[trikes] steering design question

[John Turvey]

Further to my reply yesterday, I have now had a chance to look at 2 
different wheelchair cycles - I help at a special needs cycle centre, 
and these two machines were given to the Centre in 2002 - they were 
both well used then.

The first machine is a Duet, where the steering pivot is about 5 inches 
in front of the front wheel axles.

The second machine is an 0 Pair (Dutch made) where the steering pivot 
is an inclined tube about 8 inches long - the bottom of the tube is 
about 2 inches below and 1/2 inch in front of the front wheel axles, 
while the top of the tube is a bout 2 inches in front..  The O Pair is 
still made (by Van Raam) but the modern machine is VERY different from 
the one at the Centre.

As I said before, both of these machines have a wheelchair part that is 
much stronger than a standard wheelchair.

If you really want to use a standard wheelchair, then a 
wheelchair-transporter is a possibility  - this is a splitable trike 
with a platform at the front onto which a wheelchair and wheelchair 
user can be loaded - the Centre got one of these (a Van Raam Velo Plus) 
at the start of 2009 at a cost (excluding VAT) of some £5,400 - but 
this is a heavy machine and is not really practical for any distance - 
I would stick to a wheelchair cycle like the Duet or O Pair - I have 
seen several different modern ones in recent years, so they are made by 
several manufactures in various countries.

John Turvey