Group Objectives
The objective of our group is to design and build an environmentally friendly, economically feasible, commuter cycle. With growing concerns over the environment and carbon emissions, alternative transportation methods are being sought. We believe that cycling is a viable solution for alternative transportation. While various cycle designs have been around for over a century, we believe that they all have their faults.
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| Final Design - The Tilt N' Turn |
Our chosen design is a recumbent cycle with the ability to turn and camber the wheels intuitively by leaning. Recumbent cycles are more ergonomic for riders, with stresses on the perineum and spine greatly reduced. The disadvantage of classical recumbent cycles is there difficulty turning because of their high center of mass. The ability of our design to camber the wheels will be of great benefit for turning. The center of mass is lowered to the side which the cycle is turning, allowing sharper turning angles without tipping.
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| Conceptual Design |
This project has been attempted in the past in Dalhousie University Senior Mechanical Design Projects. We believe that both of these designs were failures. Our design overcomes their design flaws with its “pendulum design”. In prior designs the rider had to overcome their own weight when recovering from a turn. Our design utilizes gravity and centripetal forces to allow the rider to easily recover from a turn.