Anyone gone back to 'normal' bikes?

[[XAP]Bob]

I started off because they intrigued me, and turned out to be pretty nice.

Now I can't do two wheels (upright or recumbent), and that's never changing.

I think my upright will get used for nipping into town, but unless I figure a safe way to tow the wheelchair (and that would be hilarious - just for the looks I'd get) it will have to be limited to places I know well and can hobble just inside the door on sticks.

There is a small (on a bike) but significant (when self propelling in a chair) hill between me and town, and unfortunately it's not much better on the way back (profile is a bit like a square root sign √ you'll have to imagine the bar)
At some point I might get myself an electric scooter to butcher to give me some assistance for times like this.

Maybe hitch up the 'Wheely' as a side car?

That would make me *very* wide... but could be a hilarious commentary about the amount of road space taken up by people in cars on their own.

Not quite sure how I'd make it work - but *top* marks for a lateral thinking solution...

[Grldtnr]

Very literal on the 'lateral' thinking!
But I wouldn't say it was anymore unusual than normal.
Trailers such as luggage and baby carriers ,whilst not common are seen, and yonks back bicycles and tandems would often have a watsonian sidecar.
The space you use wouldn't be much more than they ought to give you.

[[XAP]Bob]

Remember I'm starting off with a trike, not a bike.

The space needed for passing doesn't change, but the vehicle becomes much wider... no way I could do anything on cycle paths, and I would be about the same width as a car, so not really enough room to safely overtake at all.

[Grldtnr]

My bad ! I imagined you were using the Upwrongs for shops, but still no reason not to tow your Wheely.

[squeaker]

Never really left them (MTB for the Downs, folder for multi-mode travel): my 'bents are for comfort over longer distances (3-wheels adding to 'easier' ride). Winning a new upwrong frameset in a competition, just after I'd sold my 'last' road bike, was taken as a hint from above: works best for parking at the shops and/or when it's raining (which I hate on a 'naked' 'bent, which was why I acquired a velomobile...).

[Cowsham]

I started off because they intrigued me, and turned out to be pretty nice.

Now I can't do two wheels (upright or recumbent), and that's never changing.

I think my upright will get used for nipping into town, but unless I figure a safe way to tow the wheelchair (and that would be hilarious - just for the looks I'd get) it will have to be limited to places I know well and can hobble just inside the door on sticks.

There is a small (on a bike) but significant (when self propelling in a chair) hill between me and town, and unfortunately it's not much better on the way back (profile is a bit like a square root sign √ you'll have to imagine the bar)
At some point I might get myself an electric scooter to butcher to give me some assistance for times like this.

Maybe hitch up the 'Wheely' as a side car?

That would make me *very* wide... but could be a hilarious commentary about the amount of road space taken up by people in cars on their own.

Not quite sure how I'd make it work - but *top* marks for a lateral thinking solution...

Agreed ( top marks for lateral thinking )

Could a wheelchair be adapted to become a trike with some clever brackets and a drive wheel at front centre then be unhitched so you have your wheelchair to get in and out of places?. Can you use your feet to pedal or do you need a hand crank Bob ?

[[XAP]Bob]

There are hand cycle attachments - but they’re stupidly priced.

I don’t need hand cranks (my legs are fine, it’s my inner ear that’s wrecked), but pedalling from the wheelchair would be difficult - I’d likely just add an electric motor to the front, the challenge then is having enough weight on that front wheel to grip up a hill.

[UpWrong]

Rode 15 Miles on the upright today at an average of 10.3 mph. I do get a a very floaty, free rolling ride from this bike. I was comfortable for the 90 mins but didn't want to ride further. The bike weight is about 33 lbs which is pretty good considering it has an open frame, suspension forks, rack, mudguards, sprung saddle and kickstand. It has long chain stays and a slack downtube, and I have the saddle set back:

[deejayen]

That's a nice looking bike! I always think roadster-style bikes look comfy and relaxing - I'd love to try one.

I took my old steel bike out for a 12.5 mile loop on Friday night, and I got on okay - no major discomfort, and it rolled along quite nicely considering I only ride recumbents nowadays. It certainly seemed to go up the hills more quickly. My average speed was 17.4mph, and the best so far on my heavy USS LWB recumbent (which is also fairly new to me, so I'm still adapting to it) has been 16mph average on the same route. However, the wind was much calmer on Friday night than it has been for weeks, so it's not a fair comparison. Perhaps I enjoy the recumbent a bit more on this type of ride, and the difference in speed and the extra effort when cranking along don't mean anything. The difference adds up on longer rides, but then, perhaps I'd start to get uncomfortable on the upright, at least, unless I increased the training miles. I have faster recumbents which are probably a bit faster again (than the upright), but I like many aspects of the USS LWB, so I'll hopefully put a lot of road miles on it then reassess things.

So, I'm not ready to hang up the recumbents quite yet!

[Cowsham]

There are hand cycle attachments - but they’re stupidly priced.

I don’t need hand cranks (my legs are fine, it’s my inner ear that’s wrecked), but pedalling from the wheelchair would be difficult - I’d likely just add an electric motor to the front, the challenge then is having enough weight on that front wheel to grip up a hill.

That an awful debilitating ailment. Is there nothing than can be done as a work around ? like some sort of audio signal that can give you a sense of balance ie when you are at optimum posture / balance the tone is like a sign wave etc -- ( it would be like using your sense of hearing to learn balance ) you'll know what I mean.

[Grldtnr]

There are hand cycle attachments - but they’re stupidly priced.

I don’t need hand cranks (my legs are fine, it’s my inner ear that’s wrecked), but pedalling from the wheelchair would be difficult - I’d likely just add an electric motor to the front, the challenge then is having enough weight on that front wheel to grip up a hill.

Can I ask which type of trike you have, presumably it's a utility strike and not a esoteric racing barrow.
Recumbent trikes come in a wide number of designs ,but mainly they are Tadpole or Delta types , the tadpole may not suit , but the Delta type maydo , they could accommodate a compact wheelchair over the rear axle in a carrier.
Or you might consider a touring tricycle, Geo.Longstaff built some lovely machines, indeed if they are still trading,after the man's death they would be enimitly suitable to have a luggage rack built on,
Another possibility is a Dutch cargo bike, not the big long ones but the Bikefiets one Babbaoe is one such company I think, Dutch parents will often take young children to school in the cargo box.

[Grldtnr]

This is what I had in mind, possibilities for lugging are endless, Babbaoe are a primum Dutch bike, so are a bit expensive, some are electric

[Cowsham]

An adult tricycle with rear basket may be the best option. I bought the wife a pashley ( overpriced imo ) and put an electric front wheel on because of her balance/mobility problems.

[[XAP]Bob]

There are hand cycle attachments - but they’re stupidly priced.

I don’t need hand cranks (my legs are fine, it’s my inner ear that’s wrecked), but pedalling from the wheelchair would be difficult - I’d likely just add an electric motor to the front, the challenge then is having enough weight on that front wheel to grip up a hill.

That an awful debilitating ailment. Is there nothing than can be done as a work around ? like some sort of audio signal that can give you a sense of balance ie when you are at optimum posture / balance the tone is like a sign wave etc -- ( it would be like using your sense of hearing to learn balance ) you'll know what I mean.

Nope - though it's actually far less debilitating than you might expect, and certainly far less than many of the variable balance ailments around. I know exactly how I'm going to feel from day to day, it doesn't change. People with BPPV or others don't know what they're going to wake up to in the morning - that's debilitating because you can't plan *anything* with any degree of confidence.
There are three basic systems you use for balance - vestibular (including otolith), visual, and somatosensory information are all used, and each make up for weaknesses in the other. If you have a working vestibular system you can make do with only one of the others (so you can walk in the dark for instance), but without that the others have to sort of "make do". They are *substantially* slower than the inner ear, and in addition to that they are sensitive to gross movements, rather than acceleration, so they can only start to tell you that you're falling once you've already moved some distance.
There is the additional complication that the vestibular system is directly connected (through just three nerves, it's the one of the fastest reflex in the human body, ten times faster than blinking if something touches your eye) to the eyes through the VOR (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vestibulo–ocular_reflex). And without any input... I don't have that reflex, at all - which means I have persistent oscillopsia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oscillopsia) - when my head moves, I see the world move in the other direction. And that happens for even *tiny* movements, so when I talk my head and jaw are moving against each other, and the world bounces, if I hold my head really still I can watch my heart beat as the varying pressure in my arteries moves my head minutely.
That sounds awful, but remember I don't have any conflicting signal from my inner ear, so there is no nausea associated. it just makes focussing on things more difficult, and I now have a super power... I am clinically unable to be motion sick (got to take the wins when they're available).

I can walk... assuming that nothing around me moves, and I have taken a number of precautions to ensure, for example, that I can feel the floor properly - but I do look rather drunk whilst doing so. It's far safer out and about to use a chair, and I've become quite adept at doing so.

Towing the chair is an option, but I had a kiddie trailer (empty) bounce off a "feature" in the road and land on it's side... I won't/can't risk doing that to my chair.

[[XAP]Bob]

babboe_big_VLT2020_947c.jpg
This is what I had in mind, possibilities for lugging are endless, Babbaoe are a primum Dutch bike, so are a bit expensive, some are electric

A friend of mine had the christiana version with a wheelchair ramp for her son - they're great, but rather expensive for something I don't need much, and I'm back at not really wanting to leave an expensive vehicle outside the shop.

I have a fairly old trike, which didn't cost me a fortune, and has the hilarious advantage of being basically unrideable if you aren't used to riding a trike, because it will throw you into the hedge at the first sign of a corner.