Shifting a recumbent trike
#1
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Shifting a recumbent trike
I got this trike at a yard sale today. The crank has 2 sprockets but no derailleur, is it missing or do you move the chain by hand?

#2
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Bikes: Catrike 700, Greenspeed GTO trike, , Linear LWB recumbent, Haluzak Horizon SWB recumbent, Balance 450 MTB, Cannondale SM800 Beast of the East
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Made by Penninger
Yes. If there is no post for a derailleur that means you have to stop the trike and shift the chain from one chainring to another. It's pretty unusual but not unheard of. . The trike made by Penninger may have had an additional part as shown in this picture on Pinterest (https://www.pinterest.com/pin/150729918748742443/). And from a description on Bentrider dating back to the past "Penninger advertises the bike as a 64 speed with its eight speed mid-drive system. However, the bike is technically a 128 speed. It does have a double crankset up front that can be shifted by hand, but there is no front derailleur. I’m sure that many of these gear ranges are duplicates, but I never found myself lacking for any high or low gear inches." ::: Penninger Voyager :::
Looks like it was a very expensive trike for one that weighs north of 50 pounds. Interesting though to read how it works. I've heard the name in the past but never saw a picture of one before.
Looks like it was a very expensive trike for one that weighs north of 50 pounds. Interesting though to read how it works. I've heard the name in the past but never saw a picture of one before.
#3
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Penninger is/was a custom builder. He seemed to enjoy creating unnecessarily complicated bikes. I remember seeing one that used a 'floating' chainring as some sort of idler. Looked very prone to falling off.