Stabilizing wheels for seniors
 

Ran across this product for seniors to help them ride when they have balance issues. Balance is THE issue that kept me off my bike all of 2012 summer.

http://www.eztrainingwheels.com/?s=adult

Am thinking about trying a set if I can find someone with some knowledge of how well they work as well as the product quality.

Anyone**********

(Note: I have a trike that I also ride but I want back on my bike too. )

I haven't seen them and I haven't used them -- so I can't speak for their quality or functionality. But, from the video they look pretty solid and pretty functional. I doubt if they will cure balance problems -- but it looks like they would help and would offer an extra margin of safety.

So, I would say: Go For It!
... What do you have to lose? And it might get you back on the bike you prefer. And that is a GOOD thing!

As the 70's Steelers used to say: "Whatever it takes...

We have a lad locally that has a mobility problem and he used these on his MTB when using it around the town. May be not this manufacturer but at least this type and size. Got around fairly well but When I last saw him he had gone to a trike.

Looks as if can only be installed on bikes with nutted axles on the rear hub.
The "training wheel" name implies a product designed for short-term use. Wonder if the product will hold up to extended use.

Here are four customer reviews from Amazon, in case you did not see them:

I suggest sticking with your trike - i.e. a vehicle designed for proper stability as opposed to adapting a bicycle designed for single-track stability and trying to turn it into a multi-track device.

Bicycles and motorcycles lean into turns whereas trikes and cars lean outward when turning. A bicycle with training wheels starts by leaning inward until prevented from leaning far enough by the training wheels. At that point it switches very abruptly to leaning outward onto the training wheel on the opposite side and frequently results in a bad crash. I've seen that happen often when kids try to take a corner too fast while using training wheels. I'm sure it's much less likely with older adults since they're likely to be more cautious when turning but the design has the same potential for a crash. I don't recommend 'training wheels' for either youths or adults - especially if a decent quality trike is available as an alternative.

It's not exactly a new idea, but a bad one. Training wheels should be a temporary expedient only.

http://www.lightningbikes.com/images...ad-001-600.jpg

As some here know I already have a trike but the (kinda)problem with it is it's only 3 speed. I've tried to figure out how to put a 7>8 speed hub on it but the only way is major frame rework. :(:(

Soooooooooo.........in the maze called my mind I figured a bicycle would do as well. Well, as you can guess that didn't go smoothly at all. That means the next step is stabilizer wheels on the bike..........if they will fit with hub gearing.

Stay tuned..............;)

One really neat idea!!! I'll bet steering is a challenge. :(:(

I'm assuming that the reason you want back on your bike is more speed, easier ride than your current trike.
Since nobody else has used the dirty word, I will. :) There are a good few recumbent trikes out there that you might enjoy a lot more than your upright trike.

Cheers,
Charles

He rides a worksman, speed is hardly on his agenda. On the other hand, something easier to ride obviously is I don't know that recumbents are easier to ride, especially if you have balance issues to begin with. Recumbent trike as you suggested would be what I'd go for.

If you have a small budget maybe I would try the stabilizing wheels.

But if you have the budget for it I would get a recumbent trike with more gears. A Terratrike Rover could have 8 gears and be a lot less heavy than your Worksman and still be an easy on and off ride. Or, you can get a delta recumbent that has more gears and also is higher up off the ground than many of the trikes.

Another possibility is a crank forward bike, one that you can put your feet on the ground when you are sitting on the seat. Like an Electra townie or a Trek Pure. Cheaper than the recumbent trikes. But, they are two wheelers so if your balance isn't good once you get going they may not be for you.

A tadpole trike would be a better idea. And I found out that you dont need a kickstand either!:)

Sorry, fellas but a "ground scraper" recumbent is not possible for me or I would own one.

I can't get "down there" to mount or dismount them.

The Worksman PAV I own is "chair high" and that is as low as I can go.

A year ago, 2 summers , I saw the epitome of 'Ride-or Die', a Harley Davidson Motor Bike,
with Training/Stabilizer wheels.. parked amongst a few Can AM trikes, 'as seen on TV'..

there was a British Company making a conversion front end for something similar,
for bicycles,

2 wheels and linkage replaced the front fork, so the handle bars steered the wheels .

here is what Google found, the bike was custom rebuilt to gain the 2 wheel front end,
then resold on flea-bay.

http://pedal-trikes.blogspot.com/201...ycle-ebay.html

The Christiania Trike is another option.

a cargo box is between the 2 wheels in front,
and the whole thing steers, as one, pivot from behind,
the headset, so frame-head is vertical and the handlebars are attached to the Box.

IDK , maybe Worksman makes one of those..

More wheels = more opportunty for more flats!

My wife rides a Terra-Trike recumbent and loves it. It's got a triple chain wheel set and a 7 speed rear cassette.

Sorry, These trikes are "pavement scrapers" that are to low for me.

I think road racing trikes was actually a thing in Great Britain at one point. Bob Jackson made some really nice ones.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-e09vJpJvMl...son+blue+2.JPG

'Body English', Phrase, might have come from getting those to corner fast enough ..

Any stabalising wheels set so as to get traction in any dip in the road would be set too high to get much help on the crown of the road. So, if balance is a problem, then a trike is the best idea.

As I understand the issues:

1. Poor balance

2. Inability to get the body low enough to sit on a typical recimbent or most trikes (except one like a Worksman)

3. and perhaps not a whole lot of $$ - but just a guess.

I believe any proposed solution must resolve issues 1 and 2 and maybe the 3rd

I looked into these a few months back. They are still made and used in Great Britain. But, nowhere I could find in the US and no one over there was very interested in shipping one to the US. One person wrote they are dangerous and hard to control. From their looks I suspect they might have CG issues.

From their web page:

Product comes in one model adaptable to 26’ and 28’ inch wheelbase bicycles and two colors, ED-Black and CP-Chrome.

Not sure what a 26 or 28 foot wheelbase looks like, but I am not feeling good about their bicycle experience.

I'll be honest, it just seems like a bad idea to me.

I've got my Worksman front-loading tricycle, and have put a few miles on it. But one thing I notice is that having 3 wheels does not eliminate the need for balance and handling ability. Yes, if you stay on flat land and go very slowly, no problem. If you're riding at anything beyond a crawl, it's easier to turn a high 3-wheeler over than it is a bicycle. With the bicycle, you lean to compensate for the turn, and with the 3-wheeler, that is awkward to do- you tend to stay flat until it's too late.

It seems to me that the training-wheel solution would have similar problems, perhaps worse. For one thing, the weight is not all on the training wheels, so it looks like it'll let you flop from side to side some, with the amount depending on your weight and how flat the ground is. If you lean into a turn like a normal bike, you don't need the training wheels. If you don't, you're fairly likely to fall over the opposite direction.

Anyway, if it was me, I'd look into the lightfoot trikes, which share some layout similarities with the Worksman trike, but have a wider range of gearing.
http://lightfootcycles.com/products-...dels-overview/
I'm sure they're more expensive, too. If it's something you actually plan to use, it'll be worth it.