There is good news for those who have been looking for the popular Nashbar Ragster sandals. They are once again being offered by BikeNasbar.com on their website. That being said I noticed that on both Amazon and Ebay they are still showing either “sold out” or “not available”.
The Ragster sandal is a lower cost sandal which is a good quality product. It is a SPD cycling footwear. They are definitely much more affordable than the well known and popular Shimano and Keen brands.
Right now the price is about $50 which they show is a sale price as their list price is about $56. When I bought mine a few years ago I got them on sale for about $35. I don’t know if such sales will be appearing in the future. We can only hope so. At least they are back available again and that is good news. BTW, HERE is a conversion chart to help with the shoe sizes.
I have written about this before but I did not have the personal experience then. It has turned hot here in northern Indiana recently. I am not a fan of hot weather. I hate it. In the past when it got hot outside I would start my rides earlier in the mornings so I could end by 11 AM or so … before the heat of the day really came on. As many of you know I installed a canopy on my trike just under 3 weeks ago. I have really been enjoying it. Today I got to try it out dealing with the summer heat. It is 87 right now (and climbing). I just got back home from a 43 mile ride where I remained out riding in the heat. Thanks to my canopy I remained fairly comfortable. Of course, I was riding 15 to 20 mph in order to create the breeze that helped keep me comfortable but the portable shade I had with me made a world of difference. There is no doubt about it. Mind you it is not the same as riding thru a well shaded area such as this …
What do you think? How much protection from the rain can one expect from a canopy on a trike? I had always heard/read that canopies don’t offer much protection from the rain.
Personally I have only been out riding in the rain twice since I installed a canopy on my trike. The first time was in a light rain with very little wind. The rain was coming down relatively straight. I stayed pretty dry and was impressed and hopeful. However the next time it was raining harder and the wind was blowing quite a bit. I was hoping that at least my face would remain dry but I was drenched like a drowned rat. The canopy did absolutely no good whatsoever. So there is the answer … IT ALL DEPENDS!
Hey, even though a canopy doesn’t offer the protection from rain we would like it to it is still better than what this poor guy is dealing with …
Of course, there are things which can help. Some people mount their canopies up quite high. I don’t understand that as the higher the canopy is the less protection it offers the rider … even from the sun. When I installed my canopy I knew it needed to be lowered so I cut 4.5 inches off of the aluminum poles used in the frame. I am talking about cutting the vertical pieces, of course. That helped but it still wasn’t enough so I cut another 3 inches off. The canopy still is about 3 inches above the top of my head so it could have gone even lower. Every bit helps in the protection available. Certainly the physical size of the canopy comes into play. Obviously the larger the canopy the more protection it offers. The shape of the canopy also makes a difference. Some are quite flat while others are domed. Some are even concave on the top. Most are pretty much open in the back. A few are closed such as is mine pictured below. I have to admit that I really like having the canopy come down in back of me. It not only keeps the sun off of me but it definitely keeps the rain off as well..
One can add some sort of side pieces onto the canopy to offer further protection from both the sun and rain. And even a “windshield” could be placed on the front to help keep rain, bugs, and other foreign matter from coming upon the rider. I don’t think I would ever do that as I like having air hitting my face and body. I also would be concerned about the vision thru the windshield deteriorating over time.
Veltop offers considerable protection … at a price …
I can’t say I am disappointed with my canopy as I didn’t have my hopes very high in regards to rain protection. It works pretty good when it comes to sun protection and that is why I installed it. It definitely helps me to …
Many tadpole trike riders complain about their feet hurting while riding. Of course some, like myself, have ongoing problems with hurting feet 24/7 regardless of what they are doing. In my case it is neuropathy and it just keeps getting worse the older I get. Others only experience discomfort as a result of riding. There seems to be a difference of opinion as to the cause and the cure. However most say that it matters where their feet are positioned on the pedals and the shoes they are wearing. Many say that it is important that they are able to move their feet around on the pedals as they ride. Obviously using clipless pedals precludes doing this.
For those who do use and want/insist on using clipless pedals most say that having the cleats located further back in the middle of the shoe helps immensely.
Keep in mind as you watch these videos below that these people are talking about and to diamond frame bicyclists … not to recumbent tadpole trike riders. What I am saying is that some of the advise given may not be applicable to those who ride recumbent tadpole trikes … sort of an apple and orange thing.
Some riders prefer HEEL SLINGS which permit the foot to be moved around some on the pedals while still providing protection from the dreaded “leg suck” from happening.
For those like myself no other options are available as strapping the foot to the pedal is not possible as it causes considerable discomfort. I have been among the fortunate ones as I don’t have a problem with my feet going down onto the ground if and when my foot comes off of the pedal. So I ride with just platform pedals with complete freedom to move my feet around wherever I want/need to.
I know … there will be those who say I am foolish and need some form of foot retention. Believe me, I am very much aware of leg suck and what can happen. I don’t and won’t consul anyone to ride without some form of foot retention. I pretty much believe it is a personal choice and we need to leave others alone to do what they want. The important thing is that they are aware of what can happen should their foot come off the pedal and down onto the ground.
HEREis one of Steve Greene’s Trike Asylum‘s articles on the subject of foot pain.
Anyway, tired hurting feet including “hot spots” are all too common among tadpole trike riders and if you suffer or have suffered and found something which has helped you please feel free to share with us by leaving a comment. After all, we all want to …
For many years I have wanted a canopy on my trike. However I could never afford one and although I can fabricate everything I lack the sewing skills and equipment needed to make the material part of it. I mean … the frame isn’t going to do me much good without the material over it. Those small diameter poles/rods just don’t provide much shade. 😉
Recently a posting on Facebook Recumbent Trikes Group showed a kayak canopy installed on a tadpole trike. It looked pretty good and the price … well, let’s just say it is affordable … like $56 with free shipping from Amazon. With another $15 for various hardware type items I had a canopy for a total of about $71. BTW, after buying mine thru Amazon for $56 I found it for only $36 on Ebay. That is par for the course. Right now as I compose this the price on Ebay is higher than $36 as it seems to fluctuate. Even so Ebay offers it for less than Amazon.
As you can see I selected the safety orange which, of course, adds even more to safety as I ride as it really stands out. Of course, like all other colors and fabric it fades out some by the sun as time goes by.
I have seen other canopies on tadpole trikes and watched them bob around every which way. I am pleased to report that this kayak canopy is very stable. I have had it up to 28 mph in 16 mph winds and it was rock solid. I am very pleased with it. (And I have been out in even stronger winds since I first wrote this. It did great!) And it is larger than most trike canopies so it offers a little bit more protection. It measures 2 foot wide by 4 foot long and the rear vertical part comes down 7.5 inches. I didn’t know if I would like the rounded front end as all the canopies I have ever seen are rectangular.
The material is some sort of nylon (I think) and it is made like a sleeve (pillowcase) which simply slides over the frame. The frame is aluminum tubing like modern day tent poles … sections which fit together and have an elastic cord inside of them connecting them all together. Being aluminum tubing rather than fiberglass rods they don’t flex nearly as much which is what makes the canopy so stable. I shortened the height of the canopy by 7.5 inches to get it closer to my head so that it offers increased protection. I had to add the arched support piece to hold the canopy up higher in the back so it is away from my head. Once I get up to 8 mph the air moving against the material will raise it up and back and keep it off of me but I didn’t like it touching me when I slow down or stop so I added the support piece to eliminate the problem.
I added an additional support to raise the canopy up higher right above my head. That way I can have the canopy down as low as practical to provide maximum shade and protection.
There is plenty of “spring” in the aluminum tubing so that when the front is not hooked down into riding position it raises way up out of the way making it easy to get on and off of the trike. Please note that it is very necessary and important to hang onto the front tie down(s) if unhooked when it is windy. If it is windy I immediately refasten the canopy back down once I have gotten up out of the seat as the wind could do damage to the frame of the canopy.
I first mounted it using plastic cable ties just to get an idea what it would look like as well as help me figure out what I needed to do to come up with a proper mounting system. It was a fairly easy task and what I came up with works great. I used two 15 inch long pieces of 1/2 PVC pipe with caps on the bottom so the canopy tubes can’t go past the bottom end of the PVC pipe.
With this setup it is very quick and easy to install and remove the canopy from the trike. It takes about the same amount of time as it does to put my two safety flags in their holders. Again, I could not be more pleased with the way this all works.
Here is my view with the canopy in place …
As you can see I have a V tie down which I prefer over the single tie down in the center of the front. The V is more stable than a single cord in the center and it eliminates having to look thru a single tie down in front. It fastens down to the front derailleur post. I removed the plastic plug in the post and replaced it with a rubber pipe plug. I used a 5/16 eye bolt in a rubber pipe plug replacing the 5/16 inch bolt which came in the rubber plug.
And here is the front view …
And here is the rear view. As you can see I have complete protection from the sun on my backside which is really nice. Much to my surprise and delight it does not cut off the air flow any appreciable amount.
Here is a closeup view of the mounting area …
I already had some of the clamps used to mount the PVC pipe on the top end to the seat frame.
I bought these others shown in the picture below. I got 5/8 inch for the PVC pipe and 1 inch for the trike frame (rear stays) at the bottom of the PVC pipe.
Since I first posted this I have redone the top mount of the pvc tubing on the top of the seat back frame. I did away with the plastic pieces replacing them with the same kind of clamps I used on the seat back frame … only a smaller diameter clamp.
The bottom line is … At this point I am a happy camper with this canopy setup.
I may try tinkering with it … adding something onto the sides to help provide more shade. But for now for a fairly low cost I have a very functional canopy and my plan is to …
Tadpole Rider 