A good advert for NOT using wheel chair wheels ?

Joined
Feb 7, 2008
Messages
4,573
Location
Nottinghamshire England
Hi all


least in water it does not matter the wheels wobble ?


Paul
 
Joined
Apr 16, 2017
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424
Location
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Interesting, the overall shape looks good , to me anyway. Now it's a bit mean of me but when I watched the water test I just knew the outcome and I did laugh when the vehicle flopped on it's side. Thankfully he was near the shore was OK.
 
Joined
Feb 10, 2022
Messages
159
Location
Norfolk UK
Like the 'outside the box' thinking and the body shape is nice to my eyes but just so much about this machine is wrong! It's easy to criticise but the whole thing just seems too weak and completely unfinished.

I slowed the video to 25% where he is heading towards the camera and all the wheels seem to be wobbling horribly. Either buckled or the setup is too flimsy. Those two tiny wheels must take an awful lot of stress at times when the road surface drops under one of the main wheels and it leaves the ground. That front wheel would last about ten minutes on the roads around me. First decent pothole would either remove it completely or fold it under the machine.
I quite like the fact you can stretch your arms out and manually reverse using the wheelchair wheels although he seems to have reverse on tap anyway.
I can't make out the motor arrangement. At first I thought he had a mid drive on the pedal assembly but he also seems to have a hub motor fitted as mid drive further back- obviously I'm confused.

He suggests he is going into production with it. I suspect he will not challenge Elon Musk any time soon but I really admire his thinking and attempt at a green machine. Maybe with some more development and refinement he may have something. I hope so.

John
 
Joined
Oct 19, 2012
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2,384
Location
Wakefield, UK
Use of those small wheels is a problem that will only be cured by swapping for bigger ones. 4 wheels means that often one will be airborne unless well suspended. If that airborne one is a central one there's a 50/50 chance of it being the drive wheel unless he has a limited slip diff such as a freewheel one. Rear wheel steer will probably equal litigation for injury if he ever makes them commercially. Being 4 wheel with only 1 steering wheel must equal dragging the front in turns.

It would appear he's used it extensively so perhaps my criticism is unwarranted but equally he may be well aware of it's foibles and simply keeps within them.
 
Joined
Feb 10, 2022
Messages
159
Location
Norfolk UK
Looks like the two tiddly wheels may be set high as the front one seems to be off the ground several times and he's riding on a pretty flat surface. He has two wheel steering but the little wheels look really flimsily hung to me. Like I say the front one as he heads towards the camera is wobbling like a supermarket trolley wheel (the trolley you'd take back to the rack and swap for a better one!).
He even makes a 'thing' about it being amphibious when it is obviously so unstable in the water as to be dangerous.

Hate to be so critical but he is no way ready to even consider offering the thing for sale. He should spend more time testing, ironing out the problems, accept unbiased third party criticism and I honestly think, redesign his mechanicals. He has a nice looking body which deserves to sit on a well sorted chassis and drivetrain. I really hope he has a think and gets some advice before going further.

John
 
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