OK, I got this one going, now I have another question

I almost purchased the Villager back in Oct or Nov, can't remember which month, but at the time could not get the wife to buy in no getting trikes.

It is a nice trike and I believe that for the money you get a lot with a Catrike.

Gary

 

Another nice thing about trikes is that if you live in somewhere with snow and ice, you can keep riding as long as your back derailleur idler has clearance to miss the plow heaps.

No matter how slick the ice is, I can make it out in one, untumbled piece as long as I don't slide into a ditch.

That's the main reason, I replaced my Trice QNT with 20" wheels all around for the Sprint 26" with the bigger rear wheel. As long as we have less than a foot of snow and it's above 25 F, I'm good to go!

Terii

P.S. Just watch out for freezing cables.

 

I can't believe what I'm seeing in all of this.

High speed, low speed, in town out of town.

Rough terrain, rock, gravel, mud, snow, water.

I realize there is more to it than that..

(Derailers, chains, bearings, brakes, etc)

But still..

Meander, cruise, race, tour,

I would have thought none of this just one week ago.

I'm negotiating on a Cattrike and Windcheetah and HP and a few others right now.

Both new and used or home built.

I can't mostly make a 100% hit, in getting the right one the first time around but I'm trying to get as close as I can.

As long asI buy right I can't get hurt to bad.

Hopefully..

At first I just outwardly rejected most all of this.

Now I'm looking at the battery hub assist to get me over the mountains or back home after a long ride or just because I have it to speed me along easily as I peddle along with it for a fun thing to do now and then.

I'm not completely ruling out gas, I even saw a jet powered one.

Unbelievable!

Thanks

 

Hi Tom,

Be careful about buying used or home built. Especially the home built.

Here are some of my thoughts of buying a used or home built.

If you don't personally know the seller you need to ask a lot of questions. A few that come to mind are:

• Used company made
  • Do you have the sales receipt? You don't want to buy a stolen trike.
  • Where did you purchase it?
  • How old is it?
  • How many miles on the trike?
  • What type of riding has the seller use it for?
  • Has it been crashed?
  • Is it okay for you to take it to an authorized dealer of the buyers choice for an inspection before paying for it? You should offer some type of deposit.
  • Why is it being sold?
• Home built
  • What is your expertise in building trikes?
  • Where the parts new or used, that were use in the build?
  • Do you have the sales receipt of any parts used in the build? Again you don't want any HOT parts.
  • How many miles on the trike?
  • What type of riding has the seller use it for?
  • Has it been crashed?
  • Is it okay for you to take it to a bike shop of the buyers choice for an inspection before paying for it? You should offer some type of deposit.
  • Why is it being sold?

Remember that the answers you get may not be totally True.

Do a visual inspection, looking for things like:

• Bent or damaged parts, could be a crashed trike
• large/deep scratches in the paint, could be a crashed trike
• Depending on the type of brakes
  • rim brakes
    • are the rims worn and scored?
    • what condition are the brake pads in?
  • disk brakes
    • what is the condition of the disks
    • how thick are the pads
• Squeeze the brake levers fully, is there space between the lever and the handle bar? If not the brakes need work.
• Pick up each wheel and
  • See if the hub has any movement on the axle shaft by griping the wheel and try to push one side of the wheel toward the frame while pulling the outer side out. Hubs may be wore out.
  • Give each wheel a spin, look for wobble.
• What do the tires look like? If new, the seller maybe trying to hid something like an alignment problem with the front end. This may be a problem to fix on a home build.
• Check the steering, is there any play in the system?
• Check the chain for stiff/damaged links.
  • The easiest way to spot stiff/damaged links is to shift the bike into the small/small gear. This gear has the chain at its slackest, and flexes it farther than any other gear, as it goes around the small rear sprocket and the derailleur pulleys. Slowly backpedal while watching the chain as it feeds through the rear derailleur, and you will usually be able to see the bad link jump.
• With a ruler measure 12 inches of the chain pin to pin.
  • As a general rule, if the pin is less than 1/16″ past the mark, the chain is ok. If it’s between 1/16″ and 1/8″ past the mark you’ll likely need a new chain, but your sprockets should be ok. If it’s more than 1/8″ past the mark, you’ll probably have to replace both the chain and cassette.
• Check the bottom bracket for play by trying to move the crank arm sideways.
• Push the trike around without using the handle bars
• Does it move easily?
• Does it roll straight?
• Do the front wheels look to be parallel, are they angled the same front to back, top to bottom?

Ask to take the trike for a test ride. While riding look for things like:

• Does the trike pull to one direction or the other? The crown of the road will have some impact on the pulling, but on a flat surface the trike should drive straight. Excessive pulling may indicate a crashed trike or an alignment problem.
• On a flat surface let go of the handle bars and see if it travels straight. If not the same problems as above.
• Do the wheels run true? Some out of true is acceptable, a millimeter or so.
• Are there any rattles, squeaks or other abnormal noises?
• Do the wheels feel like they have flat spots? A bump with every rotation of the wheels
• If the seller does not permit a test ride walk away.

In my opinion

• I would stay away from a home built only because I have no idea how it was built. With a factory built you can register it with the manufacturer, not for a warranty, but for any possible recalls
• Buy a used one from a dealer before an individual
  • I have purchased from an individual before, but I knew him for about 15 years at the time, and I could trust him.
  • A dealer may offer some type of warranty, it maybe a
    • 15 day return
    • 90 day on parts
    • or something else

Instead of a hub consider a RideKick (http://www.ridekick.com/products/) It is something that came be removed when not needed and has the ability to be used as a utility trailer for hauling some stuff back from the store.

Hope that the above helps, I know it is a lot, but it is a lot of money and your safety is more important then saving a few dollars.

Regards,
Gary

PS the only link I put in is for the RideKick, the rest were added automatically.

 

Good pointers, I will stay aware and careful, thanks

I looked at that electric pusher, interesting .

Thanks

 

Check this out: Transition Alpha!

http://outriderusa.com/pages/our-history

 

Hey guys, China!



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