Pashley Trikes Tricycles Picador Tri-1

[Carlton green]

Thinking back to childhood the first bike that I ever rode was a Tricycle and I was most upset when it became (relatively) too small for me to ride. That Trike gave me a kind of liberty, joy and freedom that’s hard to explain to anyone but the inner child or someone else who’s around five years old. Anyway, I’m looking a couple of decades ahead (of now) and wondering whether a Tricycle might suit me when old age really has got me firmly in it’s cruel grip - what was my first bike might be my last bike too.

I’m a Utility and Recreational Cyclist: I take the bike to the shops, use it as part of everyday life and use it to visit places like my local woods and hills. Perhaps a Trike will help me continue to do that when I’m even slower and unsteady on my feet: Trikes don’t fall over and slipping tyres (on say ice and mud) don’t necessarily result in a tumble ... really old folk are easily injured and don’t heal that quickly. My plan is to consider running a Trike alongside my other bikes and then see whether it might be something to transition to in my later years.

Now towards the Technical bits. Pashley are arguably the biggest supplier of Trikes in the U.K. and have been for decades, lots of them have been bought new and many are traded on eBay. The Picador model is very common and it’s been modified and redesigned over the years; I particularly like its luggage load crate/deck (25kg & 38ltrs) and its hub gearing (SA AW based, as dependable and easy care as it gets). The Tri-1 model might be more sporty but utility and reliability are my primary drivers.

I’m really looking for sources of published information on the Pashley Tricycles but see little beyond sales literature - the Tricycle Association’s Website wasn’t much help with Technical details. Some questions:

# What parts are specialist, how are they fitted and where do you get them from?
# How do you change the final two drive sprockets on the Picador and how is the short chain tensioned?
# What are the rear wheel bearing arrangements?
# Is it possible or even particularly desirable (for an old man’s slow use) to have both rear wheels driving?
# Where do I find dimensions like width and wheelbase?
# How do you fit a Dynamo?
# With it not being (built into) in a wheel how do you open the three speed hub? (If at all holding three speed hub shells in a vice doesn’t work well.)
# Is there a history of Pashley Trike development?
# How do you estimate a frame size from for sale pictures (15” or 17”)?
# Because I like to have a variety of hand positions available to me is it possible (and practical) to change the flat bars to drops and maybe change the stem too?

Of course that’s not an exhaustive list but it’s a start.

Thanks in anticipation of your comments.

[Ugly]

Have a look at the on3wheels site the quality of Pashley hubs seems to be suspect to say the least.

[tatanab]

My plan is to consider running a Trike alongside my other bikes and then see whether it might be something to transition to in my later years.

You would have to learn to ride a trike, even at low speed on a utility machine it does not handle like a bike, and by the way ----tricycles are nothing to do with age.

I’m really looking for sources of published information on the Pashley Tricycles but see little beyond sales literature - the Tricycle Association’s Website wasn’t much help with Technical details.

That is because the Tricycle Association has always been more about clubman style machines and riding.

Here is a very long thread about Tri-1, from memory it tells how to pull the axle apart which is different to a Picador. https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/on3whee ... t2635.html I think he may have posted on this forum as well, try a search for Tri 1.

if you can move away from wanting a hub gear then on eBay there are often far nicer derailleur equipped machines.

Both wheel driving, via a differential or a double freewheel is way beyond Pashley territory, or similar utility trikes. As mentioned above, get away from a hub gear and you could use https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/284315287644 ... SwvhZgtR7c which has a double freewheel and a far superior design of axle that is easily maintained.

General stuff - trikes tend to be about 27" wide (total width, not just the track width) so that they go through most doorway, and the wheelbase is pretty much the same as a bicycle, about 40 inches.

Fit a dynamo to the front wheel.

There are a couple of Facebook groups about utility machines, one is "Tricycle UK Group" which also has some lightweight rider contributions. I cannot remember the name of the other utility group.

[Carlton green]

My thanks for the responses so far, they’re helpful.

I’m getting the impression that it’s a case of brand X might be OK when you buy the product (new) but probably not so good for a long term purchase. Caveat Emptor, etc. One has to start somewhere and being reasonably handy with spanners, hacksaws and flies might be a necessity for that purchase route. Perhaps not something to have as a restoration project but if a particular example is in good working order and at a sensible price then a reasonable enough opportunity to try out Trike riding. Complete machines as potential parts donors aren’t necessarily that dear either ... wondering why though.

Maybe I’ll also need to consider some alternative machines/brands, have some alternative mobility plans in mind and keep an eye out for what becomes available over an extended time period. If my proposed purchase direction changes then perhaps a tadpole rather than delta (wheel layout) might be an OK option too. It appears that there are pro’s and con’s to both layouts. Perhaps I’m mistaken but historically tadpoles (two wheels at the front) were the load movers (think big box on the front), but nearly all the available Trikes seem to be the traditional delta layout though and so perhaps that’s what works best for common use. About ten years ago I, by chance, had a ride on a front wheel drive and rear wheel steer tadpole; it was a great experience and apparently I came back grinning from ear to ear.

Just as clarification, I don’t have the view that Trikes are only for old age but rather that in old age a Trike might enable me to continue riding. It’s a very long term plan and I also have in mind running a Tricycle alongside Bicycles.

Utility rather than sporting applications are what drive my thoughts, but rather than just within my immediate neighbourhood utility does include half and whole day out rides and whilst no racer I’d certainly like to be able to make ‘good progress’ too.

[AndyK]

I had half-shares in a Picador back in the 1990s, complete with the much-sought-after twin rear-facing child seats. It doesn't look as if the design has changed much since then.

My next-door neighbour and I bought it from a rather posh lady in the next village. We got it for £30 because it had a stripped left crank so she thought it was fit only for scrap. I fitted an old crank from my "useful bits" box, spent £20 on new tyres, intimidated the Sturmey Archer gears until they worked, and it was ready to go. Though "go" is perhaps overstating the case here. It was slow, heavy and cumbersome to ride and was ridiculously over-geared. Fortunately that didn't matter too much as we lived in a pan-flat part of the Cotswolds. It was also alarmingly easy to get it up onto two wheels on bends, though that may have been my riding style. We took it out for picnic jaunts and the neighbour used it regularly to take her children to the nursery on the next village a few miles away. When I occasionally took my daughter to the workplace creche by bike (a 25-mile round trip), I would put her in a trailer and tow that with my touring bike. No way was I taking the Pashley beast down the A361 or slogging up the climb through Coleshill village on it. A few years later we sold the Picador for £80, so I guess we got our money's worth!

I guess what I'm saying is that the Picador is fun to ride if you're going nowhere much at 5mph on quiet roads in flat country, preferably with a following wind and with two small kids in the child seats to entertain both you and passers-by as you pootle along. And don't get me started on Sturmey Archer 3-speed gears again. There are much more sprightly trikes out there.

[Stradageek]

I'd just repeat a little word of warning and a recommendation to try before you buy.

I ride uprights, recumbents (two and three wheels) and a unicycle but couldn't master an upright tricycle.

The problem is this: when riding on a road with a significant camber all my instincts are to steer left (i.e. counter-steer) to make the bike fall to the right, i.e become more upright. I'm probably overly tuned into this behaviour because recumbents require more counter-steering than an upright bike; you can't move you body position to re-balance when sat in a recumbent's seat.

Anyway the upshot is that I just kept riding into the kerb

Interestingly this is no problem at all when riding a delta recumbent trike - have you got enough money to buy a Hase trike? I've future proofed my cycling years by investing in a Hase Kettwiesel

[Carlton green]

My thanks for the additional answers which, like the earlier ones, are a great help. Realism and fact-fulness are very welcome, they’re certainly a good foundation from which to make plans, etc.

Perhaps someone will provide the needed details and a contrasting view but as things stand it looks like I’m asking too much of plan ‘A’ (commonly available Pashley Trikes). To move forward I need to change focus to considering what other alternatives there are and how they might be made to satisfy the needs of a much older me. In future I’ll be taking more interest in what the old(er) folk get about on ‘cause what works for them now might work for me later.

[Stradageek]

In future I’ll be taking more interest in what the old(er) folk get about on ‘cause what works for them now might work for me later.

Good call Carlton, I call it the 'Research Phase' and it can be both fun and enlightening. I lusted after a Burrows Windcheetah for many years but in discussion with a number of owners I discovered it's shortcomings and also realised that what I needed (rather than lusted after) was an urban recumbent. More research and discussions led me to purchase a 20yr old BikeE (no it's not electric ) - which has been brilliant ever since

Enjoy

Stradageek

[AndyK]

Carlton, I don't know where you're based, but for what it's worth I've previously referred "trike-curious" people to Barreg Cycles near Chichester as they're something of a tricycle specialist. May be worth a call or even a visit.

[merseymouth]

Hi , The Tricycle Association are not snobbish over Pashley trikes, but many of its members know that they are rubbish!
Anyone who has had to work on them will confirm that view.
I am currently doing a conservation job on a 72 year-old Higgins trike which is way better in construction and practicality.
Quite a few years ago I contacted Pashley over serial frame breaking? One of their design team contacted me, to explain my views as to why I had seen two frames in quick succession that had snapped at the bottom end of the seat-tube? They ignored the advice, so still make poor quality trikes! They are the only small wheel trikes that suffer chronic failure in that area.
Radio 4 challenged them way back over horrendous shaft failure, which was all down to poor design/machining/R&D!
My personal view is simple - "Not fit for purpose"! MM

[Cowsham]

Bought the wife a Pashley TRi-1 about 3 years ago -- electrified it -- she loves it. It's a fold up trike though and adult sized. Wondered if you're taking about the same thing.

[hercule]

I’ve had two trikes, a Ken Rogers Clubman (which I still have) and a Pashley Picador (which I ended up donating to the local bike recycling charity).

The Ken Rogers is a lovely machine to ride, I do need to keep my wits about me; bicycle reflexes can kick in if I’m tired and I head off to the ditch. Contrary to common belief, or at least in my experience, you need to prepare for some athleticism to keep a trike on the road, making sure the CoG is in the right place to keep all wheels on the tarmac especially if you are going at any speed. But that makes it fun!

The Picador was a monster, and despite already having ridden the Ken Rogers quite a bit before acquiring it from an elderly relative (who I suspect rode it once but then retired it to the garage), it proved to be very difficult to ride with a wilful desire to go wherever you didn’t want to and it constantly threatened to throw you off on the slightest irregularity. It was very cheaply made, with plain bearings on the drive side axle. Maybe that was Pashley’s idea for stopping aged grannies going over 2mph.

If you think you might enjoy triking, get lightweight road machine. If you want to be put off, get a Picador!

[9494arnold]

I echo Hercule's comments. I have had a Rogers Clubman since the 70's ,used to race it and I love it ( in fact I have 2 , plus a Higgins that drives both rear wheels via a differential) ( and an Edwardian with Beaded Edge Tyres) (and a Mixte Bob Jackson that the wife rides) They can be quite addictive.
I am pretty well versed in Cycle repair/maintenance ,and I have been called on to fettle a couple of Picadors , they are ruddy awful things. Cheaply codged together. I am sure their welder must have sight issues, I am sure I could do a better job and I have never welded in my life.

If you really want a small Wheeler, Ken Rogers did make a few , they are relatively rare but worth keeping and eye open for . Often forks are bent , Raleigh 20 forks do fit. They can be developed into a respectable machine, upgrade wheels/transmission etc .

There's an upright trike Riders forum , 'on three wheels my fast forum' ( no it's not just racers ) where you can get advice, links to machines for sale, a fairly humorous bunch with a broad Triking knowledge they are more than happy to share . There's a take there of someone who took on a distressed Picador ans had to lay out considerable amounts to replace rear hubs .

[Carlton green]

My thanks for the additional posts, from the experiences I’m reading here the Pashley Trikes are not likely to be suitable for anything much beyond slowly pottering about within a very limited distance of home. For those wanting to ride a Trike for traditional transport purposes the message received loud and clear here is: buy an alternative brand.

I’m still considering the long term, what I’ll be riding in a couple of decades time. A separate thread indicates that relatively few people are forced off of two wheels and onto three, so Trike riding is usually a choice rather than a necessity. Two wheels work well for me and ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it applies’, but if a barrow crosses my path then I’ll be looking to have a go for fun and for experience gathering.

My thanks again to all that have posted and steered me towards a better direction.

[resus1uk]

My first adult trike was a Picador. It started my triking , now I ride a classic Higgins in good weather and a Rogers twin wheel drive in the winter.
Along the way tried a Longstaff and Holdsworth conversion axles.
The Pashley had to be scrapped as the rear hubs split and crumbled. There were no spares available. Also the rear axle was stiff despite replacing the bearings.
Heavy but a good load carrier with compost bags for the allotment. I was fortunate to live in the flat Vale of York, I salvaged the Sturmey Archer hub to build into a standard bike wheel.
When taking the trike apart the axle was of poor engineering and the frame was starting to crack, other owners reported similar failures. Pashley had added a strengthening bracket to later models at the front.
When I first collected it I had to push it home as I couldn't steer it.
Once used to steering a trike, I'm glad I moved onto a full sized one. If I had a 20 inch wheeled Rogers or a Kettweisel I would have stayed with the better made machine.