ICE 2010 lineup

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dataretriever

New Member
Location
NW London
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm, I like the front suspension, especially as it's retrofittable. The savings might have to take a battering.......
 

byegad

Legendary Member
Location
NE England
I don't see the need for full suspension on a tadpole if you are riding on the road. While the rear suspension on my QNT certainly works and takes the sting out of the odd pothole, I also ride an unsuspended Kettwiesel and on the same roads the difference is minimal.

Now if you are riding fast and off road that's a different story but I suspect that we are seeing a move to full suspension in the trike world for fashion rather than functional reasons.
 

squeaker

Über Member
Location
Steyning
byegad said:
I don't see the need for full suspension on a tadpole if you are riding on the road.
IIRC, the majority of velomobile manufacturers seem to disagree? I recall ICE saying that they've found that their (short travel) suspension improves the roadholding on rough roads (presumably by keeping the wheels on the ground more often), and is good for taking the edges off things like expansion joints, both of which sound useful attributes to me. On the downside I recall watching one of the Borealis' at the HPV Worlds pogoing under full grunt.... Guess we will have to wait and see what the trade-offs (and cost) are, but on balance, it will be nice to have the choice.
byegad said:
but I suspect that we are seeing a move to full suspension in the trike world for fashion rather than functional reasons.
You old cynic: cycling as a fashion statement - oh, hang on...:smile:
 

byegad

Legendary Member
Location
NE England
If we are talking about Velomobiles we have a number of extra factors.
1. A Velomobile is heavier, roughly double the vehicle weight of a Trice.
2. It is also likely to be travelling faster than an unfaired trike for long periods. I spoke to a person who tested the Borealis in 2008 and he mentioned how much faster he was cruising on a flat road than he would be on his Trice S. Over 50% faster, and at times twice as fast, as he was used to on the S.
3. Body chatter. The same rider mentioned how the unsprung Borealis he rode was drumming and he could see the body moving around even on smooth roads.

These factors make a full suspension system desirable for a Velomobile.

On my normal rides I average 11 mph or so and I only ever exceed 20mph downhill. (I also often exceed 30mph and occasionally exceed 40mph but only for very short distances.) At these speeds I don't really see the need for full sus'. Even if a rider is a lot faster than me on an unfaired trike I doubt (s)he would be spending much time at over 20mph. In my experience faster trikers climb a LOT faster than me but on the flat cruise only a little faster than I do and descend at the same speed as me.

I agree that choice is nice to have but aren't we moving to the trike equivalent of 4x4 use with this fashion?
 
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45cotterless

New Member
Location
Sunny Derbyshire
Yep, agreed, there's also the question of cost. I heard £400 for the suspension kit.It's cheaper to get a full set of Big Apples.
The good thing is that ICE are innovators and it's good they're thinking forwards.
I can't wait for the Olympic Model ( Lord Coe; whipped or branded?)
 

byegad

Legendary Member
Location
NE England
Yes I heard £400 too. Big apples are less than £20 apiece if you shop around.

The 'Entry level' model is interesting, no suspension and presumably lighter and cheaper? I would consider this as my number three trike.
 

davidaw

Active Member
Disagree.

I often ride the flats over 20mph, and sometimes over 25mph. My best average is 18mph over 40 miles, and usually well over 15mph. This on a Trice Q with fairing.

I would like to get rid of the all too often bone shakes that suspension can deal with. Would also help with nuts etc remaining tight longer.

There again, if I rode on nice road surfaces all the time, I wouldn't think about suspension, no matter the speed.
 

byegad

Legendary Member
Location
NE England
OK so where is the magic speed, below which you don't need suspension and above wich you do. I'll start average speed of 11 or 12 average mph is too slow to need full sus'.

P.S.
I live in County Durham so spend fair amount of any ride going up hill. I find my average speed goes up a couple of miles an hour in flatter parts of the country.
 

davidaw

Active Member
byegad said:
OK so where is the magic speed, below which you don't need suspension and above wich you do. I'll start average speed of 11 or 12 average mph is too slow to need full sus'.

P.S.
I live in County Durham so spend fair amount of any ride going up hill. I find my average speed goes up a couple of miles an hour in flatter parts of the country.

Speed was part of your argument, not mine!

Personally though, I find I slow down a lot when on bad road surfaces. Perhaps I wouldn't so much with full suspension.
 

CopperBrompton

Bicycle: a means of transport between cake-stops
Location
London
I've ridden a Q with Big Apples, and while it's marginally more comfortable on a rough road, the difference really is very small.

When I compare the feel of bumps on the front wheels with the rear wheel, it's night and day. I'm no speed merchant on the flat, but have been forced to slow down by a rough road. Downhill, I like to go flat out, so there I think the suspension will make a huge difference.

I'm hoping it'll be less than £400 (the figure I heard was £250), but I think it's very likely I'll upgrade.
 
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