New (to me) Catrike

DIscuss anything relating to non-standard cycles and their equipment.
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Tigerbiten
Posts: 2503
Joined: 29 Jun 2009, 6:49am

Re: New (to me) Catrike

Post by Tigerbiten »

Another Streamer fairing user here.
I've a hard shell seat at maximum recline on my ICE sprint.
My fairing is only about an inch under my eye line.

Two other benefits of the streamer fairing are .....
It make the trike look bigger from the front, so slightly safer it traffic.
And at speed it tends to deflect bugs over you head.

It's biggest disadvantage is it causes a sight dead zone in front of you.
So pot holes disappear from view from a few meters out until you can see them under the fairing.
So you need slightly more concentration to miss them with it on vs with it off.

Luck ....... :D
belgiangoth
Posts: 1657
Joined: 29 Mar 2007, 4:10pm

Re: New (to me) Catrike

Post by belgiangoth »

While a rear fairing is by far cooler, the front fairing does offer rain/cold protection so seems more sensible. I do fear that the 700 is very reclined (like the VTX) so doesn't lend itself to easy fairing setup.
Also, money.
If I had a baby elephant, I would put it on a recumbent trike so that it would become invisible.
hercule
Posts: 1156
Joined: 5 Feb 2011, 5:18pm

Re: New (to me) Catrike

Post by hercule »

I got my fairing second hand from DTek and without any mounting hardware (it was basically the polycarbonate bubble and the aluminium bows). Saved a lot of money and made a mounting that seems to be far more robust than the one HPV sell with it. It only requires a modicum of flexibility to get in (it’s fixed in place).
belgiangoth
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Joined: 29 Mar 2007, 4:10pm

Re: New (to me) Catrike

Post by belgiangoth »

Different question - my Catrike is the model that originally came with front 16" wheels, but when I got it it came with 18".

I was considering swapping front wheels for 20" and rear for 26" or 650b, mostly for a wider choice of tyres at the front and fatter more comfy tyres at the back. I know some posters on this forum have swapped out from 20-24 at the front on ice trikes, but the catrike is already pretty horizontal as it is.

Thoughts?
If I had a baby elephant, I would put it on a recumbent trike so that it would become invisible.
UpWrong
Posts: 2409
Joined: 31 May 2009, 12:16pm
Location: Portsmouth, Hampshire

Re: New (to me) Catrike

Post by UpWrong »

belgiangoth wrote:Different question - my Catrike is the model that originally came with front 16" wheels, but when I got it it came with 18".

I was considering swapping front wheels for 20" and rear for 26" or 650b, mostly for a wider choice of tyres at the front and fatter more comfy tyres at the back. I know some posters on this forum have swapped out from 20-24 at the front on ice trikes, but the catrike is already pretty horizontal as it is.

Thoughts?


it will increase the trail and make the steering a lot heavier. Still rideable I'm sure. ICE trikes start off with much lighter steering so putting large front wheels on seems to be less of an issue.
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n0ct0
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Joined: 27 Apr 2020, 2:11pm

Re: New (to me) Catrike

Post by n0ct0 »

belgiangoth
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Joined: 29 Mar 2007, 4:10pm

Re: New (to me) Catrike

Post by belgiangoth »

So ...
1. A look on t' schwalbe website suggests that they make the Big Apples in 50-355, so if I am after a more cushy ride I could just do that.
2. I was looking at 406 with a view to potentially turning the trike into the snow/ice commuter with the snow tyres - but Schwalbe make snow tyres in 305 size, which is the size the trike was originally designed for anyway...
3. It rides fine with 18" when designed for 16", 20" would just be one more step in the same direction.
4. If looking for ride comfort (and possibly more clearance beneath the trike) potentially 20 is better than 18 or 16
5. At the back I can fit a 28-622 - just. If my mafs is correct then that's equivalent to a 45-584 with a little extra clearance - or maybe *just* a 48 ice tyre.
...
but then I think this may be overly theoretical. for the one week a year that we have snow to contend with I'm not sure it's worth ~£500 in wheels and tyres.
If I had a baby elephant, I would put it on a recumbent trike so that it would become invisible.
UpWrong
Posts: 2409
Joined: 31 May 2009, 12:16pm
Location: Portsmouth, Hampshire

Re: New (to me) Catrike

Post by UpWrong »

belgiangoth wrote:So ...
2. I was looking at 406 with a view to potentially turning the trike into the snow/ice commuter with the snow tyres - but Schwalbe make snow tyres in 305 size, which is the size the trike was originally designed for anyway...

it was designed for 349 wheels, so the 355 rims you have are virtually no different. At least with 355 rims you have the options of BAs which will give you a bit more ground clearance too.
nobrakes
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Joined: 9 Jan 2020, 10:17am

Re: New (to me) Catrike

Post by nobrakes »

If it helps sway you, trikes aren’t great in the snow. The rear end is so lightly loaded that you lose traction on even moderate grades with a studded tyre. I tooled up for a full winter triking and ended up getting knackered with the rear wheel spinning all the time.

Next year I’ll just ride my Crosstrail when the snow comes.
hercule
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Joined: 5 Feb 2011, 5:18pm

Re: New (to me) Catrike

Post by hercule »

On the other hand, a delta trike is great in snow! Two wheel drive on my Kett with most of the weight over the rear axle means excellent traction. The only problem is the proximity of the rear mech to the ground when the snow gets deeper than an inch or so (by which time you are struggling with pushing three tyre tracks through the stuff).
belgiangoth
Posts: 1657
Joined: 29 Mar 2007, 4:10pm

Re: New (to me) Catrike

Post by belgiangoth »

nobrakes wrote: 3 Apr 2021, 6:57pm If it helps sway you, trikes aren’t great in the snow. The rear end is so lightly loaded that you lose traction on even moderate grades with a studded tyre. I tooled up for a full winter triking and ended up getting knackered with the rear wheel spinning all the time.

Next year I’ll just ride my Crosstrail when the snow comes.
I will defer to your greater experience, especially as it means I can save £££s and just ride my fxg. I may reconsider if I crash and/or find myself with weeks of walking for 50% of the commute though. I believe the done thing is to load down the rear wheel (with luggage etc).
If I had a baby elephant, I would put it on a recumbent trike so that it would become invisible.
belgiangoth
Posts: 1657
Joined: 29 Mar 2007, 4:10pm

Re: New (to me) Catrike

Post by belgiangoth »

New Milestone: planning to go for a ride tomorrow am with #1son, just brought the trike through the house to store (upright*) in the front porch. I did this in under 5 mins, no re-arranging of furniture or tertis-ing other bikes about, just a little lift above the bars of the SPM.

A whole new world.

*: upright storage is a revelation. I even store the SPM upright when it's in the coal shed. Amusingly the one bike I can't store upright is the fxg as the mudguards are too long. I could solve this by actually investing in a hook for the wall.
If I had a baby elephant, I would put it on a recumbent trike so that it would become invisible.
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[XAP]Bob
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Re: New (to me) Catrike

Post by [XAP]Bob »

nobrakes wrote: 3 Apr 2021, 6:57pm If it helps sway you, trikes aren’t great in the snow. The rear end is so lightly loaded that you lose traction on even moderate grades with a studded tyre. I tooled up for a full winter triking and ended up getting knackered with the rear wheel spinning all the time.

Next year I’ll just ride my Crosstrail when the snow comes.
I’ve never had an issue, being far more able than cars to climb slippery roads even on a thin road tyrebat the rear.

Stopping, that was more of an issue on snow.

When I switched to studded tyres all round there was no issue anywhere.
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
nobrakes
Posts: 77
Joined: 9 Jan 2020, 10:17am

Re: New (to me) Catrike

Post by nobrakes »

Interesting. I had 3 studded tyres on my Sprint this winter. Climbing anything above 10% was frustrating and slow due to all the wheel spin.
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squeaker
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Location: Sussex

Re: New (to me) Catrike

Post by squeaker »

nobrakes wrote: 16 Apr 2021, 12:09pm Interesting. I had 3 studded tyres on my Sprint this winter. Climbing anything above 10% was frustrating and slow due to all the wheel spin.
I think this calls for a weight distribution measurement, as I suspect that the rear wheel of a Sprint 26, with longer wheelbase, might see
a lower % than a Q (which I recall Bob had/has). Then there's the dynamic effects: Q being suspended rear (?) and Sprint rigid (?).
"42"
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