Author Topic: Any Recumbent Trike riders in Oxfordshire?  (Read 4780 times)

Any Recumbent Trike riders in Oxfordshire?
« on: 06 January, 2021, 01:36:36 pm »
Hi all
Just joined this forum hoping to find other recumbent trike riders in Oxfordshire. I am near Chipping Norton.
Graham

Re: Any Recumbent Trike riders in Oxfordshire?
« Reply #1 on: 06 January, 2021, 08:35:29 pm »
I'm in Slough  :). I  know not helpful  ::-)
the slower you go the more you see

Re: Any Recumbent Trike riders in Oxfordshire?
« Reply #2 on: 07 January, 2021, 10:51:37 pm »
Thanks for reply cycleman. I’ve just realised I posted in the wrong place  :facepalm:
Out of interest what trike do you ride?

Re: Any Recumbent Trike riders in Oxfordshire?
« Reply #3 on: 08 January, 2021, 10:12:53 am »
The bhpc forum might also find you a few more trike riders in Oxfordshire

Re: Any Recumbent Trike riders in Oxfordshire?
« Reply #4 on: 08 January, 2021, 06:19:34 pm »
A ice adventure fs ,sram 3/8 and currently with a bafang electric assist. At some point I may have to go back to non assist as spares are hard to get. I am currently not doing any but the short ride to the local shop and back 😞
the slower you go the more you see

Re: Any Recumbent Trike riders in Oxfordshire?
« Reply #5 on: 12 April, 2021, 03:12:17 pm »
Thanks for replies and sorry for delay getting back.
I will checkout Babcock Phil.
I also am using a Bafang motor - BBSHD - not anticipating much going wrong with it as supposed to be pretty heavy duty?
I would not like to be without it here in the cotswolds. Out of interest what are your spares problems cycleman?
Cycleman, I would be interested in how important you consider the full suspension to be as just contemplating designing and building suspension into my scratch built trike.
Thanks
Graham

Re: Any Recumbent Trike riders in Oxfordshire?
« Reply #6 on: 12 April, 2021, 05:02:48 pm »
I cannot help you as I'm over in Northampton.
Tweaked ICE Sprint FS here.

I find that the rear suspension helps when the going gets rough. But a rear fattish tyre (50-406 BA) at the right pressure works just as well.
The front suspension works in a different way. I find it tends to cancel out any bump steering when you go over a bump/dip with one front wheel at speed. But I do have my FS set hard. Again I use a fattish tyre (40-406) at the right pressure (~60 psi) to help with road buzz.

Luck .......  ;D

Re: Any Recumbent Trike riders in Oxfordshire?
« Reply #7 on: 12 April, 2021, 07:43:26 pm »
Bearings in the motor are packing up after approx 9000 miles. Probably less as I did considerably less last year due to covid. I will finally find out tomorrow if the bearings are going to be economic to replace. The rear suspension saves your back over rough ground and as tb said the front does seem to remove bump steer on fast decents . I normally manage around 3000 miles a year. I do like the e assist in as much as it enables me to climb up hills faster making it easier to  ride with other cyclists, but I find myself aways worrying about the charge level of the battery and to get the best mileage i I have to push the hardest gear I can which means a slow cadence. The  sun ez3 has no e assist and is therefore very slow uphill but I can relax and spin the gears. In terms of daily mileage with  e Assist I have managed 125 miles starting at 2.30 and arriving at 20.30 . Without assist i  have managed 95 miles in a similar time range although 50/60 is more normal  :) especially when loaded with camping kit.
the slower you go the more you see

Re: Any Recumbent Trike riders in Oxfordshire?
« Reply #8 on: 13 April, 2021, 02:49:20 pm »
Literida otp is in Oxon and has an ICE trike.
There is another chap whose name I completely forget but is an ex taxi driver possibly a taxi dispatcher. He and his wife ride trikes.
Somebody here may be able to tell you his name from that. Cycleman should remember.
Never knowingly under caffeinated

Re: Any Recumbent Trike riders in Oxfordshire?
« Reply #9 on: 13 April, 2021, 09:16:16 pm »
Thanks for replies. Tigerbiten, interesting comments on suspension vs fat tyres. I have just changed all my tyres to Schwalbe Big Ben Plus's (406 - 55) running at 35 psi. This has considerably softened the ride and rolling resistance seems quite acceptable. Was running Hookworm Maxis (53 - 406) at 60 psi and the ride was shocking on much of the pot holed and broken road surface around here. The whole purpose of changing to recumbent trikes for me was comfort and whilst I am not particularly interested in high top speeds I am interested in efficiency. Ice Sprint FS looks a very nice trike bye the way.
cyclemen, you don't mention wether you have a mid drive or a hub motor setup? Judging by your comments I'm guessing hub motor? Thats a good amount of mileage you are doing. Spares problems - is it finding suitable bearings or getting them pressed out and refitted that is the problem?
I am currently making a seat loosely based on the Barnett Williams sling seat. This is to replace the moulded seat I bought off eBay from Poland - good seat, but didn't tick the comfort box for me (problem with one size fits all).
Next will probably develop the steering system bit more as the conventional under seat steering is ok but not great.
Nobby, thanks for giving me some hope of other recumbent trike (and cycle) riders in Oxfordshire. Any more details welcome. Bye the way I am in North Oxfordshire between Woodstock and Chipping Norton (very close to an ex Prime Minister who is quite topical in the news at the moment). Despite this, there are still large pot holes in the roads.....
Thanks

Re: Any Recumbent Trike riders in Oxfordshire?
« Reply #10 on: 13 April, 2021, 09:45:09 pm »
I came down through Dean on Sunday - on the way to the picnic tables opposite the Café de la Poste in Chadders.

Bicycling rather than tricycling at the mo while my rear wheel undergoes a hub change.

I'm in Witney.

Kevin.

Re: Any Recumbent Trike riders in Oxfordshire?
« Reply #11 on: 14 April, 2021, 07:12:33 am »
Hi psyklyn, great to hear from you. Small world...my wife works at the Café de la Poste! Very popular coffee and cake stop for cyclists. Let me know when you are out this way again and I will buy you a coffee. What trike do you ride?

Re: Any Recumbent Trike riders in Oxfordshire?
« Reply #12 on: 14 April, 2021, 08:01:35 am »
The bafang motor hangs from the bb on the front boom . It does make the steering a little heavier. I think the bearings will be available but weather the motor side bearings are replaceable due to the unit design is the big question 🤔 .
I am happy to join you for a ride now we are allowed some freedom again 😀
the slower you go the more you see

Re: Any Recumbent Trike riders in Oxfordshire?
« Reply #13 on: 14 April, 2021, 09:52:39 am »
cycleman, would be great to meet up for a ride some time. At the moment I can't travel with my trike. Getting the trike in and out of a car has been low down on my development list thus far, but will become a higher priority now. But if a ride round the cotswold in the short term is of interest I would be up for it (just need to finish work on trike ASAP).
Your statement about pushing big gears with slow cadence threw me a bit...I generally think of motors needing to spin close to their rated speed to be efficient and conserve battery life. With the Bafang BBSHD I have the opposite problem...with the higher voltage batteries (52v) it wants to spin at around 140 rpm. I for one am not up to that! Some riders report just ghost pedalling for that reason.
Because my trike is scratch built I have the luxury of being able to do what suits me, so I have the motor mounted low down behind the seat. I have the chainring pedal machined off and a small chainring on it, so I have a 2:1 reduction between pedals (on the front boom) and motor....motor spinning very happily at 140 rpm and me spinning very happily at a more comfortable (for me) 70 rpm. Which of course I can easily change if I want to spin a bit more.
The only time I've had to press more than I was comfortable with was ridding an e-assist upwrong, with a 20 mph hub motor. Of course this was only happy (read efficient) when going at 20 mph. So as soon as you came to a hill you had to try and push a large gear to maintain the motors rated speed otherwise suffering the same as you with range anxiety (a disorder common to many electric vehicle users I believe) and to avoid turning the hub motor into an onboard heater instead of a rotating motor. This was forcing me to go at a pace I was not comfortable with...
Anyway back to trike....I too find myself watching the watts being consumed.
One draw back with my trike is I built it around electric assist from the start so didn't get to experience trike riding without assist. Any views on which peeps prefer who have done both would interest me (as I can see the joy of just slowly spinning up a hill under own steam). But given the choice of just one machine which would you go for?

Re: Any Recumbent Trike riders in Oxfordshire?
« Reply #14 on: 14 April, 2021, 12:02:40 pm »
Cycleman says the chap I was trying to describe is Seamus and he lives near the Oxford canal 6 miles North of Oxford. Being as the source is Cycleman its 50/50 if it is the Seamus in the members list but worth a PM.
Literida is now psklyn who you are already communicating with. :)

Never knowingly under caffeinated

Re: Any Recumbent Trike riders in Oxfordshire?
« Reply #15 on: 14 April, 2021, 01:04:26 pm »
Thanks so much for your help nobby :thumbsup:

Re: Any Recumbent Trike riders in Oxfordshire?
« Reply #16 on: 14 April, 2021, 01:12:51 pm »
sent pm to Seamus but last active in 2012 so not too hopeful of a reply

Re: Any Recumbent Trike riders in Oxfordshire?
« Reply #17 on: 14 April, 2021, 06:58:29 pm »
Yes I haven't heard from seamus for a long time . I am happy to potter up to see you in your home area, just let me know when. Any excuse for the camping run🏕.
I find that if spin the gears on the trice the range is definitely poorer.
I really enjoy riding without the assist when I'm riding alone or with someone who is happy to wait at the top of hills. The 7.5 mph  ave has allowed a comfortable 40 miles touring distance per day although I have a  tendency to start early and ride late into the evening pushing  75  plus miles plus on occasion. Part of the reason for this is that I am time rich but money poor so to tour places any distance from home puts me under pressure. For years I have wanted to tour Western Scotland but getting the trike that far north so far has proved a insurmountable problem. A lot of northern and for that matter south Western are out of reach. I find the e assist  most useful when riding with other cyclists which usually means yacf camping meetings or riding with bjorn notp on day rides. I probably use the e assist trice when I come up your way. You may still have to wait for me at the top of hills  ;)
Having used both systems  I am probably happier riding under my own power. The  slower you go the more you see. I also like the fact that I have travelled from a to  b under my own power. I now don't run a computer on my non e assist  trike as I find that I tend to push to hold a speed. I  ride the sun ez3 entirely by feel . ie if I feel like I pushing to hard I change down and relax and go slower.
If I had just one machine I would probably not fit e assist until I  could not ride in the hills comfortably.  :)
the slower you go the more you see

Re: Any Recumbent Trike riders in Oxfordshire?
« Reply #18 on: 14 April, 2021, 08:22:58 pm »
Hi Graham, mine's a Trice QNT to which I've added a crank motor with a throttle I use to set the cadence I want to ride at.

Re: Any Recumbent Trike riders in Oxfordshire?
« Reply #19 on: 14 April, 2021, 08:33:52 pm »
Literida is now psklyn who you are already communicating with. :)

Now you've cottoned on I'll have to change it again :)

Re: Any Recumbent Trike riders in Oxfordshire?
« Reply #20 on: 15 April, 2021, 09:13:55 am »
Oh dear, what can I say...I somehow feel partly responsible for blowing your cover psklyn  :facepalm: little did I realise how life would change going over to the dark side....

Re: Any Recumbent Trike riders in Oxfordshire?
« Reply #21 on: 15 April, 2021, 11:19:59 am »
Oh dear, what can I say...I somehow feel partly responsible for blowing your cover psklyn  :facepalm: little did I realise how life would change going over to the dark side....
When he was Literida I spent ages trying to puzzle out the literature connection. When I met him I discovered he couldn't spell 'light'. :D
Never knowingly under caffeinated

Re: Any Recumbent Trike riders in Oxfordshire?
« Reply #22 on: 15 April, 2021, 05:10:54 pm »
Oh dear, what can I say...I somehow feel partly responsible for blowing your cover psklyn  :facepalm: little did I realise how life would change going over to the dark side....
When he was Literida I spent ages trying to puzzle out the literature connection. When I met him I discovered he couldn't spell 'light'. :D
:o :D
Yes I haven't heard from seamus for a long time . I am happy to potter up to see you in your home area, just let me know when. Any excuse for the camping run🏕.
I find that if spin the gears on the trice the range is definitely poorer.
I really enjoy riding without the assist have travelled from a to  b under my own power.....

thanks for those thoughts cycleman re e-assist vs no assist....totally get what you are saying.

At the end of the day it comes down to what you are trying to do - fast commute getting from A to B as fast as possible, or leisure riding taking in the view. And as you point out wether you are by yourself or not. From that point all you can do is spec your trike to be as versatile as possible I suppose.....
With my level of fitness I struggled a bit around here with the hills on my df which is when I first went electric assist. But who knows when my fitness improves again, and with the trike able to spin up the hills at a more leisurely pace, human power only might be something for me to try again...

I will let you and psklyn know when I'm back on the road...

Re: Any Recumbent Trike riders in Oxfordshire?
« Reply #23 on: 15 April, 2021, 05:13:13 pm »
oh dear....messed those quotes up didn't I...get the hang of it soon... :facepalm:

Re: Any Recumbent Trike riders in Oxfordshire?
« Reply #24 on: 16 April, 2021, 11:57:01 am »
The small bearings on the left hand side of the spindle had partially failed and caused the treaded locking ring tread to strip . This allowed horizontal play .My tame mechanic has replaced some little bearings in the cage and modified a mavic part to replace the damaged treaded washer  and currently the horizontal play is gone  :).
The proper parts are now being ordered. Hopefully the current repair should hold. Now to get some miles in to see.
the slower you go the more you see