kev716

Hello, I recently bought a trike for my developmentally delayed daughter. After a few months I know that it needs some maintenance, but it's much too heavy for my bicycle stand. I managed to set the gear indexing by sticking a wood post under the drive wheel shaft, but working on the ground is not ideal. What do you folks do to lift up heavy & wide trikes?

easyupbug 

You can find many solutions offered by riders on youtube searching for "DIY recumbent trike stand" some very simple that might work for you and some fairly complex. I am lucky to have a hoist to get my trike up on the rolling work table which has the wheels needed to store the trike out of the way.

Kai Winters

Basically the same you describe.
We sell and service them in the shop where I work and you're correct they are difficult to work on. They are too heavy for a stand so I use a plastic milk crate when necessary and generally have to sit or ??? on the ground to work on them.
They are a pain but for those that need them and want to ride they are wonderful so worth the aggravation.
We also use a ratchet strap hanging from the stand. It also works but can be a pain to balance the trike. But it does work...kinda sorta...

VegasTriker

What brand/model trike? Is it an adult non-recumbent (granny) trike or a recumbent trike? Decent quality recumbent trikes are not heavier than a regular cheap bike purchased at some place like Walmart. Catrike makes a high-seating Catrike Villager which weighs 34 pounds. It is still tough to lift any recumbent trike not because of the weight but because it is not compact. If you have a garage workshop, it is possible to rig up an inexpensive trike lift using a combination of a standard bike lift and a gambrell and pulley hoist . The bike lift has provision for lifting at two points but the gambrell and pulley hoist will lift the two wheels at the same time when hooked to one half of the bike lift. Harbor Freight Tool has the bike lift for $8 and the hoist for $16. Takes a little ingenuity to combine them and you also need to keep the trike from swinging side to side but raising it with the lift and settling the frame on a fixed object like a stack of milk crates would do the job.

https://www.harborfreight.com/search?q=bicycle%20hoist https://www.harborfreight.com/gambre...ist-99758.html

kev716

The trike is a Moon Cool, a typical cheap & heavy product (sorry I can't post a link, but it's their City Adult Trike). I would get her something better if she was interested in riding further than once around the block

The lift and hoist idea is intriguing. My garage is reserved for my cars, but I might be able to attach it to a wood awning in my backyard...

grumpus

Hang it from the ceiling in your garage with one of these. Note it claims 100 lb capacity - others aren't as heavy duty, at least on paper.

kev716

Looks good, I might as well take advantage of my Prime membership and get Amazon's version.

VegasTriker

That's the exact same one sold by Harbor Freight for $8 if there is one near you. You still need a way to lift the 2 back wheels simultaneously. That's where the gambrel hoist converts one of the two hooks on the bike lift to something that lifts both wheels at once. It is just there to make both wheels go up evenly or the trike will tip to the side. I have a tadpole recumbent trike parked suspended from the ceiling using the same bike lift. Since it is up there for extended periods of time I used the bike lift to pick up the two front wheels and a standard bike hook to hold the one rear wheel. If you are screwing it into drywall you may need to add a piece of 1 by 6 wood to anchor each side of the bike lift. Screw the wood to the rafters through the drywall and then anchoring the bike lift to the wood. When it is not in use it hugs the ceiling and does not get in the way of using the garage for vehicles.

kev716

There is a Harbor Freight near me, I'll see if they carry these. I'm leery of hanging that heavy Trike over my car, especially since I live in earthquake prone SoCal. I have an area in my backyard under an awning where I usually work on my bikes, it'll make more sense to hang it there. Thanks for your help!

grumpus

Is that one rated to 100 pounds?
Why? Hook to the handlebar and seat stays and it should hang just fine, although it may not be level fore and aft, in which case a knot will stop the front end hitting the ceiling while the back end sags.

VegasTriker

I obviously don't have the original packaging because it has been installed for several years. I have no doubt it will hold 100 pounds or more. It is made out of steel plate and uses 1/4" polyester cord to lift the trike. I happen to have a spare one in the original box that I bought at a garage sale (still has the $1 sticker on it). The paperwork inside says it holds 45 pounds. I think that is a CYA legal statement by the seller. It is identical to the one I bought from Harbor Freight. It's one of these "Global TV" brand with a MSRP label $29.95 that are probably advertised on TV. It currently is suspending a very expensive Greenspeed GTO recumbent trike. If I had any thought it might not hold the trike I would not have used it. The weight of the trike and other accessories sitting on the trike seat weighs more than 45 pounds. Besides that, the front of my car is underneath the trike. Hanging a trike from the hoist is different from hanging a regular bike. The gambrel hoist would lift both front wheels on my trike at once. I did not know it existed when I bought the first bike hanger so use a different method. The front wheels are raised by the bike hoist and the rear then gets suspended from an ordinary bike hook. It would have worked far better to use the gambrel had I know it existed.

grumpus

That may be a good solution for your application, but that's not what the OP was asking. He has an upright delta trike that he wants to hang so he can work on it.

BlazingPedals

I applaud the guys here for at least trying to answer OP's question in spite of the fact that his trike is NOT a recumbent. After all, a bike is a bike (or a trike is a trike in this case.) I'd probably be tempted to build a jack for the rear end out of wood, rather than try to suspend it from the garage rafters.

kev716

Yes, I appreciate all your help. I thought that this subforum seemed the closest for my Trike.

I'm not much of a wood craftsman and am having trouble visualizing how that would work. Ideally I'd like to get the trike high enough to work on it while standing, same as I do for my bicycles.

I don't know much about trikes or recumbents. It would be very helpful if somebody could post a picture of their solution.

DeadGrandpa

This is a quick and easy solution,. Even though you'll need a little stool to sit on, it's much easier than working on your knees, crouched on the floor. Lift the end of the trike with two wheels first, and slide a plastic tub under each of the wheels. Then lift the other end and slide the third tub under the third wheel. I think it will work for supporting an upright trike just as well as a recumbent.

kev716

Interesting idea but it doesn't look very stable. I'm worried that tightening a bolt will make the whole thing roll off the tubs!

DeadGrandpa

Yes, you have to set the brake. My maintenance is mainly wiping the chain, lubing the chain, and occasionally replacing the chain. It works for me.

BlazingPedals

I've been known to use a piece of plywood set on two sawhorses as a low table for bike maintenance. Not sure if I'd want to lift a 50-60 pound dept store trike up there though...

Freshaire

we used this idea to hoist bikes, including trikes, to the ceiling for storage in our garage. Worked great.