Category: components

YA CAN’T WIN FOR LOSING (ABOUT INNER TUBES)

I don’t think any normal person likes getting flats. I know I sure don’t. For years I used Schwabe Marathon Plus tires and never had a flat while using them.

A few years ago I switched to Schwalbe Big Ben Plus as I wanted to go with a balloon tire. I like the ride and handlling of the Big Ben Plus but they don’t offer the wear mileage nor as much flat protection as the Marathon Plus. I have always used standard inner tubes (shown as normal in the photo above). When I switched to the Big Ben Plus tires I decided to use the heavy duty thorn resistant inner tubes as the tires are plenty roomy inside to accommadate them.. My thinking was “since the BB+ don’t offer as much flat protection as the M+ tires do adding the HD inner tubes would increase the flat protection”. And they do, but there is a trade off. With the much thicker wall inner tube comes stiffness. With these inner tubes the sidewalls of the tires can’t yield like they can when a standard inner tube is used. Oh BTW, the cost for the HD inner tubes is about doulble what the standard inner tubes cost.

What I am saying is using the HD inner tubes means the soft ride balloon tires are capable of providing is sacrificed. It is a tradeoff. I am tempted to go back to using standard inner tubes just to experience the difference it would make in the ride.

I just had a thought worth mentioning here. Whatever a person does don’t mix up inner tubes, especially on the two front wheels. Don’t have a HD inner tube in one side and a standard inner tube in the  tire on the other side. That could seriously effect the handling of the trike and result in a wreck.

Well, that is my story and for now I am stuck with it. Besides, I just restocked my supply of HD inner tubes. My plan is to …

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TRIKE TECH WEBSITE

triketech.com has a lot to offer so I recommend it as a resource. It covers pretty much everything concerning tadpole trikes. Just take a look-see at their index page:

Rider Specifications covers physical aspects of the rider and how to provision, fit and adjust all aspects of a Recumbent Trike to the rider

Trike Stuff discusses technical elements of Recumbent Trikes along with some long term Trike Reviews

Drivetrain provides both technical and rider benefits for popular Internal Gear Hubs, Derailleurs, Chains, Idlers & Brakes

Power Assist covers both basics and details on selecting the best Electric Assist system for your needs and budget

Rolling Stuff explains bearings, hubs, rims & tires with some comprehensive Tire Reviews

  • Bearings – ABEC, Sizing, Lubrication, Steel & Ceramic benefits
  • Wheel Dynamics – Sizes, Weights, Performance Impacts
  • Tires – Sizes, Robustness, Performance Impacts

Accessories will help you get the most bang-for-the-buck on all those must have little gizmos & gadgets for your Recumbent Trike

  • Lights – How to see & be seen without breaking the bank
  • Flags – Visibility, Illumination & Drag
  • Cargo – Racks, Bags, Hydration Systems
  • Mounts – Phone Mounts, Bottle Mounts, Computer Mounts, etc.
  • Computers – Features, Wired, Wireless, Illumination & Mounting
  • GPS Phone Apps

Places to Ride offers an informal review of some rides worth taking a vacation to try

Links to the most valuable resources on the internet for Recumbent Trikes

  • Trike Centric Forums
  • OEM’s
  • Rides
  • Using Google Maps

I did notice that the website is not fully functional. Unfortunately many LINKS don’t function and many things have no links. This greatly takes away from the website. I don’t have a clue why it is this way. Hopelly it will get fixed.

After composing this I discovered that I already posted about triketech.com back in Jan. 2016. Click HERE to see it.

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DIFFERENT STROKES FOR DIFFERNT FOLKS

I can remember as a kid growing up some families had Buicks, Oldsmobiles, Cadillacs, Lincolns, Imperials, etc. while others had Ramblers or similar bottom of the line orferings. And it is not always about what they can afford. Some people just went with the “entry level” offerings even though they could afford something more. It is the same with buying a tadpole trike. I have a friend who bought  a TerraTrike Rambler. For only $300 more he could have bought a Catrike Villager and had a much better trike. He realizes that now and regrets that he didn’t. Oh well, what has been done has been done and can’t be changed.

There are just so many people who end up with buyer’s remorse after buying a trike that lacks quality and good engineering design. They end up buying a better quality trike and wasting good money going thru this process. Of course, some folks are satisfied with a Nash Rambler.

I had a Rambler once. It broke down little by little. First both shocks on the rear quit working at the same time and the back of the car would bounce up and down like crazy. I was in the navy at the time. I had orders to go out to Mare Island, California from Norfolk, VA … a drive from the east coast to the west coast over two ranges of mountains. The night before I left the overdrive went out on it resulting in the inability to get the gas mileage I had been getting. While driving out there the engine developed a leak in the headgasket resulting in engine coolant water mixing into the engine oil and the engine overheating. Steam came out of the exhasust. I had to carry lots of water with me to keep filling the radiator up. I started sleeping in the day time and driving at night time when it was cooler. This coolant leaking was a common problem on Rambler’s aluminum 6 cylinder engine. My dad had it happen on his Rambler. Upon getting out to California the shocks on the front end quit working and the entire car would bounce like crazy while driving down the road. Needless to say,  I never bought another one. It pays to buy quality.

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AFFORDABLE VS CHEAP TRIKES

There are both affordable trikes and cheap trikes. My advice is to buy the best you can afford even if you have to delay to save up. There are also dealers who offer financing enabling customers to buy a better trike paying for it over time. I definitely caution people not to by a cheap trike as you get what you pay for. Fortunately there are not very many “cheap trikes” being manufactured. I personally would suggest a Catrike or an ICE or HP Velotechnik or an Azub. I think you would be happier with your purchase as the quality is so much better.

You might be wondering why I did not include TerraTrike or Trident. Well, defintely they are more affordable, but I personally don’t think they offer the quality found in these others I have listed. I think you would be more content with one of the other brands I mentioned even though they cost more. Certainly there are a lot of testimonies to back this up. It is true that both trike manufacturers offer good customer service but that does not equate to product quality.

I left out Chinese trikes. The trikes themselves may be alright but customer service can be a major concern. If components parts fail and you can’t get them it would probably mean you would have to replace them with brand name parts which cost a lot more. Over time you will probably spend more than what you saved and deal with down time where you can’t ride.

Definitely avoid Mobo and Kent.  In my opinion a reputable dealer who cares about their customers won’t sell these cheap trikes.

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BROKEN BATTERY MOUNT

My T-Cycle battery mount broke off yesterday spilling my battery onto the road. Fortunately the battery came to rest right on the painted line of the center turn lane and the traffic was stopped at a traffic light so I was able to retrieve the battery without it or myself getting ran over. It destroyed my plug that plugs into the battery. I tried for a long time to repair it but had no luck. That meant that I had a long ride home pedaling under my own power. And that means granny gear at 2 mph as that is all my body is capable of doing anymore as I have aged. I had to stop numerous times to rest. And the worst of it was I knew rain was coming and there was no way I was going to get home before that happened. So, by the time I did get home I was soaked to the bone as the light rain we had been having turned to a heavier rain. At least my phone stayed dry as I placed a plastic bag over it. This morning I went to work on my trike getting the electrical problems fixed so I can ride again using my motor. I just finished that. I am going to take a picture of the broken battery mount and send it to T-Cycle to see if they will cover it under warranty. If not I can weld it and continue to use it but I am leaning on making the pieces out of steel so it will be stronger. Since I installed the T-Cycle battery mount I have used rubber bungee cords on it to help take weight off of it and reduce metal fatigue hoping to prevent this. That is a lot of weight hanging out there to work at fatiguing that soft aluminum piece full of holes. Everything on the trike gets bounced around a lot and suffers serious jolts.
I am not an engineer, but I was a very experienced metal fabricator with over 60 years of experience. I have learned some things about metal and know about metal fatigue. Repair welding was my specialty. I have repaired tons of broken metal pieces … most of which failed due to being underbuilt. The T-Cycle battery mount is poorly engineered as it is weak where they have all the holes drilled and tapped. That is right where it broke, of course.  Most T-Cycle products are well made but I can’t say that about this one. If I remember correctly it is rated for 15 pounds. My battery weighs 14 pounds. I see on T-Cycle’s website that they have improved this battery mount for Catrike so maybe they have improved upon this weak point. I have written about T-Cycle’s battery mounts before. Click HERE to view it. And I have written an article on their other many fine products. Click HERE to view it. I have several of their products on my trike and with the exception of the battery mount I am well satisfied with their design and quality.
T-Cycle, if you are reading this my trike is a 2013 Catrike Trail.

 

 

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WHY GET AN ELECTIC ASSIST ON A TRIKE?

This video states that 70 % of tadpole trikes are being sold with electric motors. All it takes is a ride on one to understand why this is so.

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INADAQUATE FENDER DESIGN

I just arrived back home from a trike ride. It is misting out so the streets, sidewalks and trails are all wet. I have always had fenders on my trike. I would not care to ride without them. I get plenty wet with them. I would be totally soaked riding without them. Even with them I get pretty wet as water still is flung off of the tires and the fenders do very little to stop it. The outside of my upper leg and my hip area get wet as do my arms. The water goes thru 3 or 4 layers of clothing and my arms are constantly wet., especially my left arm

Above is a picture of my sweatshirt sleeve. You can see the wet area and some stains from muddy water which got splashed up on me.

The problem is very obvious … poor fender design. Most manufacturers just don’t care that their fenders are inadequate.. They just don’t care that their fenders don’t do the job. There is one exception that I know of and that is HP Velotechnik. The fenders for their Scorpion are excellent and are the way all fenders should be designed. So trike manufactuers … if you are paying attention … please care enough about your product to improve upon the  design. Your customers will appreciate it. I love my Catrike but I would surely enjoy it a lot more if I could ride it without getting all wet.

I ride a Catrike.Trail. I ordered it with fenders and at that time Catrike used the cheap plastic Planet Bike fenders. They would flop around like a chicken with its head cut off.

They were poor quqlity and the mounting system used was lousy. Finally Catrike came out with aluminum alloy fenders and fender mounts similar to what ICE trikes have.

This is a vast improvement over their previous mounts. So I ordered a set and installed them when they arrived. They are much better but I still get wet. I would love to see Catrike and other trike manufactuers offer fenders like the HP Velotechnik fenders I mentioned. Then I could ride on wet surfaces and not get wet. A fender set is not an inexpensive purchase and I don’t want to spend more money for another set of fenders, but I would if they were available. I thought of buying the HP Velotechnik front fenders but I don’ know if I could mount them on my Catrike or not.

Using wider tires such as Big Apple or Big Ben adds to the problems as the fenders are not made wide enough to accommodate them. But just being wider in and of itself would still not solve the problem. They need to come down on the inside like these examples. Then the water being flung off of the tires could not land on the trike rider.

If I were much younger I  might try fabricating my own or at least an add on piece which would provide this “wall on the inside”. Maybe I could make them and sell them. But alas I am an old man now and my fabrication days are far behind me. I no longer have my welding shop and all the equipment I had in it. Oh, I could still do the work, but my eyesight is quite poor making it very hard if not impossible or me to do a lot of things I used to do.

Here is a trike with homemade fenders which are unusually large to accommodate wide tires.

So unless Catrike and other manufacturers wake up and produce and sell fenders that actually work I guess I will just go on getting wet. It is bad enough when it is warm outside but getting wet in cold weather just is not all that pleasant and enjoyable.

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I LIKE SAVING MONEY. HOW ABOUT YOU?

I don’t know about you but I like saving money whenever I can. Of course, I want quality for my money. A good price is not a good price or deal if it lacks quality. I have mostly bought Avid brand brake pads since I bought my trike. They are not inexpensive …. like$22 a set. A few years ago I came across some inexpensive brake pads made in China. What isn’t any more? And, yes, those $22 Avid brake pads are made in China. Anyway, I decided to try the inexpensive brake pads. I ordered several sets of them. It cost me about $2.50 per set. That is a huge savings … $22 vs $2.50. And the good news is they have been excellent quality … every bit as good as the Avid brand. I have been very well pleased with them. I just replaced the brake pads on my trike recently. I could have waited longer but I was pretty sure the right side was getting rather worn and I didn’t want to procrastinate and end up with  a metal to metal situation. Anyway I got 16,775 miles out of this last set so I got my money’s worth out of them. And I just ordered  8 more sets for $2.50 each. And that includes the shipping.

So what is the difference between Avid brand brake pads and  these inexpensive ones you ask? The best answer I could give to that is … $19.50 … that is the difference.

One thing I have learned is when shopping online for them not to jump on what appears to be the best price as if I wait and keep looking I always find them cheaper. I have had problems trying to order them from Aliexpress. I have been buying them on Ebay. Sometimes the price looks good but then I discover the shipping is considerable.

For what it is worth, I would not be at all surprised if many of these various brands of brake pads are made in the same factory. Years ago that was very commonplace in China.

Speaking of saving money, I like buying my tires for half of what most people pay for them. It can be done. I have done it for years.

Anyway, hey, I like saving money. How about you?

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PEDAL CONFIGURATION & FOOT PLACEMENT

Well known triker, Matt Galat, talks about his experience with pedals and foot position including dealing with foot pain and a few other problems.

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TIRES FOR LESS

One thing is for sure. Tires are a consumable. They wear out and need to be replaced. I am constantly coming across people who pay “full price” or nearly so for their tires. And some people don’t believe me when I tell them what I pay for my tires … often less than half of what they pay. I am no one special. I don’t get any better deal than what anybody else can get. It just takes a little bit of time and effort to find sources offering great prices. One person recently said that they buy their tires on Amazon as if that ensures they get the lowest prices. Actually I have never seen good prices for tires on Amazon or Ebay. And rarely do I see any good prices for tires on any source here in the United States. I have consistently found them from sources in Europe, especially Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom. Right now with the world economy such as it is with high inflation going on the tire prices are not quite as good as they were. However, one can still find some good deals. At this time the best I have found is Bikeinn in Spain. Some other sources I have used in the past are: BikeDiscount in Germany Bike24 in Germany Merlin Cyclery in United Kingdom. One more comes mind although they don’t always have as good of a price as these others. I am referring to BikeTiresDirect.com in the U.S.  Right now their price is $34.99 with free shipping.

Yes, there is oftentimes shipping charges to pay, but even with those charges figured in the price per tire is still a bargain compared to what one usually finds elsewhere. I have had people boast to me about the price they just paid for some tires. It was ten dollars or more higher per tire than what I have been paying right along. As an example … in the past for 20 by 1.75 Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires (47-406) I have typically paid $24 to $28 per tire including shipping. BTW, in the past at least one source offered free shipping on orders over $75. I always buy 3 or 4 tires at a time. Sometimes I order for a friend and save him a lot of money. You can easily see that if a certain tire costs $24 and there is a $22 shipping charge it is cheaper per tire to order 3 or 4 at a time. Otherwise one tire costs $46. Three tires would be $31.33 per tire. Four tires would be $29.50 per tire. I can’t say how many tires you can order for their stated shipping charge. The most I have ever ordered at one time was 4. I am sure if you went over a certain weight the shipping cost would increase. And speaking of shipping charges increasing … like everything else nowadays, yes, they are higher now. And as we know all over the world we are dealing with shortages and delays. Usually the sources I use have had the tires in stock but nowadays sometimes they are out of stock. Of course, at their low prices they sell a lot. Bike24 has a really good price on Marathon Plus tires right now ($22.70), but they are out of stock. That does not include shipping but since they are out of stock I can’t find out what the shipping is. The MSRP on the Marathon Plus tires is about $47, I think. Seems like it used to be about $54. It is hard to believe that they lowered it. Anyway, you can order them from Amazon for $47.54 saving 10% they say … or … you can wise up and stop paying full price or nearly so by doing what I do.

I do ask one thing … please don’t accuse me of lying to people about the prices I pay for tires. That more less happened recently and I didn’t appreciate it.

BTW, anyone who is interested in trying Vee tires Bikeinn has them really cheap … $4 to $8 per tire plus shipping costs. I could not believe my eyes as I looked thru their tires and saw those prices.

Oh yes, one last thing … service as in customer service. I have always been pleased with the service I have received from each of these companies I have dealt with. They usually send out the tires the same day or next day after ordering them. Occasionally they get held up in U.S. Customs longer than should be necessary. And, of course, right now shipping is delayed some all over the world. But hey, that’s life!

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TWO WAYS TO DESTROY A PERFECTLY GOOD REAR DERAILLEUR

In the picture above the chain is too short and the rear derailleur is stretched out too far with no more available movement left. In this scenario the rear derailleur can be damaged … bent from not having any more movement available. This is one of two ways that come to mind when it comes to damaging the rear derailleur.

The other way is to try to pedal  without first down shifting into a low enough gear. Applying brute force on a pedal trying to move when in too high of a gear can result in making a pretzel out of your rear derailleur. One needs to be very careful not to “force” the rear derailleur as they just are not designed to take such abuse. Sometimes a rear deraileur can be bent back straightening it out to where it will work. However, sometimes one can work and work on it and never get it to shift properly again. Sometimes ya just got to bite the bullet and toss it in the scrap pile and install a new one. I had that happen to me once with a very expensive rear deraileur which was almost brand new. I had picked up a small tree limb about 5/8 of an inch in diameter. It went right into my rear derailleur and spokes doing a lot of damage. I straightened it out the best I could but it never worked right after that and I was forced to replace it. The main problem was the hangar had gotten bent and stretched out. I staraighted it but because it had stretched it would not go back to the right position and alignment. It required replacement. Needless to say, it didn’t make my day.

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FREE WHEEL AIN’T FREE WHEELIN’

When I bought my current hub motor I had to buy a free wheel sprocket assembly to use with it. I have put a lot of miles on it over the passing years. The teeth on the sprockets are still in fine shape, but the bearings and races are screaming at me to be replaced. It slips, grabs, locks up and sounds like a threshing machine when it acts up. It is worn out and badly in need or replacement. The problem is my 9 speed unit is no longer easy to find. I have been getting by continuing to use it thanks to taking it apart and oiling it well. But it really needs to be replaced. Finally I found one and ordered it. I am just hoping my current one won’t leave me stranded somewhere as I am continuing to take my daily rides.  My new unit is suppose to arrive about the middle of next week. I wish I could use a newer unit … a cassette instead of a free wheel, but alas it is not to be. And 9 speed is old tech and getting harder to find. And beggars can’t be chooses when it comes to selection. I would like to get an 11-36 tooth unit, but all that was available is an 11-32 which is what I have now. I had changed to an 11-36  rear cassette on my Catrike wheel to help with hill climbing but when I bought my e-motor all that was available was an 11-32. As time goes by it is getting bleaker. I am just glad I was able to find an 11-32. Hopefully it will last me quite some time helping me to …

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I don’t know what I would be up against if it needs to be replaced again.

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UPDATE — I got the new free wheel installed today (12-17-21) and wow … what a difference. The brand new free wheel is like brand new!

 

UTAH TRIKES … PREPARING A CUSTOMER ORDER

Many of us are familiar with Utah Trikes. Here is an opportunity to get more familiar with them. This video takes you thru the process of receiving a customer order and all that is involved in preparing it … building the trike to sell it to the customer. I found it interesting. Hopefully you will too.

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ARE YOUR HANDS TOO CLOSE TO THE TIRES?

For many years I dealt with my hands being closer to my tires than I liked. In time I discovered something which could and would change this. It involves buying new handlebars. Catrike’s 559 model has taller handlebars than all their other models. I don’t know why that is but I am not complaining. I took advantage of it. My original handlebars were from a 2009 Trail. They were reused on my 2013 Trail frame when Catrike replaced my 2009 frame under warranty. The wrist rests did not exist in 2009 so when I bought the 559 handlebars I got the mouning bars for the wrist rests. I took advantage of that and bought the wrist rests … one of the best upgrades I ever made.

I ride on our local trails and some of them follow along our local rivers. They tend to flood over and river silt gets deposited on them making a muddy mess. With my hands so close to the tires mud builds up on my brake levers and twist shifters. It is a muddy mess to deal with. I no longer have that problem now that those components are higher up away from the tires.

This picture shows that the 559 handlebars are taller than the Trail’s handlebars.

Yes, replacing my original handlebars with 559 handlebars was a great decision. It raised my hands up higher away from the tires and provided a way to mount wrist rests. I like it when a plan comes together. So if you deal with this same issue you might want to try this.

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ANOTHER FROM THE ARCHIVES … MAGPED

1ST POSTED NOVEMBER 30, 2020

MAGPED … another magnetic pedal offering for foot retention

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=magped+pedals

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CHAIN WEAR & REPLACEMENT

 

I have always gotten phenomenal mileage out of my chains on my trike. I just recently replaced one which had 16,672 miles on it. That is the most I have ever got and truthfully the way it was wearing I think I could have got another couple thousand miles out of it.

I use Rock-n-Roll Gold chain lubricant and am quite impressed with it … more so than any other product I have ever tried.

One of my bike mechanics said to me that I should only get about 1600 miles out of a chain. I said to him “you’re talking about a bicycle, but a recumbent tadpole trike gets far more wear out of the chain than a bicycle”. That is because a trike has 2.5 to 3 standard lengths of bicycle chain compared to a bicycle.That should result in considerable less wear. Even so about 5000 miles is all that one should expect. I have always got far more … usually 9000 to 12,000 miles. One time I got over 14,ooo miles. And, like I said, this time over 16,000.

You may ask me how this is possible. It is possible because of God. That is right! I learned many many years ago to put God first in my finances … to give Him the tithe before I spend money for anything else. He says in His word that if we do this He will rebuke the devouter and we will be blessed. I can not explain this incredible mileage I get out of my chains any other way. The same is true of my tire wear. I have witnessed the result of withholding the tithe. God says it is stealing from Him. One way or another He will get His tithe. If not given freely He will take it some other way. The car or furnace or some appliance will break down costing far more than the tithe would have cost. I have seen it happen in many people’s lives. God is real and everything I am talking about is real. It is truly a joy to give God His tithe. In doing so I also enjoy His many blessings in my life each and every day. May He be praised and may we all …

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BTW, I have written about this subject of chain wear before …  I even used the same title … https://tadpolerider2.wordpress.com/2014/08/04/chain-wear-replacement.

I have also written several other articles concerning chain … https://tadpolerider2.wordpress.com/?s=chain

You might find it interesting to take a look at the many artists’ creations made out of bicycle chain … https://tinyurl.com/y6zlva4a

 

MAGPED … another magnetic pedal offering for foot retention

 

I don’t know anything about them at this point in time as I only first heard of them 5 minutes ago. Looking at their website , one can readily see that what they offer is a mountain bike pedal with a magnet bolted down onto it. They also have road pedals. The company is out of British Columbia, Canada.

They have various models varying in price … $72 to $208. Wow, I paid $13 for my BMX pedal and they have been great. Some models have just one magnet so the rider can only use one side of the pedal if they want the magnet in use. One model has two magnets so it doesn’t matter which side of the pedal is used as both sides have a magnet. They sell replacement parts such as magnets, pins, shoe plates, etc.

My biggest concern with using a magnetic foot retention system is the magnets picking up metal pieces on them as well as magnetizing the steel plates in the shoes and having them pick up metal as one walks around in them. With my own personal experience with BMX pedals my shoes stay in place on them quite well without anything holding them down onto the pedal. So with the aid of a magnet I would think that they stay in place quite well as long as the magnet used is strong enough. They have some extremely strong magnets nowadays.

I don’t think these would work for me as I like to be able to move my foot around on the pedal if I want to. That would be tricky and challenging using this set up. Besides I much prefer wearing whatever footwear I want to. But I know that there are many who want their feet secured to the pedals when they ride and these pedals just might appeal to you.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/magpedNorthAmerica/
Instagram: @magpedNA

So for anyone looking for an alternative foot retention system you might want to consider these. Be safe out there and …

ENJOY THE RIDE!

A FREE GIFT awaits you!

EL CHEAPO BRAKE PADS

 

Several months ago I bought some really cheap (low cost) brake pads off of Ebay. When I say low cost I am talking $3 for one set. Compare that with $21 for the Avid brand. Avid BB-7 is the brake pad involved. I installed a pair of these low cost brake pads and am happy to report that they have been performing great. It is time to replace them now which I will probably do today. I sure can’t complain about them. They have done every bit as well as the Avid brand … maybe even better. I just checked and I have almost 7000 miles on my trike since I installed these low cost brake pads. I don’t have records of the mileage I have got out of name brand Avid BB-7 brake pads so I really can’t compare. I am just going by the time factor the best I recollect it. I don’t think the name brand pads lasted any longer time-wise.  Certainly having great working reliable brakes is quite important. Based on my experience with these brake pads I would highly recommend them to everybody. There is a problem however. They now cost about $10 a pair.  I am glad I bought several pair when I did. Ah ha! That seller may not offer that price anymore but I just found another one which is lower yet … $9 for 4 pair … that is $2.25 apiece. And the shipping is free. Of course, I don’t know anything about them so I can’t recommend them. There maybe others offered thru Ebay but I stopped looking. I don’t know about you but I like saving money and finding great deals. Hey, be safe out there so you can …

KEEP ON TRIKIN‘

A FREE GIFT awaits you!

MagLOCK PEDALS

“Clipping In” isn’t for everybody. I am among those who don’t like using SPD pedals and shoes. There are various options one can use in place of the SPD system. One option is magnetic pedals and the leader in this seems to be MagLOCK. It is not inexpensive … starting at $110. And that is just for the pedals. You still need to have shoes with a steel plate so the system will work. Regular SPD bike shoes will work and a steel plate and screws comes with the pedals which fits on the shoe replacing the SPD clip. Anyway, MagLOCK offers two different models … their original known as Fort Knox which sells for $175 and Stealth model which sells for $110.

If you are interested in viewing more MagLOCK videos click HERE.

The MagLOCK company offers a rather unique thing. For $135 one can “try out” the Fort Knox pedals which normally sell for about $175. Used pedals  which have been returned are involved. You can read about this program by clicking HERE. You can keep the used pedals for the $135 price or if you want new pedals you return the used ones and pay the$40  difference.

One can add or remove magnets in the pedals to change the magnetic strength. Of course, there is only room for so many magnets inside so there is a limit to increasing the magnetism.

With this system one can move their foot about on the pedal pretty much wherever they want it. That is a big plus for some riders. I have only heard good reports/comments about these pedals. If I were a rich man I might even give them a try. For sure we all need to stay safe out there and …

ENJOY THE RIDE!

A FREE GIFT awaits you!