Bill Roberts
Steven Coates designed and built The Hiker, an alternative for anyone having difficulties riding a bicycle.
Newmarket
July 24, 2008 10:06 PM
By: Caroline Grech
Are you sick of driving around town to do errands with gas prices so high?
Steven Coates believes he has the solution to your problem.
It’s a Monday morning and the Newmarket man whizzes through Richmond Green Park during a recent visit, taking corners with precision, speed and a grace that is surprising for a man with a six-feet, four-inch frame.
But more than just riding around on a bicycle or roller blades, Mr. Coates is travelling on what he hopes is the next great thing in transportation.
The Hiker is a 15-year labour of love for the manufacturing engineer. And along with his 24-year-old son, Andrew, the duo decided to dedicate their time to make the human-powered vehicle marketable to the public.
The Hiker has three wheels, steering, a seat and a storage rack.
Unlike a conventional bike, where your leg must be at a certain angle to move forward, with the Hiker, you extend your leg as much or as little as you want in a back and forth motion. It replaces the standard circular motion, that can be tough on people with bad knees and hips, Mr. Coates says.
Steering is a matter of tilting your body in the direction you want to go.
While the timing seems perfect to put the vehicle on the market with people looking for other ways to get around town other than a car, Mr. Coates explains his project didn’t start because of that, but in fact was inspired after a conversation with his brother who lives in Norway.
“In Europe you see a lot of adult tricycles and bikes,” Mr. Coates says.
Although this is his first version of an adult tricycle to hit the market, the father of three has used various versions of it for years.
“He’s a garage inventor. When you’re younger it’s a little embarrassing because it’s different and it didn’t look the way it looks now,” Adam says of times his dad would wheel around town with it.
But now, Adam likes the idea so much he prompted his father to make it a full-time project.
“This was a weekend and evening project for me. It’s Andrew’s push to get it to a manufacturing standard,” Mr. Coates said.
Mr. Coates, an avid runner for more than 30 years, ran into knee problems as a result and has a hard time riding a bike.
Always physically active, the 50-year-old wanted something to give him a workout and allow him to get around.
“Why jump in the car when you can go and do errands on this?” Mr. Coates asked. “Between the aging population and higher gas prices, this is a product that will work to help people.”
The tricycle is not built for a specific age group and is made out of aluminum and can hold a person weighing up to 350 pounds.
While his invention is an alternative to a bike, Mr. Coates isn’t trying to switch people using bikes over to The Hiker.
“I’m not trying to take a single person off their bikes. This is something for people who aren’t riding their bikes,” Mr. Coates says.
More than selling a few of his products, Mr. Coates, who worked as an engineer in the auto sector, wants to eventually open a plant to make The Hiker in the area.
“My goal is to manufacture them here in York Region and bring jobs here,” Mr. Coates says, adding that to justify owning a shop they would have to sell about five per week.
It takes about 16 hours to put together each Hiker, but 16 hours doesn’t compare to the number of years it took to perfect the vehicle.
“This was my dream to make something that actually works. There have been 12 or 13 designs. Some of them had bad steering, but you have to keep trying,” Mr. Coates says, adding sometimes his wife did wonder what he was up to in the basement. “Hard work pays off.”
There are two versions of The Hiker currently available for sale.
The three-speed hiker starts at $1,800 plus shipping and the eight-speed hiker starts at $3,000 plus shipping.
They have already shipped two to Boston and they regularly keep in touch with their first customer, Rex Barger from Hamilton who rides The Hiker three times a week to get to church.
Not built for speed, the vehicle goes up to 20 kilometres per hour and weighs about 70 pounds.
For more information on The Hiker visit
tryhiker.com— with files from Amanda Persico