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

A.D., the Venom is aluminium. Too nice of a bike for me to just rent out on a day to day use with people who won't care f they tear something up because they won't have to see you again. The std set up for a venom is 406 (20") wheels all around. Ward has modified his to be a beast. It is better and faster than the standard.

Tom, the Nexus hub is a VERY good hub, its hard to really mess one up. Being nicely packed up inside the casing, fully lubed and airtight it makes for a really nice way to ride if one doesn't mind the weight penalty. It weighs in at 4.4 LBS.

 

Thanks

I can get that TerraTrike Rover with the Nexus 8 Speed out the door with full warranty for $1,100.

It's tempting but my knee is acting up after that ten mile ride last week on my Rebike and then a few days later the demo in Fargo with the Cattrike for close to an hour all together.

I'm on hold for the moment.

 

Yes, good. Thank you

It's a wake up call for all of us, glad you moved it to where it belongs.

 

I figured out by reading threads here and elsewhere that to "spin" is the answer to my knee problem.

Than and the proper gears and tires and seating for overall performance.

The Cattrike Tadpole or similar is the bike for me.

The Touring model with the big wheel in the back is interesting.

It seems to be only about a foot longer in all and a little wider and lower and harder to lug around in cars.

Great for touring to be sure.

The one I demoed was the smaller, shorter, higher from the ground model.

I loved it!

The maneuverability and "cat" like performance was great.

Question:

Does the Touring Model differ that greatly from this more "local" model because of it's size.

The other thing I'm seeing is that you can't have "too many" gears, as long as you can get it to shift properly.

The "spin" factor for both climbing and pleasure as well as the knees and limbs.

The underseat steering and braking seem fine to me.

This is the one I fell in love with.

http://www.catrike.com/#!villager/cmei

This is the other one I'm looking at.

http://www.catrike.com/#!expedition/c2465

This one is interesting too.

http://www.catrike.com/#!road/csky

 

You have a valid point A.D.

In the past when my wife and did self supported trips on our DF tandem using our BOB trailer, I had to pack different tube sizes and if I took any tires, not very often, I had to have two also. Now that we have the trikes, will all three wheels the same size and looking for a two wheel trailer, all five wheels will be the same size.

Gary

 

Yeah, I'm thinking that Catrike Villager with the three 20 inch wheels and 27 speed and sitting a little higher and wider is going to be my ticket.

It's a great bike and I'm probably not going to Tour or Race anyway.

That thing really gets around good and transports pretty easily.

Kind of smaller and higher but not too high.

Easier to get in and out of.

 

http://www.recumbentjournal.com/new...kes-introduces-new-e-spike-and-twig-bike.html

Here is the newest best from Trident.

I like the e trike specs a lot.

 

Almost bought one, nice trikes, but they don't fold.

Gary

 

I too have knee problems, my Orthopedic told me that cycling is the best thing I can do for them. The League of America Bicyclist in their teachings say a cadence of 85 – 95 rpm is best. That being said you have to pedal at a cadence that is best for you. My wife and I have two different cadences, hers is lower then mine.

As for the number of gears, I paid for them, so I use them. In our area the gears are needed. Less then 100 miles north or southwest I would only be using only about ½ of them and never the lowest, and more frequently the higher ones.

All three of the trikes that you are interested in have the same gear ratios (1:0.83 to 1:4.7 Crank:Wheel). The chain rings are 30/39/52 and the cluster is a 10 speed 11-36, so all things are equal except the rear wheel size. The Villager and the road both have 20 inch (406) wheels and the Expedition has a 26 inch (559). Based on that difference the Expedition will travel about 18.85 inches farther per wheel revolution. The larger wheel will be a bit harder to turn for any given gear ratio. The smaller wheel will climb easier.

There are some other differences in the trikes like

• Turning radius
• Ground Clearance
• seat angle
  • The Expedition is fixed
  • The Villager adjustable 41-51 degrees
  • The Road adjustable 39-47 degrees
• Wheel base
• Total length, all three are different

Find a dealer that carries recumbents as their main product line and test ride as many as you can. Play with the different seat positions and other adjustable items until you find the RIGHT fit for you.

I test drove the Expedition, Villager, and Trail. Of the three the Villager felt best for me and I almost purchased it, but at the time the wife was not on board with getting trikes. I did not like the seat angle of the Expedition, but I have a friend that purchased an Expedition and he loves it and the seat angle is okay for him. The Trail is a couple inches narrower and when turning sharp I was getting poked in the sides by the handle bars.

You can tour on any bike/trike as long as you are comfortable riding it. I know of people that have/are traveling on:

• Mountain bikes
• Cyclocross bikes
• Hybrids
• “Touring” bikes
• Road bikes

All of these have different

• size wheels
• gearing
• frame geometry

I'm sure that there are many out there on all kinds (makes/models) of trikes that are touring. We have only had ours for about a month and have not been out on a tour with them yet. Have plans to that in the near future.

It sounds like you have found the one for you.

We can give you all kinds of advice here, but until you are on the trike that is adjusted to what you want there is no way for you to know which one is right for you. When I test drove the three that I mentioned above, the dealer did not have the make or model that I purchased when I went back about 9 months later.

Gary
EDIT: As to my friend with the Expedition, when we ride together, I have to slow down with my 20 inch rear wheel or I'll run away from him.

 

Thanks, many interesting and important points.

The Catrike Villager is probably going to be the one for me although that new e-Bike from Trident really has my interest up. They come out in October and also have upgrades to existing bikes of all brands.

The e Spike looks about the same as the Villager except with the electric gears power.

I would pay the $2,600 for all that if it maneuvers and is made as good as the Catrike Villager.

It looks like the cats meow to me in all aspects, even price.

The New Trident E Spike

We settled on a system made by a Japanese Company named Dapu. We are using a 350W motor- (for you techies I have been told it can be “overclocked” to 500W) , a Rear Rack Mounted Lithium Ion 36V 13Ah system battery with a built in rear light, a special rear rack, Electronic controls, a Throttle, and a special Torque Sensor crankset they make. The really great thing about this system is that you can switch from throttle control only to 6 different assist levels that tie into the torque sensor. The 13AH Battery will give you far more range than the batteries you see from other manufacturers that are usually 6.4- 9.6 Ah And… this entire setup only adds about 18 ½ Lbs to a Spike.

E Spike is $2499.00 and will be available mid October. We will be offering E Upgrade kits for Spike owners and other models in the near future. - See more at: http://www.recumbentjournal.com/new...spike-and-twig-bike.html#sthash.f6FDdSmg.dpuf

 

That was definitely a concern for me when deciding to change the rear wheel on my Road from a 20 to a 26. My concerns lessened considerably once I realized that I can find an emergency replacement 26" tube and tire almost anywhere. I just carry two tubes, one each size and I keep an emergency number for anything worse than that.

 

Adjustable seat height

The Trident Titan(like we have in our shop) also has an adjustable seat height.