Author Topic: Living with a trike  (Read 6824 times)

Living with a trike
« on: 23 July, 2020, 07:01:42 pm »
I'm really trike curious, but I do wonder about how easy they are to live with.  I already find it very different going for rides with DF riders on my SPM, so I think a trike would be a million times worse.  I also don't think I could commute on a trike (as I like to take cut-throughs through train station car parks etc) - though maybe it would be the only option if we ever get proper snow again (no, I did take the bike in every day, just for walkies).
But even if I come to terms with this, I wonder just how hard they are to live with in a terraced house without a garage, front drive or side access.  I reckon for intermittent use you could remove rear wheel (& seat were applicable) and drop down the boom to be able to carry it through the house and navigate round corners - but if you do plan to ride it a couple days in a row that's a real faff.  I guess it could live in the hallway, but then no one can get past it (could it live on it's side in the hallway, taking up about the same space as a bike?

What do trikers do?  (Other than buy a garage?  I can't even park it out front with a tarp because that's where the cargo bike lives!)
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Auntie Helen

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Re: Living with a trike
« Reply #1 on: 23 July, 2020, 07:17:55 pm »
I wouldn’t consider it without a garage.

Trike riders are Billy No Mates unless you ride with other trikes! The speed profile is too different, unless you are quick.
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Kim

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Re: Living with a trike
« Reply #2 on: 23 July, 2020, 08:00:29 pm »
Barakta's trike lives in our front room, along with 5 other bikes, assorted tools and camping gear.  It's a two-person lift to get it through the front door easily (though I can do it single-handed if absolutely necessary - it's marginally easier when folded).  That's fine, because she isn't safe to ride unaccompanied, so isn't really using it as a form of transport.

If we had a say in such things, we'd either have a secure garage, or a wide front door with level access.  (We may end up needing the latter at some point anyway.   :-\)

We did a forum ride some years ago where five recumbent trikes (and at least one recumbent bike) were in attendance.  That was brilliant, though I can't decide whether my favourite bit was watching them all bobbing up and down over the speed bumps on Roman Road, or the bemused pedestrian tripping over his yappy dogs because he was too busy gawping.   :thumbsup:

redshift

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Re: Living with a trike
« Reply #3 on: 23 July, 2020, 10:12:21 pm »
Hi, I am Billy No Mates and I ride a trike. Except when I ride a bike, of course.  Actually I'm Billy No Mates all the time, whether I'm riding the bike or the trike, or paddling the kayak.  I think it's a function of my existence.

Bikes can be left in the hallway or a room, leaning against the wall, but Speedy needs proper storage.  I live in a terraced house, and the trike will go through a standard doorway, and can just about be wrangled through the house, but it's tricky.  We have a ginnel between us and one neighbour which gives access to the rear garden - which a lot of terraces don't have, of course - and that's how the trike is normally moved.

Back when I visited Seat of the Pants in Altrincham (about 1995-ish) Bob Dixon had several Windcheetahs suspended down walls hanging from their rear wheels, which I thought was a pretty good method, but even then they stick out into a room unless you also remove the seat.  Garage or secure shed seems best.

The speed thing is also true - Speedy can be very fast on the flat (it is: I'm not), and scary fast on descents, but as soon as there's some climbing to do I slow right down.
L
:)
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Re: Living with a trike
« Reply #4 on: 24 July, 2020, 10:35:03 am »
I had heard of them hung from the wall with the back brake on, hadn't thought of hanging from the rear brake.

I'm sure my wife would love that.
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Re: Living with a trike
« Reply #5 on: 24 July, 2020, 12:19:28 pm »
They are also excellent for watching the television whilst stored in the lounge ;D

Re: Living with a trike
« Reply #6 on: 24 July, 2020, 01:26:41 pm »
She'd probably love that even more!  Not sure that I have reached the age of having my own "dad chair".
(actually my kids would love it but my daughter wouldn't be safe about the drivetrain).
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Kim

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Re: Living with a trike
« Reply #7 on: 24 July, 2020, 09:09:49 pm »
They are also excellent for watching the television whilst stored in the lounge ;D

Until you get rid of the telly to fit more bikes in.

Re: Living with a trike
« Reply #8 on: 26 July, 2020, 10:59:34 pm »
I've got one in the kitchen,
one in the hall &
one in the back bedroom.

+ a Linear lwb & an ultimate bikes custom Lwb in the living room.

I think I need to thin the herd a bit.

tonycollinet

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Re: Living with a trike
« Reply #9 on: 31 July, 2020, 06:08:53 pm »
Mines in the garage - can't help.

The ICE trikes fold, but they are still an armfull - or a hall full. You'd need somewhere out of the house (or give up a room) to store, and if it was round the back it would be a pain in the ass to get out.

Re: Living with a trike
« Reply #10 on: 18 October, 2020, 04:24:37 pm »
Carrying trikes:
https://www.youtube.com/user/UtahTrikesOnline
fleetingly at 10 secs in there's someone shouldering their trike.  Is this a done thing?  how tricky/easy/useful is this?
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Kim

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Re: Living with a trike
« Reply #11 on: 18 October, 2020, 05:38:26 pm »
I've carried my Streetmachine through kissing gates by balancing it upside-down on my head.  A technique that would work much better if I were about 6" taller.  And the other side of 40.

Never tried it with a trike, but the weight is similar.  Sort of thing you might attempt to cross a small stream or something, but in general it's easier to pick up the back end and pull it along.

Cudzoziemiec

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Re: Living with a trike
« Reply #12 on: 18 October, 2020, 06:38:49 pm »
There's an upright trike rider in Bristol who I've seen carry his trike over cars and gates. He's approaching 70 and not particularly tall. I don't know if upright trikes are easier to carry than liedown ones; I guess they're more compact, not as long, which must make a difference.
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Kim

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Re: Living with a trike
« Reply #13 on: 18 October, 2020, 09:08:54 pm »
An upright's likely easier, as there isn't a seat getting in the way of all those nice grabable tubes near the centre of mass.

Actually, we probably need to distinguish tadpoles from deltas here.  I expect something like a Kettwiesel is a bit easier for a single-person lift, as you can treat it more like a recumbent bicycle; standing alongside the front of the seat and grabbing the main tube and some convenient bit of seat back.  If you tried that with a tadpole you'd find yourself straddling the cruciform, so you have to stand a bit further back and cantilever it awkwardly.

Auntie Helen

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Re: Living with a trike
« Reply #14 on: 19 October, 2020, 09:47:58 am »
I used to carry my trike relatively easily by balancing it on my hip somehow. Can’t remember exactly but i had to cart it up and down loads of stairs at railway stations on tours.
My blog on cycling in Germany and eating German cake – http://www.auntiehelen.co.uk


Re: Living with a trike
« Reply #15 on: 25 October, 2020, 02:01:23 pm »
The Catrike needs dead lifting and holding twisted and vertical to manage moving through the house.  It is easier to maneuver than the speedmachine though, based on being significantly lighter!
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Re: Living with a trike
« Reply #16 on: 15 May, 2022, 06:47:41 pm »
So, update of sorts.  Just as I have got used to manoeuvring the catlike thru the house I have added a rack which makes it significantly trickier (and also my wife’s e-bike gets in the way).
As I enjoy riding the trike (since the first post I have sold my spm and I do reckon that the trike would do pretty much anything the spm did) and it is practical for load hauling I would like to make it easier to get onto the road. 
Has anyone stored their trike in an Asgard bike shed?  The 29er shed is 2.2m long, which is long enough, but doesn’t open the width of the shed so I would need to still lift in and out(still easier than what I’m currently doing).  Alternatively Asgard also do a vertical storage, not sure how clever it would be to have a post box type thing at the front of the house and couldn’t see dimensions as to whether it would be big enough.
I could go smaller than 2m if I faffed about with the boom length at the start of every journey (which to be fair I do now, but it would be even easier not to).
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Re: Living with a trike
« Reply #17 on: 18 May, 2022, 08:40:50 pm »
There's an upright trike rider in Bristol who I've seen carry his trike over cars and gates. He's approaching 70 and not particularly tall. I don't know if upright trikes are easier to carry than liedown ones; I guess they're more compact, not as long, which must make a difference.

       I've carried my ICE over/through gates along the Oxford canal, annoying taking the panniers off so I shall delve deep into the wallet and buy one of the keys (they for all CRT locks I'm told)
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Kim

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Re: Living with a trike
« Reply #18 on: 18 May, 2022, 09:00:00 pm »
British Waterways and RADAR keys are well worth having for this sort of thing.  As is an adjustable spanner, a small can of WD-40 and a battery-powered angle grinder.   :demon:

Pedaldog.

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Re: Living with a trike
« Reply #19 on: 16 June, 2022, 10:36:06 pm »
Cycleman and I Hefted my (Non folding) Trice over the wall/gate at the end of the canal, coming back to Long Itch' a few years ago. It was "Interesting" and took two trips to collect the unreasonable amount of Oograh I always carry in my Panniers. Don't those New Fangled models have quick release things on the seat fixings? must make it a Tad(Pole) easier.
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Re: Living with a trike
« Reply #20 on: 20 June, 2022, 07:20:24 am »
Having both spent rather a lot of time with ICE at the York Rally Lynn (primary user) and I are keen on an ICE e-trike.
My concern will be something like this.. (sorry, don't  know how to embed as image)
https://goo.gl/maps/fasHwvtsT9fLmdoj9
The barrier is  probably negotiable but obviously no traction up to it
It would be on one of Lynn's  principle  routes and I don't see L. managing it  without help, which rather defeats the purpose (independent travel)

Quote from: Kim from wheelsize thread..
Quote
Trike vs bike thing.  I rarely get any wheelspin on the Streetmachine, and usually only due to the combination of me sitting upright to get a foot down and gravel or similar.  With its lower gearing and lightly-loaded wheel the ICE trike will suffer horrendous wheelspin if it's vaguely slippery.  I recall barakta and I having an adventure on the Birmingham & Fazeley canal between town and Spaghetti Junction, where I kept having to push her up the 'heritage brick' slopes whenever she failed to attack them with sufficient momentum.  I also hurt my foot in an attempt to apply persuasion to one of the RADAR gates.  We never went that way again.
One advantage to a heavy hub motor in the rear wheel and 12kg of battery on the luggage rack is that it completely eliminates this problem, at the cost of instability when cornering.




Kim

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Re: Living with a trike
« Reply #21 on: 20 June, 2022, 10:41:51 pm »
26" rear wheel with a MTB tyre would probably manage it.  Cycleman has plenty of first-hand experience of not wanting to dismount on dubious cyclepaths...

Mr Larrington

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Re: Living with a trike
« Reply #22 on: 20 June, 2022, 11:37:17 pm »
Bushcombe Lane at the start of the Cotswold Corker was doable – just – but $COBBLED_FLANDERS_MUR got me well stuck with the rear wheel in a sand-filled 'ole between the stones.
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Re: Living with a trike
« Reply #23 on: 21 June, 2022, 07:06:18 am »
26" rear wheel with a MTB tyre would probably manage it.  Cycleman has plenty of first-hand experience of not wanting to dismount on dubious cyclepaths...
Thanks that is useful

Re: Living with a trike
« Reply #24 on: 21 June, 2022, 07:52:13 am »
I find on those types of slopes it helps to gear the trike right down.
The slower you can climb, the less force is needed, so you keep traction longer.
I know I can climb slopes with my 9.6" first gear that would defeat me if I still had a 15" "standard" first gear.
But there is a limit to just how much traction you can get and once you hit wheel spin there's little you can do about it.
So it's a bit 50-50 if 20" or 26" wheels are better.
20"wheels are naturally lower geared but has fewer tyres, 26" is the opposite.
But if it was a rocky/lumpy surface then 26" is the way to go as they climb up rocks/lumps better.

Luck .......... :D