Recumbent Bike

The Need

The client is a 22 year old boy living in Wisconsin who has a rare disability called Trifunctional Protein Deficiency that affects his mobility. It's a condition that's very close to Cerebral Palsy. He cannot walk very well because his body cannot fully process the messages his brain sent. This effect intensifies as the message moves further from his brain. Thus, his extremities suffer worst. His range of walking distance is small, a couple hundred feet at most, and he is in constant danger of falling, so he would benefit from the increased mobility, independence, and safety of a bike. He has use of his arms better than his legs and his shoulder and back muscles are strong.

The Solution

By allowing both hand and feet power, this bike will help our client. Almost all of the commercially available bikes lack a proper steering mechanism that allow incorporation of feet power or would simply be unusable for our client. Out design incorporate a three wheel trike design with two from steering wheels and a rear wheel for power. He raised by pedaling and pushing his handlebar. He steers by rotation his handlebar to a Ackermann system front wheels. The plan for this semester is to further develop the CAD model while simulaneously creating a physical prototype for our designs. The CAD model will be reworked to better fit our client's stature. The physical model will incorporate a prototype for the drive train system that can be operated to drive a stationary wheel. This will serve as a proof a concept for the feasibility of hand bar and feet pedal powering system. If time permits, the chassis will be built around the drive train in order to advance the eventual goal of providing a complete bike to our client.