LadySource

Hello All!

I was just gifted a bike a few days ago, A Schwinn Meridian trike. I am of course an Athena and want to modify the tires and Seat to be more accommodating for my weight.
Has anyone replaced their tires for something more er.... sturdy? From what I have researched, The back tires are different than the front, where I can't replace it with just any set of 26 tires.

Any other advice on what other things I should replace to accommodate my weight capacity would also be greatly appreciated.I'm terribly excited about wanting to ride it but want to avoid pinch tires/flats because of my weight.

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I have a Schwinn Meridian. The weight rating is, I believe 350 pounds.

The original tires are fine. What isn't fine is the single wall rims. I bent mine terrible venturing into the grass at speed.

Also, the rear axle is 5/8 inch diameter. While this is fine, I rounded out the drive side hub in short order. High torque is not a friend of the hub. Be nice to it. I abused mine & it lasted about 200 miles.

The good news is you can call Schwinn customer service and wheels are $35 + shipping. That's about the same cost as going to a shop to get them trued. If you find they self destruct regularly, you can take the hub to a bikeshop and get it laced to a higher quality rim. Wheel builds usually run about $100-200 depending on a number of variables. $200-ish is not out of line if the shop must find a particular rim.

The trike came in 2 models. A big box store single speed. Or a much more expensive bike shop 3 speed.
For the single speed: An E-type derailleur with a cablestop with a bb-un55 bottom bracket will allow for a mountain bike crankset, if you are so inclined. So a 3 speed is within reach if you really decide you like the trike. A claw style derailleur would function as a cheap chain tensioner as you cycle through the gears. You should be careful not to gear it too low though. The drive side hub, again. Regular 3 speed trike mid drives, say from Sturmey-Archer of something, tend to have axles that are too short for the single speed model.

The band brake is less than adequete to be used as anything but a parking brake. However, a vintage Arai drum brake will thread right on in it's place. The only caveat is a brake lever with a different pull & the mid axle will need to be moved about 1/4 inch to the right. It's a simple matter if you are lucky enough to find the vintage brake.

Also...the freewheel cog is from a standard BMX bike. You can change to whatever size you want. Usually they are about $15-25. If you find the trike is too slow or you can't pedal as fast as you want to go, it's a cheap & simple change.

Don't let anything I say here, discourage you. It is what it is, and it is mostly good at what it was designed for. Flat, smooth pavement and ambling on at a recreational pace. Have fun! They are quite a joy to ride.

It might take a bit, but I have pictures to support my claims above if anyone is interested. It's easier to do from home instead of mobile.

LadySource

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20190216_105715 by Richard Mozzarella, on Flickr

This pic may be upside down (depending on how it's rendered), This is the mountain bike triple crankset. For this to work, I needed a square taper bottom bracket. The width bottom bracket you need will depend on the crankset you find & the travel of your derailleur. Nearly everything for this project came from the local bike co-op. I couldn't have done this project with out them.

If you have one nearby, form a relationship with them. They will prove themselves indispensible in your relationship with cycling.


20190216_112356 by Richard Mozzarella, on Flickr

Above is a dreailleur hanger adaptor & a standard derailleur from a mountain bike. It's only function is to take up chain tension so I can switch chainrings in front. I don't remember if the derailleur limit screws were long enough to hold it in the right place or not, or if I had to buy a longer screw from the hardware store.


20190216_112515 by Richard Mozzarella, on Flickr

The above pic os an overview of the mid axle. The BMX cog is on the left from this perspective. The original is an "install only" item. Replacing it means destructive removal techniques must be applied. The good news is whatever replacement you buy will have means of using an install/removal tool. These cogs usually come from about 15 to 23 teath iirc. I think I settled on about 19 tooth. More teeth equals slower speed/easier pedaling Less teeth equals faster speed, but harder to pedal.
The whole mid axle had to move the cog direction to make room for the drum brake. Also the cog on the wheel axle had to move over a bit for the drive chain to remain in alignment.


20190216_112623 by Richard Mozzarella, on Flickr

The above pic is a vintage Arai drum brake I purchased via eBay from another forum member here. They were common on early 1990's tandems & iirc reconditioned via Tandems East. It costs more than the trike itself, but if you come across one cheap, it's a worthy upgrade over the OEM band brake. You will need a bifferent brake lever. If you look closely where the cable housing ends, I had to bend the tab from the original cable stop so the cable stop wouldn't lever over.


20190216_112708 by Richard Mozzarella, on Flickr

The above photo is the E-type derailleur and a "Rollamajig" pully & cable stop I utilized so the shift cable could operate the derailleur. Rollamajigs are commonly used to boost braking power so that a cantilever brake lever can be used with a direct-pull type brakes.