philgib

I want the quad system to be as cheap as possible.

I want the raised money to be as efficient as possible, that is I want to be able to purchase as many quads as possible with the same money.

Then I do not want to bring in a product which would be worth too much money. Beneficiaries would create a grey market and sell it straight away instead of using it !

Raising money is only one side of an NGO, making sure that products are really used is also very important.

squirtdad

how about a picture?

Sianelle 

Quads are cool
A quad can make an excellent family car replacement for local journeys.







Perhaps slightly tongue in cheek, but I would love to have this in my driveway

Sianelle 

Have you seen this patent from 1981?

https://www.google.com/patents?id=pi8...BAJ&dq=4290620

And for further interest.......

https://www.google.com/patents?id=rz0...BAJ&dq=4290620

bikinpolitico

Try contacting the framebuilder Doug Fattic. He's doing a one week class this fall on building basic transportation bikes based on bikes he build for his minister in the Ukraine.

philgib

Sianelle,

Thank you very much for the patent link, which shares the same spirit. It is intellectually VERY exciting to see that someone else spent sometimes on the same concept.

Esteban32696

I have heard from others, that theis Indian Co. makes a pretty good bike at a good price. They will give quotes by e mail, too.
https://www.herocycles.com/

philgib

I am a bit puzzled about Indian bikes. I would tend to think that India has maybe millions of bike, and because street conditions are not so comfortable, bikes have to be strong. Not fast, not light, but strong.

Now some people here say that they are mere copy of 1905 european bikes with very bad quality accessories.

Than I look at the local prices : 30 dollars ! If you compare it to the local monthly salary and local labor force cost, that is not such a surprising bike and it does not have to be bad just because of the price.

Can just any happy Hero bike owner mention a specific road model made of steel which has a very solid chassis and wheels, and coaster break ?

Thanks a lot

Philippe

Sianelle 

I ride an Indian built 'Hercules' and it is just about bombproof

https://www.ticyclesindia.com/productmenu.asp?pid=29

gofischer

Take a look at these guys https://www.worldbike.org/about-us

Metricoclock

I would have to say your best bet is to abandon the side by side bike/vehicle and go the route of the Kona Africa Bike, or the other projects that are already going on and have products you can buy.

Even building trailers would be a huge benifit. There is a reason why bicycles work in these areas and why reinvent the wheel right?

lz4005

So the goal here is to get two indestructible off-road cargo bikes connected (but easily separable) as a quad for under $150 retail. Less than $75 each. Not going to happen.

Jerry in So IL

I have to agree with th eposter who said go for a trailer and bike. Far more user friendly, ready available, and easier to mantain.

Jerry

philgib

Guys, this is nice to have your opinion about whether my project is fine or not, but my real question in this thread is : have you heard about any very strong and very cheap bike, no matter the weight ?

Sianelle please,

I like your "bombproof" BSA Hercules. It seems to be worth about 75 USD on Internet. Have you noticed any weakness, especially on the brake ? How long or how many km have you been riding it ? Thank you again.

Philippe

wmhguthrie

I bought a new-from-the-factory Worksman a year ago and can report on it if you'd like.

feba

?

Doug5150

No offense, but you should probably go to the target countries and look at whatever bikes they already have, and use that bike. Stuff will break and they're going to need to get parts.

If they're poor people in Africa and the bikes you sent were made in Mexico (for example), how's that going to work out? They'll not be able to afford to order those parts, and your charity bikes are going to end up junked pretty soon I fear.

----

You might even want to spend a year or two in the target country, making and selling your bike-cars (perhaps at below cost, just to get a small number out and see how they do) and see if they are really as useful as you'd hoped. They might work perfect in your testing, but there could be some reason they don't work out at their destination--and you may never see or hear about that if you're sitting a continent away.
~

mparker326

I watched a documentary not too long ago on PBS where a food relief agency in Africa was using the locals with bikes in rural places to deliver ~175 pounds of food to even remoter outlying areas with war destroyed roads. The bikes they had were 3 speed chinese knockoff's of the Raleigh Tourist. They had rod brakes as well. The locals mentioned that new parts were rare, but they were obtainable through trade with other folks etc. The bikes were holding up well even carrying all this cargo.

I would think you could use similar bikes because they are steel tanks. Plus the parts on these bikes are already available.

Sianelle 

I've owned my Hercules for just over two years now and I carry quite heavy loads on it sometimes. I haven't had a moment's trouble with it really apart from having to put locknuts on all the bolts on the Indian made Brooks leather saddle because they were forever coming loose. The brakes have always been excellent. I'm a big fan of rod brakes and the only reason people say they're no good is because they weren't setup properly to start with. A rod brake can be repaired with simple handtools and most of the brake parts can be readily made from basic materials should genuine spares not be available.

Dynocoaster 

Get a single speed Schwinn, they seem to be indestructible.

spikedog123

How do you get one of these India bikes? Can you order it directly from the website? Do you need to go through a third party?

The Hero looks like a cool bike.

crtreedude 

I live in a third world nation and I can tell you, just about anything is used here. I see it all. The biggest issue is the roads, which destroy everything, including bikes.

I assume you are talking in towns? In our areas, if you are away from town, they use horses. Cheap, easy, reproduce with no help from anyone. colts and fillies are pretty much free. If you have pasture, you can have transportation. And, faster usually than a bike, unless you have a good bike and better legs.

Without suspension, don't even think of going across rock roads, and in Latin America, the idea of a gravel road, isn't gravel. Scoop rock out of a river, dump it on the dirt road, let the traffic smash it down. Add water, and stir...

I honestly can't imagine trying to ride a 4 wheel bike on these roads, you have to find a line through all the baby heads, and that doesn't happen with 4 wheels.

Doug5150

Assuming you are in the US, Yellowjersey has had India bikes for a long time now. Dunno if they will ship them internationally.

https://www.yellowjersey.org/EASTMAN.HTML
also see
https://www.yellowjersey.org/east03.html

As I recall, there was also a place that was getting in Chinese bikes as well. These came to your door in the original factory packing, and were shipped to you totally disassembled--you even had to build the wheels (-lace the spokes into the hubs & rims) yourself. They warned you though, and shipping this way saved a good amount of money.
~

spikedog123

seems very expensive for a bike you have to totally assemble from the lacing the wheels up. Especially since the local cost is $30.

Anyone had success ordering direct?

Sixty Fiver

+1 to those Indian made rod brake roadsters... these are the most popular kind of bike on earth because they don't come much simpler or get much tougher.

The braking system is robust and it does not rely on cables, which may be hard to source and replace.

The 29 inch wheels are perfect for taking up the bumps and this tyre size is common outside of north America and in the developing world.

How do I know how good a bike these are ?

My '48 Rudge is 60 years old and is still going strong.