All right then!

It's still ongoing project since I am missing some parts that I've ordered but they haven't arrived yet!
I've been looking to buy manual rigid wheelchair with already designed power add-on option to be used for steep hills & streets, which I call "on-demand", something like Zinger, but so far no luck - nothing is available yet. I also knew about e-motion, e-fix and etc. power add on options but after year of research, I decided to build my own, faster, stronger and more acustome to my needs!
I chose Currie Electro-Drive bicycle kits (450Wx2) and so far the biggest challenge is to build wheelchair tube adapter (sleeve) that can accept 26" wheel bicycle hub axle. (I'm still working on perfecting this).
Lead acid batteries that came with kits are another issue, to heavy and I will have them replaced with Li-Ion battery as soon as I get the chance. I'll need to do some tests first!

That's the update for now and I'll follow with more pictures and perhaps video later.

Keep on keepin' on guys!

How does it free wheel,,, when not needed. The weight sounds pretty formitable for pushing on the flat, Any grade or rut might cause some problems.

Good luck with it, tho,,, I love the idea.
ed

How is this different from the Tailwind made by Next Mobility?

http://www.nextmobilitynow.com/tailwind.php

Thanks Ed! I've installed 20 tooth freewheel gear on each 26" wheel and there is no motor drag at all when you push it forward! There is only a slight drag when you push it backwards, but that's not a big deal to me.





This design is, like I said "on demand" only when needed. I still want to exercise my upper body and also to be able to overcome any obstacle I usually have hard time with (steep hills, streets, rough terrain, etc.)
It's hard to compare to a Tailwind; those are more comparable to other "rims sensor activated" wheels, like e-motion or XTender! I am still testing it, but it should be faster (15mil/h vs. 6ml/h) , stronger (more torque), cheaper (so far I spent around $1000 and for example, e-motion is $6000) and easy to customized with different batteries, perhaps motor, etc., and it's fun to build

Hi Yasko,
I was Googling this morning and came across this eBay offer. 250 watt motors for £36 each - five available. They look very similar to the ones you show. Interested?

http://tinyurl.com/pwjbw6

Nice, that is a good deal but these I have are 450W motors!
Not that 250W wont work, but I like more of a "muscle" wheelchair kind
Thanks for the link!

Let's not forget Jaz, I'm kinda big in the butt.
Is this thing gonna fit me?
E

E, I don't know yet!
I should have myself, wife and doggy, all together, sit in the XTR so we can try it out!
P.S. how big are you in the butt?

You could ask Scribs. He seems to know all about mine - or at least he says his PAs do

hi yasko,

great idea and also great that you're actually doing it yourself.

I am currently using emotions (the old M12'S-good in some ways,lame in many others...) and then spinergies on flat surfaces.

Unfortunately I no longer have the hand function to do the things you're doing however I am going to rope in my brother for some 'projects'.

Doing something like this would be loads cheaper than buying the new emotion system or tailwind. Also would be cheaper to maintain in the long run. I also think when going up steep hills , freewheeling would be better than pushing emotions because I end up arching my back trying to push up which isn't great for posture etc.

Have you got a rough idea of the overall weight you have added to the chair with the motors, chains, mountings etc? Also have you managed to make all your changes without drilling into the frame of the chair? And do you have any idea of the range you will get on your new batteries?

Good work!

//j

Thanks javaftper!

I haven't touch (drill or cut) wheelchair frame at all. Only axle sleeve (which is a separate screw that goes into the tube) is fabricated to accept bicycle axle. See picture, item # 7.

Regarding the weight, approximatelly (2 Motors, 1 Battery, 2 Controllers and 2 Throttles) between 20 & 25 lbs total. I encourage anyone to do their own projects, it's fun and keeps your brain busy!
Cheers!
P.S. per manufacturer, one battery with one motor should get you between 10-15 miles! Of course it all depends of rider weight, terrain, etc.

You are right,, it does lok like it would be a blast,,, and if you do it yourself,, you can build it up for what you want to do.

I'm thinking really wide and aggressive tires,, and all of a sudden, I'm squirrel hunting again. Since it's chain driven,, changing tires for different uses wouldn't be out of the question.

Keep posting pictures, Yasko,, I'm starting to form a plan......
ed

Thanks Ed, will do that as soon as I am ready to test it.
I'm still waiting for freaking parts I've ordered 7/29 and called them this morning to see what's up with it! Guy said parts are still in CA and he needs to talk to them and will call me back!

P.S. hopefully E-Dog hasn't pulled some prank on my cargo down in CA!

Hey Yas,,, I was just thinking,,, as I was pushing up my Too steep ramp that the bozo who poured said " don't worry,, I know all the ADA codes". But that's another rant.

Anyway,,, I notice that when I'm pushing up any steep slope, that I have to get very far forward on my seat or else I start to tip over backwards. The same thing happens on lesser slopes when I push really hard. I'm thinking that you are going to need a set of pretty ,,, robust,, antitippers or you will have a lot of trouble with slopes,,, even if you move the wheels back a ways.

They are going to look a little funny, hanging off the back,,, but otherwise I see a lot of tipovers on slopes coming.

I could be wrong,, but I don't think by much. I'ld mount a set,, at least for the testing.
ed

Hope your parts arrive soon Yasko. I'm all for folks devolping their own ideas, nice work Son.

Thank you Johnny & Ed!

Ed,
I was thinking about the same thing this morning. I don't want to move my wheels cause of wheelies and manuverability, but yes, I am worried about tipping over! Either way, I'll have to learn how to start motors slowly or install anti-tippers even I've never liked them! We will see. Talk to you later guys!

I'm interested in your attachment of a gear to the wheel,, is that something you built, Or is it "store bought"?

And the axle pin,, did you have to go with a thicker one to make up for pushing the center of the wheel out farther. I might worry about it bending from the extra stress when dropping off curbs.

I guess that's part of the fun of building something like this,,, the tweaking to get it all right.

Keep posting,,, maybe you can inspire this fat ass into trying something.
ed

It is "off the shelves" 26" wheels with 20 tooth freewheel attached to it! See picture:

Instead of axle pin or fast release axle, I kept bicycle axle and only made an adapter that can accommodate bicycle axle. See Picture:

You are totally right, the tweaking is fun part of building it.
I'll keep you updated Ed.
Take care bud.

A little video update of my "On Demand" wheelchair project:

There are many things to be improved cause I'm not satisfied yet. Apparently, this is going to be ongoing project!
More to come later....

Excellent, Yas,,,

Are you using motor controllers or just switches to control the motors? And do the motors freewheel when you want to push on your own.

I noticed that you can still wheelie to get over the bump coming into you garage, so maybe that answers my question.

I'm impressed,,,, and jealous,,, now I have to start working on something.
ed

That is super impressive, mate. I look forward to reading all the details and seeing all the pics of the finished model. Just the job for a lazy SOB like me!

Wow, nice. Keep us posted!

greybeard, blckchns, Ed, thank you guys!

Ed,
yes I'm using controllers and throttles that came with Currie Electro-drive kit!
And yes, installed one speed freewheel aloud me to still wheelie like before.
More to come soon, I hope...

That's cool! Nice work. You can clamp your FreeWheel onto your XTR and REALLY get stuck deeper in the woods!

Actually, I'm sure you know what a great ride it is!

Pat

Looking good Yasky, keep on tinkering.

Thank you Pat and Johnny!

This was my a very first "on demand" try! Later that day I clamped freewheel onto my XTR and went full circle over our residential area which has a very steep streets! It was awesome; what a great feeling going uphill without suffering!
Keep on keepin' on!

Yasko, I've been puzzling about something since your first post. No doubt the answer is straightforward but it's illuding my old brain!

You're using bike wheels off the shelf with freewheel sprocket attached, right? So when you install them, doesn't the one on the right hand side freewheel in the wrong direction? How do you get over that? Just tell me if I'm being simple (again!) .

heheheheh, yes, that was puzzling for myself at the time as well. Well, I had hard time figuring out how to remove already attached freewheel gear cause it came attached for one side only, and every bicycle store I went said that it's impossible to remove cause this one was "one-time install" freewheel! There is no tool to remove this particular kind! Old saying: "necessity is mother of all inventions" I took hammer and big flat head screwdriver and was able to take this sucker off in 1 minute. Than I install it back all the way (the opposite way) with one more flat nut and spacer, so it works in other direction now, and that was the end of story. I still am not satisfied with it and looking into other ways, perhaps using the original wheelchair wheel, but still couldn't figure out how to attach freewheel onto the wheelchair hub! I'll find a solution, just need more time, I guess

Fantastic! Look forward to seeing how this works out!! I want one!