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Our team has been given the task of redesigning the rowing bike which has been worked on by a few different groups in the past. We plan on constructing and analyzing our different designs based on their potential simplicity and functionality.
Since our project isn’t centered around the needs of a specific child, we have to design based on more general needs and accommodations. In doing so, we are focused on designing a bike that provides both a high level of reliability and stimulating exercise for its potential users.
The key inspiration for our first preliminary design is combining the driving and steering mechanisms into one comfortable motion. The core features of this concept include U-joints, a bevel gear, and numerous links to transmit motion from the crank and steering shaft. Expected issues from this design include fabrication due to time and experience constraints as well as the size and support structure of the bike frame.
The second idea controls similar to how a zero-turn lawn mower turns. You give power to each rear wheel separately and can brake each wheel separately to turn. Both of the front wheels would be on swivels which would let you turn easily. The power to the wheels would come from a rowing motion like a fan bike. Some expected issues would come from the bike steering too well which might make it harder to control, and the design has the chains and the rear wheels offset so we will probably have to work through a way to fix that issue.
Our third design has the steering and rowing controlled separately. The rowing will be controlled by the hands and the steering controlled by the feet using pedals. The row bar will be attached to a sprocket and chain with a freewheel system. The pedals will be on sliders and control the steering with pivots and links.
Our current selected concept is design number two. In terms of a complete bike redesign, it provides the most simplicity in both its fabrication and design. It also has the greatest potential in terms of steering ability thanks to its separately driven back wheels and braking system. Its biggest flaws are its potentially large size and weight which won’t be determined until later in the design process.