A case for a trike

docnjoj

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Joined
Sep 29, 2007
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Fairhope AL
Well I spent the evening in the ER after my wife went over one time too many and ended up in the ER with a gash that went down to her knee facia! Shit!!!!!!!! I have been preaching trikes for us older folks, (she is 55 which is 10 years younger than me) and now she will get one (finally)! She hates my tadpole so and Aneura or a Sun is a possibility (Hase would be great but she thinks it is too low). Any suggestions would be appreciated. She will not wear body armor on the Bike-e! Thanks in advance!
otherDoc
 
worksman makes quite a few trikes,and they are really well made.hope she recovers fast. :D
 
Yes they do and they are American but she is kinda particular so she will also look at Aneura, Hase and Sun. She has finally agreed to a trike but probably will go with a delta cause it is different than mine! Thanks for the encouragement, Beast! She is quite stubborn and has her own mind, unfortunately! One trip to the ER too many may have convinced her!
otherDoc
 
Recumpence can hook her up rumour is he makes some trikes albeit a lil on the "underpowered side..." :mrgreen: -->

[youtube]WKAMus3oSdw[/youtube]

They are even those funny backward facing trikes you like too Doc! :lol: :p

Hope Missus Doc is doing well Doc :)

KiM
 
Hope she heals soon. Check this out for recumbent trike. Go to craigslist.org go to Phoenix area Go to bikes for sale catagory Search for tricycles You will find a guy that makes a cool looking trike for $200. Might get one myself!
 
Hey otherDoc, You might want to look at the new terratrike rover. It is a tadpole but the seat is 14 inches off the ground (like a lawnchair). Tadpoles are more stable than conventional trikes in the corners. Your feet are still lower than your bottom. Plenty of room for a motor behind the seat as well. :) Mine should be here in about two weeks! I will most likely post a build thread so you can watch if you want to. I have no affiliation with terratrike nor have I ever even ridden one.
 
buzzfirst said:
Hey otherDoc, You might want to look at the new terratrike rover. It is a tadpole but the seat is 14 inches off the ground (like a lawnchair). Tadpoles are more stable than conventional trikes in the corners. Your feet are still lower than your bottom. Plenty of room for a motor behind the seat as well. :) Mine should be here in about two weeks! I will most likely post a build thread so you can watch if you want to. I have no affiliation with terratrike nor have I even ever rode one.

2nd that : That is what I was going to mention, some tadpoles are very upright and easy to mount etc. But I know stubborn too :wink:
 
TylerDurden said:
Would a trike prevent the kind of crash she just had?
Hey Tyler!
Yes since she was braking and caught some sand and went down hard. A trike would have just slid a bit, I believe. I know you can be injured on a trike since I was on my old one but she has had a broken hip and now a busted knee plus a number of tipovers without injury. I really think a trike would be a lot safer for her.

Thanks everyone for your support. She wont be riding for at least a month so I have some time to look for a trike for her. Those 30 sutures and the gash really take time to heal. She may need some Physical Therapy too. We will see.
otherDoc
 
i have a p;erformance arrow.... its a tadpole with a55 degree seat angle... i am 83 check out performance recumbent... ignore the price[1995.00] look for Garys cell #[the owner] and get it it for$995.00 if it is of interest.... a very good trike[made by tw bents-taiwan] and very good components eg dura ace bar end shifters
 
If you have a delta trike (2 wheels in the back, one in front) then they are unstable when going downhill fast. The problem would be on a fast downhill if a child or animal popped out from the side causing a sudden turn. In this situation, the bike would tip over forward.

Having two wheels in front (tadpole) and sitting as low as you are willing to, will increase its stability. Also, when suddenly braking the weight is shifted forward (as I'm sure you already know) so a tadpole would have increased braking (and braking redundancy) on the two front wheels in a panic-stop.

A trike thats able to "lean" in a turn would help too, but thats a whole different ballgame of design.
 
Thanks kriskros and S/M. The problem now is that the deltas that are any good are alloy so I would have a problem mounting a front motor. Yes tadpoles are more stable but they race trikes in Europe and the last Youtube I saw was a Steintrike against a bunch of delta Hase's. It was the Steintrike that went over in the last corner, not the delta's that went on to win! It was almost as rough as wheelchair racing, but not quite. Those guys are crazy!
otherDoc
 
docnjoj said:
Well I spent the evening in the ER after my wife went over one time too many and ended up in the ER with a gash that went down to her knee facia! Shit!!!!!!!! I have been preaching trikes for us older folks, (she is 55 which is 10 years younger than me) and now she will get one (finally)! She hates my tadpole so and Aneura or a Sun is a possibility (Hase would be great but she thinks it is too low). Any suggestions would be appreciated. She will not wear body armor on the Bike-e! Thanks in advance!
otherDoc
OtherDoc:
this is an idea someone had pass on to me, which I have never test myself. The Sun cycle EZ-3 sz is not a bad unit. The list of sun cycle trike/recument are in the following:

http://www.sunbicycles.com/products.php?cl1=RECUMBENT

If she find the EZ-3 SX is to low on the ground, you can install 20" wheel on front, and 24" wheel on the back to increase the height. The EZ-3 is widely available in the Eastern US due the distribution are in Eastern US, and it was designed in West coast. So you can easily find a used one from the craiglist. If you want something fun, I would like to suggest ez Quadri-Bent.

Ken
 
She really likes the sidecar, S/M but her "leaning" ability is what is not so good anymore. Hey Ken I agree those Sun trikes are neat but not tall enough except the delta which is one we're considering. The canted rear wheels on the delta could make the base wide enough not to tip over. I also looked at Lightfoot Cycles offerings from Montana and they make some neat stuff. They are not cheap but neither is the orthopedist! Another possibility is the Terratrike Cruiser with Utah Trikes seat extenders that raise the seat 6-8". That would be tall enough I think. The real tall CycleGenius Trike is not availible or it would be perfect. Please offer suggestions as I need to get this show going since she should be healed enough for Physical Therapy in about 3 weeks.
otherDoc
It's the USX HD with suspension if you can still get them.
 
In regards to the tadpole race trike going over. They are racing! Should you not get in a car because race cars crash? Not a good excuse to avoid tadpoles. Especially if safety is a consideration. And the thought of tall trikes? What? The lower the better for safety. You find a tall one and you have found added risk. I ride a catrike pocket with a 750 hub. After many adjustments my CG is exelent. Catrikes are the best selling trikes. There must be a reason. Because it is low, a flag is required.

Best wishes to your wife. Good luck for a speedy recovery.
 
Thanks ebent. As usual there are no easy answers. The extra height is less stable but you sure can see better. That is my principle danger on my low trike. There are situations when i simply cannot see around an obstacle and rely on her higher position on the Bike-e (seat height of 28") to see stuff when we ride. Unfortunately she went down on her knee on the road from that height and really did damage. The deltas are usually higher to see better. It is a conundrum inside a dilemma, to be sure.
otherDoc
 
docnjoj said:
There are situations when i simply cannot see around an obstacle and rely on her higher position on the Bike-e (seat height of 28") to see stuff when we ride.
Instead of a flagpole (if you use one), use a little periscope with flag on it. ;)
 
Believe me Amberwolf there were times when I wish I has something like a periscope!
otherDoc
 
That was part of the original plan for ReCycle: there would have been a pod above my head for lighting and signals, itself painted dayglo orange (rear) and yellow (front), with an old composite-style webcam in it I could pivot around mechanically with a shifter on the bars, and a little monitor in front of me I could see around with. That webcam can see better in the dark than I can, too, so I'd've been able to use it on darker paths and roads to see by even without "proper" illumination.

I had planned to do the same on CrazyBike2 but never got around to it because CB2 is at normal driver height, rather than being really low slung, so I can see and be seen fairly normally on it without all that.

But the pod itself would've looked kinda like the one on top of Reliant that shoots torpedos at Enterprise in Star Trek II. ;) Or the one on the Runabouts in Deep Space Nine.
 
You can take a good look at the SCHWINN MERIDIAN single speed or the SCHWINN TOWN AND COUNTRY THREE SPEED same body and with a little modifaction like lowering the seat back and down,changing the handlebars to reach back farther,these make for excelent riding espically if you streach the rear back about 12in.-18in.. I have two meridians with a 5306 on one and a 6x10 9c on the other. and I love them. :mrgreen: :mrgreen:
 
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