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Step 8Riding
I was worried about how people would mount the thing, but it is not an issue. You just kind of crawl in. It helps to have someone steady it, but it is not required. With someone's weight way forward the nose contacts the ground and this keeps things stable.
The physics work like this: The pedals allow you shift the center of gravity (CG) of the porch swing forward or backward. The wheels then rotate to return the CG to normal. Climbing hills or getting started on soft ground will require a greater shift before it will roll. This can get a little scary (but fun) as your feet start to point to the sky. New riders might need a push if they get too stuck.
Some small kids who stretch to reach the pedals or don't have much weight behind the axels tend to rid very low in the front and may tend to bounce the nose. I added a little box to the top of the back of the seat. This allowed me to add and remove a brick or two of ballast to get the nose up as needed.
Coordination to go straight is not that tricky. Either rider usually adjusts a little to correct the heading. It is fun to watch kids riding for the first time working out the coordination. Some kids tend to just stop pedaling and freeze when they don't know what to do. This of course causes the thing to immedaitely pirouette on that wheel.
It occured to me that this would be relatively easy to motorize with some wheel chair motors. A joystick with some relays could control it. I think I will keep mine old school though.
The physics work like this: The pedals allow you shift the center of gravity (CG) of the porch swing forward or backward. The wheels then rotate to return the CG to normal. Climbing hills or getting started on soft ground will require a greater shift before it will roll. This can get a little scary (but fun) as your feet start to point to the sky. New riders might need a push if they get too stuck.
Some small kids who stretch to reach the pedals or don't have much weight behind the axels tend to rid very low in the front and may tend to bounce the nose. I added a little box to the top of the back of the seat. This allowed me to add and remove a brick or two of ballast to get the nose up as needed.
Coordination to go straight is not that tricky. Either rider usually adjusts a little to correct the heading. It is fun to watch kids riding for the first time working out the coordination. Some kids tend to just stop pedaling and freeze when they don't know what to do. This of course causes the thing to immedaitely pirouette on that wheel.
It occured to me that this would be relatively easy to motorize with some wheel chair motors. A joystick with some relays could control it. I think I will keep mine old school though.
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Aug 14, 2011. 9:46 AM
richie_114
says:
richie_114
says:
Awesome! I made something similar (3 wheeled) several years ago, nowhere near as cool though!
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