12 Years of Trikes

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My current ride ICE Sprint FS E8000 as of 2019. When we moved back to Thousand Oaks after screwing around with living on the Central Coast for three years and I was quickly reminded of all the hills to climb. For the last year I've averaged 71 feet of gain per mile. E-assist had come a long way so I bought a new ICE Sprint FS E8000 but the mesh seat is from an ICE Adventure (click here for info).
Love it!

Staying strong…kinda. I love riding bent trikes. I’ve been riding recumbent trikes since 2009. They’ve kept me moving with little pause through three back repairs, two new hips, carpel tunnel release to both wrists, heart attack 10 years ago while pushing my old bones too hard riding my Catrike 700, nerve damage to my right leg from a shitty hip replacement and now a pandemic that is screwing with all of us. I’ve lived a physical life and doing nothing is not option I can live with. So when the hills started to feel longer and steeper I added an e-assist trike from ICE trikes to my stable and I just kept on going.

The biggest problem people seem to have with a recumbent trike, is that it’s not “normal”. But normal is boring. Most people have a problem with “different”. I get it, you have to be comfortable with people staring at you when you ride a recumbent trike. People staring at you while they’re driving is actually a good thing. 

2013 to 2019 Catrike 700 with 20" front wheels.
Fun fun trike. But after about 20 to 30 miles it
 starts to feel a little too laid back. 

In time maybe more people will consider a recumbent trike. Whether a fast road trike, touring trike, off road trike or an adaptive trike, it’s all good. Plus it’s really hard to fall off a trike. Every now and then I’ll see somebody on a new standard bike and they look so uncomfortable and I can just bet that their bike will probably be on Craigslist soon and they’ll give up cycling. Doesn’t have to be.

2016 to 2018 Catrike Expedition. Sense the Sprint
wasn't working out for me at the time I went back
to a Catrike Expedition for awhile. Always a 
reliable ride. I still feel that the Expedition is one
of the best all around trikes at a reasonable
price for a solid well built trike.
 

The UCI won’t allow recumbents in UCI sanctioned races, yet world speed and distant records are on recumbents bikes and trikes (the 24 hour distance record is on a velomobile trike). Knowing what I know now, if I were young again and all my parts were still working I would still only ride a recumbent trike. I would never go 50mph down a hill on two wheels at any age. I’d probably break my face. At 67 it’s always partypace, except when coming down a steep hill. Old guys need an adrenaline fix every now and then.

2015 to 2018 ICE Sprint FS with Carbon Seat

Same ICE Sprint FS as above but with a mesh seat.
The carbon seat was a killer on my Piriformis.
But eventually I parted with this trike because of the
seat. The mesh seat felt too short for my 6'1" frame. 
I felt like I was constantly on the edge of the
seat and it was a uncomfortable feeling. I tried making
adjustments that helped but in the end it just didn't
work for me.

t

2014 to 2015 my "Red" Catrike 700. This was a
bit of an experiment to see if I could set up a 700
for longer rides and maybe even short tours I had
planned at the time. It didn't meet my expectations

2011 to 2012 Catrike 700 with 16" front wheels.
An old classic long ago discontinued in favor
of 20" front wheels. The lower profile of this
700 gave it a low center of gravity and was 
awesome for taking tight turns at speed. The
new 700s are good too but the old 700 beats
it on the turns.

2009 to 2014 Catrike Expedition, my first trike. A really
fun ride and a great first trike for breaking into the world 
of trikes and for touring. With proper tire selection the lack
of suspension is not missed.

Suburbia and Parks

For a year now my rides have taken me to many local suburban parks to escape the suburban streets for a few minutes and down some trail mix. 

A second vaccine dose will be in my arm March 11th and two weeks after that I'm good to get out of here. First stop for Carrie and me the Central Coast and back riding Hwy 1. 

 

ICE Ergo Luxe - Cover Tear

Update; As of April 2023 I've using the seat for most of my riding and the tear has not gotten any worse.

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As always ICE costumer service is the best.

The ICE Adventure Ergo Luxe seat cover I use on my Sprint developed a tear at 1,400 miles. Andy at ICE offered to send me a new seat cover but I may opt out and use this situation to change over to the Sprint Ergo Luxe seat and frame instead of the Adventure frame seat I currently use on my Sprint. The frame of the Adventure seat base is a bit longer and I find it more comfortable when using the mesh. However using Adventure Ergo Lux cover now seems a little long when I'm fully reclined. 

For now I'm using the mesh cover and find it a nice change from using the cushy Ergo Luxe cover. 

Moving on, here are the details via emails with Andy at Ice.

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Hey Andy,

Are others having this problem with the Ergo seat? It's starting to tear as pictured below. Any advice?

I have 1,400 miles on the seat. I weight 185 lbs (83.9kgs).

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Hi Mark,

 

We have not had reports of this issue, however in the picture you sent over it clearly shows the material between the pads fraying & separating. If you could please let me know your trikes frame number which is located underneath the main frame spar stamped into the frame this number begins with a Y & is followed by 5 numbers.

 

I can then arrange a replacement seat be sent out to you, could you please also supply me with you Full Address & Telephone Number.

 

Just to be certain is the seat & cover the standard size Sprint Ergo Luxe not the Shor Back version it is not clear in the picture you sent through I would hate to send you the incorrect cover. If you would not mind doing so when the replacement cover arrives with you would it be possible to send the damaged cover back to us for testing & examination. Do not worry if you are unable. It would just be nice for us to inspect the damaged cover.

 

Thanks,

 

Andy

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Hey Andy.

Thanks for the offer but I'll use this opportunity to purchase a proper Sprint frame and Ergo cover. Let me explain.

I bought my Sprint FS E8000 in 2019 with an Adventure seat frame and mesh cover and updated it with the Ergo seat cover in 2020.  I found the Sprint seat with the mesh cover to feel a bit short in the seat. Testing an Ergo cover on the actual Sprint seat frame has changed my opinion. With the tear I might as well change over to a proper Sprint seat with the Ergo cover.

I'll be happy to send the seat cover back to you as soon as I change the seat out. Can I buy a Sprint seat frame and Ergo cover through you or should I find a local dealer?

Mark

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Hi Mark,

 

I think I understand your thoughts on the change of seat, if you are near to an ICE Dealer then we would suggest you purchase the required seat & cover through them. If you are not & are very far away then you would be able to purchase these items through us if you would like.

 

If you are sure you do not mind it would be great for us to be able to examine the cover.

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Hey Andy,

The cost of sending you the seat is prohibitive so I'm sending the enclosed pictures of the seat cover removed from the frame.

Pictures 1 and 2 are looking at the seat cover from behind. The last two pictures are from the front.

The tear (on the right side of the seat) seems to not have gotten any worse while riding with it in this condition and looks like it stopped at the blue stitching. 

 

FYI..

I weigh 185lbs (83.9kg). I use the front wheels for support when I get on and off the trike, not the seat. Sometimes I might plop my ass down a little hard to sit down. I keep the straps tight. As I mentioned before the seat has a little over 1,400 (2,253km). Due to hip replacements my dominant leg is my left leg, my right leg has had some atrophy thanks to the doctor who butchered me. Any other questions?

Hopefully this helps. 

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Hi Mark, 

 

Thank you for the pictures & the information regarding your seat cover, we have not seen this kind of failure before & as such am a little unsure of what could of caused this issue. I understand your thoughts on not sending the cover back to us I greatly appreciate your time in taking the pictures & sending them over to me I will pass this email across to the design team who had/have the most experience with the seats & covers to see what they think.

 

Thanks,

 

Andy

 

Screwing Around with Tires

The Pandemic has left me with time to spend to do useless projects. With the tires I have laying around I decided to spend some that time to figure out which tire combination is the fasted. Over the course of a few rides I came up with the results. 

No science involved here, just going downhill and keeping track of the downhill speeds when weather and road conditions seemed to be about same for each ride I measured. 

The max speed was measured on a 3/4 mile downhill run with a max grade of 8% and no signals with minimal traffic on my ICE Sprint FS E8000 with 90% max pressure in tires. 

Front tires and Back Tire

Schwalbe Marathon Racer and Schwalbe Supreme

40/406 - 340g   0.75 lbs

40/406 - 340g   0.75 lbs

42/599 - 440g   0.93 lbs

Total    1,120g  2.43lbs

Speed Average: 38.6 mph

Speeds: 40.8, 38.1, 38.5, 38.5, 38.1, 39.4

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Continental Contact (E25) and Schwalbe Supreme

37/406 - 420g   0.93 lbs

37/406 - 420g   0.93 lbs

42/559 - 440g   0.97 lbs

Total     1,280g  2.83 lbs

Speed Average: 38.2 mph

Speeds: 36.5, 38.2, 39.4, 38.7, 37.8, 38.0

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Schwalbe Plus and Schwalbe Plus

35/406 - 560g   1.23 lbs

35/406 - 560g   1.23 lbs

40/599 - 870g   1.90 lbs 

Total    1,990g  4.36 lbs

Speed Average: 36.6 mph

Speeds: 37.1, 35.8, 36.8, 36.5, 37.8

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Now it's time to figure out something else to do with my time besides riding my trike, working on my trike, making stuff, drawing, reading  and watching birds in my garden with my beautiful wife Carrie. Hopefully in the near future I'll be able to pack my trike in the car and start traveling again with Carrie, go out to dinner, visit family and friends and whatever.

Helmets - Virginia Tech Helmet Lab

REPOSTING MY HELMET POST FROM JULY OF THIS YEAR.  Adventure Cycling profiled Virginia Tech Helmet Lab in the Dec 2020/Jan 2021 issue of Adventure Cyclist Magazine. So I thought this would be a good time to repost.

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Why replace a Laser Blade helmet with a Laser Blade helmet? I've had my old one for five years and my research tells me a helmet should be replaced every five years (some say every three years). You know...degradation of the materials over time.

Why the Laser Blade?

1. The Lazer Blade withs MIPS has a Five Star rating from Virginia Tech Helmet Lab.  (update 11/20/20, Adventure Cyclist profiled Virginia Tech Helmet Lab in the Dec 2020/Jan 2021 issue of Adventure Cyclist Magazine.)

2. It fits me well. It comes in sizes from XS up to XL. The Large fits my big head.

3. The retention system is adjusted from the top of the helmet. For recumbent riders this means no knobs and plastic between you and the headrest (if you use a headrest).

4. The back of the helmet is rounded. No point on the back to interfere with a bike rack or the tire when really laid back.

5. Now it comes with the MIPS (Multi-directional Impact Protection System). Extra protection for rotational impact.

The old helmet (red accent) and the new one. 

Inside the old helmet and inside the new helmet with the yellow MIPS insert.

No retention adjustment on the back of the helmet. Instead...

 

..it's on the top.

Rounded in the back.

Trikertude

Trikertude is not backed up by science. Trikertude is not backed up by any facts whatsoever. Just having fun here.

The following is my highly biased take on recumbent triking in a world dominated by motorized transportation and socially acceptable two wheeled human transportation also know as the diamond framed bicycle. 

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Trik-er-tude-wherein the intrepid triker finds enlightenment. To discover enlightenment the triker must first successfully pass through Phase 1 - Fear and Uncertainty followed by Phase 2 - Acceptance and then onto Phase 3 - Trikertude.

Phase 1 - Fear and Uncertainty

Our intrepid newbie triker  has been lurking on the Bent Rider forum for some time now desperately wanting to be active again. Our triker loves the idea of riding a tadpole recumbent trike (or maybe a Delta trike). but is dealing with the fear that overwhelms newbies to the triking world. On the practical side our triker asks, "Is it safe? Can drivers see me? Is it okay to ride in the streets?".  And then there is the social fear that every new triker deals with, the dreaded "everyone one will be staring at me, I'll look like an idiot", kinda fear.

With fear in check (thanks to Bent Rider forum members) our triker now boldly enters a recumbent dealer in (the City of your choice) and marvels at the site of all the recumbent trikes and immediately feels a sense of rightness. After hours (maybe days) of checking out all the shiny new trikes our triker walks out of the recumbent shop and loads the new trike into the awaiting mini-van (or whatever works) and heads home.

It's now time for the first ride. So many decisions. ""Do I ride on the road where every driver will be looking at me and trying to run me over or on the bicycle trail? But the trail has street crossings, what do I do then?" FLAGS AND LIGHTS!! "Yes that's it I'll look like a float in a parade with flags waving and lights flashing". Oh, but now the weird factor just got amped up. What to do? Ah "Grasshopper", every triker must find the path that is right for them. There is no wrong path.

After a few rides our triker is settling into a zone where the desire to ride is overcoming the fear. Our triker is now ready for Phase 2.

Phase 2 - Acceptance

Without wasting time our triker is putting on the miles and the transition into Phase-2 has come quickly. Our triker has moved past  fear and has accepted that drivers are not out to run him or her down. Quite the opposite. Drivers are giving more room to our triker and surprise, surprise, trikers are actually more visible simply because they look "different". Our triker has also accepted that drivers are staring, and some are probably making ignorant comments from within the protection of their tinted high horse powered cocoon. But  to our triker's delight comments made by fellow cyclists and those who travel on foot are generally positive.

Our triker now regularly cruises the roads and trials. With a good understanding of the rules of the road and an appreciation of cycling etiquette our triker has now accepted that he or she is part of the cycling world and expects to be treated as a cyclist.

With complete acceptance our triker has mastered Phase 2 and soon moves on to Phase 3-Trikertude.

Phase 3 - Trikertude

YES...our triker has reached Trikertude and with that enlightenment. Every road and path is open. You have gone beyond the acceptance of yourself as a mere cyclist and now see yourself as a pioneer who has broke free of expectations and social norms. You exude confidence. So many are the cyclists for whom a traditional bicycle no longer suits them. Even though their body cries out for something better and smarter to ride they continue to ride what is expected of them. Others simply give up cycling. 

Trikertude is a state in which a triker has moved beyond the expectations of others and has developed a sense of self worth that acknowledges the right of an individual to enjoy their life in whatever manner they so please as long as their actions don't negatively impact others. To the contrary, Trikertude is further defined as a willingness to help others in a positive way by helping them to discover the joy of life again. 

Get out and ride a Trike!

Instagram Post 11/2

Go To My Instagram

No picnic this year for us National Park Service Volunteers. Drive by meetup instead. I triked on over to Rancho Sierra Vista/Satwiwa to say hey to NPS regulars and pick up a bag of cool stuff. I started volunteering for the NPS 21 years ago and would never have imagined I would be called off from my duties at Cheeseboro Canyon because of a pandemic. Oh well, keep riding.