Month: September 2021

NOTHING NEW UNDER THE SUN

We tend to think that tadpole trikes are a recent invention but we are quite mistaken. They date back into the late 1800s. I would show you a picture of it would likely be sued for doing so. You can see it by doing an online search for “the first tadpole tricycle” (be sure to include the quotation marks) and look at images.

I have written about this before but upon seeing some old tadpole trikes on THIS website from back in 1949 I was reminded of the saying that there is nothing new under the sun.

Do you know where that saying originated?   What has been will be again … is a bible verse found in Ecclesiastes 1:9. “What has been, it is what will be,
And what has been done, it is what will be done.
So there is nothing new under the sun.”  Eccl. 1:9

We sometimes think we as modern man are so smart but man has always been smart and many things were accomplished long ago most of us have no idea about. I will readily admit that modern man has often times greatly improved what was originally created. Definitely today’s tadpole trikes are an excellent example of this. I will say this … if you were riding down the trail on the original (first) tadpole trike it would probably draw more attention than a modern tadpole trike does.

Yeppur, there have been lots of innovations having to do with cycling over the many decades that have passed. However, most likely there is little that is really something new as scripture holds true … there is nothing new under the sun. And history really does repeat itself. Well, it is time to go for a ride on my tadpole trike. I am doing my best to …

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

A FREE GIFT awaits you!

RAIN RAIN GO AWAY! AND IT DID!

Rain was forecasted and I had pretty much accepted that I would not be able to go out for a ride today nor tomorrow either for that matter. It was not raining when I got up this morning but I looked at the weather radar and saw a bunch of rain off to our west headed my way. So I did not attempt to venture out. As the morning was passing along I noticed that there was still no rain but that radar image scared me off so I didn’t venture out. Time kept passing by and I continued to notice thatit wasn’t raining and I could have been out riding as it was still dry. Finally I took another look at the radar and ALL of that rain I saw earlier was gone … completely disappeared off of the screen. GO FIGURE as they say. So at about 10:45 I finally left for a ride. I did not encounter any rain. I kept rechecking the weather radar and there was absolutely nothing showing on radar. Never the less after about 3 hours of riding I noticed that the sky was looking darker and more threatening off to the west. I learned years ago that one can not trust the weather radar nor forecasts. I made the decision to head back home and it turned out to be the right decision as it started to rain about a mile from where I live. It started raining harder but I quickly rode out of it and managed to stay pretty dry. I had my canopy on my trike so that helped me stay dry. Interestingly upon getting home I checked the weather radar on my desktop computer and it showed rain. My stupid “smartphone” still showed no rain on the same reporting source as I was looking at on my desktop computer. Weird! Anyway, I got a nice ride in without getting wet for which I was quite thankful. As to the weather reporting source … pssshhhhtttt on them. And they even get paid for that … quite a lot, in fact.It is not often I can say RAIN RAIN GO AWAY and it does. I wish I could say it happens quite frequently. I want to …

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

A FREE GIFT awaits you!

I still find my own weather forecasting station to be the most reliable …

SMOKY MOUNTAIN SADDLEBAGS MAX

Catrike makes a “frame bag” which looks similar to this bag but as you see this mounts to the seat back and does not require a frame to fit into. That means it will fit various brands and models of trikes. Smoky Mtn Saddlebag Max as it is called offers quite a bit of storage space. They have a Facebook page. Please note that this bag is not waterproof.

Don’t ask me why, but they call this one their black model  (makes no sense to me) …

And this one they call blue on black (makes sense to me) …

Poweron Cycling sells this bag for $65.  Their shipping charge is $13 to my address. Other well know online stores offer it as well … all for $65.  Utah Trikes shipping charge is $11. Amlings Cycle shipping charge is $10.

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

A FREE GIFT awaits you!

BIG BEN, BIG APPLE’S BIG BROTHER

Did you know that the Schwalbe Big Apple tire has a big brother? That is what is said about the Big Ben tire. Looking at the two of them they look very similar other than the tread pattern.

However there is a difference. The Big Ben has more tread, that is, the tread is a little thicker so it is a little heavier duty than the Big Apple. I have never ran the Big Apple tire. When I made the decision to switch from the best tire money can buy … the Schwalbe Marathon Plus tire to a balloon tire I went right to the superior Big Ben tire. It just makes sense to me to get the better tire. And speaking of making sense … I ordered the Big Ben Plus rather than the standard Big Ben. I want all of the flat protection I can get so I didn’t even consider the standard Big Ben. I am on about my 5th set of these balloon tires now. I really like them but they definitely wear out much faster than the Marathon Plus tires. I have to admit, they spoiled me with their extremely high mileage. The balloon tires definitely provide a much better ride though which is why I keep buying them. I have written previously about Big Ben Plus tires.

I am pleased to say that I have not had any flats since I started running the Big Ben Plus even though they offer 40 % less flat protection than the Marathon Plus tires do. And because there is so much room inside of these balloon tires I use the heavy duty thorn resistant innertubes with them as an extra measure of flat resistance. And, of course, I always use baby powder to help prevent “internal flats”.

The air pressure range for Big Ben Plus tires is 30 to 55 psi. I usually run all three of them at 40 psi. At that pressure they ride good doing a pretty good job of absorbing the bumps and they roll good as well as handle good. Yes, I am well pleased with Big Ben Plus tires. So far I have been able to find them in stock and order them in. I always try to keep a set of new tires on hand. I know that there are other tires besides Schwalbe but I have been so pleased and impressed with Schwalbe tires I just keep on buying them and not trying any others. I am afraid I would be disappointed so I haven’t ventured into getting any other brand.

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

A FREE GIFT awaits you!

STUPID IS AS STUPID DOES

I assume I am not the only  one of us trike riders who deal with absolute stupidity on the part of trail users. I deal with it on a daily basis … several times a day. What am I talking about, you ask? Let me give you an example. I was out riding along a trail today going around a corner when suddenly right in front of me two females were walking on my side of the trail toward me. I had to slam on the brakes to keep from hitting them. I said to them “I can’t get over any farther” which I don’t think they even began to understand. I was as far over to the right as I could get riding on my side. The picture below is just for the purpose of illustration. It is not a real picture but one I put together. The two females are purposely blurred so they can’t be identified. The place on the trail was on a blind curve and well shaded so it was rather dark. As I came around the corner there they were right in front of me. As I said, I had to brake hard to keep from running into them. Stupid is as stupid does!

 

I can’t help but wonder if these people who do such stupid things like this do the same thing if and when they drive a car. I would hope not yet I can’t help but wonder why they would do it while walking. Stupid is as stupid does.

As bad as walkers and runners are I find the worst to be bicyclists. Most bicyclists ride in the center and even left of center and many of them meander all over the place. To make matters worse they pay absolutely no attention to whether or not any others are on the trail. If I am behind them they make it quite impossible to pass them. If they are coming toward me they often nearly collide with me riding over on my side not paying attention. Stupid is as stupid does. And that is really stupid.

And curves and hills don’t seem to matter to them. One would think that they would realize the danger and that the situation is an accident waiting to happen. Many times I have had to brake hard to avoid an accident. Sometimes I have had to ride off of the trail to avoid a collision.  Stupid is as stupid does. Are people really that stupid? Apparently they are.

I am sure we can all get along out there but it would be a lot easier if some would put more effort into doing their part. But stupid is as stupid does and it is what it is. Try to be safe out there.

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

A FREE GIFT awaits you!

A NEW INNOVATIVE E-MOTOR SYSTEM

Do you remember the RAHT RACER? It had a pedal powered generator system to use to power an electric motor to propel a bike. I like the concept. Finally a German company, Schaeffler, has developed it in a bottom bracket crankdrive known as the Schaeffler Free Drive. As you pedal the generator sends electricity to the motor to propel you. Any excess electricity being generated is stored in the battery for later use.

You can read all about it HERE.

Unfortunately the motor designed for this is limited to only 250 watts to comply with the stupid European law on e-motor assist. 250 watts is nearly worthless in my opinion. It is not powerful enough to propel a bike up much of a grade. The rider has to assist the motor. BTW, this is strictly pedal assist. There is no hand throttle with this rig.

The motor is capable of regenerative braking meaning that the motor can help recharge the battery. This is very inefficient however so don’t count on it accomplishing much.

There are no chains, gear reductions, belt drives, etc. involved. Instead only wires are used to conduct the electricity from the generator to the motor making a much easier task of designing bikes. I wonder how heavy these two components are. They both look like they would weigh quite a bit.

We will see what the future holds for this company and this product. I would hope that they start offering much larger motors though. 250 watts isn’t worth messing with. 1500 watts would make a good starting point.

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

A FREE GIFT awaits you!

MY PERSONAL STORY CONCERNING CYCLING & RECUMBENTS

There is nothing I am about to share here that I have not shared before. I decided to put it altogether in one article so others will know where I am coming from and help them understand my passion for tadpole trikes.

To start with all my life I have been an avid cyclist starting when I was about 6 years old I think. An older cousin helped me learn how to ride a bicycle. I never had training wheels. I just learned to balance my bike right from the start. I first rode a 20 inch bike and gradually got a 26 inch. As a teenager I bought with my own money a white Schwinn 3 speed internal hub English racer style bike. I inverted the handlebars to make it into what was  called a  racer type bike. I was the fastest cyclist where I grew up.  I had a 52 tooth chainring installed and I could really go on that bike.

Stingray style bicycles became popular in my teen years so I made my own 20 inch bike with high apehanger handlebars and banana seat. I could ride wheelies until I decided to end it (literally miles)… far longer and farther than anyone else in town.

When I was in the Navy I bought a lightweight Gitane racing bike … a 10 speed which was all they had at the time. It was a pretty sky blue but it was a prima donna . I swear that spokes would break if I looked at them crosseyed. Over the following years I had several different bikes and continued to ride. It was not unusual for me to ride 50 to 100 miles in a day when I had the time to do so. I was still doing this into my late 30s. I moved to Georgia and found that there was no safe and practical place for me to ride so more than 13 years passed by when I did not ride. I moved back up to Indiana and soon after started back cycling. I found out that there are local bike trails available to ride where I live so I started riding on them. That was almost 17 years ago during which time I have accumulated well over 120,000 miles on them.

As time passed by and my body aged I got tired of dealing with all the discomfort involved in riding a diamond frame bike. It greatly took away from the fun and enjoyment of cycling. I had heard of recumbents and seen a couple of them. I had heard that they are comfortable to ride so I decided to make a recumbent bike.

I used  “donor bikes” and bought a few things like a recumbent seat but I managed to come up with a recumbent bike I started riding which eliminated all the discomfort I had been experiencing on a conventional diamond frame bike. I was really enjoying riding a bike once again. After putting a couple of thousand miles on my homemade recumbent I bought a Sun recumbent bike. In fact, I bought two of them … one for my wife who used to ride with me. They were better bikes than the one I made so all was going well. I put a couple of thousand miles on my Sun recumbent.

However … winter was approaching and I wanted to keep riding. I was concerned about attempting to do so on two wheels as it would be quite risky and dangerous.  I had heard of tadpole trikes so I decided to make my own. I was still working full time so it took me about 3 weeks to design and build my trike. I cut up my homemade recumbent bike and used parts of it to make my trike. It was made out of mild steel so it was heavy. It rode and handled great though as I had done my homework and got everything right in  the construction of it.

I rode it thru the winter and was so happy to have it as it was so safe and so comfortable compared to my recumbent bike. I did not have to concern myself with “going down” riding in snow and  on ice. I made it thru the winter and as planned I switched back to my Sun recumbent bike come Spring only to discover that I much preferred riding the tadpole trike. So I switched back to the trike and never looked back. My recumbent bike just sat around so I decided to sell it. I had my wife’s recumbent bike I could ride if I wanted to. She had stopped riding it and it just sat around.

After I put a couple of thousand miles on it I was able to buy a new 2009 Catrike Trail and I sold my homemade trike to a guy who said he planned to motorize it. As things have always gone for me I was not even able to get the cost of the various components I had purchased to build it.

I loved my 2009 Catrike Trail and it’s “space frame” as they call the solid all one piece frame. After about 3 plus years I discovered a “hairline crack” along the edge of a weld on the underside of the cruciform crossmember. Being a professional weldor I understood what I was seeing and the concern of future failure of the weld so I contacted Catrike sending them this picture to show them what I was seeing. They replaced the frame under warranty.

I was thankful that I received a new frame however, I was not happy that I could not get another space frame. This was 2013 and Catrike had changed the design of the Trail model.  The new frame featured an adjustable seat back angle and the frame design change added 2 pounds of weight to the trike. Ever since then I have wanted to find a used space frame to buy and go back to it. I have no use of the adjustable seat back and definitely don’t like having the trike weigh more. I was hoping Catrike would still have a space frame around that they could send instead of the new design but no such luck. I did not think about it at the time but I wonder if I could have got an Expedition frame and paid the difference. In hind sight I wish I would have checked into it. My 2009 frame was silver but Catrike told me I could have any color they were currently offering so I went with green. All of my old components off of my 2009 trike were reused with this 2013 frame. That is why I have a silver boom with a green frame.

I rode my Catrike for about 7 or 8 years I think before I made the decision to motorize it. BionX  was the big name in e-motors at the time so I went with BionX. That turned out to be a big mistake as it was not only expensive but it didn’t hold up and I went thru a big mess trying to get another motor that worked right … which I never did. So I asked for and received a full refund. This was just before BionX went out of business so it turned out to be good timing. I then tried a Golden Motor and it was faulty right out of the box. I got a refund on it as well and  then went with an eZee hub motor which has been great … until about 6 months ago when a problem developed.  The power would shut off just like I was turning it off with the battery key switch. I checked various things but could not find anything wrong. I suspected that the problem was in the controller which is a rather expensive item to replace. Consequently I did not jump on replacing it. I just dealt with the problem in frustration until finally recently I decided to take the gamble and buy a new controller. I was elated to discover my hunch was right. The new controller fixed the problem and now I am once again enjoying my e-motor assist.

Yes, I am sold on tadpole trikes. I new have about 100,000 miles on my Catrike. It is truly a well engineered and built machine which I highly recommend to anyone looking for a recumbent tadpole trike.

Well, this is my story and I am not only sticking to it but I am stuck with it.

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

A FREE GIFT awaits you!

 

 

WILD RIDE ON MOUNTAIN TRIKE

I am sure this is one exhilarating ride but it not one I would ever consider as it is just too dangerous and playing with death or at least serious injury. People who do stuff like this have issues as far as I am concerned. I won’t go into the matter. I have said enough already. When Satan tried to get Jesus to do something dangerous and life threatening Jesus said to him, “Again it is written (in Deut. 6:16), ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” (Matthew 4:7 ) Many people have not heeded that and have paid a very high price for ignoring it. It is not worth the sacrifice of our eternal soul. After watching this video my comment is that it is not the trike or bikes that are crazy.

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

but be safe out there!

A FREE GIFT awaits you!

TAKE THE LANE

Bikes may use the full lane, when necessary.

I remember when I first heard about “taking the lane”. It made me cringe. My thought was “You have got to be kidding. That is insane!” There was no way I would consider doing it. But I kept hearing  other cyclists talking about it and suggesting it. Finally I took the plunge and tried it. WOW! What a difference it made. Now I do it all the time. I have to admit that I would not do it everywhere if I have a choice as some roads are just too busy and dangerous.

One thing I will say is that it is important to take the lane when you are taking the lane. Some cyclists still ride over to the far right of the lane and by doing so motorists often don’t move over to another lane. They pass by the cyclist all too closely sharing the same lane.  I always ride either in the middle  (B) or even left of center (A) of the lane which forces motorists to pass me using the other lane. I think the very center is best. Riding in B some motorists will still try to  share the lane and pass by all too closely on your right side.

Another factor involving lane position is that riding on the right side of a traffic lane makes it harder for motorists to see you. When I ride on streets taking the lane I am sure to turn on more of my blinking taillights, especially my brightest ones.  I also usually have one taillight on which is set on steady on … not flashing. I always have my high visibility safety flags flying and flapping attracting attention.

As I understand it in all 50 U.S. States it is legal for cyclists to take the lane. I am not sure of this but I think that if a bike lane exists for cyclists to use some places require the cyclists to ride in the bike lane rather than taking the lane. Personally I prefer to take the lane as bike lanes are too dangerous and I don’t like riding in them.

Here are some tips from this website:

  • Always be predictable – drivers should know what you’re about to do, no sudden, unexpected man oeuvres.
  • If in doubt: slow down, move off the road, stop. Mistakes in traffic are more costly than a few lost minutes.
  • Just like driving any other vehicle in traffic: be careful, calm, but confident.
  • Try to anticipate other people’s mistakes, and position yourself so that when (if) they happen, there’s no accident. Always try to read what the others will do.

Lastly, here are some other websites with useful information on them.

https://www.bikeleague.org/content/traffic-laws

U.S. Bicycle Laws by State

My final words on this … according to what others report motorists behavior and attitudes are not the same everywhere. Where I live and ride I have no issues with motorists. They are respectful and patient. Rarely does anyone honk or yell in anger. Some trikers who live and ride elsewhere report serious issues with motorists. They have bad attitudes and can get quite aggressive and ugly. If that were what I would be up against I would probably have to make some changes and do things differently. The important thing is for all of us to be safe out there.

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

A FREE GIFT awaits you!