I call it Light because it will have a battery back, a Head-Light, Tail-Light, and Turn-Signals, so there will be Lights on this Trike, so what is a Trike, and in this case, it is a recumbent bike, which means it is a bike made to use in a reclining position.
An example of the type of Trike I am talking about below is a Kent 20 Inch Cavalier Recumbent Trike that cost around $700.
This project will work with any Trike, but not a Bike, in the Wiki, you will find the Project for Light Trike, it will not be one design, my concept is to design many and improve them, as such, there might be more that one design, so if you have one, you might want to make the monitor for this project, test on your Trike, and then if you want to build this Trike, you know the concept works, and the concept behind the Light Trike, is a computer system that monitors your blood pressure, heart rate, breathing rate, oxygen level, temperature, and displays 4 camera, one mounted forward, one back, the other two are right and left side, together the concept is to give a doctor a view of the train you are pedaling over, and access your fitness.
This might require an EEG for the brain, or EKG for the heart, as well as other specialized monitors, this project is based on a Rasberry Pi, the version does not matter as long as it has IO, but maybe we do not need it, and can use an Arduino, which is what I will be doing here, which is to interface all these different monitors, so I can collect and get the results of this data, so I can show it in a way that helps detect health issues.
This project will have all the source code for the PI and Arduino, I must first get all the parts I need, in order to build this project, and that will be explained as I go along, so this Read Me details all the topics, but some of the Data and Articles is in the Wiki, so my goal is to show you what a Trike is, and why we want Lights on it.
When it comes to our health, we need to put safety above gimmicks, otherwise, we building a death recorder, you have to use common sense with exercise, and I do not want to rely on a wrist band, or other external devices, I need a way to pedal and measure the amount of force or work energy I used and monitor my vitals will I exercise, so I must set limits for all my vitals, and what to do if go over them, or under them, who do I call if I pass out, what to do in case of Emergency, and safety first, so we need to know our limits.
Everyone is differnt, yet we all have the basic needs, and exercise is the main need, but no one can agress how to get, the only two forms of exercise that have ever worked for me, are walking and biking, but they have to be interesting, but as of late, Walking is very hard, but I was born in 1961, and I am currenty 61, and I am Medically Retired United States Air Force, so I will talk about my personal reasons for wanting to build, yet another type of Recumbent Trike, and exercise is harder to do after having my Descending Colon removed, even harder after having my Galblader removered, and having a blood clot after the last one, I know I have been denying that I have lungs issues after the blood clot incident, which happened when body decided to get rid of what was a 1 inche long by quarter inch in diametter clot from an IV, caused all my veins to diolate and collapse, even rupture, I am not going to say COVID made it worse, I got it in January 2022, but it did prove to me that my lungs are having issues, I have been hoping it will get better, but it is getting worse, and COVID did not help, so I cannot jump the gun and start exercising, but I need to make an effort to get some exercise till then, but I know as well as you do, exercising never works, going to the gym is a waste of money, and so is exercise equipment, and why is simple, no one likes it, not even those using it.
The only two methods of exercise that work for me are a Biking or Walking, but once you hit 50, things change, 60 was no better, and 70 will be even worse, so we all know we are in the same place, called the lack of exercise, getting older, and if you liked to ride or walk you would be in shape, so what is stopping you, boredom, that is right, walking is boring, and have you tried to ride a bike recently, maybe if you are young, after 61, it is not easy to stand for long, a bike will not help, it is like standing, only you have to keep pedaling, stop and you might fall over, and I have issues falling down as it is, I have vertigo from the Anthrax vaccine in 1990, so my balance is an issue at times, and why two wheels suck, and a Trike is better, or Adult Tricycle if you like that term better.
I cannot afford a Trike, they start around a grand, plus they do not have one as I want, which is my design since no one else has one that is close, most people have the pedals under you like a bike, or in line or even higher than your heart, which means your body has to pump blood up to them, not good, so I want to change where you sit, so your legs are below you, only not under you, and you can raise your butt off the seat while pedaling if you want, so you can put your weight on the pedals, but I cannot afford to buy a Trike, and even if I could, I cannot buy the one I want.
What I need to do is find a used bike shop or manufacturer that will sponsor me by sending me parts they use, so they can use my design to build their next Trike, more on this concept to come.
I am working in Blender a CAD or Computer-Aided Design application, I want to design something new since I cannot find it, I want to be sitting with the pedals in front, but below me, instead of being even, or slightly above me, like in all the designs I have seen, I want to be able to leverage my weight to get up a hill, but I do not want a bike seat, at least not a normal one, it needs to support my butt, and I do not want it sticking out in front of me, that is more like an aiming wedge to back your butt into, not a pleasant thought, and why I do not want it, I want my butt to able to sit down or rise up, so it is more like a ledge to sit on, plus it has a full back support system, my concept is you are sitting in a chair and can stop pedaling without the fear of falling.
I want to add pedals for the arms, it will also be the steering wheel, not sure what the pedal shaft length will be till I experiment with it.
I try to stay busy so I do not focus on the pain I am in, having broke my back and sustained a spinal injury, I have neuropathy in my legs and feet, plus my lungs are not trashed, and it is getting worse and not better and has nothing to do with sitting around, this was a pain I felt at the time it was happening, I was in 3 acciendents while on active duty in the Military, the second accident put my ribs into hip, I fell around 40 feet at around 50 MPH, only that pain got better, I was yonger and in better shape, that was around 1996 when I was in Special Operations as a Helicopter Crew Cheif, but now it is getting worse, and there has to be a reason why, because this started before I knew my dog had cancer, which was about a year ago, but I know as she got worse, so did my pain, but at the same time, I know they are not related, only my ability to deal with my dog's pain, is causing me a lot of pain, and we will have to put her to sleep, or cancer will kill her, and I am going to need something to do to deal with that loss because I was hoping to get better to be there for her, but that is not going to happen in time to help her, or my wife, who has to get through this as well, and she is the one doing all the work since I got sick, and face it, we all have our own issues, and all need to excersie, and get out and just ride, doing something that is fun, but this project is about excersing for health, for those who may not be healthy, and need to stay busy so they do not focus on their pain.
The truth is I need something to do, and the Trike is that something and I want to make this a Project and make a video on how to make it, and then make it, test it, improve it, and make more videos riding it, something to do and I can get some exercise at the same time, but deal with two issues at the same time, something to do, and getting exercise that works.
I want to design a Trike, then find parts that a Manufacture sells, then get that Bike Shop or Manufacture to sponsor this project by sending all the parts.
In return, I said a contract that guarantees them performance, meaning I perform the duty of writing a book, and make videos, and so on, so my contract is simple, they own all the parts they send me, and I must return them if I cannot fulfill my contract in the specified time limit, in which I build an Alpha prototype, and a Beta unit, I keep the prototype unless they want it, I ship them the beta unit, the books, videos, and other things, so basically, they only pay for the prototype and get a fully functional Trike that they can Manufacturer from new or used bike parts, but I want my own unit for the work I do, so more on them later.
The parts I need for one Trike are:
- 26-inch rear wheel with fat all-terrain all-weather tire, gears, and disc brake
- Two 20" front wheels with the fat all-terrain all-weather tires, and disc brakes
- Two 6" front anti-flip wheels and tires, and a torsion bar
- Two pedal cranks with gears, one for feet, the other for arms
- Long-chainTubing for frame
Miscellaneous parts like
- Two brake levers with cables
- Hand-brake for the rear wheel Emergency brake
- Paint
- Welding wire
- Battery pack with a generator that runs off pedal power
- Full set of LED Lights: head Light, tail Light, and turn signals that show the front, back, and side.
The Light Trike will have 4 cameras, and a PI with a touchscreen, so you can monitor them, and record them, plus you can run it on Android or Linux, and add a Cell Phone, or you can use a smartphone, but that will not be as nice, I think they suck in your car and would suck in this as well, and really do not want to go there, this has to work with and without any internet.
If I can set up this site, and make a video using Blender like I do all my videos on GitHub and YouTube, I will call it the Light-Trike, this way I can send out an email to one company, show them the links, the videos, the book, and see if they will sponsor it, if not, move on till I find someone that will, and maybe this will work maybe it will not, but sitting around dreaming about getting parts is not any better.
The two anti-flip wheels are required because these things have a tendency to flip forward if you lock up the front brakes, they all have this issue, even the motorcycle versions, two wheels in the front, maybe add anti-locking brakes to prevent this, but you still need this safety feature, in a motorcycle trike you can add a counterweight.
The other day coming home the power was out, the electric gate was down, and the keys to the gate were in the house, and as I looked at the fence, my brain said there was no way I can do this, my wife wanted to know the concept so she could, well you have climb up and get your leg over, the one I cannot even feel, then you have to turn or twist around so you are facing the opposite direction and climb down, my brain could not get my body to even move, my muscles knew they cannot do this, so my brain will not engage them, so I am frozen, unable to save myself if I had to, and that is when I knew I need a machine that will exercise everything, so I never get into that situation again.
The parts cannot cost that much for a bike shop and even less for a manufacturer, they only give me parts for the Alpha Prototype unit, after it is completed and tested, and no more improvements are required to make a Beta unit, then I work on a Beta unit, this one will need a professional paint job, and when I get the prototype pained as well, so when they get the Beta Unit, it is floor-room show ready, so they may not want to use used parts for their Beta Unit, I do not care if the parts are new or used for my purpose, but new is always better.
What I want them to do is send me the parts for a Charlie Unit, and I will send them the Alpha Unit for a display, this Charlie Unit will require new parts, and will also add a new feature, a shell, this is a windshield, it covers you from rain, the fenders only help so much, the shell is meant to allow air to flow through, but to help prevent rain from getting you wet, this means from all directions, hence it is a shell.
I want to add an Emergency Electric Motor, this will not get you anywhere fast, but somewhere eventually, and what the Battery pack is about, besides the Lights, Computer, Cameras, speakers, microphone, and other electronics, you have an Emergency system, should you become too weak to pedal, or need to get up a hill and do not have enough strength.
This will be designed for on and off-road usage, all-weather, day or night transportation, that parks in a car spot, and not a bike rake, it has all the features a car is required to have to be street legal, Lights, Windshield, mud flaps or fenders, and can be licensed for the road, but not the highway, because the Emergency system is rated at low speed, why is simple, this is not an Electric Car, it is a pedal car, and the extra weight is not worth it, it is designed to take you as far as it can, with the required battery pack being as small as possible, and designed more to get you up a hill when you do not have the energy to pedal up it. It will have an extra basket to haul stuff in like if you went to the store, and needed a trunk, it is watertight, and a cooler.
You have all these extra features you have to add to it, that make the Bike Shops interested in it, so I am hoping this project will appeal to one of them, enough to sponsor the parts.
I have to have something to do or I will go crazy, plus I need to get some exercise, and that is not easy, I do not want to go to a gym, and home exercise equipment sucks, and is boring, as is walking, plus it is hard for me, and a walker makes it safer, but harder.
I have an Arc and TIG welder plus a MIG welder, so making the frame is easy for me, in fact, I can make a very nice professional-looking and performing frame, plus I know how to work with many types of materials, and could every work with Carbon Graphite or Fiberglass.
I want to be able to make this in my garage, which I can, but I need a way to make it easy to store and move, I want it to be able to load into a trunk of a car or the back of an SUV, and being chain drive, makes this difficult, but not impossible, so I deal with that first, I need a chain drive system that can be broken down into two sections, so the Trike's two frond wheels, can fold up or push closer together, and the seat can move up, and the front wheels under it, so it takes up the room of a wheelchair, compact, but all one piece.
This Light Trike is designed for the disabled, that still have use of all 4 limbs, and Light means Lights, as in headlights, tail lights, and turn signals, not Lite, because it will not be, I want to use modern lite-weight materials to make is as lite as possible, so in short, this is something new, but not a new invention, only my take on what is needed to help people like myself, while making this for normal people to use, who will be the majority of the users, this targets all ages, and I want to make one that will set a new land speed record, with the right person behind the pedals, this means I need to make a transmission with some very large diameter gears, but this is the machine built for speed, the normal model will not go faster than a normal 18-speed, but will compete with it, and I hope to make it faster, how many speeds it has does not matter, 10 is normally for road whereas 18 is off-road, but I want to build different machines for different people, so 33-speeds, you might not go fast over a hill, but you will make it, so disabled or not, this is designed for the needs of those who are.
There are a lot of people with Spinal Damage like mine, who feel only pins and needles in their feet, and legs, but I get in it in my arms upon waking, but that might be my hypotension or low blood pressure, so this machine will have monitors that monitor the rider for blood pressure, heart rate, temperature, oxygen level, breathing rate, with optional probes for an EEG for brain and EKG for heart monitoring, all built into this machine, so all the riders are safe.
I have a briefcase GitHub project that I want to put my Touchscreen case into, so I can mount it to the Trike, this has all the Electronics in it, so I can close it, lock it, and take it with me, where ever I go, even open, it is waterproof, you open it to get access to the Touchscreen, but all the cables are from the outside, and watertight, but I could make the touchscreen as a separate unit, that makes it much nicer, and the briefcase will not need it but will have the electronics, so it can mount anywhere, and easy to hook up and remove.
This will have a trailer, even a dog transporter, my concept is you snap on storage units, like a cooler to get to the store, a tackle box, and a cooler for fishing, this Trike must have all kinds of utility features.
Think about if you would want a Trike like this, and then think about why you want it, and one reason I want it, is to walk with my dogs, my little girl will not live long enough to see this, but I need to build it, to get past her death, that will come in time, blood coming out of mouth and nose this morning freaked me out, and my big girl, well she will be hard to walk off the property, she only wants to get from the front to the back, and that is it, so I do not have a dog to walk anymore, and that is sad, and why I want to make it for her, and in her memory, so I have my reasons for designing it, and using it, as you have yours, so if you have other features you would want personally, think about it.
Music and video is built-in, it is designed to allow the rider to talk as they ride, my concept is you can do dictation by a microphone, or even add a wireless keyboard, so you can type in a novel, do internet searches, and other things, like call people, email them, or just write notes, so think about what you could do, if you have a Trike that would fit in the back of your car, not sure that is possible by the way, but I know I can make a mounting kit for it, if you have a tailor hitch that is easy, but I have one for cars without it, not hard, so think about how it rolls on all 3 wheel when folded, and you roll it to the back of you car, and you have this kit you have any tire shop install, you drill 4 holes, and bolt it to frame under the car, and then you have a tailor hitch, yes, you need one, but this one is easy to install, so easy, anyone with a drill can install it, so think of if you had a tailor hitch, and you could mount this trike, and go somewhere like the beach, well now waterproof is required, and salt resistant, which means no stainless steel, and what most cables are made of, bummer I know, and we need fat tires for off road, plus a floatoin device, which can be injected into the tubing of the frame, and if you go to the desert or live there, you want things like water, and even food, so a cooler, and maybe a tailor if you have a Dog like my big girl, you just need get them to sit on tray, then add the walls to the cage you build around them, complete with a roof, and a drip pan in case they go, it does not go any where but into the pan, and they you pull up the trailer, and load the cage onto it, and pull it to the Trike, easy, so the girl is set, and maybe the little girl will hold on long enough to go for a ride. All-weather off-road tires, with a 50-mile Emergency Electric Motor range, depending on battery weight, and you can use the Motor full time if you want, it is not only for Emergencies, but there in case of one, but is not an Electric Motor Vehicle in itself, because this one is designed to go slow, and designed to get you up hills, it has the gear ratio of the Trike, so you can switch gears, and go fast, but you give up distance, and all those hills add up, so I have to design a way to disconnect the drive and just power the generator.
Most Trikes you will find on YouTube, that you have many different types, and I am only talking about one that is a hybrid, and does not exist as it is, so you will not find what I described to you here, so you will not find what I am building, and one thing I must point out, is that those that are there, are all designed for healthy people, and this is not, and why it cannot be compared to the others, it is designed for people of all ages and healthy people will enjoy it more, but is designed for people with health issues that must be monitored, and recorded, so I have a camera system, you can combine them all on one screen, and record them with all your health data, making a video you can give to any doctor who can review it, and determine if you have a health risk doing this, or if it is helping you get better, as such, I see this being deployed to health care systems, as an alternate way of getting exercise, as such, this unit is designed to monitor you as you monitor your surroundings.
These are projects that you can buy https://betriton.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9IMUWLsgiM
