armagreggon

Hi, my name's Greg & I'm a final year student at Northumbria University in the UK. For my final design project I am designing a future trike and to help me with my design I have been researching problems with current cycles and how they are used.

If anybody finds problems with any aspect of cycling, general dislikes about bikes, or areas you think can be improved with bikes I would be really gratefull if you could let me know by replying to this thread.

Your input is really appreciated. Greg

kf5nd

I've been giving lectures in hospitals to overweight & diabetic people about the use of cycling as a way to improve their health, and they really like the slides I present concerning trikes. Especially ones with a nice, wide, padded seat such as you'd find on a recumbent bike. A seat as opposed to a saddle. But they don't like the very low tadpole trikes. Too hard to go down and come back up. So they like the "upright, but still basically recumbent" posture. At least they like the pictures.

Artkansas 

I bet there's a market for a design similar to the tadpole trikes but where the rider is up higher similar to a high racer recumbent.

cerewa

the laid back design of high-racers, whether trike or not, will not appeal to people who aren't very comfortable on a bike such as the ones k5fnd is probably referring to. Your average recumbent delta trike is probably more suited to that.


Back to my reply to post#1: Here are some non-ideal features of the bicycles of today:

--They don't store outdoors well-- being exposed to the weather usually makes the chain rust.
--Lights, helmet, and tools usually have to be carried with you when you leave the bike, rather than left with the bike. There is no locking compartment/trunk, and lights are not locked down.
--the rider is exposed to rain when riding in bad weather, and road grit often splashes up on to you whether or not you use fenders.
--bicyclists perceive themselves as being near-invisible to motorists, day or night. I think a blinking light (xenon strobe?) visible from front and sides, mounted on top of the helmet would make one safer... if it had the right combination of flash pattern and non-blinding brightness. Brighter in the day than at night might help?


But then, velomobiles solve some of these problems... I just can't afford one.

One nice thing about bicycles is that they're cheap compared to cars or public transit. Bad thing about bikes is that when you add features such as full-body covering (velomobile), 3rd wheel (trike), electric assist to help you maintain more car-like speeds, or large cargo capacity (like xtracycle) they quit being cheap. If we could get economies of scale like the car industry has, velomobiles and such might cost half as much, though.

Nightshade

Suggest that you contact Worksman Cycles in NYC,NY to see
if they can help you. Nice folk's in a small 100 yr old company
that makes cycles of all kinds for industry, special needs, and
recreational markets.

Direct your request to:
Wayne Sosin, President of Worksman.

www.worksman.com