Tag: recumbent tadpole trikes

MASA SLINGSHOT, A BIT OF NOSTALGIA

masa-slingshot-racer

The era was the 1970s … 1975 as I understand is when the first of these were introduced here in the United States. A rather unique recumbent trike of the tadpole configuration came on the scene. Even though it originated in Japan it was the United States where they were most prevalent. They were big and heavy yet supposedly they were built for racing on oval tracks. Obviously they were not designed for touring and general riding. They were quite long compared to tadpole trikes of today. Their days were numbered and now they are more less a collectors item. Not only were they long, but they had a wide wheelbase so they are not too practical as far as fitting on trails and thru various openings. Speaking of being long … the chain on these was 13.5 feet long. That is a lot of chain in case you didn’t know it. Most modern day tadpole trikes have about 9 to about 10.5 feet depending upon how far out the boom is adjusted. Some say that these Masa trikes did not handle well and could tip over easily … that too much of the rider’s weight was on the back wheel. That being said you can also read that the trike handles well and doesn’t tip over as easily as modern day trikes. Take your pick. I give up. Well, I have already said more than I know about them. 🙂  So I won’t say anything more. I will just post a couple of videos where they are featured and talked about.

HERE are lots of pictures of two of these trikes.

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tadpole trike, tadpole trikes, tadpole tricycles, recumbent trikes, recumbent tricycles, recumbent tadpole trikes, recumbent tadpole tricycles, American Cruiser, Atomic Zombie, Azub, Bikes Reclinadas, CarbonTrikes, Catrike, Challenge, David Bruce Trikes, Edge Recumbents, Evolve, FFR Trikes, Fortrike, Greenspeed, HP Velotecknik, ICE, KMX, Logo Trikes, Outrider USA, Performer, Podersa Cycles, Scarab, Steintrikes, SunSeeker, TerraTrike, Ti-Trikes, Trident, TrikeWars, TriSled, TW-Bents, Utah Trikes, Windcheetah

Masa Slingshot Trike, tadpole trike, tadpole trikes, tadpole tricycles, recumbent trikes, recumbent tricycles, recumbent tadpole trikes, recumbent tadpole tricycles

GOPRO MOUNTS TIPS & TRICKS

GoPro cameras are very popular and take high quality pictures and video. Many tadpole trike riders use them. GoPro has numerous accessories and mounts available. Here are three videos explaining it all.

 

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A FREE GIFT awaits you!

tadpole trike, tadpole trikes, tadpole tricycles, recumbent trikes, recumbent tricycles, recumbent tadpole trikes, recumbent tadpole tricycles, American Cruiser, Atomic Zombie, Azub, Bikes Reclinadas, CarbonTrikes, Catrike, Challenge, David Bruce Trikes, Edge Recumbents, Evolve, FFR Trikes, Fortrike, Greenspeed, HP Velotecknik, ICE, KMX, Logo Trikes, Outrider USA, Performer, Podersa Cycles, Scarab, Steintrikes, SunSeeker, TerraTrike, Ti-Trikes, Trident, TrikeWars, TriSled, TW-Bents, Utah Trikes, Windcheetah

CATRIKE MODEL LINEUP (2017)

I came across a video where all the different models of Catrike tadpole trikes are shown and described. I was impressed with it so I thought I would share it here. Please be aware that since this video was produced Catrike has come out with two more models, the 550 and the Dumont.

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A FREE GIFT awaits you!

tadpole trike, tadpole trikes, tadpole tricycles, recumbent trikes, recumbent tricycles, recumbent tadpole trikes, recumbent tadpole tricycles, American Cruiser, Atomic Zombie, Azub, Bikes Reclinadas, CarbonTrikes, Catrike, Challenge, David Bruce Trikes, Edge Recumbents, Evolve, FFR Trikes, Fortrike, Greenspeed, HP Velotecknik, ICE, KMX, Logo Trikes, Outrider USA, Performer, Podersa Cycles, Scarab, Steintrikes, SunSeeker, TerraTrike, Ti-Trikes, Trident, TrikeWars, TriSled, TW-Bents, Utah Trikes, Windcheetah

WHAT IS A TADPOLE TRIKE?

What is a tadpole trike? The answer might surprise you somewhat … especially if you have never given much thought to it. By definition any vehicle that consists of two wheels in the front and one wheel in the back qualifies as a tadpole trike. Actually the most proper wording is “reverse trike”, but we seldom hear that used. We usually think of “recumbent tadpole trikes” and if we want to be understood that is the term we should use. Otherwise … well, these next three images show tadpole trikes …

tadpole trike non recumbent 2

not a recumbent

Campagna_T-Rex motorized tadpole

above & below … not human powered but classified as a motorcycle

tadpole trike homemade motorcycle

VeloMetro green

considered recumbent but is a velocar with motor assist

It is not likely that we are meaning any of these, but rather this is what we have in mind …

pink Catrike Trail

Well, maybe not in pink, but hey, I like it. My point is to be sure we are understood it is best to call these critters by their proper name … recumbent tadpole trikes and not ‘recumbent trikes’ as that would also include Delta trikes with one wheel in the front and two wheels in the back.

And please … DON’T REFER TO TRIKES AS BIKES. Bikes have 2 wheels. Trikes have 3 wheels. I am so bothered by that as I never know for sure what someone is talking about when they say bike but are referring to a trike. I have to ask myself … are they really that stupid? Calling a trike a bike is like calling a truck a car. It is stupid to do so. If you are talking about a truck and call it a car how is someone suppose to know what you are talking about? It is the same thing with bike and trike. They are not interchangeable. And a tadpole trike is not a trike bike as some people also call them. Excuse me while I go out to my truck car.

Hase Kettweisel delta trike

The picture above is a recumbent trike, but definitely not a recumbent tadpole trike. Let’s be accurate with our words and then maybe others will think we have some degree of intelligence.

That’s all folks. Let’s all … KEEP ON TRIKIN’

WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE!

Watch your language! Actually it would be more accurate to say watch your “terminology” but I thought the former would be more attention grabbing.  🙂

What I am getting at is the matter of speaking accurately and being understood correctly. I am all the time reading or sometimes hearing others refer to a tadpole trike as a bike (or bicycle). Obviously that is quite incorrect. A bike has two wheels. A tadpole trike has 3 wheels as does any trike/tricycle. Bi/by means two and Tri means 3. That hasn’t changed. I understand that there are times when it is probably easier to simply refer to a trike as a bike/bicycle. I am talking about when we are speaking to others “in passing” (quickly mentioning something about our mode of transportation and then departing them or at least moving on to another subject). Very few people know what a tadpole trike is if we were to tell them we rode or are riding one to get there. I agree that if they really aren’t interested and there isn’t time or reason to go into detail it is simpler to just say bike/bicycle and let it go at that.

There are other times, however, that it would be much better to not use bike/bicycle when referring to a tadpole trike. I have a simple solution I use. I have a picture of my trike set as wallpaper on my cell phone screen which I can quickly and easily show others so they know what I am talking about if I say tadpole trike. And usually I hear back from them when they look at the picture … “oh yeah, I have seen those before” and everything is cleared up quickly. This picture below is not very good quality but it is of the screen of my cell phone showing the picture I am speaking of:

cell phone wallpaper

So saying bike/bicycle instead of tadpole trike is one of those things many are all too guilty of. I am continually seeing trikes advertised for sale where the ad reads “trike bike” or “trike bicycle”. My question is … which is it? Is it a trike or is it a bike? It can’t be both. Again “bi” means two and “tri” means three. When I am talking about my truck I don’t say “car truck” or “truck car”. That’s ridiculous, yet people say trike bicycle all the time.

Another common error we make is saying “recumbent trike” and leaving it at that. The problem with this is that there are three kinds of recumbent trikes … tadpole, delta, and what I would classify as bordering between a delta trike and a “Florida trike”.  Here is a picture of one:

Sun EZ TriClassic SX

I guess one could classify it as a delta trike but it most definitely is not in the same class as the ones like I am most familiar with. For those who don’t know what a delta trike is here is a picture of one:

Hase Kettweisel delta trike

So when we are talking about a tadpole trike it would be most accurate to say “recumbent tadpole trike”. This may all seem trivial to you but I think it is important to communicate clearly so others know what we are talking about. Besides it just might impress them that we know what we are talking about. 🙂