(copy of an email sent to [email hidden])
I have one of the earlier Henderson versions, but the pics on your site
suggest the flaw still exists...
The torque from the front brakes was resisted by a small bolt beside the
front wheel axle. This bolt was
a) too small;
b) too close to the axle;
c) too weak (not grade 5, even!)
and
d) loaded in shear
It broke.
It broke when my ten-year-old was riding - he might have weighed around a
hundred pounds. He lost control and was dumped out of the trike.
Fortunately he was not going very fast and was on the sidewalk, so he was
only scraped up a bit.
When this bolt breaks, the steering arm moves forward, control is lost, and
the rider can easily be thrown forward into the path of whatever he/she was
braking to avoid.
I fixed this by maiking a pair of pieces of 1/8" x 1.25" aluminium go from
the lower rod-end mount to a point on the steering arm just forward of the
handle mount. This piece is attached to the lower rod end and with three
small bolts on the steering arm.
This fix changes the structure of the whole steering arm and axle-mounting
plate to a triangle. The brake torque will now be resisted by the much
larger section of threaded rod that goes throught the crossbar.
It's a cheap and simple fix. I strongly suggest you modify the trikes you
sell, and contact previous purchasers to offer to retrofit such a fix.
I previously posted about the accident, the flaw, and the fix on
alt.rec.bicycles.recumbent. As you live in the USofA you must be aware of
the possibility of liabilty claims should another such incident occur,
especially as both the cause and the fix are public knowledge.
(this post copied to alt.rec.bicycles.recumbent)