Toe dipping, best bent

[Riding in Circles]

View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mxld4jJD0SI

 

[LeeW]

Lee and Arch both have their ideal trikes and me of course, everyone else is just riding an interim trike/bike until they get their Catrike or Catbike, obvious innit?

The Quest is a very nice trike, although I would not say it is my ultimate ideal trike. It does have some drawbacks, the main one being it is way too big for me, being made for a 6' 8" dutch man. Quest are going to bring out a smaller version at some point which I hope will be ideal.
As for suspention I find I need it. That could be because the roads on my commute consists of mostly chip seal, potholes, ruts, badly filled potholes and trenches etc.

 

[PalmerSperry]

The Quest is a very nice trike, although I would not say it is my ultimate ideal trike. It does have some drawbacks, the main one being it is way too big for me, being made for a 6' 8" dutch man. Quest are going to bring out a smaller version at some point which I hope will be ideal.

I've vaguely come to the conclusion that my ultimate ideal trike would be a Sinner Mango Sport, possibly fitted with a Bionx motor. Alas I've yet to work out (a) how I'd afford this and ( how I'd get it from Austria to the start of the LEL in 2013 (& back) if I figured out part [a].

Therefore I suspect it's more likely I'll end up with either a Trice (that fold looks useful for things like part above) or a Catrike Speed (and invest in some cardboard and bubblewrap for part ).

 

[squeaker]

As for suspention I find I need it. That could be because the roads on my commute consists of mostly chip seal, potholes, ruts, badly filled potholes and trenches etc.

Or the speed that Quests seem to travel at
IME keeping your wheels in contact with the road is generally a good idea....

 

[Riding in Circles]

The Quest is a very nice trike, although I would not say it is my ultimate ideal trike. It does have some drawbacks, the main one being it is way too big for me, being made for a 6' 8" dutch man. Quest are going to bring out a smaller version at some point which I hope will be ideal.
As for suspention I find I need it. That could be because the roads on my commute consists of mostly chip seal, potholes, ruts, badly filled potholes and trenches etc.

Vanity Lee, I was talking about the Lee who had already been on this thread.

As for the rest of your post, suspension on a velomobile is important as you are a larger vehicle, you cannot see the potholes so easily with all the bodywork and the whole vehicle is generally a heavier than a standard trike.

The WAW would have been better for you, it was for people under 6'2".

There is a british velomobile under development so I hear.

 

[arallsopp]

Can you 'bentonauts tell me where I can find more information.

Here's my regular reading list:
BROL: http://www.bentrideronline.com/
BROL: forums http://www.bentrideronline.com/messageboard/index.php
The 'other place': http://yacf.co.uk/forum/index.php?board=10.0
blog: http://www.recumbentblog.com/
journal: http://www.recumbentjournal.com/

I also follow a few blogs of homebuilders, but the above should give you enough to go on

 

[Arch]

I've vaguely come to the conclusion that my ultimate ideal trike would be a Sinner Mango Sport, possibly fitted with a Bionx motor. Alas I've yet to work out (a) how I'd afford this and ( how I'd get it from Austria to the start of the LEL in 2013 (& back) if I figured out part [a].

a) rob a bank?

ride it there...(and back)

 

[PalmerSperry]

a) rob a bank?

Alas, there's only one bank in the village and all the members of staff know (a) my name, ( my address and (c) my account number. I feel this might cause some problems with the "getting away with it" side of the equation?

B) ride it there...(and back)

Well if I successfully pulled off part (a) then I suppose I wouldn't have to worry about getting enough time off work for part (B)?

 

[Arch]

Alas, there's only one bank in the village and all the members of staff know (a) my name, ( my address and (c) my account number. I feel this might cause some problems with the "getting away with it" side of the equation?

I suppose.....

Lazy so and so, rob a bank in the next village!

BTW, did you see the little clip of the Mango Sport in my SPEZI video on Velo Vision? I had a sit in it, but it was set up about right for Pete, so about 8 feet too long for me. I did manage to get it up and down the road by pushing at one pedal... I imagine it would be a lot of fun!

 

[CopperBrompton]

Am I right in thinking that everyone above owns their ideal bikes/trikes

I certainly do. I test-rode seven or eight of them, and as I figured that whatever I bought I'd keep for life, there wasn't any sense in compromising. Although I spent significantly more originally planned, the additional cost per mile is trivial.

 

[CopperBrompton]

more awkward to park

I disagree with that one. Because you don't need to lean them up against anything, they're actually easier to park. If I want to park it against railings, I do have to remove the rear mudguard (as I stand it on the rear wheel with a U-lock through the cross part off the cruciform), but for casual cafe stops, where it's within sight, I just need something to attach to the rear wheel.

For me the really big benefit of a trike is it's like a grown-up go-kart: fun, fun, fun. :-)

 

[ufkacbln]

Alas, there's only one bank in the village and all the members of staff know (a) my name, ( my address and (c) my account number. I feel this might cause some problems with the "getting away with it" side of the equation?



Well if I successfully pulled off part (a) then I suppose I wouldn't have to worry about getting enough time off work for part (?

Totally OT...

This happened...

When I was at school in the 70's we had a "bad girl" in our yearwho fell in with a dodgy crowd. They decided to rob the bank on Market Day when all th takings were in.

So the girl goes in and cashes a cheque to suss the place out, comes back 5 minutes later with a stocking mask, boyfriend and his brother with shotguns. Rob bank and make getaway.

When the Police arrive, the cashier identifies the robberess as she was at school with her younger sister and a regular customer. Gives address. Police go round and there they are counting the money in the sitting room.

We all found it hilarious!

 

[Fiona N]

... Sinner Mango Sport, possibly fitted with a Bionx motor. ..to the start of the LEL in 2013 (& back)

But surely, if you had a motor, you wouldn't be allowed to ride LEL (officially, at any rate)

 

[Riding in Circles]

But surely, if you had a motor, you wouldn't be allowed to ride LEL (officially, at any rate)

So battery would last so little time relative to the events distance that it would just end up being ballast.

 

[PalmerSperry]

So battery would last so little time relative to the events distance that it would just end up being ballast.

True, but I wasn't think of having a motor for LEL ... More for getting around some of the local hills, particularly if I was doing any kind of touring which involved the Großglockner Hochalpenstraße for instance! (~12.5km of an average ~10.5% gradient!).

I recall, but can't currently find, an online article about someone who was experimenting with low powered electrical assistance. Instead of 200-250W he was using just enough to help compensate for the extra weight of the machine.