Category: repair

TRIKE GUIDE

I  came across this website called Trike Guide so I am sharing it here for those interested in what it offers. It covers Tadpole vs Delta, Wheels, Brakes, e-Motors, Trike Brands & Manufacturers, Gear, Tours, and lastly Trike Events & Conferences. It also covers basis repairs and maintenance. It is far from complete. In fact, I think you will find more comprehensive information right here on this website. Never the less I did enjoy looking thru it.

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

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.

A FREE GIFT AWAITS YOU!

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!

“NORMAL” is not coming back … JESUS IS!

WELL EQUIPPED VS GREAT PRISTINE LOOKING

What is more important to you … having your trike look great with nothing much added to it much like it came from the factory … or … adding a bunch of stuff to it which distracts from its appearance but is quite useful and practical to have available? Now I ask you? I see tadpole riders all the time riding trikes that appear to have nothing extra on them. They must be dependent on others if something goes wrong as they are not equipped to handle it themselves.

I must admit I have been asked if I have the kitchen sink somewhere on my trike. It is loaded down with all sorts of stuff. I am prepared for most anything. For example, I have  bungee cords with me and I have battery chargers along so I can recharge my batteries anywhere I can find electricity to plug them in. This picture below is not my current set up. Now I have most of it pretty well hidden out of sight as I was able to do so the last time I worked on it.

Now I have large panniers and rear trunk bag which both hide some things as well as provide a storage place for lots of stuff. I carry plastic shopping bags in one of the panniers as I frequently use them to haul stuff in on my trike such as shopping, picking tomatoes off of the vine to take home, etc. All the bungee cords are now out of sight and in a pannier. I have to admit that I don’t normally carry a spare tire with me. That is not something that I am likely to need.

Yes, my trike is usually pretty well loaded down with various stuff. I am down to just one battery now as I have one which lasts a long time providing power for long rides. I no longer need to carry 2 or even 3 batteries on my trike like I used to. Of course, that one battery is a heavy beast.

Am I jealous of those who have and keep their trikes nearly bare-bone? Sometimes I am, but for the most part I am glad I have all this stuff with me as I like being prepared. I don’t need to call somebody to come get me and my trike should something go wrong while I am out riding. I can take care of it myself and continue on my way.

Yes, it adds weight to my trike, but lifting my trike in and out of the bed of my pickup truck helps keep me strong in my old age. I admit though that it gets more challenging as I age. I will be 77 next month. The Greenspeed Magnum trike is even heavier to lift and presents even more of a challenge. I am glad I am not lifting it daily anymore as it nearly got the best of me. A few times my wife helped me and it made the task much easier.

Well, it is time to go lift my Catrike Trail out of my truck and go riding. And I will be going prepared so that I can …

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

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.

A FREE GIFT AWAITS YOU!

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!

“NORMAL” is not coming back … JESUS IS!

RECUMBENT TRIKE MAINTENANCE WORKSHOP

Recumbent trike workshop covering basic adjustments, maintenance and safety, i.e. changing a tire, lube points, and more.

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

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.

A FREE GIFT AWAITS YOU!

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!

“NORMAL” is not coming back … JESUS IS!

HAVING TROUBLE FINDING SPOKES?

The picture above is of my rear wheel with a hub motor. As you can see the spokes are quite short … only 2  7/8 inches long. That in itself makes them special, but they are also 12 gauge meaning they are heavier duty than standard spokes. I have checked the local bike shops and none of them can help me. I searched online and came up empty handed … nothing. I contacted the Ebay seller I bought the wheel from hoping I could get some spare spokes. I failed to mention that I have one broken spoke in the rear wheel. I removed it but have not been able to replace it yet. Anyway, I never heard anything back from the Ebay seller so I am unable to replace the broken spoke. I would think the wheel would come with a few extra spokes but it didn’t. Since I have not been able to locate a source for these spokes I have had no choice but to ride my trike ‘as is’ missing the spoke. That is not a problem, however, I would like to get it replaced. Two or three months have passed by when I learned of a bike shop in Chicago that specializes in spokes. I contacted them and inquired into it. No problem … they have them and I had my choice of black or silver. I ordered a dozen along with the nipples and now I have spokes.

I am telling you this just in case there are others who are or will be facing the same situation. The Chicago bike shop is Yojimbo’s Garage at 1310 North Clybourn Avenue, Chicago, IL 60670. It appears to be somewhat of a specialty shop. The phone number is 312-587-0878 and the email address is: marcus@yojimbosgarage.com

I got quick reliable service when I contacted them. I was so thankful to finally get the spare spokes I needed. I was quite surprised to discover that these 12 gauge spokes are hard to find. 13 and 14 gauge are commonplace but not 12 gauge. Even so I did not expect to discover that they are hard to find. I assumed most any LBS (local bike shop) could supply them,  but they all said no, they can’t help.

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

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.

A FREE GIFT AWAITS YOU!

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!

“NORMAL” is not coming back … JESUS IS!

5 THINGS I LOVE ABOUT “MY TRAIL”

The late David Goldman made a video entitled 5 things I love about “my” trail. It was concerning a bicycle trail. It inspired me to write this article I have titled “5 things I love about “my Trail”. However, I am not writing about a bicycle trail. I am writing about my Catrike Trail trike.

I almost did not buy a Catrike when I was looking into trikes. It is not that I was not impressed with them. Rather it was a matter of money … something I did not have much of. Consequently I was looking at the best I could get for the money that I had available. I was all ready to buy another brand but I changed my mind when I called the company to place my order and the owner of the business got really nasty with me on the phone for calling his number several times in succession trying to get thru as the line was busy when I called. I did not like the way he treated me and so he lost a sale that day. He ended up going out of business. I had heard that he turned off a lot of customers by his treatment of them. I think it caught up with him as there was nothing wrong with the trikes he was selling.

Anyway, I had to start over and made the decision to save a little longer so I had more money available. I did not need a whole lot more money to get the trike I chose next. Back then Catrike sold the Trail model for $1750. I bought a new 2009 model and fell in love with it. I never had any regret in the way things worked out back then.

So the number one thing I love about my Trail is the price I paid for it. The price has doubled since then.

The second thing I loved about my Trail was the space frame. Notice I used the past tense “loved” and “was”.

I do so because something happened to change all that. Under warranty Catrike replaced my 2009 space frame because of a hairline crack I discovered along one of the welds on the bottom of the cross member. Sadly the space frame was no longer offered and I had to accept their new frame which I don’t like nearly as well as the space frame. Oh well, as the saying goes … “you’ll have that!”

The number three thing I love about my Trail is the comfortable ride. I have ridden several other trikes including some costing twice to four times what my Trail cost. As far as I am concerned the Trail wins hands down when comparing them.

The number four thing I love about my trail is it’s handling. It handles like it is running on rails. Again it wins my vote over the other trikes I have ridden. I have always been extremely impressed with Catrike engineering and craftsmanship. I can’t say the same for their customer service. Sometimes it is non-existent.

The fifth thing I love about my Trail is its quality. I have over 110,000 miles on it and it is as good as brand new mechanically. To be totally honest I have upgraded the wheels with heavier duty BMX rims which are holding up much better than the original Catrike wheels. Otherwise I am sold on Catrike quality.

I could probably come up with more things I love about my Trail, but I need to take it easy on my nearly 77 year old brain as I need it to last me awhile longer yet.

As many of you know I nearly lost the use of my Trail earlier this summer when the rear dropouts broke due to the extra stress my e-motor puts on the dropouts. I thought it was done for as I saw no way to repair it. Then a fellow triker wrote on a Facebook trike group that he bought the Utah Trike’s Catrike rear wheel extension kit to use to mount a rear hub e-motor on his Catrike. I was aware of these rear wheel extensions but it never entered my mind that I could use them to fix my problem and keep my Trail trike going. And it is a fairly inexpensive repair … $300 plus another $100 for labor at my LBS as I had them do part of what was involved. A new replacement frame would have been well over $1200 and I would still have the same concern of the rear dropouts failing again. These extensions are much stronger than the rear dropouts on the Catrike frame.

Hopefully my 2013 Trail I now have is good for another 110,000 miles. I just hope this nearly 77 year old body is too. Well, that’s my story and I am sticking with it. I am doing my best to …

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

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.

A FREE GIFT AWAITS YOU!

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!

“NORMAL” is not coming back … JESUS IS!

 

LEARNING HOW TO TRUE A WHEEL

Have you got a wobbly wheel? Most wheel wobble problems can be fixed. Here are a couple of videos to help you learn how to go about adjusting the spokes to true a wheel.

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

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.

A FREE GIFT AWAITS YOU!

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!

“NORMAL” is not coming back … JESUS IS!

WILL MOTORIZING YOUR TRIKE VOID THE TRIKE WARRANTY or AFFECT GETTING SERVICE?

Do you know if motorizing your trike will void your trike warranty? Do you care or should you care ? The answer to the first question is … PROBABLY, unless you have a motor the trike manufacturer sells for their trikes. Many trike owners like myself add on aftermarket products rather than go with the expensive motor kits the dealers sell.

Another question which is of importance is … if you install a motor on your trike will you still be able to get maintenance and repair work done on it at your local bike shop/trike dealer?

These are questions which one should consider. My trike is long past the expiration of any warranty so the first question is not any concern. I have had a motor on my trike for several years now and until recently it never presented a problem for me. My local bike shop has always serviced it even before they became a Catrike dealer. In fact, they took very good care of me. Recently however, they told me that they will no longer work on it. The reason given is because it has a motor on it and they don’t want to deal with liability. I was really bummed out when they told me this.

Shortly afterwards I was told the truth by a past employee. The local bike shop was a great store which the mom and pop owners built up and then sold to Trek Bikes for a good sized chunk of change providing them with a very comfortable retirement. Sadly the place has really gone downhill since Trek took it over. They have lost all their good mechanics as they have all quit. I know I don’t like shopping there for accessories as all they have is what Trek sells. Anyway, I was told that the bottom line as to why they will no longer work on my trike is because they don’t make good money working on it and they only want work that provides fast easy money. Trek does not care about the customer … only money. There are really sad stories all over the nation concerning Trek buyouts and customer dissatisfaction since Trek took over.

I emailed Catrike about all of this and asked them a few questions I wanted their answers to, but they have not had the decency to reply back which further bums me out. That is very poor customer relationship and very unprofessional. I love Catrike trikes, but I can’t recommend them as far as customer service. That is a shame. That is no way to treat their customers.

There are a few other bike shops in town but with the exception of a TerraTrike dealer none of them will work on tadpole trikes. They only want to work on bicycles. That is disheartening also. So it looks like I will have to take my Catrike to a Terratrike dealer since the Catrike dealer won’t work on it. I am not very excited about that as I have had this TT dealer work on my Catrike before and I was not impressed with the work they performed. In fact, I paid them good money only to have to do it over myself as they did not do it right. I hope they do better work now.

I am sharing all of this because it could happen to you. Many years ago I was much younger and I did most of my own mechanical work on my trike. But now I am much older and dealing with various physical issues (especially poor vision) making it difficult for me to do the work myself anymore. I need someplace to take my trike to to get work done on it. Nothing on my Catrike has changed other than my rear wheel which has a hub motor in it. It is just like working on any other Catrike yet my local Catrike dealer refuses to work on it. It could happen to others. The question is … could it happen to you?

BTW — I could use some help from English language experts … is it  “effect” or “affect” getting service? I have tried looking it up and I still am as confused as ever. I have typed both and changed it back and forth. Truthfully I don’t have a clue which is correct.

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

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.

A FREE GIFT AWAITS YOU!

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!

“NORMAL” is not coming back … JESUS IS!

AN UPDATE ON MY CATRIKE REAR WHEEL DROPOUT FIX

A few weeks have passed since I got my Catrike Trail trike back on the road using the Utah Trikes rear wheel extension kit to get around the problem with the broken rear dropouts. I am happy to report that it is working well. I am able to ride it normally and without any issues. That being said I am very much aware of the sideways movement of the extensions. I don’t have a larger diameter wheel mounted in them. I still have a 20 inch wheel so I did not change anything in using them with exception of moving the rear wheel back about 4 inches. That has a very minor effect on my turning radius with the longer wheelbase. My trike handles and corners great … like it is running on rails.

For what it is worth I never have liked this newer frame Catrike has which replaced the older space frame. If ever I could find a Catrike Trail space frame I would love to get it and replace this frame I have now. And then I could do away with these extensions and get back to being completely stock.

Below  is a video concerning these extensions. I agree with all this man says, but for my situation I am well pleased with the extensions. I just wish Catrike made better (as in deeper and stronger) rear wheel dropouts. Then mine would not have broken and I would not need these extensions to fix it.

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

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.

A FREE GIFT AWAITS YOU!

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!

“NORMAL” is not coming back … JESUS IS!

MY CATRIKE … RESURRECTED FROM THE JUNK HEAP?

I read a posting on one of the Facebook trike groups about a triker using Utah Trike’s new rear wheel extension kit on his Catrike to mount a hub motor wheel. That put the idea in my head … hey, maybe this would be a possible fix for my Catrike. I don’t know if it is going to work or not but I emailed Utah Trikes about my broken rear dropouts on my Catrike Trail trike.  I knew they have made the rear wheel extension kits for a number of years so I emailed them about my trike. They told me that I could use their older kit (different than the one this other triker used) to repair my rear dropouts. I had never thought of that. So I ordered a pair of them buying them on credit. I installed them and put everything back together on the trike. It might work, BUT I am concerned as to whether or not the extensions will hold up to the side stress (lateral forces) involved in cornering. They seem fairly weak when I just push sideways on the rear of the trike. They are made to hold a 26 inch or a 700 wheel which would produce even more side stress (lateral forces) than my 20 inch wheel does. Using my 20 inch wheel will result in raising the front of the trike up slightly higher as the extension extends back and up for the larger diameter wheel.

I have my fingers crossed but I am doubtful it will hold up. Here is what the extension looks like on another Catrike (not mine). If I had known that the extensions would sway so easily back and forth sideways I don’t think I would have tried this.

If it does work it is a much cheaper “fix” than buying a new replacement frame from Catrike. They are $1200 plus tax plus the shipping cost. I will have about $300 in this. The extensions cost about $185 with shipping. That is a lot of money for a couple of pieces of aluminum. With my 20 inch wheel  installed in these extensions it definitely makes the trike look a bit different. The rear wheel is position about 4 inches further back than where it was originally.

I hope Catrike changes it’s rear dropouts for the sake of other hub motor users.  I never have liked them even with a regular non motorized wheel installed. The dropouts are just too short and appear weak to me. There just isn’t enough material there to mount a rear hub motor drive wheel in. They know this as they have gotten reports from various owners including me about the bottom part of the dropouts breaking off. And what is left just is not enough to hold a rear wheel.  I was looking at the rear dropouts of the Greenspeed Magnum recently and noticed that they are much better and stronger than Catrike’s. I would not be afraid to install a rear hub motor wheel on it … which I might do as I am not liking the crankdrive motor that is on it now. It is just too hard on the drivetrain. My rear sprocket sounds like “mechanical pop corn popping” as I ride along using the motor. I hate that! It has got to be damaging my sprockets and chain. Whoever came up with putting a motor on the crankset had a bad idea. The drive train of a bike/trike just is not made to take the extra power a motor provides.

Time will tell whether or not this is a fix to resurrect my Catrike from the junk pile. I hope it works as I really miss riding it.

UPDATE — I just took my first ride on it and was thrilled to be back on it. Everything seemed to work well and felt right. Even my concern about lateral forces in cornering are hopefully not a concern after all. It felt so good to be back in the saddle again.  Getting back up out of the seat is quite challenging though compared to the Greenspeed Magnum. I already have my riding in for today. Besides it is just too hot now to go back out to ride the Catrike anymore today. I have really missed the large 2000 watt hub motor and the 72 volt battery. This thing will scoot along compared to the Bafang motor on the Greenspeed Magnum trike. All it does is destroy my drivetrain.

UPDATE 2 —  I rode 37 trouble free miles today ( 8/22) and thoroughly enjoy myself. My Catrike is just so much more fun to ride than the Greenspeed and it handles and rides better as well. I had it up to 33 mph and it felt rock solid.

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

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.

A FREE GIFT AWAITS YOU!

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!

“NORMAL” is not coming back … JESUS IS!