Adaptive Tricycle - Simple Tricycle Upgrade
I wanted to make an adaptive tricycle for our disabled child for a few reasons. Many adaptive bicycles do not have a wide range of color options to choose from, and then after choosing the color from the limited selection, you could pay between $1,000- $2,000. After paying a large sum of money for a bike that is a color that you don't love, you could be waiting between 10 and 12 weeks for it to be delivered.
My goal with this project was to find an off-the-shelf youth tricycle and make it adaptive in an affordable way.
I found a 16” wheel tricycle on Amazon and added back support from Trail-A-Bike, foot straps on the peddles, and a push bar on the back. (The tricycle, Trail-A-Bike back support, and foot peddle straps are all linked below).
To attach the back support, two pieces of ¾ EMT conduit with a 90-degree bend run parallel to one another, and using the basket mounting holes, connect the EMT conduit to the frame. Three cross supports provide rigidity and mounting locations for the back support and a telescoping push bar with a t-handle. One T-Connector was used as the mounting location for the Bike Support.
The push bar was clamped onto the bottom bar on the tricycle. I cut a piece of ¾” conduit to be 16" and used the telescoping clamp for the ½” EMT conduit to be inserted into the ¾” conduit to allow the push bar could be elongated or shortened. At the end of the ½” conduit, I put a spacer and another clamp with a 12” piece of EMT conduit for the push bar handle.
Materials Used
1 ten-foot length of ¾” conduit
2’ of ½” EMT Conduit
~9 pairs of T-Connectors
1 - Telescoping clamp
Conduit end caps to seal the ends of the EMT conduit
Links to Amazon Parts & Materials
