'bents and hills

[Mr Magoo]

If you are bidding for the ICE Q on Ebay
I hope you have done a little homework .
Are you aware it is a June 2007 vintage .
Loads of changes have been made including
revised rear wheel and groupset etc etc .
So it may be low miles but do not kid yourself
its the latest model .
Do not overlook the seat ? Hardshells can run very hot and sweaty and may not suit the shape of your spine . Ask other forum members for their view about seats . If you need to change to the mesh cover and revised frame that could cost £130 -£160 Plus shipping .
Food for thought and I hope that helps .

I've looked at the catrike range but they don't seem to be able to be packed up small. I'm really limited for space to store it so part of what sold me on the trice was that video of it going into a smartcar.

I may have gotten a bit carried away and bid on one at auction so will have to see how that goes before calling up D-tek

 

[squeaker]

Hardshell...

Do not overlook the seat ? Hardshells can run very hot and sweaty and may not suit the shape of your spine .

But they can recline more, which some find more comfortable, and can always be padded between the cover and seat back to adjust the shape.

 

[Chonker]

I actually prefer the idea of the hard seat, it was the one on ebay though and I didn't know it was different, what's the difference with the rear wheel/groupset? , bugger!

 

[thewrinklyninja]

Another recommendation for Kevin at D.Tek. I went down to see him thinking I preferred trikes ora Euro low bike like the Hurricane, but low and behold I preferred the Bacchetta Giro high type bikes with big handle bars.

So the morale of the story here is dont buy what you THINK you will like, go sit on and ride as many as you can, you may surprise yourself as to what you actually like as to what you THINK you like.

Just my 2p's worth.

 

[Mr Magoo]

Further info .........hope this helps .........before the final countdown with the E.Bay auction .
This is the 2009 spec lifted from the ICE website :-
"Here at ICE we have taken the 9T concept and created a custom 9 speed cassette with a wide range of 9-32T (310g).
9,10,11,13,15,18,21,26,32 are the actual sprocket sizes.
These have been used by custom Trice owners over many years on heavily loaded tours with great success. This kind of cassette still needs a special hub due to the very small cog sizes and perhaps the weakest link in the system was the relatively low end Shimano Capreo hub with it's non sealed cup and cone bearings and rather heavy weight (462g with QR). we also wanted to offer the option of a disc brake rotor mounting. Our new custom hub overcomes these issues with quality industry standard sealed cartridge bearings, CNC'd I.S. 6 bolt disc brake rotor mount and a top quality hollow QR Skewer (404g with QR).
To get the perfect range of gears for a touring trike we have combined the new cassette with a Truvative Firex compact MTB chainset which has an integrated axle and external BB bearings for a rigid setup. The result is a fantastic super wide range, easy shifting and reliable all derailleur gear shifting system... as standard!"
Other upgrades reported but not listed by ICE include :- higher quality brake levers + Jagwire cables + hubcaps +improved seat cushions by Ventiseat + light mount studs now welded on (not after market clamp on ) +bigger chain guide pulley .........
Plus loads more frame detailing on cable runs and steering mountings + brake mounts
and more and more and more !
The ICE men never stop improving (probably why many owners suggest these are the best trikes in the world ).

I actually prefer the idea of the hard seat, it was the one on ebay though and I didn't know it was different, what's the difference with the rear wheel/groupset? , bugger!

 

[Chonker]

Oh well that's it, I've won it so I guess that's one more for the recumbent fold. I'm still pretty stoked (although in hindsight I should have been more patient), I can't wait to go pick the sucker up and break my will on some hills

 

[byegad]

Let us all know how you get on with it. You will be able to change a lot of things to make hills easier.

 

[squeaker]

I actually prefer the idea of the hard seat, it was the one on ebay though and I didn't know it was different, what's the difference with the rear wheel/groupset? , bugger!

See News on the ICE site.
Basically a wider range cassette on a custom ICE hub, as far as the gearing goes. I wouldn't fret to much though, I find the 18 to 89 inches on my 'S' fine for general use. I definitely need half a gale behind me to spin out on the flat in top, even with 155mm cranks and, if I needed a lower bottom gear, then an 11-34 cassette with 26T chainwheel would get me 14"

 

[Arch]

Oh well that's it, I've won it so I guess that's one more for the recumbent fold. I'm still pretty stoked (although in hindsight I should have been more patient), I can't wait to go pick the sucker up and break my will on some hills

Good for you. Don't worry too much about whether it's an older model. My (sadly underused due to storage issues) trike is a pre-ICE Trice, and it's just as much fun as a newer one - just a bit more rattley. Components can always be upgraded.

I'm not fast on hills, upright or recumbent, but at least on my trike I don't have the issue of stalling because I'm going so slow. I just wind it in gradually. Also, I can stop and restart on a really long hill - I can't do that once I'm in bottom gear on two wheels. And I go down the other side way faster on 3 wheels than I ever do on 2, just from a nerve point of view.

 

[byegad]

I actually prefer the idea of the hard seat, it was the one on ebay though and I didn't know it was different, what's the difference with the rear wheel/groupset? , bugger!

What people haven't mentioned is that while you get ICE's own Capreo style 9-32 hub on the 2008-on Trice models, you also get a very noisy freewheel! Riding with a friend, me on my 2007 Deore rear hub QNT and him on his 2008 QNT, his freewheel was very intrusive, making me glad I have the 2007 model.

 

[Chonker]

well I put the first few miles on it yesterday at redbridge cycle centre (counterclockwise). I managed to get up the hills but the longest and steepest had me down to 4mph in the lowest gear I did manage to get all the way up, though a few times I had to stop for a breather, hillstarts are easy huh?

Put a massive grin on my face going down hill, I hit 30 on my first lap just coasting, it steers like a racecar too, was a bit nervous of how "twitchy" it was a first but as I became used to it I was grinning like an idiot!

 

[byegad]

The hills get easier, at first don't force it and slowly you'll improve.

 

[sunnyjim]

You're just about where I was 18 months and a few thousand miles ago, Chonker.

Between work & medical reasons I'd done relatively little cycling during the previous year, but only about a week after I'd assembled the giant meccano set which became my new QNT I went out intending to pootle around for an hour or so practice, and ended up doing an Edinburgh-Linlithgow round trip over 50 miles almost without noticing.

On the daily commute, I'd say my speed has increased 30-40% since Trike_zero. I still get easily overtaken uphill by DF-ers who look as or more younger/fitter than me, but I now do my own share of passing the less gifted -especially this time of year, with the new season summer-onlies coming out. There is nothing so pleasant on a monday morning as the look on the face of a proper bicyclist who has just been overtaken by a nutter in a deckchair. Not that it's a race, obviously.

 

[Chonker]

Haha "nutter on a deckchair" love it