Scooter Conversion to 3 Wheels
This was a project for a 13-year-old girl, named Lillybet to convert a 2 wheeled scooter into a 3 wheeled one. Lillybet has the intellectual capacity of a much younger child (around 3 years of age), and very poor balance which means it is not possible for her to use a 2 wheeled scooter.
Lillybet has siblings and cousins who regularly go out in groups on their bikes and scooters and she would love to be able to join them. Lillybet has problems with energy levels dropping very suddenly. The scooter therefore needed to have a means of propelling her when she runs out of energy, but also not allowing her to go too fast and potentially hurt herself.
Lillybet’s scooter originally had a rear wheel foot operated braking system. However this required the user to stand on one leg to operate which Lillybet is not able to do due to her poor balance.
We needed to devise a hand operated braking system instead which worked on both rear wheels at the same time. We did this with a cable operated brake to the handlebars (like a bicycle would have).
The Challenge
Client wishes to use her scooter but she is too heavy for commercially available ones, she also has poor balance and has learning problems. Her mother also at times needs to control her enthusiasm and needs a means to help control her movement.
The solution
The general principle is used on younger child’s scooters, parts were obtained from our usual stores, they were not complex or specialised.
The benefit
The client can now enjoy using her scooter, get exercise and fresh air.
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