Catrike, Part Deux: I am now the proud owner of a Recumbent Tadpole...

Woody wrote: In retrospect, at age 85, he has ridden the thing daily for almost a full year and it's made a huge difference in his life. He's lost 25 pounds, his energy level is way up, his mind is sharp and he has a very positive outlook on life. He is happy and it was worth every penny.

This is the thing we all need reminded of: Our bodies and minds do better with physical activity in our lives. So many of us sit and sit and don't move nearly enough. I'm guilty of it myself: a minor injury and I'm sidelined for a while and bad habits build up. Get out and move and you'll feel better and smarter and live longer!

Neat project.

BTW, Park makes a nifty tool to R&R those Powerlinks. Helps reduce the amount of time your grasping a greasy chain.

I added a headrest too. I don't use it very often, but it's nice when you're climbing long hills.

Ian F wrote: Neat project. BTW, Park makes a nifty tool to R&R those Powerlinks. Helps reduce the amount of time your grasping a greasy chain.

The Powerlinks are a funny thing. The manual says that if you're reaching for a tool, you're doing it wrong: they should come apart with just finger pressure. I found that when you first put one together and then try to take it apart to make an adjustment, they are really hard to open up. I struggled for more than ten minutes with them on several occasions. After riding for a while, they come apart so easily that you're surprised that they ever stayed together in the first place.

I made an iPhone holder, using the water bottle cage, part of an extra Otterbox belt clip, and some old bike parts. Now I can read the forum and post witty comebacks as I ride through traffic.

In reply to Woody:

The only time I take them apart is when doing service. And like I said - I like to minimize the amount of time I'm grabbing onto a greasy chain. Plus, I mainly have them on mtn bikes, so there's usually some level of grime added to make squeezing the links together just a wee bit harder and a PITA.

I have been riding this thing a lot lately. I still think that I like bicycles better, but the Catrike continues to interest me. It does have a few real advantages over a bicycle though. I don't think that it's faster than a bike on average, and it's slower uphill, but you can ride it a lot longer. When you're done, your butt, wrists and back are never sore like they might be after a long bike ride. Just your leg muscles, which is what you want.

I've also discovered morning exercise. I'm a morning person, but never used to exercise before 11 am. We've had a stretch of hot and humid weather that kind of kills your motivation during the day and afternoon. I usually get up around 5:30 anyway and one morning, I decided to have a light breakfast, a cup of coffee and just go for a ride. I loved it. It's cool and comfortable, there's no traffic and there's a nice little network of other early riser/exercisers. Everyone is friendly. I've been trying to get out on the road by 6 am and generally ride for an hour to an hour and a half. It's a huge motivational bump to my day and it often gets me charged up for a second round of cardio later in the day.

I've continued to make a few small tweaks to this thing.

From the first ride, I noticed a funny scraping noise from the rear wheel under hard cornering. I thought that it might be the frail aftermarket Planet Bike rear fender. On one ride, the plastic connectors for the fender struts came off and I removed the whole assembly. I was surprised that the scraping noise continued.

After that, I decided that it was probably caused by side loading of the rear wheel bearings: forces which they really were not designed to deal with. After putting up with it for a few weeks and being unable to duplicate it in the garage, it occurred to me that it might have something to do with spoke flex and the wheel mounted reflectors. I usually remove these things the day that I bring any bike home, but I left them on this one because I wanted every visibility aid available. Once I ditched the reflectors though, the scraping noise went away.

Previously, I had mentioned how the supports for the rear fender had failed and I removed the whole thing. I don't really ride when it's wet, but I was getting a lot of sand and road debris tossed up onto the back of my neck,

I needed to do something. I had thought about adding an rear rack with a mountain bike fender mounted up underneath like I have on my ice bike.

Unfortunately, it's hard to find a nice rack that will work with a 20" wheel. I had considered Thule's very nice Pack 'n' Pedal rear rack, but at $100, it fell outside of my Cheap Bastard Comfort Zone. Plus, it would have been overkill, as I already have plenty of storage.

Instead, I decided to work with the Planet Bike fender that came with it. I didn't like the flimsy original four strut and plastic nut mounting system. One of the nuts was already broken when I got the trike and somehow, when I was removing the collapsed fender on the road, I manage to lose one of the metal struts and the rest of the plastic nuts. I thought about ordering new parts, but I was still unhappy with the mounting system.

As luck would have it, I was down in the dungeon looking for something for my road bike and I stumbled upon a Rubbermaid tote containing the disassembled remains of a 20" 1966 Raleigh Rodeo that I bought a few years ago for it's five speed cassette, Genuine Schwinn banana seat and front and rear red band slicks. In there, I found a crusty but galvanized rear fender support.

I hit it with a Scotchbrite pad and some Rustoleum Hammered Black paint, drilled a mounting hole in the fender and attached it to the trike. My new three point fender mount sits a little high but is much stiffer and probably lighter than the old four strut mounting system. It also bolts right up to factory holes in the frame. I am very happy with the results.

You can see the four old fastening points here:

New/old mount:

Woody wrote: I have been riding this thing a lot lately. I still think that I like bicycles better, but the Catrike continues to interest me. It does have a few real advantages over a bicycle though. I don't think that it's faster than a bike on average, and it's slower uphill, but you can ride it a lot longer. When you're done, your butt, wrists and back are never sore like they might be after a long bike ride. Just your leg muscles, which is what you want. I've also discovered morning exercise. I'm a morning person, but never used to exercise before 11 am. We've had a stretch of hot and humid weather that kind of kills your motivation during the day and afternoon. I usually get up around 5:30 anyway and one morning, I decided to have a light breakfast, a cup of coffee and just go for a ride. I loved it. It's cool and comfortable, there's no traffic and there's a nice little network of other early riser/exercisers. Everyone is friendly. I've been trying to get out on the road by 6 am and generally ride for an hour to an hour and a half. It's a huge motivational bump to my day and it often gets me charged up for a second round of cardio later in the day.

Similar situation for me too. I try to do 30-60 minutes each morning around 6am, then often go out again after dinner as it's cooling down a bit. The tourists are usually thinned out by then too.

New riding gear:

UPDATE:

I'm bumping this old thread because I've decided to put this thing up for sale.

I still love it, but I've been riding my mountain bike a ton this year (200+ rides in 2020), and the Catrike has only been used as an indoor trainer on rainy days. I'll copy the ad here in case anyone is interested.

For Sale (Connecticut): Catrike Trail with SportCrafters Overdrive Trike Trainer. Fantastic condition! Used primarily for indoor rides on rainy days. Includes lots of extras: Headrest, front and rear fenders, storage bag, mirrors, flag, chain guard, water bottle holder, Trike Trainer and Riser Blocks. The most comfortable indoor trainer you'll ever use! $1900.

Just thought of this, but I think I'd actually consider trading this thing for a fun car or Jeep.