JUST Bought a Tadpole!
 

There it was two days ago at an estate sale: a recumbent tadpole for $700. Nice. I said, "Cowabunga!" Given the part of town, I decided to come back early on 50% off day, if it were still there. Nine AM this morning, went in the door, left into the kitchen and left again into the garage. There it was! I snatched the price tag and headed for the checkout. It's mine. I don't even know the make or model yet...

Details and photos later!

Sounds hopeful. Waiting to see the pics...

Too tired for photos just now...rode the thing home. The handling is a bit squirrely and the left brake hardly grips. On the upside - it has Shimano 8-speed Nexus gearing and Schwalbe tires. Oh, and it's a Rover by Terra Trikes.

First thing - fix the brakes!
 

The Rover is TerraTrikes entry level model. You have the middle of the line with the 8 speed Nexus hub. The current MSRP is $1499. It was designed as a high seating trike for easy entry and exit from the seat. That means you need to be careful until you learn the handling characteristics of the trike because high seating trikes are much easier to tip if you go outside of the safe handling zone (be careful turning sharply). The brakes are Alhonga unless it is a much older Rover which came with Zoom mechanical disc DB-450. Either way it is about the most inexpensive set of brakes available. The brake problems could be poor adjustment or contaminated brake pads. If they have gotten contaminated with something like oil or grease, the only solution is to replace the pads. Adjusting them can be simple. The pads have to be parallel to the rotors. The advice from TT for a different model was to back off the bolts holding the caliper in place, put a credit card between the pad and rotor, squeeze the brake handle lightly and re-tighten the caliper bolts while holding pressure on the brake handle. The pads will be parallel to the rotor with proper spacing between them. The only other adjustment is adjusting the cable itself. There should be a barrel adjuster for that. As long as the brakes stop the trike and don't rub on the rotor as you turn the wheel with no pressure on the brake handle, you haven't over-tightened the cable. Riding a trike with one brake that works well and one that doesn't is dangerous as it induced brake steer when you stop. That means veering to the side with the good brake.

You can read all of the specifications for the current model here: TerraTrike

There are a few concessions to meeting the price point above. It is a heavy trike (47 lbs) with a limited gear range (20-62 gear inches). That's OK on the low end but pretty limiting on the high end if you ride it often enough to gain your "trike legs". The TT that I once owned weighed 36 pounds and had a gear range of 19 to 98. I moved on to a different brand trike with a much wider gear range when I got used to riding mine.

So you paid $350? Good price for a Rover so you have some room for repair/upgrades. Please post back with your experience as it develops.

Great Info Source for TerraTrike Owners
 

Also, a Rover gray in color is Pre 2015, and they switched to i8 in 2012. In 2015 they switched to the color blue for Rovers.

A good working Rover i8 typicall sells used for $600-700 typically.

Squirrely handling may be caused by alignment issues. Alignment can change by rider weight, so it's always a good idea to do it on a new-to-you machine. Brakes are brakes, whether on a 2-wheeler or a 3-wheeler. Sounds like you got a smoking-good deal. Still waiting for pics!

Wheel alignment on a tadpole trike is critical for handling and tire wear. I made my own tools, and I am now on my second set of front tires. I have approx 8000 miles on the trike.