Is there a saviour?

[HLaB]

What an extraordinary machine, it looks great. How do you steer it and stop it if you have no use in your arms? Am I being a bit thick, 'cos I can't work it out?

I could be wrong but it looks like the seat is rigged upto the steerer and the brake lever would be foot operated.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Is there a saviour? I dn't know but ...

 

[Iain G]

You're not being thick mate my trike is one of only 20 in the world with this body steer type along with my trike being the only one in Britain it's been custom built for me so it's the only one in the world. Basically the steering is operated by me leaning into my seat where steering rods connect from my seat to the front wheel (I lean left to go left & right to go right). My brakes are back pedal & a foot brake I've highlighted the steering in orange & yellow (some of the steering isn't visible on the pics so I've also highlighted where it goes) and the foot brake is pointed out in green.

 

[EltonFrog]

You're not being thick mate my trike is one of only 20 in the world with this body steer type along with my trike being the only one in Britain it's been custom built for me so it's the only one in the world. Basically the steering is operated by me leaning into my seat where steering rods connect from my seat to the front wheel (I lean left to go left & right to go right). My brakes are back pedal & a foot brake I've highlighted the steering in orange & yellow (some of the steering isn't visible on the pics so I've also highlighted where it goes) and the foot brake is pointed out in green.

Thanks for the detailed information, its even more extraordinary than I thought.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

View attachment 19123 View attachment 19122 You're not being thick mate my trike is one of only 20 in the world with this body steer type along with my trike being the only one in Britain it's been custom built for me so it's the only one in the world. Basically the steering is operated by me leaning into my seat where steering rods connect from my seat to the front wheel (I lean left to go left & right to go right). My brakes are back pedal & a foot brake I've highlighted the steering in orange & yellow (some of the steering isn't visible on the pics so I've also highlighted where it goes) and the foot brake is pointed out in green.

What a fantastic machine - a lovely piece of engineering.

I have to say that I feel more than a bit humbled by reading this thread. I mope around bitching about a bit of rain and you get out with vastly bigger issues to deal with.

 

[Herzog]

That's a pretty amazing bit of kit!!

 

[Fab Foodie]

That's a pretty amazing bit of kit!!

With a pretty amazing pilot by the sound of things. Humbled.

 

[Iain G]

Thanks guys it was certainly a life changer for me along with my adapted car. I've highlighted a couple of other functions below. One is the indicators which are operated by a left & right foot pedal which self cancel once the turn is made. The second is the gear lever & the third is a pedal assist motor which is turned on via a switch on the side of the seat ( it's not visible on the pic as it's on the other side but I turn it on with my knee). You still have to pedal but the resistance is a lot less although I don't use it a lot it's great if I'm knackered or going up a steep hill. The battery lasts approximately 13 miles but speed wise the motor max's out at 10mph as it has a restrictor on put on by ze Germans who won't turn it off for health & safety laws that apply in Britian & Germany

 

[Iain G]

She's a heavy girl at around 10+ stone so hill climbing can feel brutal although she loves it down hill At the minute she's on got 7 gears so I've not been able to go faster than 28mph but I am getting some more gears added so I'm hoping to hit 45mph

 

[Iain G]

When I tried Tyre Liners (mr tuffy) they ended up causing a couple of punctures where they overlapped inside the tyres.

I've thought about maybe not overlapping the liner (in my case sliced inner tube) but meeting in the middle & using some low profile puncture repair patches on the outside of the liner facing the tyre. What doe you reckon?

 

[2Loose]

I've thought about maybe not overlapping the liner (in my case sliced inner tube) but meeting in the middle & using some low profile puncture repair patches on the outside of the liner facing the tyre. What doe you reckon?

I think you'll spend several hours trying to keep the liner in position while you attempt this! They are a pain to fit anyway, so attempting to keep them flat against the inside of the tyre while you attempt to get the correct inflated length, then patch the join...even thinking about it - just NO!! Save yourself a world of stress and get some M+

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

Save yourself a world of stress and get some M+

Small problem - they aren't available in this size, as discussed earlier in the thread.

 

[2Loose]

Small problem - they aren't available in this size, as discussed earlier in the thread.

Apologies, lots has been posted since I read it. EDIT: I just reread everything and there seems to be some doubt, rather than a flat out 'no they aren't'. Maybe just my reading perception.

Either way, one idea would be to gaffer tape the liner to the inside of the tyre which would make it fairly easy to do, wouldn't need to patch the join then either and would ensure the liner was flat against the inside of the tyre.

 

[Iain G]

That sounds like a good idea to make it easy so I'm thinking of maybe using duct taping it to the inside of the tyre but still using some puncture patches to make rubber wall 100% thus removing the 0.5% or so gap from where the tape is holding the joint together. The patches would be facing the tyre wall rather than in direct contact with the inner tube which will eventually be inflated. This small bump from the patches I would of thought wouldn't causes punctures as they are okay on repair punctures thus giving the repaired area a slight bump too. Say the functioning inner tube has a puncture repair patch already on it & it comes into contact with my makeshift liner in the exact same place as where the joint is where the patches holding it together this shouldn't be too bumpy to cause a puncture?

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

I just reread everything and there seems to be some doubt, rather than a flat out 'no they aren't'. Maybe just my reading perception.

To be fair you are correct. There is a size available which is intended for wheelchairs but it is much narrower than what Iain G already has and the tyre bead is about 5mm bigger in diameter. Without the opinion of an expert I wouldn't like to recommend using this size as I have no idea whether it will seat properly.

The machine is such a fabulous bit of kit that I can't quite fathom why it's been built using such an uncommon size of wheel. If the wheels were one standard size bigger or smaller there is loads of tyre choice.