Broomstick lives!

Broomstick has risen anew, or partly new. It's no longer a Powertrike, but a Viper.

PDQ who built it had been unhelpful; five or six different repair shops (wheelchair and electric bike specialists and a garage) and electrical fixers had only got it going briefly. After the fuse blew last summer it hadn't started at all.

M'sister located Team Hybrid who make the Viper, which is similar to the Powertrike but with much better reviews, several of them by people who'd had Powertrikes. A new Viper is very expensive, so they agreed to use the existing wheelchair (with better wheels) and the frame and battery, and fit the controller, motor, brakes etc. as well as new wheels.

I took Broomstick to their pretty little workshop near Fareham. It's full of interesting bikes of different shapes, and wheelchair conversions of all kinds. Some of the things they build for children are very inventive, and so are the sports machines. The owner is in a wheelchair, so he knows what he's doing.

Broomstick was sent back looking all shiny and with snazzy mountain-bike wheels.The wider tyres are causing the only problem, because the wheelchair has fabric sides which they catch, but they are so much better. The Viper controller is smaller and neater, too. And it works!

I took it to Carole's birthday picnic in Thetford Forest (a wonderful huge and masses-of-food affair). Now I'm relearning how to balance it on the bumpy stony lanes :)