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

Anybody ever buy this bike

http://www.terratrike.com/rover.php

There is a dealer only 90 miles from me or the factory will ship for $159 and give me a 30 day return guarantee if I don't like it.

I pay return shipping to them.

Michigan return shipping from Minnesota might not be that bad.

I'm thinking the $699 one speed.

It comes fully assembled.

Any opinions please.

Thank You

 

You do NOT want a 1 speed trike. I had a 27 speed trike and I bet I used 15 of the gears in any one ride. We have hills in Tennessee and the key to happy knees is to spin. That is keeping your cadence the same and shift gears to get the leg exertion comfortable. If you get a 1 speed, any hill will stop you.

The older I get (and I am 61) the more gears and LOWER gears I want on my bents. I don't care if I am fast, but I want low granny gears so I can get up any hill in front of me.

I see Rover comes in multispeed models. The minimum number of gears I would recommend is 5. I see they have an 8 speed which should work fine for you. The extra $300 is well worth the money! You will be amazed at how often you change gears once you get good at riding your bent. I bet I shift gears 5 - 10 times a minute while riding around here.

If you really plan to ride this trike, invest the money. You will be glad you did!

 

1 SPEED, NO WAY NO HOW DON'T DO IT

:agree: with Jon

WAY HOW

I don't know what the terrain is like where you live (has to be similar to Northern Michigan where I grew up), but even if it is flat and you have to climb over an expressway you will suffer with a 1 speed. Did you have a 1 speed when you were a kid. I did and there were hills in the area that I had to walk up. When I got my three speed it helped but was still not great.

When I look for a bike/trike I start with the ones that have at least 24 gears. I have not gone past 27 YET. Yes there will be a few combinations that are the same, but I don't shift the bike like the manual transmission on my truck.
There have been days that I have used all 27 speeds on a ride.
As Jon said

Furthermore a single speed will possible lead to a knee injury and not riding and is a waste of

Gary

 

I sell Terra Trikes and other brands of trikes. The lowest geared trike
I ever want in my shop will be an 8 speed. We started with 3 speeds (a different brand) and while they were "just ok" on relatively flat areas the smallest hill would just bog you down. So we stick with our 8speed entry level and go up from there.

 

OK, I'll throw that one out, the one speed, and look at the eight and above.

Even though my local terrain is mostly flat with just a few small rises.

$999 is still enticing, then $159 shipping.

Problem being I can get a Cattrike for $1,700 out the door and a SUN $1,500 out the door.

Both new tadpoles with warranties.

 

Here is the order I would look at (and I previously owned a Terra Trike)

Catrike
Trident
Sun
TerraTrike

My opinion. Check out Trident trike. They fold and you get a lot of bang for your buck!!!

 

The thing about buying from a dealer is that you have someplace to go when you need a warranty repair or adjustment. Buying online would be my last resort for a bike.

Where are you going to go for help, a dealer or the internet?

A dealer that you by from will make sure that the trike fits before you leave the store. Yes even with a dealer something might not be absolutely right, but at least they will make it right, the internet can't do that for you.

Gary

 

I'm hearing what's being said and listening carefully.

Thanks

 

Don't forget KMX trikes....I would insert them in the list right above the Sun trikes.

 

It's interesting Cattrike is rated #1 by most recumbent Tadpole riders.

My experience with the Cat was really good myself except for the derailers and that was my fault.

You can't horse them around like I did trying to grab a bunch of quick gears.

Whats the opinion of the Nexis internal 8 speed Terra Trike offers.

I can get this one for $1150 new with warranty out the door.

It's bottom gear is a 20 I believe.

Shifting from a stop is nice.

I don't know how well it quickly grabs gears.

I realize that anticipating gear changes is the proper way to do it but sometimes things jump up.

Emergency braking for instance, like a chuck hole or a dog for instance..

The single Terra is something like a 34 constant.

The potential "knee" damage thing rang my bell.

 

KMX Trikes

The "bad" thing about KMX trikes if you consider it bad, is that it is a little on the heavy side because it has square tubing and is made from mild tensil steel rather than round tubing/chromoly. The KMX recumbent trike is mainly sold as a "bmx" type trike. It can really take rough use on various surfaces, like skate parks, hard pack, fine gravel, grass etc. Thus the reason we wanted them for our rental fleet. Good aspects are that they are designed lower to the ground for safety and aerodynamics. They have a really nice seat and they can be upgraded or modified really easy. Despite their plainness they are one of our most popular bents in the shop. We have Nexus 8 on all the rentals.

 

Your using nothing but Nexus 8 on all rentals tells me it's really tough to break.