Thinking of getting a trike, advice please...

[Auntie Helen]

Hi SoulOnIce,

I'm not very technical about these things but because my husband's bike is set up differently than mine (shorter boom as he doesn't have as long legs as me) I've only ever ridden it very short distances. All I notice in those distances is the rougher ride. He has the narrow track version on skinny, slick tyres with different gear ratios as well so I'm not sure I could ever make a fair comparison on speed, although he does seem to go faster downhill (less wind resistance?)

My entirely uninformed opinion is that the suspension makes minimal difference to the ride effort because most of the time the elastomer isn't doing much, it's just over the bumps that it gets a workout. But Catrike will know far better than me just what a difference suspension can make on a trike.

 

[byegad]

Can I add my two penorth?
The Trice suspension moves at right angles to the pedal effort. So while I CAN make my QBT bob it does now do it of its own accord, whereas my full sus' MTB, now long gone bobbed like billy oh!
I have a Kettwiesel with no suspension as well as the QNT with and the only difference is the harsher ride on the Kett. They are now both on Big Apples.

 

[Night Train]

My gut feeling would be that suspension on a trike wouldn't sap energy in the same way a Df or MTB frame would.
On an upright a lot of the energy to the pedals is in the vertical direction causing the suspension to bounce up and down sapping energy.
On a recumbent the energy to the pedals is more in the horizontal direction and so less likely to cause energy sapping suspension movement.

 

[mickle]

One thing determines whether a design will suffer from pedal force induced suspension movement or not; swing arm pivot location and it's relationship to the driven portion of chain. The further the chain is from the swing arm pivot centre the greater the effect.

Suspension bob may also occur if the resonant frequency of the suspension is close to pedalling rate.

Modern platform damped shocks are capable of differentiating between road bump induced suspension movement and rider generated movement but the technology hasn't had much of a showing on recumbents yet. Maybe it's not the big issue on short travel recumbents as it is on mountain bikes.

 

[ufkacbln]

CatrikeUK of this Parish is the importer of the Catrike series, I have been delighted with my Expedition and there is a wide range of models and prices.

Or contact Wheels n.v.

Of course you could go for Ian's "ultimate trike"

(Edited - sorry - skip read the thread and missed the above conversation with CatrikeUK)!)

 

[squeaker]

1. On DF bikes with suspension a lot of the pedalling power is lost through the suspension.

Bllx!!! Unless you are talking about supermarket BSOs, that is. As Mickle says, most decent full sus MTBs use 'platform' damping and/or virtual pivot positions these days, which minimise pedal induced bob. Even 10 years ago, those with a Horst link, or sensibly placed pivots (e.g. Marin) were reasonably immune unless you really lept around on them.
As for ICE trikes, IME pedal induced bob is not a significant issue, although any suspended vehicle will tend to oscillate in pitch if the wheel drive torque is not kept relatively smooth (a learner driver's kangaroo start is an extreme example of this). That said, I was interested to watch the front end of the fully suspeded ICE Borealis velomobile bouncing under extreme effort at this year's HPV worlds - but that does use simple elastomer springs, and it was striving for the finish line at the time. I certainly wasn't aware of any 'bob' when I had a quick test ride in it during the lunch break.

 

[ufkacbln]

One Catrike expedition with XT Fairing, mudguards and panniers

One Catrike Expedition with GTX fairing, mudguards and panniers

 

[mickle]

>snip< Windcheetah I don't think are all that >snip<

Interested to know why you think that Lee.

 

[ufkacbln]

Don't get influenced by personal opinions.... by all means use them to guide you, but each trike is a different beast.

Some love the joystick on the Windcheetah, some hate it...
Some like the suspension on the Trice - others prefer without
Some prefer the low seat of the CAtrike 700c. others prefer the higher, less angled seat of a Villager or Trail
Some prefer a solid carbon seat, others prefer a web seat.


The important thing is to get your bottom on as many seats as possible, and do not buy unless you are comfortable and happy!

 

[Cullin]

Best pay Kevin a visit at DTEK in Cambride, he will let you ride the various trikes up and down the quite road outside the store, you will get good advice from him, he has loads of second user gear and new. it is a good idea to try before you buy.
Make an appointment, as he maybe on a mission somewhere.
Got my New ICE Q's from him
Cheers

 

[byegad]

I think Lee has a point. The 'Cheetah was a great trike for its day. It has a few quirks like the one handed tiller control that have been ignored by later designs and it is an old design!

Is it still a first rate buy? Well I find it hard to be totally against the Windcheetah but when I bought both my trikes I didn't take too long to decide against it on price grounds if nothing else.

 

[mickle]

Righto Lee, it's just that you said that you 'didn't think it was all that' and that it was too expensive. I agree that they don't represent particularly good value for money when compared to other trikes on the market. Maybe I'm out of touch but I've always considered the Windcheetah as the benchmark. So cost aside what do people think? Is it still the best trike on the market?

 

[ufkacbln]

Yes - and no.......

It has a pedigree and was also better supported with fairings. Poor though as a tourer as the racks were fragile (Allegedly).

The joystick improves aerodynamics by bringing the arms inside the profile.

So as a machine for racing itw as unsurpassed when you look atthe heavier Trices etc. which were the main contenders.

However with the Catrike 700 on the market at under £2000 (depending on spec) it is facing more competition as a race machine as well.

I am biased as I felt unhappy with the seat and joystic - butthis is personal and not a reflection on the trike.

After some 14 years on a Peter Ross Trice in various incarnations, I tried the Trice Windcheetah, KMX and the Catrikes.

I had only considered the Catrike as an option before buying a new Trice, but I was so blown away by the handling, responsiveness and sheer comfort, however this merely shows the important point - you must sit on the machine and ride it so you can make your own mind up.

 

[byegad]

On the other hand the fastest unfaired multi track at the worlds was a Trice Micro.

 

[dmb]

I have a trice s and 700, the 700 is hand down a better trike, much lighter! The only down side was the poor mudgaurds but I belive these have been improved recently. Bigger tyres and tyre pressures make more difference than the suspension.

The biggest difference is the recline angle. This is really personal as is the seat as already mentioned.