Catrike 700 ordered in Hyper Yellow

[PaulM]

So, a few months on, my thoughts on the 700. Great fun, really enjoying it. It's significantly lighter and stiffer than the ICE Sprint 26 trike I last had. I'm not having any problems with the seat angle or headrest position. I had a couple of punctures on the front quite early on. I don't think it was a factor but both had the wire bead coming exposed and rusting. It looked like there was slight deformation of both Durano tyres. WheelNV replaced both free of charge with Marathon Racers that were in stock. These noticeably improved the ride and allowed higher downhill speeds to be reached. But the back still with a Durano takes a hammering. And tonight on the way home the rearmost left mudguard stay became detached from the mudguard after the guard broke where the stay fixes. So not too impressed with the Planet X rear fender. I'm not sure whether to try another full length mudguard, and still be limited to 28mm tyres for clearance because of the headrest getting in the way, or to change to a flinger mudguard and risk spray marks down the back of the seat and perhaps through onto me.

The only other fault I can point to beside the limited tyre clearance with the rear mudguard and headrest is the chainguard spacers which allow the chain to get wedged between the outermost ring and the guard if it overruns.This shouldn't happen if the FD is properly adjusted of course, but it did and it took me ages at the roadside to unjam it. But overall it's a very impressive and easy to live with machine.

 

[ufkacbln]

My Expedition has an SKS Chromoplastic guard fitted, I was also not impressed with the rear fenders

For the front my favourites (although heavy) are the "Trike Fender" from HP Velotechnik

A much more robust and usable design, but unfortunately does not fit Catrike

 

[PaulM]

The rear stays are individual rather than paired on the planet bike mudguard so I was able to simply reposition and reattach the stay to another part of the mudguard. I'm still very happy with the trike. I had the left front wheel come loose. Catrike attach the front wheels with quick releases. These have fairly short handles. After the trike was delivered I repositioned the handles so that they were catching less air, but must have failed to do the left one up sufficiently tight. The handle was still in the closed position, so the hub cap must have gradually rotated loose with road and brake forces. I think having QRs for the wheels on a sports trike is daft. By all means have QRs as an option, but with longer handles. I would happily replace them (and the boom QRs) with nutted bolts.

I might try squeezing a 32mm panaracer onto the rear rim underneath the mudguard and headrest. The 28mm Duranao is a little harsh. The Racers on the front wheels feel fast and comfortable.