Catrike 700 "Black"
It didn't take long to get to know my new Catrike 700 known as "Red". I built it for touring and general laid back cruising. I've been riding "Red" along the same routes and in the same manner (aggressively) as I ride my other lighter performance dedicated Catrike 700 "Black".
How Red differs from Black
- Redis about 25% heaver with it's Schwalbe Marathon Plus 1.35" tires, touring rear wheel, rack and a few more odds and ends.
- The Schwalbe Marathon Plus 1.35" tires put more rubber on the road but it makes up for the extra rolling resistance with serious puncture protection.
- With the Schwalbe Marathon Plus 1.35" tires the ride is considerably smoother and the steering is less twitchy. The narrow hard Ultremo tires on Black react to every pebble it comes in contact with. Finally, the turns are a bit more sluggish
- As for speed... I was surprised to see my average speed on Red was only about 8% slower then Black. I had expected it to be at least 15% slower. Acceleration was slower but not to the point of making much of a difference. My max speed on a long downhill run was not noticeably different. It just took a little longer to get there.
Bottom line...both 700s perform equally well for their intended purpose and are a kick in the pants to ride.
I've come to appreciate that both trikes have the same ergonomics. Switching from one trike to the other is seamless with no orientation time required when choosing which trike to ride.
Now that I'm done comparing the two trikes I can ride Red the way I intended to ride it...slow and easy and taking time to smell the roses.
