A question often asked is what size rear wheel is best? I have had 20 inch and 26 inch on my trikes. Personally I prefer 20 inch, but like so many things there are pros and cons to both. Here is a video addressing this subject.
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I can’t seem to get away from these videos as they have produced so many good ones. Here is another …
I have to admit that after watching the video what comes to my mind is “WHY”? Why would anyone want to climb up there on a human powered vehicle? Nope, not when and where are so many nice trails and roads around to ride on. 16 % grade at the very top … I hurt just thinking about it … OH BUT THAT DOWNHILL! I can’t argue against that. Definitely a person would need to be physically and mentally up to the challenge. In case you are wondering just where Mount Diablo State Park is here is a map of the area.
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These guys do a pretty good job putting together videos. I find that they are always interesting and professional. Here is another one tackling commonly asked questions about recumbent trikes.
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Here is a video covering a subject many have talked about and pondered over. For me it is a no braniner … the trike easily wins over the bike as far as rider comfort. Enjoy the video.
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As many of you already know WizWheelz (parent company of TerraTrike) bought out Greenspeed and the trikes are no longer manufactured in Australia, but in Taiwan I think. That is where most TerraTrike models are manufactured. WizWheelz Recalls GreenSpeed Magnum Recumbent Trikes with Quick Release Axles Due to Crash and Injury Hazards.
The recalled recumbent trikes front axles were improperly assembled during manufacturing. The axles can come loose during use, causing the rider to lose control, posing crash and injury hazards. The recall was May 05, 2022 and applies to about 340 units. The recalled trikes are orange, blue or charcoal in color. Serial numbers P21276160 through P21460262 are included in this recall. Consumers can check their serial numbers HERE.
As you can see in the picture above there is very little to the quick release axle. Only those small steel balls on the far right hold the axle in place and keep it from coming out. That does not impress me as far as being a proper safe design.
I have a Greenspeed Magnum and on a few occasions a front wheel has nearly come off while riding as the quick release axle somehow would get released and the axle would start working its way out. So far I have always caught it before it got too far out, but it is rather scary. If it were to come all the way out it could be disastrous. My trike is not part of the safety recall however. I almost wish it was.
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TODAY IS THE OLDEST YOU’VE EVER BEEN, YET THE YOUNGEST YOU’LL EVER BE SO – ENJOY THIS DAY WHILE IT LASTS FOR THIS IS A DAY THE LORD HAS MADE! REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT!
When I watch videos like this I am envious of these riders who get together for group rides like this. Not a single tadpole rider here in the Fort Wayne IN area where I am at show any interest in riding together. I have tried numerous approaches over many years to get others to ride together but nothing has worked. I finally gave up and just ride by myself.
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Why wish upon a star when you can talk to the One (Jesus) Who created them?
TODAY IS THE OLDEST YOU’VE EVER BEEN, YET THE YOUNGEST YOU’LL EVER BE SO – ENJOY THIS DAY WHILE IT LASTS FOR THIS IS A DAY THE LORD HAS MADE! REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT!
Years ago my wife and I used to live down in the Atlanta Georgia suburbs. There were not many places one could safely walk or ride a bike back then. Since we moved back to Indiana that has changed considerably although I still would not be able to ride from home safely like I do here in Indiana. I was not a fan of driving around in the Atlanta area but I did so because my work required it. And from what I have heard it has only gotten worse since we left. My point is even though they now have paved bike trails available I would have to haul my trike in my truck to get to them to ride. The exception to that would be to buy a home near a trail … one that connects to other trails. The Silver Comet Trail is a popular trail and considerably long and flat making it attractive. And my understanding is much of it is well shaded which would be a big plus for riding in HOTLANATA. Here is a video of riding on the trail on recumbent trikes.
I love this video below. These riders look like they are really enjoying themselves. I find it very inviting. I would love to be there riding with them.
The Silver Comet Trail is a 61.5 mile long rail trail in Georgia running east and west. It crosses over into Alabama where it joins up with the Chief Ladiga Trail which goes another 33 miles. And there is also a 6.5 mile long extension to Anniston, AL.
Eventually Georgia and Alabama will connect to neighboring states and become part of an extensive interconnected national trail network. There are lots of YouTube videos about the Silver Comet Trail available.
I noticed that there were a lot of tadpole trikes being ridden on the trail. I don’t know if that is normal for this trail but if it is I would really like that. I am not a fan of heat and humidity so I would be miserable thru the summer months. They don’t call it HOTLANTA for nothing.
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I rode on this trail just once many years ago … I think it was 2007. I rode on it along with my wife and our dog. It started raining so it was a miserable time. We had to cut our ride short and turn around heading back to our truck at our starting point. Here is a picture of me with our dog at one of the rest stop areas along the trail.
We had driven down to Loveland, Ohio near Cincinnati to buy two used recumbent bikes from a bike rental shop along side of the trail. While there we wanted to ride on the trail even though rain was threatening. It was a nice trail. Unfortunately we had to cut our ride short because of the rain. We made it back to the truck and my wife and our dog got inside out of the rain before the sky opened up and it was coming down in buckets … no … more like barrels. I had to load up our cycles and, of course, I was drenched by the time I got done. It was raining so hard it was difficult to see to drive.
This 78.1 mile long trail runs from Turpin Hills, a suburb of Cincinnati in Hamilton County, to Springfield northeast of Dayton. At least that is what several websites say. However, the trail has been extended further north since then. I will cover that further into this article. For most of its length, the trail follows the course of the Little Miami River.
One of the neat things about this trail is the connectivity to many other trails. Two places in particular that I know of along the trail, Urbana near the north end and Milford near the south end offer connectivity to several other trails. I would rather imagine there are several other locations along the trail where this is true.
Over the years I have noticed that the State of Ohio offers a lot of trails to enjoy. Where I live in Indiana is slowly building them, but has a long way to go to match Ohio which will probably never happen.
That is a total of 67.3 miles. It doesn’t include the section of trail north of Springfield which goes to Bellefontaine. That is another 36 mile making a total of about 103 miles. But then on the south end the trail goes about 7 more miles past Milford to Turpin Hills. That is 110 miles total by my calculation, yet they say the trail is 78.1 miles long. I don’t get it. Driving distance from Turpin Hills to Bellfontaine is 115 miles. Apparently the websites reporting 78.1 miles are not up to date.
Loveland Bicycle Rental where I bought two used recumbent bikes they were selling is just a stone’s throw off of the trail. This picture below was taken from the trail looking across the street to the house they use for their business. They carry a large variety of bikes to rent. These include hybrids, single speed cruisers, child trailers, tandems, recumbents, and road bikes. Reservations are not required as we have plenty of bikes to choose from.. They don’t mention trikes specifically … only recumbents. HERE is another web page for Bike Rentals. on the Little Miami Scenic Trail. And HERE is a website with various information about the trail in the Loveland area.
Here is a really nice video about the trail …
HERE is a handy trail resource I just stumbled across.
Now that looks like a lot of fun riding together on a nice trail!
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TODAY IS THE OLDEST YOU’VE EVER BEEN, YET THE YOUNGEST YOU’LL EVER BE SO – ENJOY THIS DAY WHILE IT LASTS FOR THIS IS A DAY THE LORD HAS MADE! REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT!
Utah Trikes impresses me with all that they do and offer to their customers. They remind me of Israel … they take a product and make it better … especially fighter jets in the case of Israel. Here is a video they titled “The Best DUMONT Money Can Buy”. And at nearly $12,000 you will need a lot of money to buy one.
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Why wish upon a star when you can talk to the One (Jesus) Who created them?
TODAY IS THE OLDEST YOU’VE EVER BEEN, YET THE YOUNGEST YOU’LL EVER BE SO – ENJOY THIS DAY WHILE IT LASTS FOR THIS IS A DAY THE LORD HAS MADE! REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT!
Everything is relative and it is only fair to compare. A trike is not a bike and I hate it when people call a trike a bike. When comparing a trike what else can one compare it to but a bike? Can things go wrong riding a trike? Of course, they can. But then you can get hurt falling out of bed. Here is a video about the subject …
I have written about trike tip over before. I had a friend who was turning a corner on a boardwalk when his left front wheel made contact with the boards along the side and the tire quickly climbed the wooden boards flipping him over slamming him down hard onto the boardwalk. It injured his back and caused him a fair amount of pain for a few weeks. He also ran his pedals into boards on a boardwalk and broke his ankle. Of course, both of these accidents were his fault and can’t be blamed on the trike.
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TODAY IS THE OLDEST YOU’VE EVER BEEN, YET THE YOUNGEST YOU’LL EVER BE SO – ENJOY THIS DAY WHILE IT LASTS FOR THIS IS A DAY THE LORD HAS MADE! REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT!
The state of California has much to offer. Among those things is the American River Bike Trail, a 32 mile long paved trail running between Sacramento and the Folsom State Recreation area. It pretty much follows along the American River the whole distance.
I just looked at the ten day weather forecast for Sacramento … mostly rain nearly everyday. I did not research it any further but if it is like my area here in northeast Indiana then the river floods over and the trail gets closed until the water recedes and they get the trail cleaned back up.
Here is a long video covering riding tadpole trikes on this trail:
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I have covered all of this before but I offer it as a refresher of some basics we all need to know. This video not only covers fixing a flat tire but it also covers tools you should carry, which inner tube is the right one, tire pumps, flat resistant tires and more. I find myself agreeing with some of what he says but totally disagreeing with some of what he says. I certainly don’t agree with his advice on using tire tools to install a tire. If you know the right way to install a tire on a rim and do it that way tire tools are usually not needed. And I definitely don’t agree that a Marathon Racer gets the same wear as a Marathon Plus. That is pure nonsense. There is no comparison. Not only is there more (thicker) tread on the Marathon Plus but the rubber is an altogether different compound which wears much better and longer than all of Schwalbe’s other tires.
A Marathon Racer would do good to get 4000 miles while I have gotten over 15,000 miles out of Marathon Plus tires. I stopped using Marathon Plus tires a few years ago. Now I use Big Ben Plus. I like their ride and handling better, but they wear out much quicker than the Marathon Plus.
Oh well, at least we agree on tire liners. They cause internal flats.
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Why wish upon a star when you can talk to the One (Jesus) Who created them?
TODAY IS THE OLDEST YOU’VE EVER BEEN, YET THE YOUNGEST YOU’LL EVER BE SO – ENJOY THIS DAY WHILE IT LASTS FOR THIS IS A DAY THE LORD HAS MADE! REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT!
Well made tadpole trikes require very little maintenance once everything is set up properly. At least they should not. It is good to know the basics involved. Watching videos like these are helpful.
You are invited to come join the Tadpole Rider Facebook Group. Please note that in order to join you must first answer the three membership vetting questions.
Why wish upon a star when you can talk to the One (Jesus) Who created them?
TODAY IS THE OLDEST YOU’VE EVER BEEN, YET THE YOUNGEST YOU’LL EVER BE SO – ENJOY THIS DAY WHILE IT LASTS FOR THIS IS A DAY THE LORD HAS MADE! REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT!
You are invited to come join the Tadpole Rider Facebook Group. Please note that in order to join you must first answer the three membership vetting questions.
Why wish upon a star when you can talk to the One (Jesus) Who created them?
TODAY IS THE OLDEST YOU’VE EVER BEEN, YET THE YOUNGEST YOU’LL EVER BE SO – ENJOY THIS DAY WHILE IT LASTS FOR THIS IS A DAY THE LORD HAS MADE! REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT!
If you have a more less bare bones tadpole trike which had not been loaded down with various options making it much heavier it should not be much of a challenge for most riders to lift. Things such as tools, batteries and e-motors can add on a lot of weight however and make it very difficult to lift. Just adding an e-motor conversion kit can easily add an additional 25 pounds onto a trike. If removing the battery is an option that will help immensely. You might have to resort to using ramps. This video covers it all.
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You are invited to come join the Tadpole Rider Facebook Group. Please note that in order to join you must first answer the three membership vetting questions.
Why wish upon a star when you can talk to the One (Jesus) Who created them?
TODAY IS THE OLDEST YOU’VE EVER BEEN, YET THE YOUNGEST YOU’LL EVER BE SO – ENJOY THIS DAY WHILE IT LASTS FOR THIS IS A DAY THE LORD HAS MADE! REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT!
Tadpole Rider 