My Trice has no front suspension and whilst I could upgrade, the cost of the parts alone is almost what I paid for the whole bike. Having successfully fitted a 2.125 x 20 rear tyre without compromising clearance I am now wondering whether fatter tyres on the front would be a cheaper way of improving comfort without compromising performance. All comments welcome please.
Trice front suspension
- Thread starter Tilley
- Start date
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numbnuts
Legendary Member
- Location
- Gone over the hill and far away
I put Schwalbe Big Apple on my trike made an improvement, just play around with the pressure to get it right
Did you find any problems with mudguard clearance?
numbnuts
Legendary Member
- Location
- Gone over the hill and far away
Yeah I had to raise them up, mine are adjustable
I found that when riding through standing water the mudguards discharged quite effectively sideways onto my thighs. I have subsequently fitted side shields made from Corolux and raised the mudguard such that most of the water is deflected outwards. If the height of the mudguard is the only issue then I should be fine.
starhawk
Senior Member
- Location
- Bandhagen Sweden
I had the same thoughts, tried with lower pressure to no awail. Then I bought the front suspension upgrade kit, was somewhat of a pain to fit, I had to knock out all the four bearing cups and replace them. Knocking them out was the pain, took a couple of days, replacing them took at most half an hour. Then came the test ride with the thought "was it worth it?" It didn't take long to come to the conclusion: Yes! 
I absolutely love it, the lowering of the pressure was bullshit compared to this. The "washing board road" near home doesn't exist any more, the suspension just floats over it. Another succes from ICE!
I absolutely love it, the lowering of the pressure was bullshit compared to this. The "washing board road" near home doesn't exist any more, the suspension just floats over it. Another succes from ICE!
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Thanks for that perhaps I need to save my money and bite the bullet.I had the same thoughts, tried with lower pressure to no awail. Then I bought the front suspension upgrade kit, was somewhat of a pain to fit, I had to knock out all the four bearing cups and replace them. Knocking them out was the pain, took a couple of days, replacing them took at most half an hour. Then came the test ride with the thought "was it worth it?" It didn't take long to come to the conclusion: Yes!
BlackPanther
Hyper-Fast Recumbent Riding Member.
- Location
- Doncaster.
I've had a few Trices over the years, none had front suspension, and I was dubious as to wether it would make a difference. Then I bought the Borealis and the Trice the fairing was attached to had front suspension. Yup it really does work well, especially considering the weight of the shell it has to deal with. The only place where non suspension works better is on a fast downhill coming into a 30 zone which I come down every day. It has those stupid rumble strip/improved braking things so drivers can feel they're coming in to a 30 (perish the thought they should have to use their eyes) and at 30 it's a bit too much for the suspension to deal with. The front end goes light and if the road wasn't straight it would be impossible to steer.
That said, on a 'naked' unfaired lighter Trice maybe the suspension would cope fine?
All in all, a worthy upgrade. What have Ice quoted for the suspension kit?
That said, on a 'naked' unfaired lighter Trice maybe the suspension would cope fine?
All in all, a worthy upgrade. What have Ice quoted for the suspension kit?
£600 was the quote I was given during a call last year. As I paid around £1000 for the trike justifying that sort of expenditure is not on.
BlackPanther
Hyper-Fast Recumbent Riding Member.
- Location
- Doncaster.
Cripes! In that case you'd be better off selling yours and buying a front suspension model. Go down the eBay route and it shouldn't leave you much out of pocket.
starhawk
Senior Member
- Location
- Bandhagen Sweden
That must have been a used one, I paid around £3000 for mine, but it was brand new. The upgrade kit was around £500 I was a bit hesitant to it because of the price but now I am very pleased with it, it shure is an upgrade.
Yes it was a used Trice QNT in very good order and I'm very pleased with it, but I cannot justify the cost of the front suspension upgrade. If I were looking to upgrade to new I could be sorely tempted by a full fat, but I only have space for one trike at a time so I am please to make the most of what I have.
starhawk
Senior Member
- Location
- Bandhagen Sweden
Well I have a Trice Q which have a much wider footprint, don't know if that make much of a difference.
If you can't justify the expense you have to look at other options but you need some pretty hefty tires to make any difference, tires just aren't made to cope with the kind of bumps that suspension sucks up.
The Trice you have I believe is the same as mine. I agree about the tyres and I was looking at Schwalbe Big Apple 20 x 2.0" because comments on the folding and Brompton forums suggested that they produced a good cushioning effect without detrimental rolling resistance.
starhawk
Senior Member
- Location
- Bandhagen Sweden
Nope! the NT stands for Narrow Track, the standard Q has a wider track. Track in this case is the distance between the two front wheels. The wider track makes it harder to get through doors but gives a much steadier ride, I don't lean inward in the bends with no adverse effects.
I have also looked at the Big Apples but the plus variant, now I am more towards the Tannus tires, the idea of not needing the patches, tools and pump on the rides appeals to me.
