Laid back , relaxing , and going down the road. | SouthernPaddler.com

Laid back , relaxing , and going down the road.

oldsparkey

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2003
10,479
123
Central , Florida
www.southernpaddler.com
The real lazy boy style of peddling a bike or just laid back relaxing and going down the road. :D

Well after that triple bypass back in Jan 2013 when the doc's told me I had to stop the little cigars and to lay off the drinking I have been taking that money and squirreling it away for a couple of years , like almost three of them.

Last November (2015) I went over to Village Cycle in Cocoa and put a deposit down on a trike I have had my eyes on since that operation.
They were happy to see me ( They are the closest dealer for that trike to me ) when I handed them half of the cost in a stack of $20.00. :wink:

This is the one I got a TerraTrike Rambler , Base model , 24 speed.
TT800173-2T.jpg


TT800173-6T.jpg


I wanted to get the 24 inch All Road Tire Package in place of there stock 20 inch tires. That I would finally find out cost me a lot of time , almost three months of it.

The dealer got the trike in after New Years which was just over four weeks after ordering it. During that time the folks at TerraTrike took the week off for Christmas and New Years and also held there annual inventory so nothing was made or shipped out. Otherwise it would of been here a lot sooner.

Another several more weeks ( and phone calls ) with the trike at the dealers and with the stock tires and no All Road Tire Package. I went over to the dealer and told them to cancel that tire package and I would go with the stock tires so I would have the trike to use.
I guess the dealer felt a little sorry ( about all the wasted time over the tire package ) since he tossed in a Safety Flag , A really nice Water Bottle Holder , A adjustable Rear View Mirror on the left side and gave me a discount on a Travel Rack over the rear tire and a Head Rest. At that time I paid the balance and took the trike home.

Taking it home was the best decision I made about that tire package. This is the latter part of February and Terra Trike still does not have that tire package in stock according to there web site. That is from November 23 , 2015 , December , January and now February.

The other bikes..............
I still have my 21 speed street bike ( the one I got in Jan 2014 viewtopic.php?f=16&t=10042 ) and later the three speed Fat Tire Bike. Now I am at 3 bikes and one standard three wheeler for the wife , 4 bikes in all.

The street bike I had to put two new tires on , after a couple thousand miles the rear one decide it did not want to hold any air. I took it to the local bike shop and they did not have the same size tires for it and tried to locate them from there suppliers but failed. They suggested I might want to try a outside source which I did. Only place I could locate the same size tires was threw the Specialized ( Brand ) Bike dealer who ordered two new ones for me at $50.00 each and then shipped them to me. When they arrived I took them to the local bike shop and they installed them along with new tubes and did a total check up and maintenance on the bike. Might as well cover all the basis while I can and the bike is there.
I can say it is one sweet ride and those new tires are great but the seat still gets uncomfortable after an hours ride.

The fat tire bike is one easy way to get down the trail to the river , it is over an hours walk to get there and on the bike just less the 30 minutes and that is not hurrying. Just going along in 1st gear and at times making it to 2nd in short stretches where the old rail road cinders act like some cloned asphalt pavement. :roll:
viewtopic.php?f=16&t=10221

Back to the trike......
It is one sweet ride and really spoils a person. Sitting in it is like sitting in my my Lazy Boy Recliner when it is kicked back , nice and comfortable ,it's some easy peddling . Going on a ride for a couple of hours is nothing and the time fly's by. When you are done and return home there is no sore butt or anything else. After I did some adjusting ( fine tuning for me ) to the the seats angle it is even better.
One more modification for the Trike , It's getting a rear tire upgrade from the stock 20 inch rim to a 26 inch rim. It zips along really nice with the 20 inch and with the 26 it will pick up some more speed. Plus a Speedometer , Odometer and hourly ( time ) recording combination to keep tack of the miles and hours on it for maintenance.
 

tx river rat

Well-Known Member
Feb 23, 2007
3,043
2
Waco Tx
I think your other bikes are in trouble. Once you have tried the trikes it is hard to go back to a diamond frame.
The only problem with the trikes they are hard to haul
Ron
 

Kayak Jack

Well-Known Member
Aug 26, 2003
13,976
171
86
Okemos / East Lansing Michigan
Changing wheel size might not be the advantage you envision. Top speed msy already be limited by power input. The larger rim may just get you to that same speed in a lower gear. And, the lawer end of your power range may disappear.
 

tx river rat

Well-Known Member
Feb 23, 2007
3,043
2
Waco Tx
Jack
The trike Chuck has has the gearing to accept the the larger wheel and still have plenty power climbing. Bigger tire will help in a higher speeds. the bigger tire will also smooth out the ride because of the bigger diameter.
That higher gearing comes into play on downhill grades ,the trikes will run off and leave a roadie on those , 50 mile an hour + isn't rare at all .
I didnt realize until I bought my trike how enjoyable it was riding again , and there are a lot of things the diamond frame will do ,that are entirely different than the trikes. Roadies are great on flat grouns the trikes cant compete there.
The trikes excel on these things
Climbing is different ,you cant fall over so you can use a lot lower gears than a roadie ,stop and start as you need to.
Downhill ,the trikes excel at this, they will run as fast as you have the cohonies to ride it, this means you can use extremely low gears for climbing and extremely high gears for downhills. They are just a completely different animal .
Ron
'
 

oldsparkey

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2003
10,479
123
Central , Florida
www.southernpaddler.com
tx river rat said:
The only problem with the trikes they are hard to haul
Ron

Ron......
Hollywood racks makes a nice ( Hitch Mount , universal fit ) rack for a normal bike and there is a accessory attachment for trikes which makes it really simple to transport one. It is really easy to set the rack up for a normal bike or for a trike in just a few minutes.

The Trail rider is the one I got for the normal bikes. A two bike capacity.
http://www.hollywoodracks.com/bike-rack ... h-rack.htm
TrailRiderMain-160.png


The Trike & Recumbent accessories for Sport Rider racks also works on the Trail Rider Rack that I got.
http://www.hollywoodracks.com/parts-acc ... sories.htm
It is nothing more then three bars to go from the standard two wheel configuration to the Tadpole configuration of two wheel across from each other and one single one in the rear.
It uses the same tire mounts from the Trail or Sport rider rack with one tire holder left over. The racks have a double system for two bikes and four wheel holders.


The trike accessory kit.
trike-adapter2.jpg


Turns this standard two bike rack .
trailrider-01.jpg


Into this rack for a trike.
trike3b.jpg


When it is set up for the trike I take the upright post and drop it to the end of the single wheel holder , this way it is out of the way. To keep the trike in the wheel holders they furnish some Velcro straps for each tire and a buckle one for the main frame to the center of the rack. Secured that way the trike will go anywhere your vehicle goes.
It is really easy to load the trike , just pick it up and set it in the rack , strap it down and take out.

They show the long strap going down to the long ( two wheel ) front bar , I like to have mine around the main bar under the center of the trike.
801_a.jpg


Leave it to me , I got the rack for the two normal bikes when I got the road bike so I could go places with it. Later on I got the trike accessory kit before getting the trike so I would know if it would work on the back of the Jeep. It worked like a charm on there floor model and that's when I ordered the one I got. :D
The salesman gave me a questioned look when I asked him to take the ( floor model ) trike out to my Jeep because I wanted to see if the rack I got would work for the trike. :roll: :lol:
 

oldsparkey

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2003
10,479
123
Central , Florida
www.southernpaddler.com
tx river rat said:
Jack

That higher gearing comes into play on downhill grades ,the trikes will run off and leave a roadie on those , 50 mile an hour + isn't rare at all .

Ron
'


As Ron said , they can be speedy if a person wants to to be.

This was filmed back in 2012 near Clermont , Florida at the Horrible 100 event.
YouTube Video ....Why do old people ride trikes. It has a cartoon start and then gets down to the serous business.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWQhugLNh3I

Here is a map of the Horrible 100 ( 100 miles )
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/1872966

The Horrible 100 , Clermont , fl 2012. ( a few of the riders :lol: :lol: :lol: ) They do not say it but the road film has to be shot from a trike as he peddles along.
RON.. Take a look at the trike at the 4:47 minute mark , WOW , this guy is serious. :shock:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qHYG-pEeN8
 

Kayak Jack

Well-Known Member
Aug 26, 2003
13,976
171
86
Okemos / East Lansing Michigan
I've been over 50mph on a standard bicycle several times, over 60 years ago. There was a record, maybe since beaten, of a modified bike going over 100mph. Very large front sprocket, riding a special surface, behind a wind screen mointed on a train. I seem to remember 103mph?
Were I to do over 50 again, I would want two wheel brakes and a helmet. I would decline the 100mph run - if invited.
 

tx river rat

Well-Known Member
Feb 23, 2007
3,043
2
Waco Tx
They have broken 100 hundred a long time ago on the salt flats.
I dont want to see a 100 on any bike ,I dont bounce like I use to. Lol
Jack the trike Chuck and I have are made right there in Mich,you should go try one.
The more I get around these trikes the more I realize how they can be customized to the individual,
they are worse than kayaks. The reason I chose the Rover was the internal hub 8 speed , I get off road a lot and the ground clearance over a 26 speed is great.
I have bad knees so I put on shorter cranks ,that helped take the pressure off my knees a bunch.
Chuck I always drive a pickup so I can just throw mine in the back around here ,but I am going to rig an overhead rack for my kayaks and the put a hard tonoue cover on my pickup and haul my bike on that . That way I will be able to pull my travel trailer ,have storage in the bed kayak on top .
So far I have really enjoyed the trike.
Chuck there is one bad thing about the trikes ,folks want to stop talk and look worse than they do about a wood kayak.
Ron
 

Wannabe

Well-Known Member
Apr 5, 2007
2,645
2
on the bank of Trinity Bay
Ron,
The upbeat on that is that you stop and talk so much you never get tired. Unfortunately you don't cover many miles like that. I'k want a little trailer to carry my fishing gear in, and I know, they probably have one. :lol:
Bob
 

Kayak Jack

Well-Known Member
Aug 26, 2003
13,976
171
86
Okemos / East Lansing Michigan
Ron, my knees are a bad luck-good luck combo. In the flex range used for walking (say, the first 15 degrees of bend?) i get twinges and pain. In the range of flex for pedaling (say, 15-80 degrees?) they're better. Pedaling seems to help them.

As a side note, both my experience and my knee surgeon say that glucosamine-chondroitin tablets are worthless for adding any lubrication effect to knees, or any other joint.

We have a lot of bike trails here. The ones I ride have coffeeshops/restaurants/ice cream shops somewhere on them. I think they even let trike riders inside. ;-)
 

oldsparkey

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2003
10,479
123
Central , Florida
www.southernpaddler.com
Ron....
You are correct about the trikes drawing attention like a wood boat does. Actually it might be worst since you are land locked and can not get away from them like you can in a boat.
I'm just as guilty as anyone before I actually decided on which one because when I saw one I would ask a lot of questions. Heck one couple on ones made by Trident were down here house sitting for a friend and they made a mistake of using a back road that I liked to go down early in the morning to count Deer and Wild Turkeys.
I meet them several more times and they were always eager to answer my questions. They traveled in a motor home and the Trident Trikes they had were the folding type so they could fold them and carry them in the motor home.

Jack...
Around here we have a lot of the Panera Bread shops spread out just right on the paved bike trails. Heck they even have some nice bike racks to secure your bike to. :wink:
 

tx river rat

Well-Known Member
Feb 23, 2007
3,043
2
Waco Tx
Jack
Chuck and I will come up and ride with you and want even treat you like a step child for riding a regular bike
Well maybe :lol: a little. :lol:
Ron
 

oldsparkey

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2003
10,479
123
Central , Florida
www.southernpaddler.com
Ron..

I know what he is saying about having to make a decision between the Rambler or the Tour II.
I really , really liked the Tour II. I am sure it was the racy looks it has , a sports car look in a bike , low and racy. :lol:

When I went over to the shop and they had a used Tour II for sale. I tried it , the seat is really low to the ground , real low.
The Rover and the Rambler has the seat a lot higher and felt better getting on it and off it. They say the Rambler is a happy combination of the Rover and the Tour II , besides the Rambler was the one I keep coming back to when checking out the specks of the different ones.

Idea 1 ... With the Rambler and higher ground clearance I can add the 24 inch all road tires to do some off the pavement running , or so I thought. Scrap that idea since the company has not had them in stock for a third of a year. :evil:
Idea 2 for pavement Replace the 20 on the back with a 26 to make it more fun on the pavement , that happens this coming Thursday.

The Tour II is nice but you need a wide road to turn it and the Rover or the Rambler will turn on a dime. When the sales man took the Tour II out of the shop and onto the sidewalk he had to go forward , back up then forward and back up then forward again and finally just skidding the front end over to make the turn on the sidewalk from the front of the shop staying on the sidewalk. It's a nice wide sidewalk and the shop has double doors.
On the Rambler he just sat down , stared peddling and made the turn like he had all the room in the world.

Some of the sidewalks around here are narrow and made with a sharp 90 degree turn to them. TerraTrike only has two trikes that can make that sharp of a turn and stay on the cement , I got one of them. :D
 

oldsparkey

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2003
10,479
123
Central , Florida
www.southernpaddler.com
Got the 26 on the rear of the trike and it sure does make a difference. The revolutions when peddling is reduced and if there is a hill , just shift to a low gear and climb right up it.

Had them add a Speedometer with the Current, average & maximum speed - Trip distance - Odometer - Elapsed time so I can keep track of everything during and after a ride.

Made one BIG Mistake on this last trip the the cycle shop , the wife wanted to ride over with me. As it turned out for our 51 wedding anniversary I got her a trike so she can go on rides with me.
To do that and to make it a easier process. I have to install a series of three tracks on the boat trailer I am not using so we can carry the two trikes on it behind one vehicle. Right now we have to put her trike in the back of her truck and mine on the rack behind the Jeep.

She said it looks like a lot of fun and she wanted to do the same which is good since it will let her get some exercise while having fun. She plans on canceling her membership at the fitness center. :D

The nasty thing about Trikes is that you have a lot of fun and also exercise without knowing it. Besides why go to a exercise palace and ride a stationary bike when you can get on one that is comfortable , see some scenery , breath fresh air and exercise while having a good time.

She has a sense of humor ... She looked at me and told me there is no way she can match the trike with a anniversary gift to me. She thought for a minute and then told me she has the perfect gift for me.
She will go to Canada and visit the youngest Daughter , the Son in Law and our Grandson for two weeks in April so I can camp at the house and not have any Honey Do's for all that time. Sounds like a fair deal to me , 51 years ....Why Not. . :p
 

tx river rat

Well-Known Member
Feb 23, 2007
3,043
2
Waco Tx
Chuck
The trikes have a couple side effects
The first time someone sits on one and rides it they all get the biggest grin on there face ( called a trike grin)
Then the next words out of there mouth is this comfortable and then the zinger ( I want one).
Ron
 

oldsparkey

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2003
10,479
123
Central , Florida
www.southernpaddler.com
tx river rat said:
Chuck
The trikes have a couple side effects
The first time someone sits on one and rides it they all get the biggest grin on there face ( called a trike grin)
Then the next words out of there mouth is this comfortable and then the zinger ( I want one).
Ron


HOW TRUE , No truer words were ever spoken. That is exactly what happen. 8)