TO MOTORIZE OR NOT TO MOTORIZE, THAT IS THE QUESTION

They say it is wise to let a sleeping dog lay. I am about to do something I hope I don’t regret. I am going to post an article below which is one I wrote and is posted on Steve Greene’s Trike Asylum blog. When I first wrote it it stirred up a hornet’s nest so to speak. I dared to express my opinion and it got me in trouble with some folks. Anyway, Steve Greene was kind and gracious in giving me his permission to post these articles I wrote for his blog  on my blog. So here goes:

To Motorize or Not to Motorize, That is the Question
I am getting into something here which I will state upfront I am very opinionated about. I”M ‘AGIN’ IT! To my way of thinking motorizing any type of human powered vehicle is defeating the whole concept of the thing … exercise. I mean, come on … if you want a motorized open air vehicle buy a motorcycle for crying out loud. I rode them for over 50 years of my life until I finally decided I would give it up for strictly pedaling around. I was also riding a bicycle all those years so I still got some exercise … just not nearly as much as I do now.

I am sure that there are some folks who are not able to pedal to get around … perhaps can’t use their arms and hands to propel a vehicle either and so they may NEED something in the way of a motorized trike. But there are a whole lot of folks out there who are perfectly capable of pedaling who really don’t NEED to go this route.

That being said, I know it has become pretty popular. The man I sold my homemade tadpole trike to told me he planned on motorizing it. There is lots of information out there on the subject. And I am sure riding a motorized tadpole trike is a lot of fun even though it could lead to an added element of danger. And there may be some folks who just need help pedaling up hills as just maybe their bodies can’t deliver what it takes.

Obviously there are two main ways to go … electric motor or gas engine. Those who oppose gas engines because they “pollute” would no doubt only consider the electric motor route. But I AM STILL AGIN IT!

Here are some pictures of various setups:

KMX trike motorized

KMX trike motorized

gas engine motorized trike

gas engine motorized trike

solar charging motorized trike

solar charging motorized trike

ecospeed motor on boom

ecospeed motor on boom 2

And I say to ya’ll …

KEEP ON PEDALIN’

(We all need the exercise!)

By the way,  one needs to be aware that there are trails where it is against the rules to ride a motorized bike or trike. Only motorized wheelchairs are permitted.

A FREE GIFT awaits you!

 

TRAIL RIDING VS. ROAD RIDING

Below is one of the articles I wrote and is posted on Steve Greene’s Trike Asylum blog. Steve was kind and gracious in giving me his permission to post them here on my own blog. I have made some minor changes mostly in the way of updating information I wrote about. Here is the article:

Some of us have a preference one way or another. Some of us have a choice while others do not. Some have no trails available and only have roads. Personally I am not afraid to ride out on the streets, roads and along the highways, but I have friends who are and won’t do it. They won’t even ride in bike lanes. That being said, I much prefer riding on trails as I find them more interesting for the most part. And I don’t think there is any doubt that they are safer than riding on streets and roads. I only wish I was in a position where I could travel around the country and ride all the different trails that are available out there. Of course there are paved trails (asphalt or concrete) and what I consider non-paved trails (everything else). I don’t care to ride on any trail that isn’t paved … especially riding a trike. I have ridden off road with my trike, but it ain’t for me. I think off road riding on a trike is very impractical. Sorry, maybe you don’t agree and like doing it.

Here where I live in Fort Wayne, Indiana we have approximately 80 miles of paved trails at the current time. In actuality we only have about 38 miles of trails which are of practical use … of any appreciable length and connected together. Some “trails” are what I refer to as “glorified sidewalks” and not really trails at all … at least they are not my idea of what a trail is. They are simply extra wide sidewalk which run along the side of a street or road. If commuting someplace is what one is doing then I have no problem with riding on these rather than riding out in the road/street. Otherwise there just is no comparison between these “sidewalks” and a true trail. I just have a hard time with classifying them as trails. Now 80 miles of trails sounds like a lot, but I tell you that those of us who ride on them daily will all say that it gets old quick. And as I said, it is really only about 38 miles we ride on. Hopefully someday there will be more and they will connect. Right now all the newer sections which exist are scattered about and isolated from one another. What was originally built is all a linear trail following along our 3 rivers. This means that once we get to the end of the trail we have to turn around and come back. The trails do not loop around or connect to other trails … not yet anyway.

There is a tadpole trike rider up in Calgary, Canada who has several YouTube videos of his rides. They are good quality videos which I enjoy watching.

https://www.youtube.com/user/abohdan/videos?view=0

Out of curiosity I looked up bicycle trails in the Calgary area and discovered that they have approximately 375 miles of trails and 240 miles of bike lanes. That is a bunch! I am impressed!

Perhaps you have something to say concerning your preference and what you have available where you live. I am all ears. Well, actually my nose is bigger than my ears, but we won’t go there. 🙂

Keep On Trikin’

A GRUELING ADVENTURE

ROAM velomobiles

Below is one of the articles I wrote and is posted on Steve Greene’s Trike Asylum blog back when I wrote articles for it. Steve Greene was kind and gracious in giving his permission for me to post the articles here on my own blog. In doing so I have added the images.

Velomobiles have been covered on this blog before so I am not trying to go over old ground.  I am sure some Trike Asylum readers were aware that last year a whole bunch of velomobiles undertook quite an adventure peddling from the West Coast (Oregon) to Washington, D.C. in what was called ROAM.

ROAM logo

They came thru Fort Wayne, IN where I live.

ROAM Chicago to Ft. Wayne route

A local man, John Dorrill who is a friend of mine and fellow Greenway Ranger, interviewed and video taped  riders as they rolled into Johnny Appleseed Park to the campgrounds where they were camping for the night.  I was there as well.  Below is his video.  It doesn’t sell me on velomobiles but it is interesting.  When I saw these riders crawl out of their vehicles soak and wet like they had been in swimming with all their clothes on (seriously) it didn’t take long for me to think … nope, this isn’t for me!   I get hot and sweaty enough sitting out in the open air.  Anyway, I think John did a very good job shooting this video and interviewing the riders.

Here is his description which accompanies the video:

The first episode in my new series about all things related to human powered vehicles including velomobiles, bikes, trikes, peddle boat and anything that requires human propulsion. This episode is about the Roll Over America {ROAM} riders that started in Oregon and went to DC.
Special thanks to Access Fort Wayne for making this possible.

INCLINED TO RECLINE

Most people share the same testimony that the older they get they have a tendency to take a liking to a recliner chair and just being comfortable and relaxed. When it comes to bicycling most people who have made the switch to a recumbent bike or trike have the same testimony … that riding a diamond frame bike had become more and more of a challenge as their bodies were suffering with leaning over, trying to hold their head up to see … wrists, hands, arms,  shoulders, and backs hurting from the riding position … sore butt from an uncomfortable seat, etc. Then there is the very real danger of riding on two wheels and going down. The older a person gets the more conscience we seem to be about the possibility of getting seriously hurt and what that may involve. I know all this is true for me so I finally came to the point … maybe I should say “to my senses” and made the plunge into the recumbent world. I mean like, WHOA NELLIE! Stop the merry go round, I want to get off! And I did. No regrets other than I wish I had done so many many years sooner. Yep, I am INCLINED TO RECLINE! … and loving it!

Speaking of reclining … tadpole trikes vary in the angle of inclination of the seat back. Some are considerably upright while others are really laid back. The ones I know of which are most laid back are the Catrike 700, the ICE VTX and the Greenspeed Aero.  All are 25 degrees. That is really laid back! In the image below I have marked the seat angles of my trike (45 degrees – green line) and 25 degrees (red line). That is quite a difference.

protractor angles marked

 

 

 

 

 

Catrike 700

ICE VTX

Greenspeed Aero

My seat back angle is adjustable but it only goes more upright. 45 degrees is as far back as it reclines. I wish it would go further back to about 30 degrees, but Catrike only made it to adjust more upright which I personally think is ridiculous and totally worthless as far as having this feature of an adjustable seat back. I have absolutely no desire to sit up straighter but I sure would love to be able to lay back further if I chose to. The word “recumbent” means LAID BACK / RECLINED and that is what it is all about. One might as well be riding a conventional “Florida trike”  if they want to sit up straight. I would never want to go any further forward than 45 degrees. It defeats the whole purpose of having a recumbent. At least that is the way I look at it … cause I am INCLINED TO RECLINE! … and loving it! I always tell people that the hardest part of riding a recumbent trike is trying to stay awake … which is not far from the truth.

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

A FREE GIFT awaits you!

HOW DO YOU BALANCE THAT?

HOW DO YOU BALANCE THAT? <You can laugh now.> Believe it or not, I have been asked that questions 2 or 3 times over the years. At first I thought the person asking it was joking with me, but I soon learned that they were serious. I mean, just how do you answer a question like that? So now I sometimes joke with others saying that the hardest thing about riding a tadpole trike is learning how to balance it. And, yes, I sometimes get some looks from people as they think I am being serious. I guess some folks just don’t recognize humor when they hear it.

One thing for sure, tadpole trikes attract attention as they still are not all that commonplace. When people see them they look with great interest. Sometimes they stop and look the trike(s) over. If the “pilot” is around they often will start a conversation asking questions about the trike(s). Even if no questions are asked we often see a thumbs up or hear comments like “I really like your ‘bike’ ” … or … “that’s really neat!” … or … “I want one!”

Probably the most common question I hear asked is “how do you steer it?”  Probably the second most common question I hear asked is “is that thing comfortable?”.  I have to admit I would put that question in the same category as “how do you balance that?” Probably the third most common question I hear asked is “how much does it cost?” followed by “where can you buy one?” And when I say followed by I don’t mean they ask that question following the question about cost. I mean it as the 4th most common question asked. A much more rare question asked is “are you handicapped”? Apparently some people think one would have to handicapped to ride such a machine.

Q&A

Yes, questions … we get questions. They go with the territory I reckon. That is, having a tadpole trike means people will ask such questions so we need to avail ourselves to answer them as ambassadors for these wonderful machines. I try to take all the time I can to answer all their questions. Let’s just hope that tadpole trikes won’t become common place. I think I would prefer to answer all the questions than deal with lots of tadpole trikes clogging up the trails and streets. 🙂  As expensive as these trikes are it is a pretty safe bet that most folks aren’t going to rush out and buy one.

ENJOY THE RIDE

A FREE GIFT awaits you!

HOMEMADE TANDEM TRIKE

I recently came across a few videos of a couple in Hungary riding a homemade tandem tadpole trike around there in Hungary. I watched them as the videos were pretty well done and I found them interesting. Seeing the countryside in Hungary was neat. The first video is just over 9 minutes long and the second one is over 30 minutes long. Here are two of the videos:

REPAIR WELDING OF A CRACKED ALUMINUM FRAME

A fellow tadpole rider I know stopped by my house recently. (His stop had nothing to do with this subject.) While he was here he told me that the frame of his ActionBent trike was broken at the crucifix. He mentioned getting it welded. Being a professional weldor (now retired) I told him that the aluminum frame is heat treated and that complicates things as far as welding it. I cautioned him about not just taking it anywhere to get it welded … that he needs to find someone who is not only very knowledgeable but capable of doing the job right. I want to state upfront that although I am a very good weldor and was highly certified, I make no profession of being very knowledgeable and capable of doing the repair weld on his trike. First of all, I no longer have the welding equipment needed and most certainly I don’t have the means of heat treating the aluminum (nor the knowledge of how to do it). I have welded a lot of aluminum in my life and was certified in aluminum welding, but this is a specialty. I am not familiar with it. And I would think that it is  probably not easy to find someone around who is knowledgeable, qualified and equipped unless one is in the right place such as a large city. I doubt if such a welding business exists around my area. I would rather imagine that going this route is not something usually done. I would think that purchasing a replacement frame is the more common way to go. Of course, some manufacturers offer free replacement under warranty. In the case of ActionBent they are defunct … totally out of business … gone … history. His other option is, of course, buying another trike … which he mentioned. It might be the more practical solution to his dilemma. I know that this problem is not uncommon so I thought I would post this article about it. It also happens with chrome-moly steel frames and mild steel frames although they are much simpler to make welding repairs on. I would highly recommend adding gussets to strengthen the joint where the crack occurred. The manufacturers should have done this to begin with. As a professional weldor and fabricator I would have if I were designing and building a trike.

Here is a picture of a cracked frame right at the edge of the weld on the crucifix:

cracked sun trike frame

It is not something you want to see on your trike. This particular trike is made of chrome-moly steel.

Repair Welding of Heat Treated Aluminum

Some trikes are made from 6061 T-6 aluminum, but the better ones are made from 7005 aircraft grade aluminum. All Catrike frames are made from 7005 aircraft aluminum alloy. All this adds complexity into the picture … knowing what you are dealing with and what needs to be done.

more on welding heat treated aluminum

When my 2009 Catrike Trail frame developed a hairline crack at the edge of the weld on the underside of the crucifix I was concerned as I know it could get worse and in time fail. If they would have put a gusset on the back side of the crucifix like they did on the front side I don’t think this would have ever happened.

cracked frame (weld) 001

So I contacted Catrike knowing that they offered a lifetime warranty on the frame. They readily replaced the frame although certainly not without cost to me much to my disappointment. The “space frame” that I had was no longer made so they sent their new frame. I much prefer what I originally had and wished they would have just taken my frame back and repaired it or replaced it with another one like it, but they don’t offer either so I was stuck with having to deal with the new frame. Although I appreciate Catrike standing behind their product and replacing the frame for me I was not (and am not) pleased with the outcome of not being able to get the same frame I had. Everyday I ride it I wish I had the old space age frame instead of this new design. I just don’t think much of the new design. The space age frame was far superior. Sometimes I regret having the frame replaced under warranty. It is possible that the hair line crack in the weld would have held up fine and given many more years of service. I will never know the answer to that matter. At the very least I could have delayed getting the replacement and kept riding my trike as is hoping for the best. At least up until the time it would fail I would have a superior frame.

Anyway, if you are having or do have this problem of a cracked weld or tubing on your trike keep in mind what you are up against here. If the job is not done right you will probably end up in deep doo doo. Having sudden failure in a weld or frame could be very dangerous. It could happen if the job isn’t done right.

Be safe out there!

THANKS

Just a quick note here …

I just arrived back home from a trike ride trying to get a ride in before rain starts. I succeeded. Upon arriving home I checked my email and found one from Steve Greene’s TrikeAsylum blog. The email message was about my starting up my TadpoleRider blog again. I always appreciate Steve’s free plugs (Thanks Steve) as they do help. I not only want to go on public record thanking Steve but I want to thank all those who visit my blog and follow it. I truly do appreciate you. And I hope I can earn your loyalty and be of help to you in the articles I post. It is a lot of work to blog, especially if one is writing often and trying to come up with material to write about. Steve Greene has been writing his TA blog long enough now and has developed a large following which has resulted in getting quite a bit of help from readers sending him things to write about. I don’t have that going for me at this time. Anyway, regardless where the material comes from Steve does a fine job on his TA blog. As he stated, I have followed it for several years as I am sure many of you have as well. He is a very gifted writer and I always enjoy reading his articles. I don’t expect to ever be the writer he is but I do hope I can do well enough for this blog to continue to grow. It was just taking off pretty good when I pulled the plug on it a few months ago. I sure wish I would not have deleted what I had already worked so hard to create but I can’t change that. All I can ask is that you the reader bear with me thru this as I strive to reestablish this TadpoleRider blog. It will take time. Again my heart felt thanks to all of you. STEVE

OFF ROAD HANDCYCLE TRIKE

For those who have lost the use of their legs and/or feet there is an alternative. I am talking about hand cranking for propulsion. There are just a few manufacturers producing hand crank trikes. Here is one designed for off road riding.

Explorer 2

From their website …

The Explorer II Off-Road Handcycle is a unique handcycle designed to tackle extreme off-road conditions and provide unparalleled opportunities to get up close and personal with places that until now have been inaccessible. Places like mountains, trails and the beach are no longer out of bounds, the Explorer Off-Road Handcycle will take you there and to the top. This unique off-road handcycle has already taken many users to the highest peaks of Europe, including the Alps and the Tatra mountains. The Explorer also took part in a successful climbing expedition to Mount Kilimanjaro – the highest peak of Africa. The Explorer ll is the most advanced off-road handcycle of it’s kind with features such as full independent suspension, hydraulic disc brakes all round, Schlumph Mountain Drive and a choice of drivetrain ranging from 16-22 gears. One of the great features of the Explorer is the chest steering used to keep the bike in a straight line or negotiating turns when pedaling. The handlebars are there for flying downhill.

This YouTube video is accompanied by the following description:

The Explorer II off-road handcycle , is a hand powered trike for people with disabilities, however it can bring a lot of fun also for able bodied. We created this handcycle so that break the boundary of mountain biking and allow the disabled persons to reach what until now was impossible. Now we at SPORT-ON believe that we have succeeded!

Several other YouTube videos of this trike

YouTube videos of  off road hand crank trikes

HERE is a link to their website.

SAFETY FLAGS ARE FOR YOUR SAFETY

A tadpole trike is a very safe vehicle to ride … far more so than an “upwrong” (upright) bike. Motorists tend to show much more respect and courtesy to tadpole trikes than they do a regular bicycle. However, motorists must “see” them first in order for the rest to follow. Since a tadpole trike is low to the ground and relatively small motorists need help seeing the trike. It is imperative that we do what we can to help be seen.

Safety flags are essential on a tadpole trike in my opinion. And when it comes to safety flags I am fully convinced that they should be flags that do the job. Otherwise why bother?  All too many I see are next to worthless as they can’t be seen for one reason or another. Thru the years I have had several different flags on my trikes. Some were better than others but I always made sure what I was using were highly visible.  I finally ended up making my own flags (actually I had them made by a friend who sews).

I really like what I have now as they are highly visible and very effective. Here is a video showing them.

As I state in the video safety flags should be about safety … our safety … and not about advertising for the trike manufacturer. I don’t know of a single safety flag provided by a trike manufacturer that is worth having. They are usually too small to be seen, not bright enough to be seen, wrong ineffective dimensions to move about attracting attention, too stiff to move about to attract attention, and so on.

Some flags I have tried were very effective as far as being seen but they didn’t hold up to daily use. There are factory made flags one can purchase which are far superior to to the flags which come with trikes from the manufacturer. I have had some of them. Again, safety flags are supposed to be about our safety so I want something that will do the job. These flags I fly are large enough to be seen, bright enough to catch one’s attention, and soft enough to flap around quite well and get noticed. Also the black border around my safety orange flag really helps it stand out and be seen. The safety yellow/green flag has a reflective border around it that shines brilliantly when light hits it.

The human eye sees the color green the best followed by yellow and then orange. Red and blue are not good colors as far as what we see. Obviously the popular fluorescent colors, otherwise known as safety green yellow and orange, show up the best. I personally like a combination of these colors as I think they show up better than just one of these colors by itself. As you can see in the image below blues and purples are bad but dark red is the worst.

colors human eyes see best

SoundWinds makes some pretty good flags. Here are some examples of some I like:

safety flag 1 sound winds air arts fan banner flag spinner flags

I like spinner flags, at least some of them anyway, but one needs to be aware that they can be problematic if you are riding with others and ride close together the person behind you will be eating it from time to time. I mean … talk about “in your face”!  🙂  Also they can catch on things as you ride along. I have had them ripped off when they caught on something. I also lost one when it got pulled out of the holder and I didn’t notice it for awhile. I back tracked to find it but someone apparently beat me to it and got a free spinner flag out of the deal. My spinner flag had streamers on it which really help it be seen. However, those streamers make it bad as far as catching on things. Here is a picture of my spinner flag. It had highly glistening foil in addition to the colored material. It spun around like crazy. The ribbons were constantly getting tangled and tied into knots as well as fraying. Fortunately they were cheap … $1 apiece at a nearby Dollar General store.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Speaking of streamers … last year a cycling friend of mine bought a very colorful streamer made of glistening foil like material. I wish I could find a photo of one like it but I have searched online and found nothing. Anyway while riding out in bright sunlight it really catches your eye. Here is a photo of similar material and form but his has multi colors in it.

foil streamers

Wearing clothing of the safety green, yellow or orange color is very helpful as well. When I see cyclists out there wearing this sort of clothing they can readily be seen way off in the distance. Those safety colors just catch the eye.

green jacket

In addition to using good safety flags I think having good flashing headlight(s) and taillight(s) are essential. I am talking about daytime riding here so please don’t write comments about using a flashing light and blinding motorists. When riding in the daytime I have my headlight pointed up slightly so that the light is aimed about eye level for motorists and pedestrians. This helps immensely in their seeing the lights.

I have frequently asked people what caught their eye first … my flags or my lights. Most say the lights, especially the flashing headlight. Of course, it depends upon whether they are ahead of me coming toward me or to my side. Obviously if they are off to my side the lights are not going to do the job. So the flags are important as they see them. Even if they are in front of me or behind me and they see the lights first they also tell me that they saw the flags right afterwards. Both are very important!

Riding tadpole trikes is a lot of fun, but be safe out there!

RIDEKICK ELECTRIC BIKE REVIEW

Lots of folks are into electric motorized tadpole trikes. One option is the Ridekick trailer pulled behind a trike. It has the battery and motor on board and can push the trike along.

ridekick on tadpole

http://electricbikereview.com/ridekick/power-trailer/

Most definitely anyone considering one of these units would do well to read the review as the list of pros and cons is interesting.

Here is a YouTube video of this product and here is the description of the video: The Ridekick is a bicycle trailer with built in motor that pushes the rider like an electric bike. It’s easy to connect and disconnect, learn more in this review and interview with the CEO of Ridekick.

The approximate price is $700. The top speed is about 19 mph motor power only. The standard lead acid battery is good for about 12 miles (45 minutes) of riding while the lithium battery is good for about 25 miles (2 hours). The lithium battery version is about $1359. The unit weighs in at about 43 pounds with lead acid battery and 38 pounds for the lithium battery version. Battery replacement is $125 for the lead acid and $795 for the lithium battery. Charge time for the batteries is 5 hours for the lead acid and 3.3 hours for the lithium. The batteries can be recharged an estimated 400 times for the lead acid or 1,500 times for the lithium before degradation.

The trailer has a cargo volume of 41.8 Liters and can haul up to 75 pounds of cargo.

ridekick carrying capacity

I am sure it isn’t everybody’s cup of tea, but some may like it. For sure you need to know the rules where you are riding. On our local trails here where I am at motorized vehicles are not allowed. It is lesser money than most electrice trikes. Extra batteries could be purchased and extend the time and distance the trike could be ridden. Of course, pedaling will also increase the time and distance. And pedaling is the whole purpose … exercise!

tadpole trikes … bring out the kid in ya’ 🙂

A FREE GIFT awaits you!

[Update] Ridekick trailers are sold out through the end of 2014. The company is refining the product and working on the next iteration. All existing warranties are being honored and the company is still in business.

OUT OF SHAPE

For many of us who live where we have winter to deal with we either can’t or don’t get out to get exercise. I am talking specifically about riding a tadpole trike,

Steve on new trike at Foster Park

but it is also true of nearly any type of exercise one can name other than winter sports such as ice skating, snow skiing, etc. As a result we get “out of shape”( or out of physical conditioning) … to varying degrees depending upon what we do or don’t do in the way of other forms of exercise. As for me personally I have bad knee joints due to osteoarthritis and I can’t walk much. I used to walk a lot before this happened and wish I still could could as I know it is great exercise and I have always enjoyed walking. Anyway, with this past winter being one of the worst on record the only exercise I got was inside the house other than lots of snow removal outside. When the weather conditions finally improved enough I could get outside to ride my tadpole trike I quickly learned that I was extremely out of shape … far more so than any previous year. I mentioned it to my two friends I ride with. One of them spends 6 months out of the year in southern Florida. When I emailed him and told him about being out of shape he replied back “round is a shape”. He is going to get a knuckle rub on the old noggin’ when he returns up here to the north. 🙂 

round is a shape

All kidding aside, being out of shape is not a laughing matter. I am 67 years old and I am finding that the older I get the harder it is to try to lose weight and get in shape. About the first 2/3 of this past winter I did pretty good as far as maintaining my weight. I usually gain about 15 to 20 pounds over the winter. This winter I started off doing great and experienced very little weight gain. However, by the last 1/3 “all bets were off” as I started gaining back weight and ended up about where I usually am each winter. The only difference is I fell way behind in my physical conditioning since I was not able to get out and ride thru the winter. Yesterday was my longest ride thus far this Spring … about 30 miles. The thing I am most concerned about is I have noticed over the last 2 or 3 years that I am not nearly as motivated as I used to be. Just a few years ago it was not uncommon for me to ride 40 or more miles per day. Just two years ago I managed to ride the most miles of anyone in Fort Wayne signed up for the National Bicycle Challenge.

https://nationalbikechallenge.org/

I entered this national bike challenge but for me it turned into a competition trying to outdo those who were leading. I managed to do so but it became challenging indeed and no longer fun. So I don’t do it anymore even though there are some who want me to. I am just not interested as I know it would turn into another competition thing and I don’t care to do that. In order to take and keep the lead I was riding a lot of 65 to 85 miles days. That was just too much. Now I rarely ride a 40 mile day and most days are 25-35 miles when I am in as good of shape I obtain thru the riding season (Spring, Summer & Fall).  I have found that for me I need to do what I can to keep myself as motivated as possible. Part of that is keeping my riding fun. When it becomes work and drudgery then I lose motivation. A few years ago riding 40 plus miles a day was fun. Now it usually isn’t so I don’t do it anymore. What can I say?

Update: Since I wrote this I have added e-motor assist to my trike and it has turned things around for me. Now I once again enjoy riding and am getting more exercise than I got before when I didn’t have it. And I am often riding 40 plus … even 50 plus miles a day.

A FREE GIFT awaits you!

TADPOLE TRIKE CONSTRUCTION – THE SCIENCE OF TADPOLE TRIKE STEERING

For those who want to build a tadpole trike it is imperative that they understand the science of the steering and ensure that they “get it right”. The “center point steering”, camber and caster settings, “Ackerman steering principle” and “toe in setting” all must be correct. Otherwise there will be “trouble in River City” and it could even lead to serious endangerment for the rider. At the very least handling will be greatly effected and tire wear will be a serious problem. When I first bought my Catrike Trail the dealer had the toe in off considerably and my brand new front tires wore out in only 30 miles of riding.

HERE is a webpage with a good explanation of toe in, toe out, camber and caster … what each is and what each does.

In the first video below this man says toe in should be 1/8 inch. That is too much for most trikes. 1/16 inch is preferable and is what is recommended by most trike manufacturers. Actually zero toe in maybe the ticket for some trikes including mine as with my weight on it I end up with about 1/16 inch toe in. There in lies another matter … it is best to set the toe in with the rider seated. This usually means a second person is needed as the mechanic to do the adjusting. It is not imperative that it is done this way, but it does work best. The more the rider weighs the more the toe in will change as the rider is seated on the trike. The closer you can get to zero toe in the better as long as the handling is ok. Never have toe out however as the handling will greatly suffer as a result.

Here are a couple of videos illustrating and explaining about these things.

As to actually measuring and setting the complex angles involved when I built my tadpole trike I simply used one of these (angle finder) …

ANGLE FINDER

As long as you use it properly and read it accurately it works fine for getting things right. My homemade trike rode and handled superbly so I must have got all the steering geometry correct.

The newer higher tech digital readout types would probably be better to use though …

digital angle meter

digital angle meter 2

A FREE GIFT awaits you!

HOME BUILT RECUMBENT TRIKE, DETAILED PLANS AND CONSTRUCTION STEPS

I came across this video and thought it might be of interest to others. As a retired weldor/fabricator who has made my own tadpole trike it interests me. Here is a picture of the trike I made. (A friend was riding it when I took this picture so to protect his identity I have hidden his face.)

no face on my homemade tadpole trike

HOME BUILT RECUMBENT TRIKE, DETAILED PLANS AND CONSTRUCTION STEPS

HERE is a website about construction of a tadpole trike. It has several links to other resources.

HERE is a website about construction of an electric motor powered pedal assist tadpole trike. (lots of good information here about trike construction)

HERE is a video about how to make the direct steering handlebars.

And HERE is a listing of all the videos available by the man from the video above.

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

A FREE GIFT awaits you!

CATRIKES IN FLORIDA

I ride a Catrike Trail recumbent tadpole trike and take a considerable interest in tadpole trikes. Here is a picture of me sitting on my trike …

new trike 1st pics 004

I just stumbled across a YouTube video which I thought I would share here. It is of a few Catrike riders out for a ride down in Florida. Tadpole trikes are a lot of fun to ride and extremely comfortable. Since they sit so low to the ground they handle great. Some compare riding one to driving a go cart or sports car. I would not go so far as to say that, but they do handle great. Catrike tadpole trikes are manufactured in Orlando, Florida.

Every year Catrike sponsors a rally for Catrike owners. I would love to go and participate in it. It is open to everyone regardless of what brand of trike or even bicycle they ride. Here are some videos of the 2014 rally. They show many trikes  up close as they are gathering to go for a group ride on one of the local trails near Orlando. They also show the many trikes and bikes riding on the trail.

And here is another video of the 2014 rally. This one is considerably longer but well made and interesting …

In addition to the organized and unorganized rides there is also a factory tour available. Being a retired weldor/fabricator taking such a tour would greatly interest me. I built my own recumbent bicycle and tadpole trike before buying factory made ones. Here are pictures of both:

my homemade recumbent with 2 steering heads retouched

I never got the bike painted as I ended up cutting it up to use some of the parts to make the tadpole trike.

my homemade tadpole trike with Luke aboard out at Kreager Park retouched

There is also an annual Catrike rally held in Austin, Texas . And there are a few other rallies held in various locations for other brands or for all brands. One is held in Oregon which is for “recumbents” … both bikes and trikes.

Tadpole trikes are also known as reverse trikes since there are two wheels in the front and one wheel in the back. This makes for a more stable design. Although they are becoming more and more popular and sales are up considerably they are still not all that common in many places so when people see them they often don’t know what they are seeing and show an interest in them. Certainly many people comment about how neat they are and that they really like them. Lots of questions are asked about them as people know and understand very little about them. A few of the most asked questions are:

“How do you steer it?”

“Is that comfortable to ride?”

“How fast will it go?”

“Does it have a motor?”

“How much do they cost?”

and the one that I am always amazed when I am asked …

“How do you balance it?”    …  Yes, I have been asked that a couple of times.

I highly recommend Catrike as I think they are one of the best made and designed tadpole trikes available and they are the only** brand name trike totally made in the U.S. Most come from China/Taiwan. Some come from England, Germany, and a couple of other European countries and from Australia.

Anyone interested in checking out these Catrikes further can view their website … http://www.catrike.com/

** There are a small number of trike manufacturers who also make their trikes here in the U.S., but their sales are quite low so I am not counting them as part of the factory produced trikes. TerraTrike manufactures one of their models here in the U.S. but most of their models come from Taiwan.

THE BEST BICYCLE TIRE MONEY CAN BUY

As far as I am concerned the very best bicycle tire money can buy is the Schwalbe Marathon Plus. I have been using them now for several years and since I switched to them I have never had a flat tire caused from anything external. I have had one inner tube failure caused by the a Mr. Tuffy tire liner which I have since removed as they are not needed and do cause flats internally such as I experienced. Before I use to deal with a lot of flats. I joke about these tires being nearly bullet proof and I think they come close. They are indeed quite amazing!

Schwalbe-Marathon-Plus-tire

schwalbe marathon plus 20x1-75 406 cutaway

I personally ride a Catrike Trail recumbent tadpole trike. Here is a picture of me on it.

new trike 1st pics 004

It is a blast to ride and extremely comfortable. Many compare riding a tadpole trike to driving a go cart or sports car as they handle so well. I have ridden this trike over 33,000 miles. Before I bought this trike I made one similar to it although it was made out of mild steel. My Catrike is made out of aluminum.

Over the years I have tried various other Schwalbe tires on my trikes. All of the various types of Schwalbe tires are quite good … among the very best made in the world, but the Marathon Plus out does them all … very flat resistant and long wear. I highly recommend these tires. I run the 20 X 1.75 406 size. They also come in 20 X 1.35 406 as well as larger diameter sizes for those who have a larger size rear wheel. By far the best price I have found is ordering them online from a company in the UK …   Merlin Cycles   They offer excellent service and free shipping if ordering a minimum of $75. With three or 4 tires that is easy enough to meet the requirement. I used to buy them from a company in Germany …  bike-discount.de   They are the second cheapest prices I have found. They also offer excellent service. I think a maximum of 4 tires can be ordered at one time for the flat rate shipping charge they have. Even with the shipping charge they have always been much cheaper than prices I have found elsewhere with the exception of Merlin Cycles. With this German source the best price per tire is had by ordering 4 at a time. I have found that the price per tire varies from time to time so sometimes I pay more or less than other times. Early on I paid $37 something apiece. Recently I paid $29.45 apiece. Again, the cost thru Merlin Cycles has been better.

Here is a video by Steve Green, Trike Hobo as he talks about the Marathon Plus tire …

I will readily admit that these tires are probably the most difficult tires to mount that I have ever encountered. However, there is a way which once known and followed make it much simpler. Once you learn how to do this it is fairly easy. Here is a video showing how to do it:

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

A FREE GIFT AWAITS YOU!

You are invited to come join the Tadpole Rider Facebook Group. Please note that in order to join you must first answer the two membership vetting questions and agree to comply with the group rules.

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING VS SOMETHING — ANYTHING

You can trust me on this cause I am good for nothing. If anyone can come thru on this, it’s me! Right now you are probably thinking — this guy has got to be kidding. Yeah, you are probably right. Hopefully I will come up with something. But until I do what you have is absolutely nothing. I mean that is all I have to offer — not something but absolutely nothing. Have you had enough of this? I know I have, but there is a problem. I still have not come up with anything so what you have is absolutely nothing. Don’t rush me! I am thinking on it. The trouble is there is absolutely nothing coming to mind.

Those that pray — please pray for me — pray that something will pop into my head. It would be rather embarrassing to finish this posting and end up with absolutely nothing. That is exactly where I am headed at this time. I think one of the problems is that I am dealing with the death of a close friend plus just this morning I discovered in the newspaper obituaries two more people I knew who died. All that is working on me … against me.

Then to make matters worse it is raining which is messing up my riding. And the weather forecast keeps changing so that I can’t count on it clearing up so I can plan on riding. So here I sit all bummed out and coming up with absolutely nothing. Does this ever happen to you? It is a rare thing for me. I usually can come up with something.

Hey, I just had a thought … one I am suppose to share. NO MATTER HOW BAD THINGS GET, JESUS IS STILL ON HIS THRONE AND VERY MUCH IN CONTROL. You can take that to the bank! There is nothing that can happen or will happen that is too difficult for Him to deal with. With that I bring this to a close reminding all of us that in these crazy days we are living in …

“Normal is not coming back, JESUS is!”

Some difficult times have to come in the process which ushers in His return. Yes, Jesus is coming back and He is quite angry with mankind for all of the rebellion against Him. He will pour out His wrath on this Christ-rejecting world. I hope you have the good sense not to be a part of it. You can be forgiven of your sin which is rebellion against God. You can stand clean before HIM … white as snow. I have written quite a bit in the past explaining it all. It is all AIMED AT YOUR HEART.

A FREE GIFT AWAITS YOU!

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.

“NORMAL” is not coming back … JESUS IS!

 

 

 

 

 

TADPOLE RIDER IS BACK

Some of you probably know that I used to have a blog called Tadpole Rider. I wrote it for 9 months and put a lot of work into creating it. I made the decision a few months ago to not only discontinue it but to totally delete it. Later I had second thoughts about deleting it but it was too late. So now here I am starting all over. One of my other blogs, Steves Mixed Bag, has articles on it about tadpole trikes as it was my intention from the start to include such articles. But then I decided that I should have a separate stand alone blog for tadpole trikes and so Tadpole Rider was reborn. I did not release that title when I deleted the first blog so “Tadpole Rider” (tadpolerider.wordpress.com) is not available. That’s why you see tadpolerider2. It is the best I could do.

I might mention that my friend and fellow tadpole blog writer, Steve Greene of TrikeAsylum, also suggested to me that I create a separate blog just for tadpole trikes rather than use my one blog for everything.

It is going to take time to get this going. I may attempt to reproduce some of the pages I had previously such as the listing of tadpole trikes by price range as I thought that was a practical and handy resource to make available.

I personally ride a Catrike Trail tadpole trike.

tadpole rider for blog

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