Recumbent - Are catrikes ok on the road?

Do cars look out for you more or less than if you are on a bike? There is a catrike dealer here in Orillia Ontario and I will be heading over there soon to look at them. I commute to work on my bikes but was wondering how these bikes do on the road etc .. seems to be that being that low and cars wizzing past me would be scary LOL

Do cars look out for you more or less than if you are on a bike? There is a catrike dealer here in Orillia Ontario and I will be heading over there soon to look at them. I commute to work on my bikes but was wondering how these bikes do on the road etc .. seems to be that being that low and cars wizzing past me would be scary LOL
Yes, it is scarier. But, most cars give you more room than a bike. Perhaps it is because they can't judge their relative distance from you as precisely as the taller two-wheeler which presents as a large flat plane. The trike, while actually quite similar in volume, has a more three dimensional look to it. On our trikes we use flags that are quite designed for height and visual attention. One is six feet off the surface and the other is seven. Glo orange is really an essential color at the top with some volume to ensure the effect. If I was going to commute in traffic, I would probably use two flags. That would create width and increased volume at the six foot level. Having done that, I don't think you are any more at risk (perhaps much less so) than on a two-wheeler. Here are a couple of flags for you:

http://cjschip.smugmug.com/gallery/385391

The fringe is not the important part--the orange at the top is crucial.

Chip

Do cars look out for you more or less than if you are on a bike? There is a catrike dealer here in Orillia Ontario and I will be heading over there soon to look at them. I commute to work on my bikes but was wondering how these bikes do on the road etc .. seems to be that being that low and cars wizzing past me would be scary LOL

even if they can see you somewhat you can't see around them. that is a big issue I think. say your going straight and behind a car and someone is going to turn left you can't see them and they may not see you behind the car. they have a hard enough time seeing you on a upright.

yalrighty, how much is this dealer selling Catrikes for? Just wondering...

Man, that's a TALL flag, I'd say that there is a lot of drag with one that high????

I've been commuting on my Speed trike through downtown Toronto for almost two months now. While at first visibility was a big concern, I don't let it bother me. If anything, motorist in general give me plenty of room, possibly due to the novelty of the trike. And while the whole 2 inches off the ground thing doesn't bother me too much, I am always alert and engaging motorists when I encounter them. Whether with eye contact, or a big, "HEY YOU <insert colourful metaphor of your choice>!"

It on the other hand has made me selective of the routes that I ride and how I get from A-B. As my confidence grows, I imagine I'll become more adventerous in traffic.

I have ridden my trike for about 7800 miles, most of it in Salt Lake City. If cars can see you, they seem to actually "notice" you better than a bike. The dangerous part is coming out from behind a parked car. Luckily on a trike there is little chance of falling over as you clip in and out of the pedals, so it is easy to slow down at danger spots and get it right. I am no longer a compulsive stop-sign-runner so I might be safer.

Plus most of my accidents on an upright involved my front wheel getting caught in some road obstacle or trash, and going down. That is hard to do on a trike.

It is mostly a matter of recognizing dangerous spots and adjusting your riding habits to them.

Regards,

Gary

The danger of riding a trike is a lot less than one might think. Once you get your trike "wits" you will be fine. It's much less of an issue than non trikers think.The new 05' Speed MSRP is $2350. It is a hell of a nice trike.

yalrighty, how much is this dealer selling Catrikes for? Just wondering...

I havn't contacted them yet - been busy with work. But you can see their website at http://www.recumbenttrikes.ca

I just shot them an email and might pay them a visit tomorrow and check them out .. perhaps even test ride one! :eek:

Yeah, people tour on trikes all the time. Greenspeeds were built for a 9,000 mile trek around Australia. So, they must get noticed to have survived and to have stayed in business all these years.

I havn't contacted them yet - been busy with work. But you can see their website at http://www.recumbenttrikes.ca

I just shot them an email and might pay them a visit tomorrow and check them out .. perhaps even test ride one! :eek:

Holy smokes! I don't think I'm ready for that kind of cash outlay. Are the production runs so limited that they have to sell them at this price? Or is there a lot of markup at the factory AND the dealership?

Holy smokes! I don't think I'm ready for that kind of cash outlay. Are the production runs so limited that they have to sell them at this price? Or is there a lot of markup at the factory AND the dealership?

When I bought my first recumbent, a Rans Stratus, for 1400$ I could not believe that I was spending that much. A few years later I dropped more that twice as much on a Greenspeed trike. This recumbent stuff must be addictive.

The only justification that I have is that I am able to spend far more hours on the seat of a recumbent than on the saddle of a bike.

Regards,

Gary

They're low in production. Greenspeeds are handmade one at a time. Catrikes are made in low production numbers. It's a NICHE market, NOT a MASS market. If they were mass produced like Trek or Cannondale they would cost about the same.

We've all become accustomed the low cost per item that mass production brings. I think that's why so many people choose to build. It can reduce cost, especially if you have a good donor bike.

howdy folks. while we're talking about this, I had posted a question about catrikes a week or so ago that no one ever responded to...had a brake problem on the test ride. Encountered an obstacle in the road, hit the brakes kinda hard, and the right side locked up and it even bent the rotor a little. I was only going 3 or 4 miles an hour, and was wondering if this was a problem with Catrikes in general or if it was just a fluke. Anybody ever hear of this before?

The fringe is not the important part--the orange at the top is crucial.

Man, that's a lot of parachute on that pole! I agree partially; the hi-viz color at the cagers' eye level is what makes it work. Here's a pic of a few Catrikes out on the road.



I think most of those flags are actually too high.

I rode a trike last summer and was commuting back and forth to work (9 miles one way) I never had a problem with cars and they even want to talk with you at the stop lights. What I didn't like is always looking down there tail pipes~~ butttt what a fun ride.

Hi Chip (and others) -

Where did you get that flag? I don't mind the extra drag if it means more visibility. I just got a Speed yesterday and have the standard orange flag in the sleeve of the seat. It's slanted backwards unlike the picture of the Pocket and its flag. Is it better to use the sleeve in the seat or to jimmy it up so that it's upright? Seems to low one way, too high the other. But I'm new at this, so please educate me.

Hi Chip (and others) -

Where did you get that flag? I don't mind the extra drag if it means more visibility. I just got a Speed yesterday and have the standard orange flag in the sleeve of the seat. It's slanted backwards unlike the picture of the Pocket and its flag. Is it better to use the sleeve in the seat or to jimmy it up so that it's upright? Seems to low one way, too high the other. But I'm new at this, so please educate me.
I made the flag. The pole is a cheap fishing rod with all the eyes removed except the tip. The ball is a nerf ball painted glo-orange and fastened with a through wire with a hook on each end like a giant fishing bobber. That gives you two hooks, one for fastening to the rod and one for a tassle. The fringe, while it increases visibility somewhat, is mostly for show and can be slipped off when winds are severe (the noise bothers me more than drag--which I think is over-rated anyway, at least on my design). All the fringe and tassle on my flags is lightweight ripstop cut with a bladed wood burner (a tassle could be made from surveyors tape from the hardware store). That eliminates bulk from hems and insanity from actually trying to sew that many hems. The only sewing is the hem that slides over the pole.

I definitely don't like the sleeve on the seat only because the pitch is too shallow for the pole. A more upright, but not vertical--it needs to lean back somewhat, bracket of some sort is the way to go. Ideally, the tip of the flag should end up a foot or two behind the trike and I think six feet off the ground is a good practical height. The seven footer on the Logo hits trees on some trails--I may shorten it sometime (on the other hand it looks cool and is certainly visible).

This is a good do-it-yourself project and doesn't cost a whole lot. It's quite flexible when done in that you can change and update the look from time to time without redoing the whole thing.

Chip