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Trikes are making huge inroads in the recumbent area of cycling

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Trikes are making huge inroads in the recumbent area of cycling

Old 10-15-17, 01:05 PM
  #51  
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I'm 65 and for 16 years I've ridden a Sun Easyracer EZ Sport. This summer I bought another EZ Sport as a backup--same year as mine but with far fewer miles on it and I only paid $130 for it.
I'm retired now and living on SS and a small pension, but I'm still under the 100% Federal Poverty Level. I'm poor. So it's very unlikely I will ever have the money to pony up for a recumbent trike, or could justify the purchase of one.
But I'm completely happy with what I have.
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Old 10-16-17, 09:25 AM
  #52  
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Another point favorable for trikes is winter riding. Streets and trails can have black ice that is hard to see and will take a bike down without warning. But if on a trike, probably the most that might happen is getting somewhat side ways for a while.
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Old 10-18-17, 07:25 AM
  #53  
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Originally Posted by rydabent
Another point favorable for trikes is winter riding. Streets and trails can have black ice that is hard to see and will take a bike down without warning. But if on a trike, probably the most that might happen is getting somewhat side ways for a while.
Yup, and it's surprising how fast that happens.

I used to go mountain biking with a group of guys every Saturday. We liked the below freezing days because it was never muddy. Hit a little patch of ice, however, and you are flat on the ground before you can even say "oops."

I haven't tried it with my trike yet. 30 degrees seems a lot colder than it used to be.
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Old 10-18-17, 08:11 AM
  #54  
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Originally Posted by Retro Grouch
Hit a little patch of ice, however, and you are flat on the ground before you can even say "oops."

Not on the ice, but this is what happened to me last summer: I have ridden an EZ Sport recumbent for 16 years and had a DF as a spare. My bike was at my LBS getting its free annual tuneup (yeah, I got a deal there) so I had to ride the DF when I used it to pull my cargo trailer to get an over-sized recliner still in the box. It was big but I thought I had it well balanced on the trailer and held down with a good cargo strap and slowly proceeded by the back way the mile home. I had gone over a half mile when I was congratulating myself on how well it was going when I was taking a turn into an empty parking lot. Wham! The trailer with the box still firmly attached flipped over to the right and in less than a blink of an eye I was thrown to the left. Being on the DF my right leg was totally extended on the down stroke and it hyper-extended the thigh causing a lot of pain. Had I been on my recumbent I would likely have put down my left leg to stop from being thrown to the street.
I got the bike and trailer up and walked them until I got across the only busy street before home and then on got on to ride the last few blocks home. I was coming around the corner to my yard and was so happy to be home when WHAM!, I went down again in exactly the same way. Again, like the first time, nobody was around, just me lying in the street with the bike on top of me and the trailer tipped over. I've completely fallen over just 4 times in 16 years on my recumbent and 2 of them happened that afternoon.
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Old 10-18-17, 10:57 PM
  #55  
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66 and loving the Catrike Road AR, might consider a Fat Tad for trails and iffy weather. Just wish there was a Recumbent Dealer for service in N. AZ. Not one dealer from Prescott to Flagstaff. Mountain Bike shops have no idea how to adjust the toe in/out on the tadpole front wheels and don't have Trike stands. Flagstaff is a place for Fat Tads in all Seasons. Search for - Flagstaff Urban Trail System (FUTS), Ideal for Trikes.
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Old 10-24-17, 08:27 AM
  #56  
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With the exception of setting the toe-in on a tadpole trike, the rest of the common maintenance items are the same or quite close to what you do with a DF bike. You can learn these procedures on sites like Park Tool or the late Sheldon Brown's website. There are no recumbent dealers closer than Phoenix or SoCal and I wouldn't trust any of the LBSs with my Catrike 700. If you buy a cheap bike tool kit for around $25 on eBay you will have most of the tools needed for normal maintenance. That plus a few nice-to-have tools like a master chain link opener finish off my toolbox. The upside is that if you know how to repair your trike, you can do it at home rather than haul it off to a shop and wait for them to get around to working on it. BTW, I assembled two of the three trikes I owned over the past 14 years from boxes of components sent from the manufacturer and I have set the toe-in on all three. You can get good information on how to do it at the manufacturer's websites or ask at www.bentrideronline.com. It might seem a bit daunting at first but really doesn't take that long to do it.

Also I never bothered to build a strike stand. Might be nice but not essential.
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Old 10-24-17, 02:05 PM
  #57  
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Originally Posted by VegasTriker
Also I never bothered to build a strike stand. Might be nice but not essential.
I use a Nashbar "Stand byMe" to hold up the rear triangle for tuning. I set everything up on a couple of stacked milk crates to get it up to a more comfortable working height. I like this system better than a trike stand because it takes up less storage space when I'm not using it.
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Old 10-26-17, 11:14 AM
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Originally Posted by rydabent
Another point favorable for trikes is winter riding. Streets and trails can have black ice that is hard to see and will take a bike down without warning. But if on a trike, probably the most that might happen is getting somewhat side ways for a while.
When I lived in Oregon, I was going to get a trike for winter commutes for just this reason. I commuted nearly every day, but Nov - Feb, there was a risk of ice along the trails pretty consistently.

I almost pulled the trigger on a catrike. Then I moved to AZ and it's not an issue anymore.

I am looking at a potential job in the DC area, and may invest in a trike for winter commuting, assuming where I wind up working has decent infrastructure.
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Old 02-14-18, 07:29 PM
  #59  
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As a DF rider that is slightly interested in recumbents, I see the trike as the only type that appeals to me.

The 2 wheels up front, the 700c rear, and the stance just looks fast. The bicycle style just looks odd, a compromise of sorts.

The trikes just look "cooler" in my opinion.
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Old 02-14-18, 08:56 PM
  #60  
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As a very recent convert from DF to a trike (Catrike 700), I agree the trike is a cool ride, but know that it is slower, especially on climbs. My conversion was due to a neck injury, but I AM starting to enjoy the trike experience more and more.
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Old 02-15-18, 07:50 AM
  #61  
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The trike will continue to grow on you. You will notice how easy it is to ride around town with all the stop starts you do. Stop sit there clipped in, and take off when the light turns green. Safe too because you ride off straight with no wobbling around.
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Old 02-15-18, 12:49 PM
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Originally Posted by Erzulis Boat
As a DF rider that is slightly interested in recumbents, I see the trike as the only type that appeals to me.

The 2 wheels up front, the 700c rear, and the stance just looks fast. The bicycle style just looks odd, a compromise of sorts.

The trikes just look "cooler" in my opinion.
Wrong. In my opinion.
Next contestant, please!
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Old 02-15-18, 01:03 PM
  #63  
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Originally Posted by Erzulis Boat
As a DF rider that is slightly interested in recumbents, I see the trike as the only type that appeals to me.

The 2 wheels up front, the 700c rear, and the stance just looks fast. The bicycle style just looks odd, a compromise of sorts.

The trikes just look "cooler" in my opinion.
Trikes may look fast but two wheel recumbents are faster. I have never been as fast on a trike as on a 2 wheeler.
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Old 02-15-18, 03:07 PM
  #64  
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Have no interest in going FAST anymore so it's a mute point, the new trike is relaxing and it's great to be able to stop and not have to get off the bike or have to lift my 60+ leg over the top bar of my DF comfort bike anymore! I've owned a couple of Recumbent bike, they were FUN and I enjoyed them but the trike is more relaxing and enjoyable to ride, jmho, ymmv. Although I decided since I can't "fall down at stops" I went to clip-in pedals, so far they are a RPIA to get clipped into, if I don't get the hang of it soon, I'll be going back to "power straps and platform pedals"!!
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Old 02-15-18, 04:38 PM
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No reason that one can't own both.

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Old 02-16-18, 01:55 PM
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Originally Posted by Erzulis Boat
As a DF rider that is slightly interested in recumbents, I see the trike as the only type that appeals to me.

The 2 wheels up front, the 700c rear, and the stance just looks fast. The bicycle style just looks odd, a compromise of sorts.

The trikes just look "cooler" in my opinion.
I agree that with a larger rear wheel trikes just look better.

Then too with a big wheel in the rear and small ones up front you are always riding down hill.
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Old 02-16-18, 03:12 PM
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Originally Posted by bjjoondo
Although I decided since I can't "fall down at stops" I went to clip-in pedals, so far they are a RPIA to get clipped into,
Hang with them and it'll come. Once you finally "get" it it will become automatic. My personal issue was the front-to-back position of the cleat on my shoe.
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Old 02-19-18, 01:14 PM
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I used to think trikes were particularly hot in my location but now I am not so sure. There is a Greenspeed GTO that I first saw on CL about a month ago. The asking price at the time was $1,300 and I contacted him because I knew someone who might be interested. He didn't know anything about the trike (model, year, frame size) but apparently has now learned that it is actually a 2000 Greenspeed GTO. The serial number listed in the ad matches the serial number on my own 2001 GS GTO but about 175 units prior. He has come down to $1K as a listed price for the past two weeks and it still shows up on CL. Weather can't be a factor as it has been exceptionally nice over the past couple of weeks.
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Old 02-27-18, 07:44 AM
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Originally Posted by VegasTriker
With the exception of setting the toe-in on a tadpole trike, the rest of the common maintenance items are the same or quite close to what you do with a DF bike. You can learn these procedures on sites like Park Tool or the late Sheldon Brown's website. There are no recumbent dealers closer than Phoenix or SoCal and I wouldn't trust any of the LBSs with my Catrike 700. If you buy a cheap bike tool kit for around $25 on eBay you will have most of the tools needed for normal maintenance. That plus a few nice-to-have tools like a master chain link opener finish off my toolbox. The upside is that if you know how to repair your trike, you can do it at home rather than haul it off to a shop and wait for them to get around to working on it. BTW, I assembled two of the three trikes I owned over the past 14 years from boxes of components sent from the manufacturer and I have set the toe-in on all three. You can get good information on how to do it at the manufacturer's websites or ask at www.bentrideronline.com. It might seem a bit daunting at first but really doesn't take that long to do it.

Also I never bothered to build a strike stand. Might be nice but not essential.
+1 on your post. Contrary to the opinion of some here on the forum, a bike or trike is really a very simple machine. As you say there are a hand full of special tools you need, but the rest of repairs are straight forward simple mechanics. Knowing how to do these simple repairs mean you will save a lot of money, and that you probably will never have to walk home.
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Old 03-01-18, 02:31 PM
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Originally Posted by Erzulis Boat
As a DF rider that is slightly interested in recumbents, I see the trike as the only type that appeals to me.

The 2 wheels up front, the 700c rear, and the stance just looks fast. The bicycle style just looks odd, a compromise of sorts.

The trikes just look "cooler" in my opinion.
The thing that makes bents look weird in upright riders' eyes is usually the small front wheel. Another reason why a highracer is a good cross-over choice is that they have two big wheels. That's what looks 'normal' to most people. But beauty is in the eye and all that; so if you like to see the small front wheels, you're not wrong. (You're just different. )
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Old 03-01-18, 04:02 PM
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Originally Posted by BlazingPedals
The thing that makes bents look weird in upright riders' eyes is usually the small front wheel. Another reason why a highracer is a good cross-over choice is that they have two big wheels. That's what looks 'normal' to most people. But beauty is in the eye and all that; so if you like to see the small front wheels, you're not wrong. (You're just different. )
Also, the long chain seems to weird a lot of upright riders out. They mistakenly think the long chain somehow imparts drag or something.
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Old 03-02-18, 12:13 PM
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Originally Posted by BlazingPedals
The thing that makes bents look weird in upright riders' eyes is usually the small front wheel. Another reason why a highracer is a good cross-over choice is that they have two big wheels. That's what looks 'normal' to most people. But beauty is in the eye and all that; so if you like to see the small front wheels, you're not wrong. (You're just different. )
But--------------------as I have posted before with small front wheels and a 26" rear im always riding down hill!!!!
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Old 03-02-18, 07:23 PM
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Originally Posted by rydabent
But--------------------as I have posted before with small front wheels and a 26" rear im always riding down hill!!!!
Yes, sometimes I tell people that's why my lowracer is so fast. I'm always riding downhill!
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Old 03-05-18, 02:20 PM
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Originally Posted by Trsnrtr
No reason that one can't own both.

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Sigh, sadly there is a reason not to own both, "Not Enough Money"!! Otherwise, I totally agree!
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Old 04-18-18, 12:25 PM
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I got my wife a trike. First a terra-trike Rover, now the Rambler, both with Nu-Vinci transmissions. She is out riding, frequently even when I am not with her, which is great. She was not willing to ride a conventional bike, or recumbent, at all.

I am considering getting a new trike for myself. That way we will be able to maintain similar speeds, as we ride together, easier.
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