Recumbent - Question - Tricycle Recumbent...tandem...

This last weekend I went on the Omaha "Corporate Cycle Challenge" and noticed at the start there was a couple that had a Tricycle Recumbent - it was pretty cool and neat which got me to thinking about one and that would allow my wife to stay with me instead of me leaving her in the dust - plus it would give her more comfort on a tricycle.

Questions:
1) What kind of price are these things?
2) What about used price?
3) Where can I find them? Used and New...
4) For the tandem part - when one is pedaling, I'm assuming that the other crank is going too - so if I'm wanting to do 100 cadence, then my wife would be too...

Michael

Go here http://bentrideronline.com/ and you will be able to find a wealth of information. Be prepared for a bit of sticker shock. When you are talking about recumbent trikes (and not even tandems) they start around $1000 and you have to go up around $1400-2000 for something that has decent components and doesn't weight 60lbs.

Quote from wikipedia 'Tandem trikes are also made by companies like Greenspeed, WhizWheelz and Inspired Cycle Engineering (ICE)'

Good luck in your search. I bought a used Catrike Trail for my wife this spring and we love it.

Per above, go to BentRiderOnline.

One interesting possibility are delta trikes (1 wheel in front, 2 in rear) which can be linked into an articulated tandem or used as two separate trikes. I know Hase makes tricycles with this capability (they once linked up dozens of them for a world record 150 meter (about 490 feet) long cycle (bicyle=2 wheels, tricycle=3 wheels, about 3*90 wheels= centicycle?). I also believe the Greenspeed Anuras can be coupled together in a similar manner.

Is a tandem bicycle, either 'bent or upright, out of the question? Or, perhaps, a RANS Crank Forward tandem? RANS has a link at the top of the BROL page.

If your looking at Tandems you better get ready for sticker shock, the links below tell the story. If you can find a used trike tandem and they're far and few between you can look at $3500 to $6000 depending on the model and age. Try looking at Hostel Shoppe http://www.hostelshoppe.com/ they have both Greenspeed and WizWheel tandems along with a lot of other regular trikes. As for your last ? about pedaling , the WizWheel has the option of an IPS so the wife doesn't have too maintain the same cadence as you.


http://www.greenspeed.com.au/gtt.html
http://www.terratrike.com/tandem.php

As for your last ? about pedaling , the WizWheel has the option of an IPS so the wife doesn't have too maintain the same cadence as you.


Well, with IPS (Independent Pedaling System), either rider can coast independently of the other, but if both are applying power, both are pedaling at the same cadence.

Some recumbent tandems do allow each rider to choose their own cadence, but those tend to be quite rare.

Is a tandem bicycle, either 'bent or upright, out of the question? Or, perhaps, a RANS Crank Forward tandem? RANS has a link at the top of the BROL page.

Couple of reasons I'm looking for a Tandem Tricycle...

1) Wife doesn't like it when I leave her in the dust...plus she feels bad for not going fast enough to keep up to the pace I like to have.
2) Wife isn't all that comfortable with bicycle with the balance and such - I think the more she rode, the better it would be.

With a tricycle, she wouldn't have the balance issue any more. Being a tandem, that would solve both issues. My only real issue that I might be pedaling for two...

I noticed another thread about building a wood bike -well, I'm a wood worker and that just is very cool idea to bring wood into this hobby. Besides the components, I think I could build a tandem tricycle with some really nice looking wood - laminated Hard Maple with Walnut comes to mind - I think that would be really cool looking. Ahhh...just to have time and money to do it. Guess I'll have to start small - buy a cheap mountain bike to rob the components from - build a single recumbent an go from there...

Michael

on a tandem trike, i have heard of people who mount different sized rings on the timing side. this builds in a different cadence for each rider.

My only real issue that I might be pedaling for two...
Michael

Hey Michael, be glad you're not pedalling for FOUR!:rolleyes:

Yes, we were passed on an uphill by a seagull......that was WALKING!:roflmao2:

This was on our recent overnight camping trip; Two 5 yr olds in the trailer, an 8 yr old as non-pedalling stoker, and myself as captain. 12 miles from home to campground. Stopped on the return trip by some of the local wildlife, who made himself right at home in the darkness under the paniers.:thumb:

Our tandem is a Greenspeed, affectionately named Tigger. Tee-eye-double guh-err. Get it? :p

As a note on "sticker shock", an ICE X2 retails for $14,600!!
Which explains why the lady that bought a used one from me was excited to get it for "only" $6,000.;)

Sooo..get a tandem recumbent trike, you won't be sorry!:)

I don't know if you have looked at these yet?
http://cgi.ebay.com/RECUMBENT-TRIKE-TANDEM-CYCLING-BICYCLE-ALUMINUM-FRAME_W0QQitemZ190248848621QQihZ009QQcategoryZ106949QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://i3.ebayimg.com/01/i/000/96/27/534a_1_bl.JPG


Each rider has their own drive train / shifters so it would meet your requirements as far as each choosing their own cadence. Price wise, the last auction went for around $2,000
A couple of negatives / questions I see with it are:

(1) Are those block pedals and will straps / clips not be an option?
(2) Is having the single wheel in front safe for a trike design? I am thinking of how they stopped making 3 wheeled ATV's.
(3) If used on a lot of urban bike trails, how well would the double
wide be accepted by other on the trail? I know I often have trouble
getting groups of people to provide room for me as a single wide
to get by.

My only experience with Trikes is having a few pass me by as if I was standing still. I would be interested in what experienced trike riders would see as pluses and minuses with this side by side tandem.

Couple of reasons I'm looking for a Tandem Tricycle...

1) Wife doesn't like it when I leave her in the dust...plus she feels bad for not going fast enough to keep up to the pace I like to have.
2) Wife isn't all that comfortable with bicycle with the balance and such - I think the more she rode, the better it would be.

Michael

Hook her up with her own trike and equip it with a pedal assist motor. Then she can keep up without your destinies being so infinitely intertwined. Just an idea.

Stopped on the return trip by some of the local wildlife, who made himself right at home in the darkness under the paniers.:thumb:



Ay-yai-ya-ikes! How did you get that snake out of there?

I don't know if you have looked at these yet?
http://cgi.ebay.com/RECUMBENT-TRIKE-TANDEM-CYCLING-BICYCLE-ALUMINUM-FRAME_W0QQitemZ190248848621QQihZ009QQcategoryZ106949QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

http://i3.ebayimg.com/01/i/000/96/27/534a_1_bl.JPG


Each rider has their own drive train / shifters so it would meet your requirements as far as each choosing their own cadence. Price wise, the last auction went for around $2,000
A couple of negatives / questions I see with it are:

(1) Are those block pedals and will straps / clips not be an option?
(2) Is having the single wheel in front safe for a trike design? I am thinking of how they stopped making 3 wheeled ATV's.
(3) If used on a lot of urban bike trails, how well would the double
wide be accepted by other on the trail? I know I often have trouble
getting groups of people to provide room for me as a single wide
to get by.

My only experience with Trikes is having a few pass me by as if I was standing still. I would be interested in what experienced trike riders would see as pluses and minuses with this side by side tandem.

There is also the Worksman Team Dual Trike, which is technically a recumbent:
http://worksmancycles.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/page41.html
Note that they don't try to market this is a high-performance recumbent. I get the impression that they're rideable, but more for pedaling around the local bike trails at 10 mph than for going cross-country at 18 mph. There are also the Rhodes cars, which seem to be of similar performance. It's hard to tell from the ad above, but it looks like that trike may be oriented more towards the Team Dual/ Rhodes Car market than the normal high-performance tandem/recumbent markets.

I believe Lightfoot Cycles also makes a side-by-side tandem which is supposed to be quite a bit better than the Rhodes cars.

One drawback on any of these is the width. My front-loading trike has similar issues. If you're riding on a road, you're pretty much going to be taking the lane whether you want to or not. On a wide bike trail, you're okay. On a narrower bike trail, you're either going to be dropping one wheel off or running other people off the trail when you meet.