What I Learned from Two Catrike 700s

As I prepare to get my "Red" Catrike 700 ready for sale, I can say that I've learned a lot from having two Catrike 700s. The "Black" 700 is my light and fast ride and the "Red" was set up for casual cruising and possible touring.

This is what I learned:

1 - I don't need two 700s. Everything I can do with two 700s I can do with only one.

2 - With a little bit of planning and hardware selection I can change the setup on one 700 within minutes and be ready to ride with different configurations just about anytime at any place.

3 - Going with a wider tire on the rear wheel has a more positive effect on comfort with less loss in speed then going wider on the front wheels. Also going wider on the rear tire has minimal to no effect on handling where going wider on the front tires definitely effects handling.

4 - I do not like Schwalbe Marathon Plus tires, I do not. They are heavy, slow and a bear to put on and take off. To be able to easily change the configuration on my 700 a tire is required that is easy to remove and replace. I would rather have an occasional flat (only two this year) then mess around with these energy absorbing monsters.

5 - Having two wheelsets is a luxury more then a necessity. But it allows me to have a super light wheelset option (the American Classic Aero) that would otherwise not be suited for larger tires and loads. It is also nice to be able to have two wheelsets ready to go with my most used tires already installed, the Schwalbe One 23/622 and the Schwalbe Kojak 35/622.

6 - With good tire selection (I like folded bead tires for ease of installation, lightness and storage) tires are easy to change. It's much easier to change tires then to have to maintain a second trike. With the tires I use it takes less then 8 minutes to change a tire and have it back on the trike.

7 - As mentioned in a previous post, adding a rack and panniers takes less then 7 minutes.

8 - If I decide to go with fenders (which I usually don't like) it takes no more then 10 minutes to set up fenders on all three wheels.

My fastest configuration for is the 28/622-American Classic wheelset on the rear with 23/406s up front and minimal carry alongs.

At the other extreme is a configuration with a 40/622 Schwalbe Marathon Racer/DT Swiss wheelset on the rear and  40/402 Schwalbe Trekkers up front and a rear rack with panniers. I hope to try this combination out on maintained gravel and dirt trails in the future.

In between these two extremes the best compromise between speed and comfort is the 35/622 Schwalbe Kojak/DT Swiss wheelset on the rear with 23/406 Schwalbe Ones on the front.

Configuration options;

REAR Wheelsets and tires
American Classic Aero rim and hub wheelset
with;
Schwalbe One 28/622

or

DT Swiss rim and hub wheelset
with tire options;
Schwalbe Kojak 35/622
Schwalbe Marathon Racer 35/622
Schwalbe Marathon Racer 40/622

FRONT Wheelset and tires
Stock Catrike Velocity Rim and Chris King hubs
with tire options;
Schwalbe One 23/406
Schwalbe Kojak 35/406
Schwalbe Tryker 40/406

REAR rack
Tubus Logo Evo
with;
Ortlieb Panniers

By utilizing my two complete wheelsets, with tires already installed, I can go from light and fast to loaded in less then 7 minutes.

Catrike 700 "Red" For Sale

As of 6/24 - For Sale at Bent Up Cycles in Burbank, CA. Restored to factory specs with following upgrades.
FSA Carbon Fiber Triple Road Crankset. 172.5mm length cranks. 52/39/30
Sram X9 - 10 speed rear derailleur.
Shimano Ultregra front Derailleur
_________________________________________________________

Original information posted below. Now outdated.

I've come to the realization that I only need one Catrike 700.  So here's my Red Catrike 700, bought new July 2014 with the redesigned Catrike spindles. It has only 220 miles logged. It is set up for comfort and durability with Schwable Tryker tires (or 35/406 Kojaks) in front and a Mavic 36 hole rim and a Schwalbe Marathon Plus 37/622 tire in the rear.


No shipping. Local pickup only, Agoura Hills, CA  (Between Los Angeles and Ventura).

Includes:
FSA Carbon Fiber Triple Road Crankset. 172.5mm length cranks. 52/39/30
Sram X9 - 10 speed rear derailleur.
Shimano Ultregra front Derailleur
Dual mirror mounts
Purple Sky Flag
And whatever you see in the pictures

Custom rear wheelset;
Rim - Mavic A719, 36 hole
Hub - Shimano Ultegra
Cassette - Sram PG1070 10 speed 11/36
Tire -Schwalbe Marathon Plus 37/622

 Top chain removed. I have top tube and hardware if you want to replace it.

Leave a comment if you're interested or see the Bent Rider classified add.

New Setup on Red

Followup Post 3/27/15 here

Skinny tires can make for a HARD and ROUGH ride on old weathered roads.

23/622 tire on "Black"

After the Tour de Palm Springs February 14th it became clear that I need to be better prepared for rough roads and roads that are unknown to me.

The skinny and hard Schwalbe Ultremos on my 700 "Black" are fast but can be oh so hard on rough roads and are bone jarring at speed. Ouch. I need to adapt. One option is to go with larger lower pressure tires on "Black" but that ain't happening. It's to much fun on smooth roads.

SO...I'm calling on my 700 "Red" to do double duty. As it stands

The old setup on "Red"

"Red" is set up for touring and carrying loads. As of right now I'm not during either. I made some changes to "Red" to mitigate the rough roads on longer rides and still be reasonably light and fast.

Basically it came down to making some very simple changes to "Red".

1.Removed the rear rack and fender.
2. Removed the front fenders.
3. Lightened up on the tool kit and few other non-necessities.
4. The most notable change is changing out the tires. Instead of the Trykers on the front and the Marathon Racer on the rear I now have Schwalbe Kojaks all around, 35/722 on the rear and 35/406s on the front.

Here's my thought on the Kojaks. The Kojaks are still fast tires but larger (35/722 and 35/406) then the Ultremos (23/722 and 23/406) and require less air pressure. They are rated at 55-95psi ( the Ultremos are rated at 95-145psi). The lower pressure will not only make for a softer ride but I can easily adjust the air pressure while on the road with my Topeak Morph Pump. Getting the pressure up to 55psi with the Topeak is easy and going up to 80psi is doable.

I'm also adding a Topeak pressure gauge with it's bleed valve to my tool kit so I can accurately adjust the air pressure depending on road conditions. If the roads are good I want the tires hard. If the roads are fried then it's time to soften up.

Returning "Red" back to it's original touring configuration takes less then one hour. Example, the rack and rear fender are ready to go back on with five bolts.

MORE pictures and comments later after a few rides on the new "Red".

1st Ride Of 2015

Better late then never. My New Year Day's ride had to wait until today due to a pulled neck muscle (nothing to due with riding my trikes). After a heated debate with myself I opted to take "Red" with it's lower gears and get some climbing in.

Working my way to the top.

At the top.
Now a nice downhill run and then up another hill.

Pic of the Day

 My Catrike 700 "Red" at the top of the climb

"Red's" Winter Fenders

"Red" is ready for puddle diving. The fenders are easy to put on and take off in preparation for whatever season is upon us. The setup is basically the same as it was on my old Catrike Expedtion with the exception of the Catrike mirror mount posts instead of the handlebar posts used on the Expedition.

La Conchita Bike Trail

I decided to escape the heat of the Conejo Valley and packed up Red and headed to the coast to explore the new La Conchita Trail. The La Conchita Trail is a 3.5 mile path that parallels Hwy 101 on the coast side just South of Rincon Beach. Up to recently cyclists had to ride on the very busy and noisy Hwy 101 and brave all the big rigs and cars travelling at 70 plus miles per hour. It was a daunting affair to say the least. The noise is still part of the ambiance of the new trail but now you can relax and enjoy the ocean on one side and try not to notice the busy 101 on the other.
The total round trip was 25 miles of flatness starting at Emma Wood Sate Park and ending at Rincon beach. I had a picnic lunch at Rincon park and then went back. The La Conchita Trail is a great short path with nothing but ocean view (if you turn your head the right way). It's not a very wide trail and would have been nice to have some pullouts for us cyclists to be able to stop and enjoy the ocean view without having to block the trail. Even without pullouts it's still a really nice trail. There is only one  minor street crossing and restrooms at the North end of the trail at Rincon Beach.

Starting at Emma Wood Sate Park in Ventura I headed North after saying a rolling hello to a couple of other trikers (I can kick myself for not stopping to talk). My ride started on the Emma Wood Trail.
Mile 0 to mile 1.2 was the Emma Wood Trail.
Mile 1.2 to Mile 8.4 is along Hwy 1 9 (pretty rough pavement for most of the ride).
Mile 8.4 to mile 12.0 is the La Conchita Trail.

One way

 Unloaded and ready to go. I'm parked on a dirt strip just outside the Emma Wood State Park campground.

Emma Wood Trail

HWY 1

RV row along HWY 1 seems to go on forever. It's not bad while I'm headed North. On the way back I get to enjoy the noise and fumes of the generators while I ride along some of these behemoths decked out with satellite dishes, air conditioning.........

 Pump trunks driving by offering to pump out last night's burrito and tequila from your RV holding tank.

 Taking a break and enjoying the view now that I'm past RV row.

 Going under HWY 101 on the way to La Conchita Trail.

La Conchita Trail

 Trailhead

 Ocean view on the left.

 HWY 101 view on the right.

 Me

 A ramp leading to the beach is the only place to pull off the trail to take a look around.

Rincon Beach Park

 Picnic time

 The ramp leading down to the beach

 La Conchita trailhead at Rincon Beach

Ride over

Packed up and ready to head home

Rebuilt Crank for Red

I rebuilt the entire crank for Red from existing crank parts and some new ones. I'm trying see if I can get by without having to go with a Schlumph Mountain Drive to achieve a comfortable climbing gear. With the rebuilt crank I now have a respectable 18.5 gear inches on the low end and 120.9 on the high end. The Schlumph has some drawbacks for me which I'll get into in a later post.

The new crank is now a 48/39/24. The amount of chain needed to handle this crankset with a 36/11 cassette is right on the edge of what a long cage derailleur can handle. You can go up to a 50t on the crankset but if you don't want a loose, sloppy and noisy idle chain then you need to avoid going small/small (24t chainring/11t cog) with your gears. (note: chain length must first be adjusted to accommodate a largest chainring/largest cog gear combination).

I left the front derailleur mounted higher on the derailleur mast then it might normally be mounted for a 48t large chainring. Mounting the derailleur a bit on the high side allows it to clear the outer guard. However my main concern was the angle of the shifting cable coming from the cable stop that Catrike mounts on the mast to accommodate a 52t large chainring. Moving the derailleur down on the mast increases the angle at which the cable exits the cable stop increasing wear. 

I've put a few miles on this crankset and the derailleur height on the mast seems to be non-issue. The shifting is smooth even when shifting down or up between the 39t and the 24t chainrings. 

When building up your own crank it's a good idea to have chainring spacers on hand. I get spacers here from Wheels Manufacturing Inc.

Details:

Bottom Bracket - Mega Exo BB-8681 (68mm  English)

Crank and spider - FSA SL-X Carbon

Outer guard - Custom Catrike Guard

48t Chainring - FSA Road Pro, 130mmBCD outer, 10 speed

39t Chainring - FSA Road Pro, 130mmBCD middle, 10 speed

24t Chainring - Salsa, 74mmBCD, 9 speed (works fine with 10 speed)

Inner gaurd - Volae 74mmBCD

I like this old style Catrike outer guard. The newer one is a bit plain.

Gear inches with the re-built crankset.

Pic of the Day

I found a little bit of shade to park Red while I took a energy bar break.

My Catrike 700 vs My Catrike 700

Catrike 700 "Red"

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.