Category: trike brands

MOBILITY 4 LESS

Many people are looking for tadpole trikes for a lower price. If you do an online search for “tadpole trike” guess what happens … at least on some search engines. Up will pop images in ads for tadpole trikes offered by Mobility4less. They are paid ads . They offer several different products and I noticed that they also offer financing and layaway.

If you are looking for non-motorized don’t look here as all of their products are motorized. They offer two tadpole trikes  (one regular and one FAT tire) and one FAT tire quad. The frames are made of mild steel. The e-motor systems on the regualr tadpole are 36 volts. It is a crank drive motor. The FAT tire tadpole trike and quad are 48 volt.  Strangely the safety flag is not included. The product arrives at your door shipped on a pallet. It comes with a full fender set and a neckrest. A rear luggage rack is provided which holds the 36 volt 12 aH lithium ion battery which is included. Mirrors are also provided. Below is a picture of the regular tadpole trike model they sell. It has 20 inch wheels on the front and 26 inch on the rear. Disc brakes are found on the two front wheels and a V-brake is on the rear wheel to be used as a parking brake. The trike has rear suspension and the trike folds up for storage and transportation. My guess is that the boom will need to be set for the rider’s x-seam and the chain adjusted to the correct length. I see in one of the pictures they show on their website the chain is way too long and the rear derailleur is not able to handle all the chain.

The trike comes with a hand throttle.

Main Technical Parameters:
Top Speed: 26 MPH (pedaling increases speed)
Top Range: 25 miles/charge (pedaling increases range)
Power: 550 watts or 1500 watts with PowerBooster**
Battery: Lithium 36V 12 ah
Re-charges in: 4 hours
Tricycle Length: 81″ Tricycle Width: 34″ Tricycle Height: 29″
Seat width: 15″
Ground clearance: 7.5″
Wheel base: 40″
Chain: 21 speed chain  (NOTE – their ignorance is showing as there is no such thing … it is 7 speed chain)
Mirrors: Aluminum alloy blue plated
Pedals: VP500 aluminum alloy
Max Weight Limit: 400 Lbs
Crankset: Shimano TX71 48 teeth
Front derailleur: Shimano TX51
Battery Charger: Included
Foldable: Yes
COLORS: Red
MOTOR TYPE: Brushless motor  drive
VOLTS: 36 volt
TIRE SIZE: Front: 20 * 1.5: Rear: 26 * 1.5
SHIPPING WEIGHT: 100lbs
TRICYCLE WEIGHT: 54lbs

They are currently offering free shipping according to their website.

Your Purchasing Options:

Electric Recumbent Tricycle with Lithium battery: $2,495.00
**Optional PowerBooster to get the 1500Watts: $289.50
Here is the trike folded up ….

I chose not to cover the FAT tire trike and quad here. If you are interested you can check them out on their website. I will say this much … they don’t come with fenders and they are a 48 volt e-motor system..

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TrikExplor

Notice: This article may contain commentary that reflects the author’s opinion.

By now many of us have seen and/or heard of TrikExplor, a Chinese manufacturer of tadpole trikes. They have come up with some interesting models over the years. They have an online store on AliExpress.

Their prices used to be quite appealing but with inflation and the world economy they are now about the same as what we are used to seeing for tadpole trikes being sold here in the U.S.

I find their motorized FAT quad most appealing. It looks truly to be a vehicle which can go just about anywhere and handle about everything. For $8000 it ought to. I much prefer this e-motor setup over a crank drive.

I really don’t know where I would ride it so I don’t have a need for it. I could not justify it. I could not afford it anyway. It is what I consider a rich man’s toy. I am sure it would be great fun if you can afford it and have someplace to ride it..

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TERRATRIKE SPYDER MAKING ITS DEBUT SOON

TerraTrike is coming out with a new model they call Spyder.  Using their own words .to describe it ..  “designed for performance, the Spyder is stiffer and aerodynamic where it needs to be for acceleration and sustained speed, and yet compliant for comfort. All elements of the trike converge to deliver a performance machine which will satisfy your inner speed freak.” It will be interesting to see how this model measures up. Call me prejudice or whatever but there has never been a TerraTrike model which has impressed me. Looking thru the specifications I am already unimpressed. I see it has a 19 foot turning diameter. That is unacceptable for me. It needs to be down around 14 feet to “get er dun”.  I hate having to stop and zig zag back and forth to get around a corner because a trike won’t turn sharp enough. Terra Trike has always come up short in engineering in my opinion. They are just a cheap trike poorly made and have inherent problems out of the box. Anytime I see a Terra Trike I am reminded of Walmart bicycles.

This model costs almost $4000. For that amount of investment one could get a much higher quality better engineered trike such as a Catrike. I wonder if TerraTrike ever redesigned their steering heads and got the jerky side to side problem resolved. It says it is designed for sustained speed so I hope they fixed this problem as most TerraTrikes are downright scary to ride at even moderate speeds much less high speeds. The seat and it’s mounting looks weak and likely to fail.  It is beyond me why anyone would pay that much money and get so little for their money, especially when there exists much better products for the same price. I think they have a lot of people duped. Otherwise they would go out of business. Different strokes for different folks as they say. If I have offended you I am sorry but I call them as I see them. As a professional weldor I have a lifetime of repairing poorly made metal products … rebuilding, reinforcing and  yes … reengineering them. It is easy enough to recognize what I call junk which will fail. I simply can not recommend TerraTrike products … at least not their trikes. If you have $4000 to spend on a tadpole trike you could do much better than this brand.

Here is Larry Varney’s review of the TT Spyder …

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

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CATRIKE DISCONTINUES THEIR EOLA MODEL

BOO HOO !!! This news really bums me out. I really like the Eola model and probably would have bought one in the future for my wife when she retires.  That being said it is uncertain whether I would give it to her or keep it for myself and give her my Catrike Trail model.

Below is a news article about the decision to discontinue this model.

Catrike Eola discontinued

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A FREE GIFT awaits you!

BACCHETTA CT 2.0 carbon fiber tadpole trike

 

Thru the years there have been a few carbon fiber trikes manufactured and sold. None of them have ever seemed to go over all that well and most of them disappeared from the market. The latest one to appear that I am aware of is made by Bacchetta, a company well known for its bicycles. Their trike offering is the Bacchetta CT 2.0  and it lists for $5995 which is not inexpensive but then carbon fiber never is. I consider them to be a “rich man’s toy”.

To my way of thinking making a bike or trike out of carbon fiber is not at all practical. As stated it is expensive and when damaged it is pretty much junk. So why make a trike out of carbon fiber you ask? Mainly because carbon fiber is light in weight while being strong. But not many people need a trike that weighs 1 to 4 pounds less than one made out of aluminum. For those who qualify to meet the restrictions of physical size and body weight the Catrike Pocket only weighs 28 pounds … only one pound more than this carbon fiber trike.

Here are some specs on this trike:

Frame Full Carbon Monocoque w/Internal Storage. 28 Degree Seat Angle.
Idler Alligt 68mm w/Aluminum Drive Teeth
Seat Integrated Carbon w/Vertical Seat Back Adjust
Seat Pad BCT Custom
Handlebar BCT Custom Aluminum
Rear Derail Shimano XT 11 speed, RD-M8000-SGS (extra long cage)
Front Derail Microshift FD-R58-B with 31,8mm clamp, black
Shifters MicroShift BS-M11 11×2 speed for Shimano DynaSys
Crankset SRAM Force 22, GXP, 50-34T 170mm
Bottom Bracket SRAM Force, GXP, BSA68
Headset Tange Seiki 1 1/8″
Cassette Microshift, CS-G113, 11-42 T
Front Brake Tektro M521 Gemini SL Hydraulic, black
Rear Brake N/A
Brake Levers Tektro Gemini SL Hydraulic (with parking brake band included)
Front Wheel 406 BCT Lightweight Disc, Tubeless Ready
Rear Wheel 700c BCT Lightweight Disc, Tubeless Ready
Front Tire 406 Schwalbe Pro One Tubeless, 28c
Rear Tire 700c Schwalbe Pro One Tubeless, 28c
Chain KMC X11 11 Speed
Pedals N/A
BB Height 14 1/4″
Seat Height 7 3/4″
Wheelbase 47″
Weight 27 lbs.
Weight Limit 275 lbs.
Gear Range 21″-120″
Color Matte Black w/Clear Coat- Red or Blue Stripe/Decal Option
Frame Size Standard Only
X Seam 37″-48″
Overall Width 29″
Overall Height 27″
Overall Length 65″-76″
Turning Circle 19′
Track Width 27.5″
Ground Clearance 3″

Looking thru the specs I see some which would greatly concern me and be a real turn off. The fact that is has a very large turning diameter(19 feet) would be problematic as well as the ground clearance of only 3 inches. It could and would get easily damaged. And with only an overall width of 29 inches I would be a bit concerned as to how it corners compared to a trike of 32 or so inches. As you can see it comes with a partial rear fender .

I was just looking at the various options available when placing an order for this trike. Several hundred dollars could be saved by selelcting some of these options. In doing so weight is added to the trike resulting in it weighing as much as some of the lighter weight aluminum trikes such as a Catrike 700. With all the various options they offer one could change the final price considerably … especially upwards. The pictures show a neckrest but I noticed that it is a $130 option. I would think that at $6000 they could include a neckrest which is a necessity in my way of thinking since the seat is 28 degrees.

Naw, I prefer the Catrike Pocket … not a prema donna like this carbon fiber build. It might be a beautiful machine but not at all practical in my opinion. I only need to lose about 50 pounds to qualify for the weigh limit of the Pocket. I  reckon time will tell whether or not this Bacchetta trike remains on the scene or disappears like all the others that have come along in the past. Hey, whatever you choose to ride …

ENJOY THE RIDE

A FREE GIFT awaits you!

AeeDEA E-TRIKE … INDIA’S FIRST OFFERING INTO THE RECUMBENT TRIKE MARKET

 

The Aeedea Company in India is now offering a tadpole trike. It is available in both a manual version as well as an electric motorized version. My first impression of it is summed up in two words … ugly and crude. But hey, maybe it will grow on me.

HERE is their web page. This trike has a 250 watt motor. The starting price is 113,312 Indian rupee which is currently $1,526.36 US dollars. The top price is 176,750 Indian rupee which is currently $2,380.84 US dollars. There is no further information on their website explaining these prices. My guess is the lower price is for the manual (non-motorized) version while the higher price is for the motorized version. Their website , like their trike, isn’t very professional looking.

As you can see, it has a very wide wheel base. The steering is somewhat unique as to turn the wheels the rider moves the handlebars forwards and backwards vs pivoting them around a central axis. You can see this in the video below. The handlebars are way too high for my liking. I would find them uncomfortable compared to if they were about a foot lower. The seat material looks like it would be quite hot to sit on. I much prefer a mesh seat like most trikes have. Again, this looks like something put together by an amateur builder.

Their website does not provide much useful information such as seat height, seat back angle, turning radius,  wheel base, number of gears, gear inches, tire sizes, included accessories, etc.

Specifications and features:

1. Made of light weight aluminium
2. Highly engineered indirect steering system
3. Digital pedal assist modes 0 to 100%
4. Range varies between 100 to 160 kms on one full charge, varies based on work derived from the motor
5. Maintenance free Brushless DC motor
6. All rain proof
7. 20 amps 36 volts 3c high quality Li-Ion cells, with water proof encasing
8. Comes with a 5amp high speed charger, full charge in 3 to 4 hours
9. All wheels with disc brakes
10. Adjustable seat with recline and position adjustment
11. Adjustable pedal boom to accommodate rider height between 5 ft  6 inch to 6 feet 2 inch
12. Electric variant comes with water proof saddle bags
13. Direct throttle to bypass pedal assist
14. Motor power cut off with 15. Street legal with a 250 watts motor
16. A 5 amp wall plug high speed charger

Color options :

1. Matt Fluorescent yellow and Matt Black
with Blue and Black upholstery

2. Matt white and Matt black
with White and Black upholstery

That definitely looks like a very high boom yet with a rider seated onboard it doesn’t look all that high.

A FREE GIFT awaits you!

A Review of an Azub Touring Setup

From the “land down under” (Australia) comes this video I share here. This triker,  Darren Broadhurst, is among the few who is on an ongoing trike journey around the world. He rides an Azub Ti-Fly 20 inch  … which is a fully suspended model.

His video channel description … “After retiring from a full military career I’ve been cycling and travelling around the world for the past 4 years. These are the videos along the way.”

Other videos available from this fellow triker.

His website … every which way but lost.

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TRY BEFORE YOU BUY

Face it, there is simply wisdom in trying as many trikes out before purchasing one. They are not cheap to buy and once they leave the store their value usually drops off considerably. Some dealers will work with customers if they are dissatisfied with their purchase but there is no guarantee of that. It can be risky business to buy a trike you end up regretting and facing the aftermath. So common sense dictates that we do our homework or should I say leg work (actually both) and go check trikes out riding as many as you can and if possible any you find yourself interested in taking a much longer ride on them as it may help you discover something that wasn’t noticed on a short ride. I don’t know how many dealers there are around which are willing to do this, especially if they don’t have easy ready access to someplace customers could ride from their store and be gone for an extended ride. I don’t know what their policies are as far as requiring a security deposit to take a trike out for an extended ride. That reminds me of a true story of a business neighbor I once had. I had a welding shop and he had an automotive transmission repair business. A guy came into his place of business asking to borrow a log chain. The business owner told him it would require a security deposit. The guy told the business owner if I had that much money I would just buy one. The business owner told him that if he didn’t bring the chain back he did just buy one. I fully agree with the business owner in his practice of requiring a security deposit of a sufficient amount to cover replacing the chain. So I don’t know if any trike dealers require a security deposit to cover the cost of the trike but I can’t say as I blame them if they do. Anyway, good hunting and may you find the trike that is just right for you.

A FREE GIFT awaits you!

CATRIKE 700, ANOTHER FAST ONE

Catrike 700 … well known and quite popular. I have always wanted to ride one and finally I did a few months ago. Would I want one? No, they are not for everybody and I found they are not for me. But at least I can say I rode one. I have to admit I am rather amazed when I come across people older than me who ride one. One guy I saw riding one recently was well into his 90s. And he was moving right along too.

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SPECBIKE TECHNICS

SPECBIKE TECHNICS is a German company which manufactures tadpole trikes in  Latvia. HERE is their Facebook page. The frames are made of steel. They offer  galvanized coating inside and outside of the frame for corrosion protection. The frame is powder coated. All models but one have full suspension. The company guarantees their prices to be the lowest. Their base model for adults starts at about $1544 but it has no suspension but it does fold. It also has three 20 inch wheels instead of a 26 inch on the rear. Before you get overly excited know that shipping to the United States costs from nearly $700 to nearly $1000 and takes about one week. Please note that import taxes may apply.

To make matters worse I just read on their Facebook page that they have increased their prices by quite a bit … they say due to demand … which makes no sense to me. If sales are good I would think they should be able to maintain or even lower their prices instead of raise them.

 

The model shown above is full suspension with a 250 watt 36 volt Shimano Steps electric crank drive motor for about $4576. It is 27 speed. The seat height is about 12 inches. The shock absorbers are adjustable and various springs are available to accommodate the weight of the rider.

They offer a 2 year warranty on the frame. The seat is adjustable for angle and has a built in adjustable headrest. A built in rear rack comes on all models. Brakes are installed on all three wheels. All models are available with folding frames as an option for additional cost of about $331. The same is true of hydraulic brakes (a $221 option). Three fenders come on all models. 20 inch wheels come on the front with Schwalbe Crazy Bob 20 x 2.10 tires. With the exception of their base model on all other models the rear wheel is 26 inch with a Schwalbe Crazy Bob tire 26 x 2.35. Shimano components are mostly used thruout the trikes.

The electric motor can be added to any model for about $1764 additional charge.

I find their website somewhat confusing. They show a model I was looking at as having a folding frame and then a little ways down the web page they show it as an option for additional cost. Another problem I found on their website that makes no sense is they show a model without the motor for 2145 Euro and with the motor for 4150 Euro. That is a difference of 2005 Euro. Yet they state that a motor can be added to any trike for 1600 Euro. That is 405 Euro more. Something is very wrong in this.

 

The company’s email address is specbiketechnics@gmail.com

They also show sales@specbiketechnics.com as a contact email address.

BTW, Specbikes Technics also offers children’s tadpole trikes which list for about $921. I assume the price has gone up on these as well but thus far the website does not show the price increases … only their Facebook page stated it.

Specbike also has a store on Amazon.

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CATRIKE DUMONT FULL SUSPENSION FOLDING TRIKE

The Catrike Dumont model has been around now for a few years. It is the top of the line for Catrike and is quite popular. Here is a video chucked full of information about this model …

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TADPOLE TRIKE SHOPPING — comparing trikes

Here is a video about a couple who are visiting bike stores checking out and comparing various tadpole trike brands and models (Catrike, HP Velotechnik and ICE)  …

 

 

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TERRATRIKE MAVERICK … NEW ENTRY LEVEL OFFERING

Several years ago when I first put together my TRIKE PRICES page there were a few sub $1000 selections. Then most of them faded out until only KMX offered a few. And most of those were for kids. TerraTrike used to offer the Rover model for $999 but that ended. Like so many things the price went up and put it over the sub $1000 category.  Not everybody can afford the more expensive trikes so there is a need for the sub $1000 market. Well, TerraTrike stepped back up to the plate offering the new Maverick model and the current price is $999. The Maverick will be replacing the TerraTrike Rover. At the time of this writing there is not much information available that I can find on this new model which I can share here. I know that it has a high tensile steel frame as did the Rover but it is considerably lighter than the Rover. Like the Rover and Rambler it has horizontal handlebars.

 

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DIFFERENT STROKES (trikes) FOR DIFFERENT FOLKS

We are all individuals with different tastes, likes, dislikes, values, thought, etc. As they say … it is what makes the world go around. Some drive a Ford while others drive a Chevy. Some drive a Jaguar while others drive a Yugo. Speaking of Yugo … that reminds me of a joke. A guy goes into an auto parts store and walks up to the counter. The store employee asks him how he can help him. The man says “I’d like a rear view mirror for my Yugo”. The salesman pauses for several seconds as though he is thinking about it. Then he replies back … “Sounds like a fair deal to me”.

Where am I going with this you ask? Well, I will tell ya. Did you ever take a look at the list of trike manufacturers and notice that there are more than a couple? There are a whole lot of them. And most offer several models differing from one another. Tadpole trikes are not cheap to buy. We as individuals can’t all afford the “top of the line” and even if we could not all of us would want what may be considered top of the line. Some can only afford the lower cost trikes and some are happy enough with the lower cost trikes. HERE is a list of trikes by their cost.

Various factors come into play when it comes to selecting the trike which is best for us. Most certainly there is great wisdom in trying numerous brands and models before buying. Research is quite important. We should educate ourselves as much as possible.

Some trikes may appeal as far as cost but they may also not be well designed. They may not handle well. If you are only going to ride very slow and be very careful this may not be an issue for you, but if you like to ride faster and corner hard it would be a major issue.

Some trikes are equipped with high quality components while others have lower “entry level” components which may be a problem as time goes along. On my own trike I upgraded to much higher grade components and was glad I did.

Some trikes are well made and easy to work on while others are poorly engineered and a real pain to work on.

Impulsive buying is definitely not recommended as it may very well lead to buyer’s remorse. Like a car once the trike leaves the store it loses considerable value. There are dealers who won’t take back a trike for the price paid for it even if it is brought back 20 minutes later having never been unloaded much less ridden. Nobody wants to be a victim of that scenario. It is “buyer beware” so choose wisely.

We all want to …

ENJOY THE RIDE!

A FREE GIFT awaits you!

CATRIKE EOLA – a new “base” model

New from Catrike this year is their Eola model. It is their lowest priced model and features their “space frame” and 11 speeds which is obtained using 11 cogs in the rear cassette and a single 42 tooth chainring up front which provides a gear inch range of 18.7 to 71.3. Other than the gearing setup there is no shortcomings in this new model. It features the same quality components thruout as Catrike’s other models. The starting cost is $1995.  It is offered in 3 colors … sky blue, mango and storm grey. Check it out HERE.

Catrike departed from the black wheels used on all other models and is using anodized silver rims on all three wheels as well as the matching one-piece handlebars, and Catrike’s new rear seat cargo bag. A rear fender also comes on the Eola.

By the way, did you notice the front derailleur post on the boom? With it being included in the deal one could easily convert this 11 speed into a 22 or 33 speed setup just by changing out the single crankset for a double or triple. Of course, the shifting cables, front derailleur and shifters would have to be changed/added, but it looks like one could have a nice setup out of this model if they were not satisfied with the 11 speeds.

So far a lesser amount of moola (money) one can get into a quality Catrike and …

ENJOY THE RIDE!

A FREE GIFT awaits you!

VELOKS MK3 E-TRIKE

500 miles (800 KM) per charge … that is the claim of this product of Denmark. It’s a fully suspended  e-trike with *fat tires for $6013 US (€5,340). HERE is their website.  And HERE is their FAQ webpage.

*They call these fat tires, but they are only 2 inch wide tires … not hardly “fat”.

I would think it would be likely and tempting to take this trike off road, but that battery looks mighty vulnerable and it certainly is not a bash plate.

The battery provides power for motor, lights, mobile, and automatic gear shift system. The battery box is removable, shock and water-resistant.

Assisted range up to 500 miles (800 km). Designed for 37 mph (60 km/h), restricted to 15.5 mph (25 km/h).

It has a TIG welded 4130 Chrome Moly steel frame.

Design principles:

• Comfortable ride position
• Full suspension
• Drive anywhere
• Handle high load
• Long distance e-assist
• Resilient drive systems
• Waterproof electronics / electrics
• Adjustable e-assist configuration
• Fast charging
• Many gearing options
• Power and speed when needed
• Elegant design

Weight: 90.4 pounds (41 kg)
Max. load: 441 pounds (200 kg) (rider and/or luggage)
Seat height: 8.25 inches (21 cm)
Seat angle: 35 – 50 degrees
Max tire width: 2” (5 cm)
Suspension travel:  5.5 inches (14 cm) front, 5 inches (13 cm) rear
Track width: 30.70 inches (78 cm)
Wheel base: 43.3 inches (110 cm)
Width: 33.46 inches (85 cm)
Length:  74.8 – 82.68 inches (190 – 210 cm)
Turning circle: 13 feet (4 m)
Rider height: 59.05 – 82.68 inches (150 – 210 cm)

Gear chain: Shimano
Front Rims: Rigida Andra 40, 20″
Rear Rim: Rigida Andra 40, 26″
Spokes: 2,34 mm stainless
Front hubs: Novatec 36 spokes, 20mm axle
Rear hub: Shimano 36 spokes, quick release
Cassette: SRAM NX 11-42
Crankset: SR Suntour 44, 170 mm
Bottom Bracket: Torque Sensing BB
Rear derailleur: SRAM NX 11 speed
Gear shifter: SRAM NX twist shifter
Pedals: Shimano SPD + Normal
Brakes: Tektro Hydralic Disc brakes (160mm)
Right Brake levers: Front brakes, parking brake
Left Brake levers: e-brake (if ebrake option selected)
Rear shock: DNM Air spring 165 mm
Front shocks: DNM Steel spring 190 mm
Rear fender: SKS – Black
Motor cog: Disc mounted – 21 teeth
Battery: 60V, 1.5 kWh – 5.0 kWh
Motor: BLDC, 250w – 3000w
Controller: Sinusoidal Field oriented control
Computer: Cycle Analyst

Mounting the battery down low under the seat certainly helps to lower the center of gravity and greatly improve the trike’s handling making it more stable. I just think it ought to have a bash plate to protect it from damage. It looks like a fun trike, but I am sure I would be working at doing something about being limited to 15.5 mph. That is ridiculous. When people ride bicycles 25 mph and faster it makes no sense to limit an e-bike/trike to such a low speed. I tell ya … idiots are in charge!

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

A FREE GIFT awaits you!

CHINESE KNOCKOFFS

chinese-catrike-knockoff
Would you buy a brand new “Catrike”
like this for about half price?
China has long been known for blatantly illegally copying products of others and selling them … often on the black market … at least many years ago. But today they are so bold as to even display a picture of the real McCoy with manufacturer’s name clearly displayed on it. Those who don’t know any better might be deceived and go ahead purchasing the item thinking they are getting a really great deal. Of course, what they get is altogether different. It may look somewhat the same externally, but the components used are el cheapo. And I am pretty sure that even externally there would be some obvious differences in the trike you would receive. Here is an example of what I am talking about. I think this is a picture of an older model (2012 or earlier) Catrike Trail trike. It is the non-folding “space frame” design (my favorite). As you can see it has the Catrike name shown clearly on it. I think sells for about $1200, but I am not sure of that as they don’t show the prices on their website. I have emailed them to ask what the price is, but they haven’t answered back. Anyway, that is less than half price of what Catrike sells their trike for today. I would think that the Chinese businesses involved in this illegal knockoff production would at least take a couple of minutes with a photo editing program and remove the manufacturer’s name from the picture they use. Better yet, why not just use a picture of the trike they are building and selling? Here is the Chinese website (one of them) where this is found:
http://www.made-in-china.com/…/hot-chi…/Recumbent_Trike.html
And here is the specific trike’s webpage:
http://www.made-in-china.com/…/China-New-Design-Hot-Sale-Re…
I know Catrike is aware of this, if for no other reason than the fact that I emailed them about it several years ago when I first discovered it.
ice-fat-trike
Does this not look like an ICE FULLFAT trike? It is another Chinese knockoff they are selling. No doubt it would probably look a lot like the ICE FULLFAT trike. Again, they don’t show any prices so I have no idea what they are charging for it. I am sure it is quite cheap especially when compared to the cost of a real ICE FULLFAT trike (about $5000 for the base model).
Chinese FAT tire trike 2
I wrote an article about another Chinese FAT trike. It is shown in the picture above. As far as I know it is not a knockoff though. It is a “mini-fat” … that is it has 20 inch FAT tires all the way around instead of 26 inch. It certainly is cheap … $1,460.93 total which includes shipping ($950 for trike & $510.93 for shipping).
Alibaba is another well known Chinese website selling lots of different Chinese made products. They show the prices and as far as I know are legitimate … they just sell cheaply made trikes like the FAT trike I wrote about and linked to above. I have not seen any advertised that I identified as a knockoff.
https://www.alibaba.com/trade/search?fsb=y&IndexArea=product_en&CatId=1204&SearchText=tadpole+trike
The prices are definitely cheap, but the shipping costs are pretty high so the total cost isn’t as attractive as it starts out.
So … back to my original question … would you buy one of these Chinese knockoffs to save money? I don’t think I could do it. I could probably buy one of the other Chinese trikes though. It is just the knockoffs that I don’t think I could deal with. Well, I don’t have any money to buy any of them anyway so I won’t concern myself with it. I am happy I was able to get the real McCoy and it continues to serve me well year after year. I do really miss my 2009 space frame though. I always …
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