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TADPOLE TRIKES …THEY HAVE MY VOTE!
Yeppur! I am sold on Tadpole Trikes …
Here is a picture of me on my current trike:
Steve Newbauer, Age 67
Fort Wayne, Indiana, U.S.A.
My first tadpole trike was one which I made myself. I then bought a factory made trike. My original factory made trike was a silver 2009 Catrike Trail but now I have a 2013 green frame as a result of Catrike replacing my original frame under warranty as it developed a hairline crack in the weld on the underside of the crossmember. I also renewed nearly everything on the trike when I got this new frame so for all practical purposes it is a 2013 model.
I started riding recumbent bicycles as a result of wanting comfort and painless cycling. I got into riding a trike as a result of wanting to be able to keep riding during the winter time. I made my first tadpole trike out of mild steel so it was heavy compared to my Catrike Trail which is made of aluminum. Here is a picture of it. I sold it to a guy who said he intended to motorize it.
Once I rode a tadpole trike I enjoyed it so much more than a bike that I prefer it now over a 2 wheeled bike. They are just so much fun to ride and far safer than 2 wheels. They are also more comfortable than a recumbent bicycle. They are like driving a sports car or go cart as they handle great. My 2 wheeled recumbent bike just sat around no longer ridden so I eventually sold it.
I thought I would mention further that most of my riding is on our local paved trail system. I first started riding on these trails on a mountain bike back in 2005 I think. In 2007 I made my first 2 wheeled recumbent bike and rode it on the trails followed by my factory made 2 wheeled recumbent bike and then my homemade tadpole trike in Nov. 2007. In late May 2009 I bought my Catrike Trail. From the start of it all in 2005 until now in May 2014 I have ridden a total of about 28,000 miles … mostly on the local trail system. I became a volunteer Greenway Ranger in Oct. 2010 for our trail system. I thought I might as well make it official since I was already heavily involved doing the job of a ranger. Here is a picture of a few of the rangers from last year. There is about 80 or so total.
The website for our local trail system is HERE:
We have excellent trails and they are hard at work expanding and connecting them together in a master plan which will be awesome. Of course, with the current economy and forced government cutbacks things are challenging.
Here I am riding along on the Maumee Pathway which is my favorite Ft. Wayne Trail.
I used to take our dog along with me sometimes. He would ride in the basket as well as walk and run alongside of me. He has developed a physical problem and can no longer go out with me like this. This picture below was taken by a local newspaper and was part of a FEATURE STORY in the paper. Much to my surprise it appeared on the front page.
And here is another local news coverage … channel 15 television (I appear about 40 seconds into the video)
And yet another newspaper story …
And one last one local tv news story where I was there and interviewed (about 45 seconds into the video) …
I like to have fun (that is one reason I ride a tadpole trike) and awhile back I did so with some photo editing …
My first moon ride!
I am back down to earth now though and will probably remain so … at least for now. So if ever you are around the Fort Wayne area you might see me riding along out there.
OUT OF SHAPE
For many of us who live where we have winter to deal with we either can’t or don’t get out to get exercise. I am talking specifically about riding a tadpole trike,
but it is also true of nearly any type of exercise one can name other than winter sports such as ice skating, snow skiing, etc. As a result we get “out of shape”( or out of physical conditioning) … to varying degrees depending upon what we do or don’t do in the way of other forms of exercise. As for me personally I have bad knee joints due to osteoarthritis and I can’t walk much. I used to walk a lot before this happened and wish I still could could as I know it is great exercise and I have always enjoyed walking. Anyway, with this past winter being one of the worst on record the only exercise I got was inside the house other than lots of snow removal outside. When the weather conditions finally improved enough I could get outside to ride my tadpole trike I quickly learned that I was extremely out of shape … far more so than any previous year. I mentioned it to my two friends I ride with. One of them spends 6 months out of the year in southern Florida. When I emailed him and told him about being out of shape he replied back “round is a shape”. He is going to get a knuckle rub on the old noggin’ when he returns up here to the north. :)
All kidding aside, being out of shape is not a laughing matter. I am 67 years old and I am finding that the older I get the harder it is to try to lose weight and get in shape. About the first 2/3 of this past winter I did pretty good as far as maintaining my weight. I usually gain about 15 to 20 pounds over the winter. This winter I started off doing great and experienced very little weight gain. However, by the last 1/3 “all bets were off” as I started gaining back weight and ended up about where I usually am each winter. The only difference is I fell way behind in my physical conditioning since I was not able to get out and ride thru the winter. Yesterday was my longest ride thus far this Spring … about 30 miles. The thing I am most concerned about is I have noticed over the last 2 or 3 years that I am not nearly as motivated as I used to be. Just a few years ago it was not uncommon for me to ride 40 or more miles per day. Just two years ago I managed to ride the most miles of anyone in Fort Wayne signed up for the National Bicycle Challenge.
https://nationalbikechallenge.org/
I entered this national bike challenge but for me it turned into a competition trying to outdo those who were leading. I managed to do so but it became challenging indeed and no longer fun. So I don’t do it anymore even though there are some who want me to. I am just not interested as I know it would turn into another competition thing and I don’t care to do that. In order to take and keep the lead I was riding a lot of 65 to 85 miles days. That was just too much. Now I rarely ride a 40 mile day and most days are 25-35 miles when I am in as good of shape I obtain thru the riding season (Spring, Summer & Fall). I have found that for me I need to do what I can to keep myself as motivated as possible. Part of that is keeping my riding fun. When it becomes work and drudgery then I lose motivation. A few years ago riding 40 plus miles a day was fun. Now it usually isn’t so I don’t do it anymore. What can I say?
CATRIKES IN FLORIDA
I ride a Catrike Trail recumbent tadpole trike and take a considerable interest in tadpole trikes. Here is a picture of me sitting on my trike …
I just stumbled across a YouTube video which I thought I would share here. It is of a few Catrike riders out for a ride down in Florida. Tadpole trikes are a lot of fun to ride and extremely comfortable. Since they sit so low to the ground they handle great. Some compare riding one to driving a go cart or sports car. I would not go so far as to say that, but they do handle great. Catrike tadpole trikes are manufactured in Orlando, Florida.
Every year Catrike sponsors a rally for Catrike owners. I would love to go and participate in it. It is open to everyone regardless of what brand of trike or even bicycle they ride. Here are some videos of the 2014 rally. They show many trikes up close as they are gathering to go for a group ride on one of the local trails near Orlando. They also show the many trikes and bikes riding on the trail.
And here is another video of the 2014 rally. This one is considerably longer but well made and interesting …
In addition to the organized and unorganized rides there is also a factory tour available. Being a retired weldor/fabricator taking such a tour would greatly interest me. I built my own recumbent bicycle and tadpole trike before buying factory made ones. Here are pictures of both:
I never got the bike painted as I ended up cutting it up to use some of the parts to make the tadpole trike.
There is also an annual Catrike rally held in Austin, Texas . And there are a few other rallies held in various locations for other brands or for all brands. One is held in Oregon which is for “recumbents” … both bikes and trikes.
Tadpole trikes are also known as reverse trikes since there are two wheels in the front and one wheel in the back. This makes for a more stable design. Although they are becoming more and more popular and sales are up considerably they are still not all that common in many places so when people see them they often don’t know what they are seeing and show an interest in them. Certainly many people comment about how neat they are and that they really like them. Lots of questions are asked about them as people know and understand very little about them. A few of the most asked questions are:
“How do you steer it?”
“Is that comfortable to ride?”
“How fast will it go?”
“Does it have a motor?”
“How much do they cost?”
and the one that I am always amazed when I am asked …
“How do you balance it?” … Yes, I have been asked that a couple of times.
I highly recommend Catrike as I think they are one of the best made and designed tadpole trikes available and they are the only** brand name trike totally made in the U.S. Most come from China/Taiwan. Some come from England, Germany, and a couple of other European countries and from Australia.
Anyone interested in checking out these Catrikes further can view their website … http://www.catrike.com/
** There are a small number of trike manufacturers who also make their trikes here in the U.S., but their sales are quite low so I am not counting them as part of the factory produced trikes. TerraTrike manufactures one of their models here in the U.S. but most of their models come from Taiwan.
THE BEST BICYCLE TIRE MONEY CAN BUY
As far as I am concerned the very best bicycle tire money can buy is the Schwalbe Marathon Plus. I have been using them now for a couple of years and since I switched to them I have never had a flat tire. Before I used to deal with a lot of flats. I joke about these tires being nearly bullet proof and I think they come close. They are indeed quite amazing!
I personally ride a Catrike Trail recumbent tadpole trike. Here is a picture of me on it.
It is a blast to ride and extremely comfortable. Many compare riding a tadpole trike to driving a go cart or sports car as they handle so well. I have ridden this trike over 23,000 miles. Before I bought this trike I made one similar to it although it was made out of mild steel. My Catrike is made out of aluminum.
Over the years I have tried various other Schwalbe tires on my trikes. All of the various types of Schwalbe tires are quite good … among the very best made in the world, but the Marathon Plus out does them all … flatless and long wear. I highly recommend these tires. I run the 20 X 1.75 406 size. They also come in 20 X 1.35 406 as well as larger sizes for those who have a larger size rear wheel. By far the best price I have found is ordering them online from a company in Germany. They offer excellent service. https://www.bike-discount.de/ Even with the shipping charges coming from Germany they are far cheaper than any other source I have found. A maximum of 3 tires can be ordered at one time for the flat rate shipping charge they have. And, of course, the best price per tire is had by ordering three at a time. Otherwise it probably would be as cheap or cheaper to order them elsewhere.
I will readily admit that these tires are probably the most difficult tires to mount that I have ever encountered. However, there are some secrets which once known and followed make it much simpler. Here is a video showing how to do it: