...
most are 29" or so such that they fit through standard doors. That
seems narrow to me. I'd give up doors for stability.

Does anyone have any experience with balance-impared adults and
tricycles? Any suggestions or advice?

Jones


I have no direct experience, but I have heard with mobility-impaired
that the tadpole trikes often sit way too low to the ground to allow
getting in and out easily. The delta trikes (two wheels in back) tend to
sit higher but won't corner as hard.

At around $800 or so, the Sun EZ-3 is the "typical" lower-cost
suggestion. It has real gears but is rather narrow.

Worksman makes a lower-priced recumbent trike but it's only a 3-speed
and so doesn't have a full range of gearing or any easy way to add that on.

Lightfoot cycles has some trikes (with real gears!) and does custom work
as well. Ain't cheap though, $2500-$3000.
~

A Muzi wrote:

Yes, that's all true.
Your comments perhaps lend new meaning to the Holdsworth Tricycle
Conversion ad slogan, "Ideal for Spastics":
http://www.yellowjersey.org/photosfr...st/HWTRIKE.JPG

from:
http://www.yellowjersey.org/holdsw.html

Does anyplace make a kit like this now for 26" wheel external/multispeed
bikes? I'd love to try one out on a recumbent bike I have.

I have seen that lowrider places sell trike rear-end kits and they are
available with 26" wheels, but they are all only for single-speed rear
hubs.
~