Monthly Archives: May 2025
RECUMBENT TADPOLE TRIKE CONSTRUCTION
Recumbent trikes come in various forms or types. The most common types are Delta and Tadpole. Most of the others are variations of these two. Tadpole trikes are by far the most popular. They are also the most complex and are more difficult and expensive to build. This is mostly because of the complex steering geometry involved. A tadpole trike must be made right to handle right and be safe. HERE is a webpage which gets into all of this.
If you are into building your own trike it is necessary that you study and learn about the steering geometry. It would be a nasty thing to build a trike and have it crash … especially at speed … because it was not built right. Yes, you need to do your homework so you know what you are doing. I have only built one trike but I got it right and it rode and handled great.
No, this (above) is not my trike. It is just a picture found on the internet. Here (below) is the trike I built. I would make it differently if I were making it today. I was still working when I built it and only able to ride it a couple of thousand miles before I sold it. I had replaced it with a Catrike Trail and retired the same month. I rode a lot more then. I have about 160,000 miles on my Catrike and it is still in excellent shape especially mechanical-wise.
Whether you buy a factory made trike or build your own they are a lot of fun to ride and good exercise. Enjoy it while you can … that’s what I plan on doing in a few minutes now that the rain has ended.
KEEP ON TRIKIN’
FAMILY BIKE FUN
It’s …
I just stumbled across this website not knowing anything about it. I saw that it was about recumbent tadpole trikes which got my attention. I started looking thru its various pages. After awhile I wanted to know their location but upon looking for it on their website I could not find it. What I did find is CHINESE which quickly turned me off to them. Never the less I thought I would feature them as some might be interested.
I don’t understand their name. They are mainly about trikes but their name is about bikes. They say that they sell bikes, but they don’t show any anywhere on their website. That makes no sense. I think their website could stand some improvements. Among other things they don’t show any prices on anything. They want you to write or call to get prices. That really turns me off.
They offer advise and suggestions on buying used trikes. Among their web pages they offer a BLOG. There is a lot of reading available on the website. I don’t fully agree with everything I read but that’s okay I guess.
The image above is a familiar sight if you have checked out Chinese offerings over the years.
Here is their missions statement:
“Our goal is to provide unparalleled customer satisfaction by offering top-quality products, exceptional service, and memorable experiences for families and friends to cherish.elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar.”
I have no idea what all that jibberish is at the end.
BEST FOLDING TRIKES 2024
Folding trikes are nothing new. They are available if you need one. If you don’t need one, my advise is to stay away from them for various reasons. First it adds extra cost followed by complexity and lastly weight. Concerning the added complexity the folding design provides an area that can break/fail and can’t be fixed readily. As far as I know only Catrike offers folding without first removing the seat. That may not be an issue for you, but it sure is for me. I don’t want to be removing and reinstalling the seat just to fold a trike as I consider that a real pain. Of course, it is your choice and Azub offers the smallest folded dimensions if that is something needed. They are also the highest price.
KEEP ON TRIKIN’
AN INCREDIBLE TIME MACHINE
Most of us have read stories and/or seen movies about time machines … a contraption which is able to take us to anyplace at any time. To the best of my knowledge they don’t exist in reality. (It is probably a good thing.) The concept is to take us forward or backward in time … to another day … to a particular happening.
I think one of the most interesting movies about the subject of time travel was The Final Countdown starring Kirk Douglas as the commanding officer of an American aircraft carrier. That one ship had more warfare capability by itself than all of WW2 combined. They found themselves passing thru a strange low lying cloud or sorts which transferred them back to in time to Dec. 7, 1942 just as the Japanese were about to attack Pearl Harbor. They had the ability to change history and had to decide what to do. They realized that they could not intervene without serious consequences occurring. I found it fascinating.
Nope, it is all just fiction folks. It doesn’t exist. But I will tell you what … you have a sort of time machine if you have a tadpole trike. Yes, most of us can say that when we ride our trikes it transports us backwards in time to when we were much younger. I know for me it happens every time I ride it.
1960 produced a well known movie entitled The Time Machine. It is a story by the well known H G Wells and starred Rod Taylor. He built a time machine and traveled in it thru time and various history. It was another good movie. There is a newer version (2002) of the movie, but I have never seen it except for the first few minutes of it. Quite honestly it didn’t look as interesting as the 1960 version so I never finished watching it. I find that to be the case with most movies they have remade. True Grit definitely comes to mind when this subject comes up.
Anyway, back to tadpole trikes I think many of us would say that riding one brings out the kid in us and I think that is about as close as we can get to actually having a time machine. What do you think?
KEEP ON TRIKIN’
P.S.- I watched the rest of the Time Machine 2002. Just as I expected it was lousy. Not a single actor that is known to me anyway. They don’t make movies like they used to.
AMATEUR WHEEL BUILDING
Most of us have never done any wheel building nor ever will, but if you have a hankering to here is a video about it which may be of help. It certainly isn’t for everybody. This man isn’t exactly your ordinary mechanic. Check out his many videos and projects.
Here is another video you may find helpful …
Here is one more video which may be helpful …