Recumbent - Off road recumbent ?

Hi all,

I have previously owned a Windcheetah and an Anthrotech when the kids came along which worked brilliantly with a Chariot trailer.

I now live in Spain and recumbent road riding with kids is not recommended so I am looking for an off road 3 wheeler. So far I have seen the amazing looking mountain quad - http://www.crank-it.com/quadfeatures.html which looks fantastic but not made anymore and probably very expensive by the looks of it. I like the look of the Hase Kettwiesel Ride - http://www.londonrecumbents.co.uk/index.php?id=395 and I could add a kids pedal trailer or even another Ride as a tandem (if I remortgaged !) but I wondered if you guys had any other ideas ?

Main use would be dirt trails, forest tracks etc. reasonably good condition but with plenty of pot holes and something that could involvethe kids (8 and 5) - they can still fit in the trailer.

Oh yes and would look pretty cool for the odd trip to the coast, would probably get more attention than the Ferraris in Marbella !

thanks

Rusell

Just look for something with enough ground clearance (probably something with a 26" rear wheel), and put on knobby tires. That should be enough to get you going.

jeff-o, you are spot-on. I put MTB tires on my high-racer, 26" front and back, and ride on trails whenever I can. No problems. (BTW: it's a Challenge Seiran.)

(BTW: it's a Challenge Seiran.)
I'll +1 that!
I've ridden my Challenge Hurricane on some pretty gnarly trails, even with the SLICK tires.
(not enough clearance on the fork for knobbies) :p
Going UPhill isn't too bad, all the weight is on the rear wheel. And the rear suspension helps.
DOWNhill is another thing entirely!!
I usually have to coast, as the chain innevitably comes off after the first few bumps! :rolleyes:

Crazy Fun though!! :D

As I've always said, "It's not WHAT you ride, it's HOW you ride it!" ;)

And then there was the Haluzak Traverse ...

I ordered a pedalcoupe (www.pedalcoupe.com) recently and should have it by mid June. It's made for off road conditions including snow. Mine will have multi-tread tires to work well off road and on pavement.

I ordered a pedalcoupe (www.pedalcoupe.com) recently and should have it by mid June. It's made for off road conditions including snow. Mine will have multi-tread tires to work well off road and on pavement.
That looks like LOTS of FUN!!!
And the price isn't bad, considering it has Spin carbon wheels all around.
Are you getting a custom paintscheme Fishcube? Looks like they offer some cool schemes.

I'm sure you'll be the "first on your block" to have one.
But probably not for long! ;)

We'll be interested in your opinions once you've got some miles on it.
Please keep us posted! :)

Boy, does that pedalcoupe look interesting. I wonder what sort of speed on level flat terrain you can achieve.

Yeah, I think we all are going to want to know how that thing performs!

The Rotator trikes seem to sit fairly high.

http://rotatorrecumbent.com/comfort3.html

That looks like LOTS of FUN!!!
And the price isn't bad, considering it has Spin carbon wheels all around.
Are you getting a custom paintscheme Fishcube? Looks like they offer some cool schemes.

I'm sure you'll be the "first on your block" to have one.
But probably not for long! ;)

We'll be interested in your opinions once you've got some miles on it.
Please keep us posted! :)

I agree! The price quoted on site, includes mag wheels (heavy and 45psi), not carbon. The carbon wheels are $1000 extra, which I wasn't going to pay, so I ended up ordering spoke wheels (100-120psi) for an extra $200. I also ordered a trunk.

Millcreek, to answer your question, the guy who makes these, says they can go pretty fast. But, I don't have an exact speed. I think the weight is pretty low considering the size and 4 wheels.

I did order a custom color, Metallic blue with silver seat. Can't wait to see this color scheme in person.

I will post my experiences once its here. I'm counting the days... :)

Here are pics of two different pedalcoupes (from people who actually own one), showing spoke wheels. I believe I'll be getting the trunk shown with the gold/black bike.

http://www.pbase.com/fishcube/image/79628745.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/fishcube/image/79628772.jpg

I think you're better off with the spoked wheels, Fishcube. If you hit something that damages the carbon rims the least bit, it's time to buy a new one. The spoked wheels are more practical.

I just want to remind people that 3 and 4 wheelers can't bank into turns like a two wheeler and can roll over if you trun too fast.

I just want to remind people that 3 and 4 wheelers can't bank into turns like a two wheeler and can roll over if you trun too fast.

I was told by two people who own a pedalcoupe that they have never felt like the bike was tippy even in faster turns. Though I'm sure if one is going very fast, faster then normal then there is a chance of a roll over with any trike/quad. I'm not buying this quad for speed, I want it for FUN, exercise/weight loss and enjoyment while doing it.

Thanks guys, great advice.

I have emailed Pedalcoupe to see if they can ship to Europe, I live in both Spain and England so either would be good - not heard yet. I think I need more than one vehicle, my wife has more than one dress !

Russell

Thanks guys, great advice.

I have emailed Pedalcoupe to see if they can ship to Europe, I live in both Spain and England so either would be good - not heard yet. I think I need more than one vehicle, my wife has more than one dress !

Russell

Russell, did you get a hold of him? I know he doesn't check email as often as some people, but if you fill in the order form with questions or email in general he will get back to you.

He's building mine now and is trying to get it done by Fathers Day weekend. We have a family reunion that weekend at our home, and am hoping to have it to show everyone. I'm getting very excited!

Hi all,

I have previously owned a Windcheetah and an Anthrotech when the kids came along which worked brilliantly with a Chariot trailer.

I now live in Spain and recumbent road riding with kids is not recommended so I am looking for an off road 3 wheeler. So far I have seen the amazing looking mountain quad - http://www.crank-it.com/quadfeatures.html which looks fantastic but not made anymore and probably very expensive by the looks of it. I like the look of the Hase Kettwiesel Ride - http://www.londonrecumbents.co.uk/index.php?id=395 and I could add a kids pedal trailer or even another Ride as a tandem (if I remortgaged !) but I wondered if you guys had any other ideas ?

Main use would be dirt trails, forest tracks etc. reasonably good condition but with plenty of pot holes and something that could involvethe kids (8 and 5) - they can still fit in the trailer.

Oh yes and would look pretty cool for the odd trip to the coast, would probably get more attention than the Ferraris in Marbella !

thanks

Rusell

Why are KMX and Greenspeed links shown on the Mountain Quad homepage?
Has KMX or Greenspeed purchased the product line with an idea on restarting the product line or merely the website?

Heres some more links
http://www.quadbikexcycles.com/
This is an off road quad from Europe so may be closer.:)
Have you looked at Stein trikes new full suspesion tadpole trike, the videos are awesome, no link but Google should find it.

http://www.kerrelcycles.com

http://www.kerrelcycles.com/photos/camber.jpg

http://www.kerrelcycles.com

Wow, just looking at the photos on the website above, it sure looks like it would tip over easily.

Pedalcoupe arrived.. pics: http://www.pbase.com/fishcube/pedalcoupe

Wow, just looking at the photos on the website above, it sure looks like it would tip over easily.Quite the contrary, this is a leaning recumbent. A leaning recumbent leans into the turns which keeps them from tipping over like a non-leaning trike wants to do, then the trike returns to an upright position when going straight.

Leaning Trikes:
http://www.geocities.com/rcgilmore3/TiltingTrikes.htm

I just want to remind people that 3 and 4 wheelers can't bank into turns like a two wheeler and can roll over if you trun too fast.
Ah, but if you use enough body english you will drift sideways before you will roll, great fun and it's not too hard (with practise) to out corner a car on a trike.
Just remeber lean INTO the corner, the faster you go the further you lean.

http://www.kerrelcycles.com

http://www.kerrelcycles.com/photos/camber.jpg


WOW, how clever is that?!?

http://www.kerrelcycles.com
And I thought the THEBIS was complicated!! :eek:

the most recent issue of recumbent & tandem rider magazine has a review of the quad bike QX4. it is a bit expensive.
http://www.rtrmag.com/