So my neice is a paraplegic and can't peddel a bike ...so I wanna make her something she can peddel and steer with her hands. Anyone have any ideas or have any experience making something similar!

keep in mind she's small(3 years old) she's strong though, so I am sure she could peddel herself around! Here's a video of her for some motivation



Dutch

 

http://www.planetmobility.com/....html

Maybe you can build something like these. The look to have some models for children. Good luck.

 

sorry i cant be of any help. But thats a cute kid right there

 

so sad .. she has a lot of charisma

 

Something like this, only smaller, I'd be happy to lend some design help if you need any.

 

yeah she's a cutie....not to be a dick, but what exactly is paraplegic? I'm guessing she can't move her legs? sorry for the stupidity. . .

 

She's very cute.

It seems like she can move well from the waist up. So I think you should make the steering be controlled via her back, i.e. bending left or right. Use just a single front wheel so the steering load is minimize. Use larger diameter wheels/tires to reduce rolling resistance. Aluminum tubing is a must.

Now if you could make it so she could transfer herself from her wheel chair to the bike all by herself, you'll have one very happy little girl.

I predict that there will be few things you do in your life that will provide you with as much satisfaction as this project. Good luck. You'll get a lifetime of these

 

Found another pic

 

k24em2, the only problem that I see with those is that it looks like you pedal with your hands, but you still need your feet to steer.

 

how about steering by braking the left and right wheels independently ... like how a tank turns? Then you would just need to find a way to integrate it into the pedaling machanism so she could pedal and brake/steer at the same time. If you need some design ideas, I have followed this series on human powered vehicles on AutoSpeed (an Australian online publication).

Edit ... what the hell, here is a link to each of the 16 parts:

1: http://www.autospeed.com/cms/A_108591/article.html
2: http://www.autospeed.com/cms/A_108592/article.html
3: http://www.autospeed.com/cms/A_108593/article.html
4: http://www.autospeed.com/cms/A_108594/article.html
5: http://www.autospeed.com/cms/A_3039/article.html
6: http://www.autospeed.com/cms/A_108625/article.html
7: http://www.autospeed.com/cms/A_108626/article.html
8: http://www.autospeed.com/cms/A_108766/article.html
9: http://www.autospeed.com/cms/A_108767/article.html
10: http://www.autospeed.com/cms/A_108768/article.html
11: http://www.autospeed.com/cms/A_108796/article.html
12: http://www.autospeed.com/cms/A_108786/article.html
13: http://www.autospeed.com/cms/A_108849/article.html
14: http://www.autospeed.com/cms/A_108917/article.html
15: http://www.autospeed.com/cms/A_108931/article.html
16: http://www.autospeed.com/cms/A_109038/article.html

It's like a 16 part series, but VERY educational!!!


Modified by FastCougar at 2:12 AM 11/9/2007


Modified by FastCougar at 10:18 AM 11/9/2007

 

make her something like this...
http://www.backtobasicstoys.co...=6580

very simple and basic, there are different variations as well. she will have a blast because it is so easy to operate.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by .dave &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">k24em2, the only problem that I see with those is that it looks like you pedal with your hands, but you still need your feet to steer.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yea, I couldn't find a picture of one I wanted. My uncle is paraplegic and he has a bike like that, it is basically a trike with the handlebars/pedals all in one. So you swing the pedals side to side to steer.

 

You guys are awesome! She has spinabifida(I am pretty sure it's spelled wrong) and was born with a huge hole in her back(which is now closed)! The Doctors never even saw before she was born . But yeah she does have great mobility from the waist up. She does have a strong will..she can actually do head/hand stands and she can crawl. I doubt she'll ever walk..but now she's getting to the age where kids should be running around and having fun. So i'd rather her have some kind of bike. She has a tiny wheelchair, but she keeps it at school.

You guys have some good ideas! I am going to go pick up some little kids bikes today and a wheel chair some local people have said they'd give me! So I'll see where it takes me....If anyone has anything they can donate or something nice I could buy(for cheap) PLEASE let me know!


Dutch

 

That is a awsome little girl there.. cute vid tooo!


http://www.kidtrikes.com/whirlo.html &lt;&lt;--- website i pulled allthis from

Hand Propelled Trike
Price: 469.00 FOB Factory
Click here for Larger Image and Detailed Product Description




Hand Propelled Trike
Price: 469.00 FOB Factory
Click here for Larger Image and Detailed Product Description


Whirl-O Wheel
Price: 289.95 FOB Factory
Click here for Larger Image and Detailed Product Description



We also carry an adult Whirl-O Wheel
Without back support: $349.95
With back support: $429.90

 

http://www.kidtrikes.com/whirlo.html

That is gonna be my fall back if this becomes an EPIC FAIL! I'll just have some money saved up (there goes my chargespeed wing I want..hahaha) if I have to buy her a bike! Those are really cheap compared to others! THANKS!

Dutch

 

you're a good uncle... be sure to post a vid of her riding your creation.

 

Thanks man .

I just hate that she can't walk..so I wanna try and have her live a fun life! I'd honestly trade her places in a second if it was possible. She's gone through so many surgeries and she takes them all like a champ. You'd be hard up to find a more tolerant kid than her!

Dutch

 

I am a parapelgic, so if you have any questions on building this, feel free.

What your refering to is a hand cycle. You pedal with your hands/arms, and the front fort also serves as the steering. The foot placement in the front are foot plates, simply to hold the feet in place, via velcro straps.

What I would do, is see if you can get some basic measurments ( leg length, torso, arm lenght, ect) and work from that.

Check out http://www.sportaid.com for pictures of hand cycles, wheels, ect.

 

Hondaruss nailed it, especially since they already have one thats exactly what you need

 

yeah he gave me my back up plan!

Dutch

 

Let me know if you need any machining done (cnc milling). Depending on what you need I should be able to do it for free.

I also have a client that sells wheelchairs so I should be able to get a deal on any premade components.

 

This topic is awesome

 

after seeing that video i searched for a couple hours to find something for yea. i hope that gave you some ideas for designs on possibly building one .. or just ending up buyin one.. i Know that one where whirl-o wheel would be super fun!!!

 

good luck with your project. makes me miss my nephew, need to go back to oklahoma asap. haha cute niece you got there.

 

really cute kid..best of luck to your project and your a great uncle.