Kettwiesel review in Cycle.

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hercule
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Cycle review of Kettwiesel

Post by hercule »

I received my current edition of Cycle today and was pleasantly surprised to see that there is a review of the Hase Kettwiesel. I must admit to some bias here, as I've been riding one for the last 5 years. I've been increasingly disheartened by what has seemed to me as Cycle's tendency towards the "roadie" and MTB sub-cultures at the expense of what used to be the CTC's core touring interest... after all, that's why I joined 20 odd years ago. That, and the insurance, and the sense that I was contributing to the greater cycling good.

My one criticism is that the Kett seems to be portrayed as a trike for people with disabilities that can also be ridden by others... and the fact that it doesn't appear to be written by someone familiar with recumbent trikes. I think there could have been a little bit of discussion of deltas versus tadpoles, some insight into the advantages and disadvantages of each. Mind you I don't think anyone's going to spend £4000 ( :shock: ) on a trike on the basis of a two page review in Cycle...

Overall though, it does seem a good step in trying to make Cycle appeal to a broader audience. I'm not expecting to see recumbent articles in every issue - that's why I subscribe to Velovision - but it's good to see a bit of recognition for things that aren't made to standard designs
byegad
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Kettwiesel review in Cycle.

Post by byegad »

So we had a review of a recumbent trike in cycle. I was amused that the tester though it fast downhill, it's my slowest trike downhill, although I've seen 48mph on the GPS log once or twice and may have gone faster when not using the GPS!

What do the converted feel about this development?

Will the world end next Tuesday at 11pm?

Can we now power the national grid from rotating corpses of CTC members past?

Or is it a good thing?
"I thought of that while riding my bike." -Albert Einstein, on the Theory of Relativity

2007 ICE QNT
2008 Hase Kettwiesel AL27
2011 Catrike Trail
1951 engine
hercule
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Re: Kettwiesel review in Cycle.

Post by hercule »

Beat you to it, byegad... :lol:
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[XAP]Bob
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Re: Kettwiesel review in Cycle.

Post by [XAP]Bob »

I'm tempted to write an "actual use" of a trike article.

maybe commuting by trike....
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.
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byegad
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Re: Kettwiesel review in Cycle.

Post by byegad »

hercule wrote:Beat you to it, byegad... :lol:


Yes apologies and my bad! :D
"I thought of that while riding my bike." -Albert Einstein, on the Theory of Relativity

2007 ICE QNT
2008 Hase Kettwiesel AL27
2011 Catrike Trail
1951 engine
byegad
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Re: Kettwiesel review in Cycle.

Post by byegad »

[XAP]Bob wrote:I'm tempted to write an "actual use" of a trike article.

maybe commuting by trike....


Good idea. I'm in the middle of a trike comparison article for Velovision, but got sidetracked by a review of my new Trail. Maybe we should put our heads together to produce one each for different trikes?
"I thought of that while riding my bike." -Albert Einstein, on the Theory of Relativity

2007 ICE QNT
2008 Hase Kettwiesel AL27
2011 Catrike Trail
1951 engine
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squeaker
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Re: Cycle review of Kettwiesel

Post by squeaker »

hercule wrote:it's good to see a bit of recognition for things that aren't made to standard designs

You forgot the 'Victorian' adjective ('standard Victorian designs') :lol:

And to be fair, Cycle did 'review' an HPV Street Machine (along with an 'ordinary') some years ago.... :roll:
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Si
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Re: Kettwiesel review in Cycle.

Post by Si »

<Merged two topics on same subject together>

I, too, would like to see more reviews of other bike types in the mag (and perhaps fewer run of the mill MTBs and fast road bikes). But I fear that there are so many bike types, each with their band of eager supporters, that someone is always going to lose out and feel that they are not catered for.

Perhaps the answer is, as suggested above, we write in with reviews of our particular exotica - after all, getting a steady supply of good quality, free, review articles is what every editor wants! Although I doubt there'd be much call for a long term test of my PDQ given that it's been out of production for some time.
hercule
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Re: Kettwiesel review in Cycle.

Post by hercule »

Si wrote:<Merged two topics on same subject together>

I, too, would like to see more reviews of other bike types in the mag (and perhaps fewer run of the mill MTBs and fast road bikes). But I fear that there are so many bike types, each with their band of eager supporters, that someone is always going to lose out and feel that they are not catered for.

Perhaps the answer is, as suggested above, we write in with reviews of our particular exotica - after all, getting a steady supply of good quality, free, review articles is what every editor wants! Although I doubt there'd be much call for a long term test of my PDQ given that it's been out of production for some time.


Well, the Kettwiesel has just been reviewed, the Trice QNT is out of production, ditto the PDQ, and my Recycled Recumbent is a one-off. I think this constitutes a good business case to submit to SWMBO for the purchase of another recumbent (quite fancy an ICE Vortex...)
byegad
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Re: Kettwiesel review in Cycle.

Post by byegad »

I don't see 'out of production' as a barrier to a user review. After all you can point out the Sprint is a similar, current model.

I'm thinking lifestyle rather than equipment details.
"I thought of that while riding my bike." -Albert Einstein, on the Theory of Relativity

2007 ICE QNT
2008 Hase Kettwiesel AL27
2011 Catrike Trail
1951 engine
tatanab
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Re: Kettwiesel review in Cycle.

Post by tatanab »

I trust that any recumbent tricyclists will fill in their Cycle Magazine Survey accurately.

Note that question 11 specifically asks how many bikes do you own?

The same applies to upright tricyclists who make up about 1% of the membership. I suspect that recumbenteers (both bi and tri) make up a similar percentage.

Or are we to take it that bike has taken the American understanding of "any pedal powered machine".

Edit - this is of course a bit tongue in cheek since which single category would you use to show a remumbent tandem trike?
byegad
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Re: Kettwiesel review in Cycle.

Post by byegad »

If you want lots of junk mail, fill in the survey. What business is it of anyone without ulterior motives how much income I have?
"I thought of that while riding my bike." -Albert Einstein, on the Theory of Relativity

2007 ICE QNT
2008 Hase Kettwiesel AL27
2011 Catrike Trail
1951 engine
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Mick F
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Re: Kettwiesel review in Cycle.

Post by Mick F »

byegad wrote:If you want lots of junk mail, fill in the survey. What business is it of anyone without ulterior motives how much income I have?
See my thoughts on the thread about this survey, and read Kevin Mayne's reply.

I said it's fishy.

viewtopic.php?f=15&t=58242

Si wrote:..... I fear that there are so many bike types, each with their band of eager supporters, that someone is always going to lose out and feel that they are not catered for.
Look at question 12. None of them fits my bikes, and I don't have a trike!
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Audax67
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Re: Kettwiesel review in Cycle.

Post by Audax67 »

I had a gander at Kettwiesels a good few years ago. One of the criticisms was that in order to avoid having to build in a diff, only one of the back wheels was driven. The dealer said they wouldn't be very good on mountains for that reason. Is that still the case? And was she right?
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byegad
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Re: Kettwiesel review in Cycle.

Post by byegad »

Audax67 wrote:I had a gander at Kettwiesels a good few years ago. One of the criticisms was that in order to avoid having to build in a diff, only one of the back wheels was driven. The dealer said they wouldn't be very good on mountains for that reason. Is that still the case? And was she right?


' A good few years ago' they only came with right wheel drive. Now the differential is standard on many models of Kettwiesel. I live in County Durham where hills are hills and mine has single wheel drive! With panniers up front on the lo-rider rack it climbs up to 25% or so depending on what's in the panniers, without issues. When unladen 20% or so is its limit before the front wheel hops to the left under power. I'm told the differential makes it easier to climb those steeper grades although the front wheel will bob under power. I don't really miss the differential, it was an option on my 2008 trike and I've only twice had to dismount and walk with the front wheel in my hand and the rest of the trike following along. Both times I was on a steep hill and the road was wet, so the front wheel hopped and slid under power. In both cases I was at the limit of what I could climb in bottom gear anyway! :D
"I thought of that while riding my bike." -Albert Einstein, on the Theory of Relativity

2007 ICE QNT
2008 Hase Kettwiesel AL27
2011 Catrike Trail
1951 engine
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