Comparing the Morph and the Travel Bike - Side View Photos/CAD

The previous posts review the Travel Bike, because it shares many design elements with the Morph. Having just spent the weekend in Newport on the Travel Bike (as I wait for the Morph 4 to be completed!), I wondered if we could use the very cool hinged footrests from the Travel Bike. The short answer: No. The Travel Bike, as compact as it is, is way longer than the Morph in high rider mode. And your legs sit well ahead of the steerer tube, as opposed to behind the steerer tube in the Travel Bike. Too bad. The Travel Bike's footrests are light and functional. Here's some more details.

Side view of the Travel Bike.

I used Keynote's instant alpha feature to grab the CAD Man from the Morph pictures. I scaled both drawing so the front wheel was the same size.

Using the same scaling techniques to see the Morph in Low Rider next to the travel bike. Note that you sit about one full head height lower. The overall length is about the same.

Adding the Morph in high rider, we see how much shorter and higher the bike is, even compared with the (mostly grayed out) Travel bike.

It's interesting to note how much more your leg bends from low rider to high rider. This is because the seat moves up and forward, but the footrest stays in a similar place (it does rotate about the front contact point, I think.)

Like I said, no but you'll see.

The instant alpha took away some of the foot of our CAD Man.

These footrests are hinged at the top of the vertical orange line, and also where the two lines meet. Go off a big curb? The footrest just bends forward, no problem.

Red lines show center line of your shin in both bikes.

I hadn't realized that the seating position relative to the steering axis was that much different. It's a good 16" (size of the front wheel). This keeps the Morph short, which is really crucial for indoor maneuverability.

And there you have it.

How a Handcycle Can Break Apart For Travel: Photo Survey of the Travel Bike

Since the Morph will use some of the design concepts of my Travel Bike, here is a photo survey showing how the bike comes apart. It gets very small, and will fit in most trunks, and can go on small airplanes as well. The Morph will use the same coupler on the main frame, and it will have a similar fold-down seat. The Morph will put the centering spring entirely on the front, so the step of unhooking the centering spring will not be required.

Click on the small right arrow to view successive images below. This will give you a photo animation of how the Travel Bike comes apart:

Click on the small right arrow to view successive images above. This will give you a photo animation of how the Travel Bike comes apart.

Below is a photo survey showing more detail about the Travel Bike. It has a coaster brake in the hub, so the cam-based reversing brake isn't needed. The internal-gear hub has 8 speeds, which is okay for basic needs. The Morph has a full derailleur system, which will give it much more gear range.

Travel Bike photo survey.

Here's a picture of me on the Travel Bike. These photos were taken on a trip to Atlantis in the Bahamas. Thanks to Miles D. for demonstrating the disassembly of the handcycle.

Design: Lessons from the One-Off Titanium Travel Bike to be Used in the Morph

2010 Photo of Bill Warner on the One-Off Titanium Travel Bike in Miami, Florida (not so warm)

This post will outline some of the abilities of a special purpose bike I helped design with Mike Augspurger of One-Off Titanium. Only one of these bikes was ever made, but it is truly fantastic, and it powers my travel all around the world. With it, I can travel with a wheelchair for indoors, and my small, nimble, and lightweight Travel Bike for outside, and many inside travels.
The Travel Bike weighs only 34 lbs. It fits easily, with no disassembly, in a minivan.
Pop the quick-release wheels off, spin the coupler, fold the bike seat down, and presto - it fits anywhere, including behind the last row of seats.
With the bike disassembled (which takes minutes), it can go through the luggage system. I protected it here due to an old gear shifter that was really fragile. It eventually broke anyway, and the new shifter hub is really tough and requires no bubble wrap.
On full-size aircraft, I just fold down the seat, and give it to the baggage guys. It goes full size, and comes through ready to ride. I've done this maybe 50 times or more with various handcylces over the years.

Discussion

The Morph will borrow many characteristics from the Travel Bike:

1. It will use the same coupler. This is a proven device, and its great. It does require a steel main tube - it cannot be mounted in aluminum.

2. The seat will fold down - just like the Tavel Bike.

3. The wheels will be quick-release - But better than the Travel Bike because they will use a different design that will clamp tightly into place.

We expect that the Morph will come in around 40 lbs. Just six pounds more (or so) than the Travel Bike, and full 15 pounds lighter than non-morphing handcycles I built in the 1980s.