Anybody with a recumbent trike in Gloucestershire?

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LiveFree
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Anybody with a recumbent trike in Gloucestershire?

Post by LiveFree »

Hello good cycling folks :D

I am wondering if anyone has a recumbent trike (preferably an 'ICE' trike) in Gloucestershire that I could try out? I have recently been diagnosed as having a heart condition (POTS) which is making riding 'normal' (DF) bicycles rather tricky. Basically, I need to keep my heart rate as low as possible or else I run into rather unpleasant symptoms..one of which is feeling VERY dizzy/faint, which is not ideal when you're cycling!

I have heard that quite a lot of people have had great success riding recumbent bikes/trikes with this condition- since heart rate is considerably lower when riding recumbent.

Since ICE trikes are rather expensive, I would love to try one out prior to potentially buying one- but ICE are a long way away from me here in Gloucestershire, and travel is rather tricky for me currently. I really don't want to give up on cycling, but I am feeling rather debilitated at the moment. It would be wonderful if someone had a trike that I could try out- as this might be a way of me continuing with my beloved cycling.

Best wishes to you all :D
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[XAP]Bob
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Re: Anybody with a recumbent trike in Gloucestershire?

Post by [XAP]Bob »

We should be able to find someone.

If you're still struggling in a few days and would consider a little travel then you're welcome to come and try a wind cheetah (very different steering, but the 'bent trike aspect is there to test)
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.
LiveFree
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Re: Anybody with a recumbent trike in Gloucestershire?

Post by LiveFree »

Hello Bob, that's really kind of you- thank you :D Those wind cheetahs look really cool- weren't they originally one of the legendary Mike Burrow's designs?

On the topic of the traveling a bit farther; alas- for now- that is just not an option. I am experiencing a lot of fatigue and also a fair amount of dizziness- even with minimal activity. Driving is sort of mostly off the cards at the moment, other than very short journeys- as I can never quite predict when I will become short of breath/dizzy.

If I don't get anywhere with finding someone local though, and once things- hopefully- improve, I may come back to you.

In the meantime, thanks again and..

Happy cycling :D
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Tigerbiten
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Re: Anybody with a recumbent trike in Gloucestershire?

Post by Tigerbiten »

I'm over in Northampton with a modified ICE Sprint.
It's set up for my height of 5'8", over an inch difference in height either way and it starts getting iffy if you'll fit without moving the front boom.

Are you thinking electric or not.
If not then you really need to think how you can maximize the gear range.
A first gear of sub 15" will let you climb most hills strain free.
And a top gear of over 100" will make it harder to spinout which again raises your heart rate.
Something like a 24/36/48 triple and a 12/36 9 speed on a SA 3 speed hub will give you a 10x gear range, 13"-136" on a 26" wheel.

Luck .......... :D
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squeaker
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Re: Anybody with a recumbent trike in Gloucestershire?

Post by squeaker »

Tigerbiten wrote: 22 Sep 2021, 8:43pm If not then you really need to think how you can maximize the gear range.
A first gear of sub 15" will let you climb most hills strain free.
And a top gear of over 100" will make it harder to spinout which again raises your heart rate.
Agree with the former, but not the sentiment behind the latter: you don't have to pedal downhill ;)
"42"
LiveFree
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Re: Anybody with a recumbent trike in Gloucestershire?

Post by LiveFree »

Hello my friends; thank you for your helpful replies :D In reply to Tigerbiten, I am 6 foot 5 inches..so, alas, as well as the distance I don't think I would fit! But thank you for replying.

And in reply to both of your messages about the gearing, and also the question of electric assist- if at all possible, I would like to avoid having to use e-assist on the trike: before things got really bad with my heart, I was using e-assist on my Brompton..and I have to say that, whilst it was an excellent hub motor, I just didn't get the same pleasure from riding that I get without electrical assistance. Of course, I will have to be sensible now, and if very low and wide range gearing doesn't do the job..I may have to take this approach; after all better to get out on a trike than not at all!

But, I would like to give the appropriate gearing a go first. And with that in mind- the suggestion of a SA 3 speed combined with the derailer was interesting. High end doesn't really bother me at all if I'm honest- as per 'squeakers' reply..I ride for enjoyment and transport, not speed..so I am quite happy to just freewheel down any steep hills. If at all possible, I would like to use a Rohloff gear on the trike..rather than a derailer/derailer-IGH combo..I'm not a fan of derailers at all. My question though with the Rohloff, is- is it possible to get low enough gearing with a 26" wheel? Hills are going to be my nemesis..even with the lower HR of a recumbent. I really do need to be able to just spin ALL the time..whatever the elevation..so really, the lowest possible gearing seems key. Perhaps even sub-12 G.I?

I guess the other two things that concern me a little with the Rohloff..is will the 13.6% increments be too big for me to maintain my ideal cadence..bearing in mind I am a weak/debilitated rider; and secondly- if I do have to end up using e-assist, I am then restricted to a crank-drive motor..which means no throttle only (if I'm feeling really fatigued) and a lot of power running through the Rohloff. I know that Rohloff rate their hubs for 100+nm of torque..but a conversation I had with our dear friend Brucey once when he was down here sticks in my mind..whilst not a fan of e-assist at all, he favoured hub motors hugely..due to the torque being pumped through the drivetrain by crank-drives and the various hub gear failures he had seen in such situations (albeit these were IIRC with shimano hubs..perhaps Rohloff are totally different?) If I have gone down the Rohloff route..I can't sensibly go back to a hub motor then.

Any advice on this greatly appreciated :D
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[XAP]Bob
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Re: Anybody with a recumbent trike in Gloucestershire?

Post by [XAP]Bob »

You can gear pretty low with the rohloff, it's bottom gear is ~1/4 (i.e. four turns of the sprocket for one of the wheel)
They recommend 1.9 ish as the minimum transmission ratio (I know plenty of people go under that), but that ends up with a (1.9*0.279) 53% overall ratio.

That's a 13" gear on a 26" wheel, or a 10" gear on a 20" wheel.



I know that ICE have good experience with the Shimano steps motor system (custom front boom), and from my test drives it was really nice.
I'd not be worried about running a crank drive through a rohloff, they are plenty strong enough for that, and you're not going to be running the motor full chat and stamping on the drive chain all that much.

The Alfine 11 gears down only half as much (~.5) and has a similar drive ratio limit, so the rohloff is a better choice if you don't want a derailleur at the back.

20" at the back does have a couple of advantages - lower gearing being one, but single tube size for spares is another.
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.
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Tigerbiten
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Re: Anybody with a recumbent trike in Gloucestershire?

Post by Tigerbiten »

There's a Rohloff on the back of my trike so I've looked into this .... :D

With a Rohloff and multiple chainrings you want to line up the overlap which makes the gear shift between the rings very predictable.
A difference is 1.29x for 2 gears and 1.466x for 3.
The Rohloff chain tensioner can cope with a 20 tooth difference, so a 30/39/50 road triple works well and adds an extra 4 gears to the gear range.
For a 26" wheel then a 16t sprocket (13.6"-119") is legal but you could probably get away with a 17t (12.8"-112.2").
With a 20" wheel then a 13t sprocket (12"-105") and 15t (10.4"-91") also work.
It is possible to go for 5 extra gears with a 24/36/48 triple and a 13t sprocket on a 20" wheel (10.4"-101.2"). But you need to lock a long cage derailleur in place to work as your chain tensioner. You just need to fit extra long H/L limit screws to do this.
I've gone one step further and added a Schlumpf HSD with twin chainrings at the front for an extra 10 gears to the range.

In an ideal world you would set your gears up on a logarithmic curve, wide a the low end and getting narrower as the gear size increases.
So the 13.6% step on a Rohloff is set up as the ideal gear step between a range of roughly 40"-80", it's a bit narrow when you drop below 40" and a bit wide when you climb above 80".
In context, the average step of a "standard" -14-16-18-21-24-28- block is 15%.

As for a Rohloff and a motor, no problem with modern controllers.
You stop pedalling and the motor cuts out.
This lets you shift torque free.
Start pedalling and the motor starts up again.
You just need to learn how long it takes the motor to cut out after you stop pedalling before you can safely shift.
It's more of the case that automatic shifters don't work well with any IHG due to the fact you need to stop pedalling to shift.

Luck ............ :D
LiveFree
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Re: Anybody with a recumbent trike in Gloucestershire?

Post by LiveFree »

Wow! Such helpful and in-depth replies, thank you very much indeed :D I will most likely go for the Rohloff option then, and then- if absolutely necessary- I can add on the crank drive motor kit (probably the tongsheng one) at a later date.

Now I just need to find a suitable recumbent to test-ride..!! Lets see if there are any takers on that front..

Thanks again to you all for your helpful posts so far :D
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[XAP]Bob
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Re: Anybody with a recumbent trike in Gloucestershire?

Post by [XAP]Bob »

We’ve all played with the options at some point ;)
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.
LiveFree
Posts: 65
Joined: 25 Mar 2019, 3:57pm

Re: Anybody with a recumbent trike in Gloucestershire?

Post by LiveFree »

I bet Bob!!

Actually, just another quick question for you good folk..I've been giving the whole finding a trike to try-out some thought..and I've come up with another solution which I am thinking might be a good one. I am aware that ICE currently have a 6 month build time (approx) and on top of this, I am also aware that many people take quite some time to get used to riding recumbent bikes/trikes- with this in mind, I am thinking that perhaps just a short period of time might not be enough to work out if it will suit me or not, especially bearing in mind my currently slightly decrepit state ( :? ) So, I am wondering if it might be a good idea to buy a secondhand ICE trike, and give it a good go for a while- if I love it, I could always then buy a brand new one and still be able to use the secondhand one for a few months..and then flog it hopefully for around what I paid for it..??

With this in mind, I had a little look on ebay..frustratingly, a really nice looking ICE with a Rohloff just sold very recently which was just up the road from me..so they clearly do come up used with the Rohloff gears on. There is this one though..

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224615614744 ... SwFDBhR0ef

What do you much more experienced recumbent folks think- both of this idea, and also of the above trike? Would it be suitable (I know it doesn't have a lovely Rohloff on it...) and is it about the right price? Any suggestions gratefully received :D

(I should add that a friend of mine regularly travels to that neck-of-the-woods, and so might be able to collect it for me.)

Possibly if I'm going to buy a used one though..it might be better to wait until one comes up with a Rohloff on..??
rotavator
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Re: Anybody with a recumbent trike in Gloucestershire?

Post by rotavator »

The trike on ebay belongs to Bazz OTP, see the sales section.
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Tilley
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Re: Anybody with a recumbent trike in Gloucestershire?

Post by Tilley »

I'm based in Bristol and have an ICE sprint 26" and a TNT 20". The TNT is an earlier version of the ICE adventure trike and it has been upgraded to full suspension as well as other mods. I also run a Facebook group for recumbent trike riders in Wales and the South West with some members in Gloucester. So between us we should be able to arrange a test ride.
LiveFree
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Re: Anybody with a recumbent trike in Gloucestershire?

Post by LiveFree »

That's fantastic news Tilley! Would you mind if I sent you a PM over the weekend to see what we can sort out?

Cheers :D
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Tilley
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Re: Anybody with a recumbent trike in Gloucestershire?

Post by Tilley »

No problem.
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