Trike conversion kit

[pete75]

Looking for above for a friend who has lost his sense of balance due to an injury. Anyone know who makes them? Have seen on version with two wheels at teh front which looks quite smart but can't find any details.

[Brucey]

there's this one (conventional type)

http://www.bikecare.co.uk/tribike.html

but I have no personal experience.

This one is a front conversion, about which I know little other than it exists...

http://www.roman-road.co.uk/conversions/

cheers

[pete75]

Thanks for that. I'd seen the first but it's teh second that is interesting and what I was looking for. A tad pricey !!!

[tatanab]

From the lightweight world http://www.trykit.com/ look under Trykit Products pricey because of the small market and the large amount of work involved in making it.

Otherwise, look on ebay for Ken Rogers conversion kits. Like this one which is incomplete so no good to you http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VINTAGE-RETRO ... 56787cc2de If using something like the Rogers axle with no rear brakes it is necessary to use 2 independent front brakes to comply with UK law.

You might try asking http://on3wheels.myfastforum.org/index.php which is a forum for we upright folk of the tricycling world. The Tricycle Association http://tricycleassociation.org.uk/ has a quarterly member's Gazette with a sales and wanted section.

[tatanab]

I should add that compared with the cost of a new axle it might well be easier and cheaper to buy a used trike like this one viewtopic.php?f=40&t=98570

[Cunobelin]

Don't rush into this

Trikes are a different beast to ride and some people find them difficult, especially on cambers

I would try one out and make sure it is what is wanted before going too far

[Dafydd17]

From personal experience, Roman Road cycles does a lovely job, but not quickly! Takes a LOT of nagging and chasing up to get it done in a reasonable time...however the finished product is very good. He's produced a tridem and a solo for a disabled friend of mine. It was a good way to use a tandem which wasn't being ridden because of balance problems - he simply converted the front end. For the solo, he also sourced a 531 frame to build on, and used a combination of hub gear and derailleur to give a wide spread of ratios. (I'd post photos if I knew how to do it....)

[pete75]

It's either a trike or not riding at all. Conversion kit is probably the best bet as the person concerned uses a 64cm frame in a solo - and that's using traditional BB - cross bar measurement not seat tube length. Other than a custom build it'd likely be extremely difficult to get a complete trike in the right size.

[tatanab]

http://www.bikecare.co.uk/tribike.html

There are often machines with these axles on ebay. There are 2 right now, one in Suffolk and one in Devon. Depending where you are in the country this might be a cheap way to assemble something - ditch the cheap MTB bits, rebuild the rear wheels and you are off.

I thought about the unlearning bicycle reactions to allow riding the trike, but then I thought "if the sense of balance has gone, then perhaps too has bicyclist's reactions needed to balance". I second the suggestion to try one out if you can find somebody kind enough to let him have a go - anything will do just to try, it doesn't have to be the right size. Roughly whereabouts are you?

[gaz]

No connection to seller. Listed as 56" which is clearly nonsense, if it's 56cm then it's likely too small.

Whilst the conversion parts seem to have some scope for adjustment, I suspect the steerer section is specific to the frame size.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Colnago-Maste ... 25a95fd313

[robgul]

Don't rush into this

Trikes are a different beast to ride and some people find them difficult, especially on cambers

I would try one out and make sure it is what is wanted before going too far

I was going to make the same comment - having had a traditional Ken Rogers trike and failed to master riding it ... the Pashley adult trike with small(er) wheels is probably a better bet for someone with balance issues - much easier to ride. Steering it with small wheels reduces the risk of lifting one wheel off the ground.

... and the "tadpole" (2 wheels at the front, like an ice cream cart) trikes are IMHO easier to ride from a steering perspective but harder work to pedal

Rob

[drossall]

They come up in On3Wheels too, although mostly links to Gumtree at present.

[pete75]

http://www.bikecare.co.uk/tribike.html

There are often machines with these axles on ebay. There are 2 right now, one in Suffolk and one in Devon. Depending where you are in the country this might be a cheap way to assemble something - ditch the cheap MTB bits, rebuild the rear wheels and you are off.

I thought about the unlearning bicycle reactions to allow riding the trike, but then I thought "if the sense of balance has gone, then perhaps too has bicyclist's reactions needed to balance". I second the suggestion to try one out if you can find somebody kind enough to let him have a go - anything will do just to try, it doesn't have to be the right size. Roughly whereabouts are you?

Bikecare is only about 35 miles so a visit to them seems a good idea. It's more than likely they'll be able to let him have a try on some sort of trike.

[Supercadet]

Just wondering what riding a Roman Road tandemtrike is like to ride. I ride a tandem now but other half has just had hip replacement and is not to keen to ride tandem again.

[9494arnold]

Not sure if Roman Road are still trading.
I know the principal Derek Shackels sadly died (Last Year I think) and he was talking of selling up his stock before then.

Other than that ,Trykit do a Rolls Royce Job but the price is commensurate. (But fair for the Product in my opinion)
Quite a lot of the more proprietary offerings are very heavy and not that well made.
It's quite a small market and there's not really a mid range offering.
A secondhand complete machine is possibly best bet, as already mentioned "On Three Wheels" is a good place to look (lots of advice for less able riders there too) or E bay.
(Look out for Ken Rogers, Higgins , Bob Jackson (which uses Higgins/Rogers Axles) , there are a few others but these are the "main" ones (in fact I think there's a Chris Paulson on e bay currently , again I think that would have a proprietary axle from one of the other makers mentioned (not 100% sure on that one though) . You can get bits for most older trikes from Trykit and a gent called Chris Hewitt who is the Higgins Registrar.
Most of a trike has same bits as a bike, the axles are like oversized bottom brackets , the bearing surfaces slide on and off the axles so can be replaced when worn.