Hey Sun Tadpole owners.....

[beatle bailey]

How do you like your trikes so far, which ones do you have SX or CX, any complaints??? Any thoughts on how they could be improved by factory or owners??? thankx

[tytrike]

My first recumbent, my first trike, not my first bike.
EZ Tadpole-CX |owned for 350 miles | researched 1 1/2 years | checked 41 Tadpole models. Chosen for sturdiness of triangulated steel (field fixable, indefinite life) frame , reputation of designer , and final cost (after swaping in my preferred components). I wish the Boom X Arms joint had lugs or gussets as reinforcemnt. (see "easyracers posts) Maybe something can be added-on later (Huh? Easyracer?)
The CX box components seem well suited for casual performance, not for my kind of treking (Cycling from rose to rose! )
My hummer of a bike is now retired. GT 23" Arete steel frame, high handlebars, vertical suspended sitting, soft 47-622 tires, 16 to 112 Gear Inches, and very kind to me over its 30,000 miles. eg 3000mi circling the Great Basin High Desert, where some legs are 80 miles to the next water tap, tenting all the way, doing my own cooking (gourmet of course)- Temperature from 20 F to 130F. BREAKDOWNS ARE NOT ALLOWED.
At age 65, 6ft2, 200lbs, I'm at my limit when, with trailer, total 350 lbs inc. 4 gal Water, up 7%+ hills for 8+ miles, rumble stripped, into 30 mph SW wayward wind at 110 degree F., late in the day, cadence 85+ rpm at a headspeed of 3.8 mph and I'm always about to fall over. I already know the trike solves many problems. Never falls over and goes forward no matter how slow.
I also know the CX rides much harder than my adapted and faithful GT - I'll fix it.
CX swapped-in so far components are: 165mm arms, dual 20-44T rings (YES) Deore DX F.Derail.(modified): SRAM DualDrive, 11-34T cogs (= 9 to 110 Gear Inches) : Rhynolite XL rims, Marathon Plus 47 tires, puncture resist tubes: Shimano 515 Disks, Downhill pedals with heel clips/straps (Fabricated, work well). <more coming>< like dual-chain mid-drive sprockets (can't push a loaded trike up steep grades so 6 to 140 Gear Inches (YES)) ,seat base tilted up, seat suspension > Speed or distance doesn't matter - top of the summit before sunset does.
No trike makers box their models in this configuration, thus the sum cost of the CX is about the cost of say a Cat Road BUT, the Road's moderate performance components would also have to been swapped out for about the same cost as adapting the CX. Thus I get my preferred tike for the cost of a Road. Not bad.
By known quality level, this would compare in cost to maybe Ultegra if road, XT if off-road. Maybe I'll sell my swapped out components that came with the CX?
Add-on: day bag, fenders, mirrors, air-horn, flag posts with fabricated super-bright flashers, fabricated rear rack, some original way of connecting my BOB trailer (can't to DualDrive axle) ....
There are learning curve start-up problems and frame incidents but everything, including new muscle use, should be under control for my next trip, paved roads only, early April START: Bend OR ->Black Rock Desert -> Tonopha NV, -> Mono Lake CA, -> Giant Sequoia NP, CA : END.
Any suggestions as to what else the trike could use? What geogrphy not to miss. Sorry, I don't stay in motels, nor do I eat in cafes. I do resent rumble strips. AND People are really good to me.
After this trip I'll know a lot more about my CX, hope the frame doesn't crack
Thanks