Sixty Fiver

My health and physical issues have slowed me down a great deal and after having the opportunity to use my friend's Catrike Expedition last summer for a good period have decided that I am going to start shopping for a similar ride although I want to make sure that the trike will have some all weather and off road capability so will be looking at a Fatrike based on the Catrike platform with an option to rock skinnies when longer faster rides are the order of the day.

A friend and associate runs a shop that specializes in recumbents and adaptive cycles and I will be heading down there next week to look at a number of models and he has some customs on hand that I can look at.

Have to say that I have not felt that comfortable on a bike since my accident and guess it is time to stop shaving and keep working on that aero belly.



Will start by culling my collection of conventional bicycles and won't be getting rid of all of them but will need to raise funds for a bunch of modifications and custom ideas that are percolating in my brain and make some parking room.

The Catrike will be coming to visit me again and I am looking forward to that... my friend has said he is considering selling it (he wants another one) so this might be a good option and a base for what I want to do. I also think he'd like to have someone else to go riding with that has a trike as keeping up on a conventional bike can be pretty hard.

CraigB

Beards are purely optional. My wife doesn't have one.

Sixty Fiver

The Catrike will be coming by tomorrow and staying for a few weeks as my friend will be away... looking forward to that.

osco53

https://shop.terratrike.com/Fat-Tire-...p/tt800174.htm

My recumbent help flatten my Aero belly and I always got pasta and tomato sauce in my beard so I shaved it off.

aztriker

Newbie here, 1st post, slowly losing my Aero Belly but keeping my Grey Beard.

I have adapted a Catrike Villager for off road use here in the Arizona desert SW. I built a set of 19" modified trials rims with Maxxis Creepy Crawler tires, (20" X 2.5") and run them at 20 PSI. Front chainrings are 18t-30t-42t and rear cassette is 12t-36t. This gives me 9 gear inches which is all I need for soft sand, crawling over volcanic rock and climbing.

The Villager with it's high clearance, turned out to be an excellent choice for off road in my conditions. The only problem (and it's inherent with all tadpoles, I think) is off camber approaches, I've rolled a number of times. Picking cactus spines out of my thighs and shoulders is a normal time out on the trail.

Hope you enjoy your Cat.

osco53

Ya need ta build a roll cage and :

Sixty Fiver

[QUOTE=osco53;15796952]Ya need ta build a roll cage and :

The cat arrived this morning... tuned it up (I am it's mechanic) and added locking levers and it needed new front tyres so installed Marathon Racers... if there is anything I think it needs it's a fatter tyre in the rear to act as a better shock absorber although the ride is extremely good.

For a touring trike it sure flies.

Sixty Fiver

From last summer when I had the cat for a few weeks...

Down in the park after racing guys on road bikes...



After that good 40km ride (2012)... no aero belly, only a little stubble, and no back pain.

CraigB

I have a cousin in Tucson who just bought a Villager this past winter after hearing about my wife's and my Trails.

osco53

Great pic's, Tanks, If I was to get a Tad it would be that model, (Cat Expedition). Too much traffic where I ride, a Tad Is just too low IMO to be safe. I have a Delta, as for off road,, well I ride 'Single Track'.......Still I want a Tadpole, one day.

rydabent

My bent and trike flatten out my winter aero belly, and I have never had a beard, but no one has thrown me off the streets or trails.

cranky old dude

No need to go fuzzy. You can count the beards in this group on one finger!!

CHAS

The Catrike Road does not have much ground clearance, but the suspension may make it suitable for you. Gears are low. A Youtube video shows how easily it will fit into a Honda Fit.

Sixty Fiver

The Expedition is also quite low although this does not present any problem.

On the trike I do not feel like I need a suspension because of the relaxed position although I would be rocking a more supple and higher volume tyre in the rear to dampen things more than the Marathon... just installed Marathon Racers up front and run the 26 inch version on my touring bike and think this would be a good choice. They are much more supple and nice riding than the basic Marathon and have a great rollout.

I do of course contemplate building up a fattrike... the Cat will accommodate a Large Marge and a 4 inch rear tyre and you can get fatties in 20 and 24 inch sizes.

Sixty Fiver

There is also the thought that I should just fire up the torch and build my own custom trike...

aztriker

That would be fun to have a 4" fattie on the rear of a trike. Where did you find Large Marge rims and fat tires for 20"?

Thanks

gnome

yes. of course.

CraigB

I've searched all over Youtube and can't find that. I'd love to see it. Can you post a link?

osco53

Eeeryago: https://forum.atomiczombie.com/content.php

osco53

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WA1GeYtjejU

CraigB

Thanks, but that doesn't show it being stowed in a Honda Fit, which is what I was wanting to see.

osco53

Oh Ok,,, try asking around over at :https://www.bentrideronline.com/messageboard/index.php

If anybody would know It would be these folks.... My brothers Honda Fit looks really large in the back end, back seat down....

CHAS

Sorry, incorrectly remembered.