Ice Sprint 26

[windmiller]

Just got my new ICe Sprint 26 from David at Laid back Bikes Edinburgh. Great customer service and trike.

In none standard black because Ice had run out of red.
Drum brakes, I had them on my old 2006 Ice T and prefered the simplicity.
Bar end shifters, the jury is out on these if they are actually any better than grip shifts.
The chainring protector seems like a good idea.
34 tooth cassette...just in case
Marathon Supremes, 40 front and 50 mm rear. Fast rolling but not that much better than big apples in my opinion.
Still awaiting rear rack long stays, Ice also ran out of these so I bodged a carradice extra large seat bag to the mesh seat and this worked quite well.

Big mistake removing the front guards before a 40 mile test ride though, The rain that was expected
after 2.pm came at 11 instead and baptized me and the trike with ubiquitous wet and road filth.

The trike rides well and smashed into lots of tank trap potholes at 30 mph without damage. Climbing was better than I thought and oldies on carbon fibre stuff had their eyes opened. While parked up and lounging like a Roman emperor on the trike and munching oatie biscuits one concerned cyclist stopped and asked me if I was feeling well and if the battery was flat.
The turning circle is oil tanker huge but I can live with this.
checking how high the rear rack would sit on top of the rear wheel and considering if big bags from Radical would be a better option.

 

[BlackPanther]

Nice machine. Having owned a trice with drum brakes, I agree, they do a superb job. Never had to do anything with them and they made wheel removal a doddle compared to the disc jobbies on the Catrike (which also need a bit of adjusting now and then.)

As for the height of the rear rack, my Trice had a 20 inch rear, so the panniers sat quite low. On the Catrike they're well above my head (700 rear) but this actually helps as I can actually see under the Ortlieb panniers when I look in the mirrors.

The Trice had front mudguards, the Catrike hasn't, but I'm now used to getting a bit of spray (I ride all year, every day) and only found it bad in the Winter with the greasy slush getting thrown up over my arms!

The Trice had twist shifters, the Catrike had bar end shifters. After a day or 2 getting used the them, I now wouldn't want to go back to twist shift, the bar end jobbies are a lot better.

Enjoy the ride, awesome looking trike, and special in that colour!

 

[Scoosh]

Now that is very nice !

This might be of interest too.

 

[windmiller]

Thanks, those bags look like they would be better suited to a 26" rear wheel trike because of the increased ground clearance. Since I already have a rack and pair of Ortliebs', and the stays on order, I will give those a try first.
Panther what made you decide on the 700 over the Expedition?

 

[Auntie Helen]

Actually Windmiller the bags would still hang as low if they were on a 26" rear, I should think, but just at a steeper angle.

If you thought you are unlikely to travel with the kitchen sink then the Medium bags are probably a safer overall bet.

 

[windmiller]

who says recumbents can't climb?

The cyclists cafe at Elsdon.

Real cycling food above.....Induction...compression....power.....exhaust!
On sunday completed a hilly 65 mile ride. The trike gave a good account of itself and even the weather was good. Visited the cafe at Elsdon Northumberland. The tea room at Capheaton was closed, so it was a hungry very thirsty 18 miles home. probably hit a new speed record on any bike on the blast down from Winters gibbet. No speedo, all I know is it felt shockingly faster than my previous best of 53 mph.
Thanks Auntie Helen I will take note of that.

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

View attachment 23537
who says recumbents can't climb?

Did it spot a squirrel up the tree?