DIY..Homemade Electric handbike for wheelchair (Robolop Design)

robolop46 · Feb 1, 2020

40 years ago I ended up in a wheelchair. 4 years ago my shoulders broke down. I had surgery on one shoulder, but on the other I need a protesis. But they don't want to do that immediately, because I am still very limited in my arm movements.
I was not allowed to ride a hand bike anymore. For my operation I bought an e-bike to put in front of the wheelchair.

I enjoyed it very much for 1 year. But soon I had it in my head to build one myself.

I may say that I am quite handy. I can work with polyester, carbon fiber, aluminum, etc. But stainless steel machining and welding I don't know anything about that, and I don't have the materials and machines for that either. After consulting with Didier (a very good friend of mine, who is also in a wheelchair), he wanted to make the stainless steel part for me. He is an artist in that field for me.

We then consulted carefully and thought about what we were going to make. I first went looking for a front fork of a bicycle, but the tough model I wanted was way too long. Then I decided to buy Triple Tree Clampste from a pit bike.
Here you can see what Didier had in mind. He wanted the look of a suspension fork, which of course is not true. More about this later.

FlatSix911 · Feb 1, 2020

Well done! Are you planning to produce any more... I would think that there is a ready market.

robolop46 · Feb 2, 2020

FlatSix911 said:
Well done! Are you planning to produce any more... I would think that there is a ready market.

No no, not at all. It contains parts for a lot of money. I have not counted the hours, but there are very many

dodahman · Feb 2, 2020

Thanks for sharing. Very nicely done. I think there may be some commercial models along the same lines. Good on you for keeping moving....

robolop46 · Feb 2, 2020

OOOOOO yes, I can read and understand English, but I cannot write it. I work with a translation program and hope that everyone can follow that.
Once that was done, I could continue with the design of the bike. First I made a wooden support.

The battery is in the middle and the controller next to it.

Then I started to make a model out of wood (mdf).
I didn't want you to see the battery. This was just an ugly thing.

That design was beautiful for me, and I could put everything in it.

Here you can see that I am giving the fender some model.
For the fender alone, I cut a mold or 5 out of cardboard before I thought it was right.

robolop46 · Feb 2, 2020

dodahman said:
Thanks for sharing. Very nicely done. I think there may be some commercial models along the same lines. Good on you for keeping moving....

THX dude.
I certainly want to show to fellow sufferers that much is still possible. Maybe he also has plans in mind to make this. That is why I want to state everything as well as possible that it is easy to follow. And if there are any questions, they can certainly ask them.

I think it is a pity that I did not put the topic in DIY, Kits and Custom Builds. I could perhaps reach more members and people there

JRA · Feb 2, 2020

My son is a quad and 4 years ago I ran into a gentleman from England that was set up at Interbike here in the US displaying something similar. Part of my son's PT is using his arm bike and so it was a no brainer to get one of their adaptive assist units. The company is Davinci Mobility btw. Although the model I demoed that day was a hub drive like yours it ultimately was sent with a Bafang BBS01 mid drive without consulting me. A bit of a disappointment actually as the weight of the system up high makes it top heavy with not enough front weight bias making traction iffy at times as well as the balance when taking on and off the chair. I finally said enough and just bought a TDCM 5spd IGH that will replace it. The weight of the e system will not increase but the balance will be restored resulting in better traction and ease of handling while off the chair.

Impressive work on yours for sure. I look forward to seeing the final results.

robolop46 · Feb 2, 2020

JRA said:
My son is a quad and 4 years ago I ran into a gentleman from England that was set up at Interbike here in the US displaying something similar. Part of my son's PT is using his arm bike and so it was a no brainer to get one of their adaptive assist units. The company is Davinci Mobility btw. Although the model I demoed that day was a hub drive like yours it ultimately was sent with a Bafang BBS01 mid drive without consulting me. A bit of a disappointment actually as the weight of the system up high makes it top heavy with not enough front weight bias making traction iffy at times as well as the balance when taking on and off the chair. I finally said enough and just bought a TDCM 5spd IGH that will replace it. The weight of the e system will not increase but the balance will be restored resulting in better traction and ease of handling while off the chair. View attachment 44990

Impressive work on yours for sure. I look forward to seeing the final results.

When we had brainwashed about what we were going to make, the first thing Didier said was that the entire front building had to come as close as possible to the wheelchair. This is to ensure that the weight distribution on the front wheel is as high as possible. I don't have a lot of problems with slipping with the front wheel. I also have a lot more torque to drive up without the front wheel starting to spin.

Here you can see how short everything is. I have an alu plate where my tops of my shoes stand against. Then I just don't bump into my fender

robolop46 · Feb 2, 2020

This is the part where the part (bike) is linked to the wheelchair. My friend Didier made this.
These 2 brackets are located between the 2 lower triple tree clampste . Of course there are roller bearings here.