biker

They are $199 now.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Schwinn-Me...icycle/5679542

They are too fun.

Here is a book on trikes.

https://books.google.com/books?id=myU...page&q&f=false

A very interesting read.

Check out the times they claim and on 1800's roads too.

I average about 13 MPH on my 7 mile ride on smooth roads.

Pictures coming.

https://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x...7/IMG_0001.jpg

https://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x...7/IMG_0002.jpg

I put skinnier tires on it, a cloud 9 seat and lots of lights.

Nightshade

I agree that Trikes can be fun. Depending on the build (racing trikes are big in the UK) the can be both fast and slow. All most all trikes sold in the U.S. are utility trikes which puts them all in the slow lane. I own a Worksman PAV 3sp trike which I use as a "pick up truck" ,with the load bed I installed, for in town utility work and and/or a slow tour on a summer afternoon.

https://worksmancycles.com/shopsite_s...html/pav3.html

biker

I see my Schwinn as a small human powered pickup truck. It hauls.

Skinny tires helps with the speed.

I put a freewheel on the rear axle and am down to an 18 tooth gear on the rear. Started with a 22 tooth.

The trike keeps getting faster !

I ride on some small hills and it makes for great hill training. I hit them hard now !

biker

I like the semi-recumbent trikes like yours. The Schwinn is somewhat semi-recumbent.

I am 55 and cramp up with hip pain if I walk around WalMart too long but can ride a semi-recumbent trike hard 10 miles in the Florida summer heat no problem.

freighttraininguphill

Sounds like me! I've been using my Torker Tristar as a winter bike, riding it hard up any small hill I can find around here. I put Power Grips on the pedals since I prefer toe clips on all my bikes, but the bottom bracket on the Tristar is so low to the ground that regular toe clips would scrape the ground when I'm not clipped in. Wet leaves aren't a concern with this bike like they would be with my hybrid, mtb, or road bike, and it's a much better grocery-getter than any of my other bikes (except my Gomier trike with front and rear baskets).

biker

You got me thinking toe clips and front basket.

Winter time grocery-gettin ! I love it ! ! !

FunkyStickman

The factory I work at just bought a bunch of these, they use them, too. Except for the single gear, I think they're pretty cool. I'd love to put a Sturmey 5-speed hub in one.

$200, huh? Interesting...

biker

Cool factory ! I put a 5 gear freewheel on my wife's Schwinn. I did this to mine.

https://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x...7/IMG_0004.jpg

Changed the cranks and chainwheel with ones from an older Schwinn.

https://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x...7/IMG_0003.jpg

Removed the rear brake and ran the chain straight to a freewheel on the rear axle.

I took apart an old pressed together rear axle from a junked wheel and welded the piece the freewheel screws on to the gear on the trike rear axle.


One can be bought here.

https://www.staton-inc.com/store/prod...kes-895-0.html

AdamDZ

Man, if it wasn't for the crazy-nuts traffic I'd get one for my mom!

biker

They are $249 now. https://www.walmart.com/ip/Schwinn-Me...20620212279991

Anyway, gears sure make the difference when hauling the 50 lb bag of dog food !

I did this using spare parts I had around.

I took the brake drum off and moved the spacers around to fit a 6 gear freewheel.

https://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x...cture005-1.jpg

Put a 3 gear chainwheel on. No shifter for it yet.

https://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x...Picture010.jpg

I adjusted it to use 5 gears so the chain won't rub.

https://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x...Picture007.jpg

Shifter

https://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x...Picture008.jpg

ect

https://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x...cture002-1.jpg

https://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x...Picture004.jpg

biker

Trike write up on page 9

https://www.floridabicycle.org/fbalib...Summer2010.pdf

This guy put a gas motor on his.

https://motorbicycling.com/f44/meridi...8-a-25937.html

Electric

https://www.endless-sphere.com/forums...st=0&sk=t&sd=a

Sirrus Rider

Nice Job on the mods. I would have never of guessed that a conventional freewheel would fit on the Meridian. I'm not sure how you're going to get the triple to work as there isn't a good mounting point for a front Derailleur, but I'm keenly interested on how you might pull it off.

I have the Town & Country which is the higher end version that comes with a 3 speed Sturmey Archer. Typically I find myself running in low as opposed to 2 (1:1) or 3 so even the geared version could stand for more gear range.

Nightshade

Change the front chain wheel to a 32T or a 23T to move the 3sp into a more rider friendly range. I did that on my trike (23T) making a HUGE difference it riding ease.

biker

My headset started sounding crunchy.

Took it apart and the top looked ok but the bottom was very dirty.

Cleaned it out , pitched the retainers, put in new bearings and put the fender on.

No front fender trashed the lower bearings I guess.

They are 5/32" and I used 40 of them. 20 on top and 20 on the bottom.

Used this grease https://www.parktool.com/product/poly...cant-tub-PPL-2

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/headsets.html

biker

Two Schwinn trikes fit nicely in a full bed Ford Ranger.

https://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x...Picture032.jpg

They are $259.54 now.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Schwinn-Me...73713857422669

biker

I made a video riding it on 2 wheels.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0IJg...1Uf_3zaAEJiaKA=

Dynocoaster 

$229 right now at Walmart
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Schwinn-Me...icycle/5679542

fietsbob

these come as 3 speeds : https://www.torkerusa.com/bikes/utility/2012-tristar

HD version.. adds better brake in Front hub : https://www.torkerusa.com/bikes/utility/2012-tristar-hd

ka0use

the ad also showed a trifecta folding trike. qute!

do trikes have a weight limit?

Nightshade

Aluminum framed trikes I'd guess at about 250#.

An industrial based trike like my Worksman PAV I've seen them roll a 1200# steam pump to the repair shop and back.

A steel framed trike will always carry more than an aluminum frame trike.

turbo1889

Every bike has a weight limit, the weight limit is determined by the weakest link of the bike. That could be the cargo rack/basket, the frame itself, the wheel-bearings/hub/axle, or it could be the rim/spokes. Personally, I'd rather the frame not be my weakest link since its kind of the hardest component to replace and the most dangerous if failure occurs while traveling at speed.

Usually steel frames are indeed stronger then aluminum frames but that is of course dependent on exactly which two frames you are comparing. Take an old steel road bike frame that was built with the smallest and thinnest possible tubes for minimum weight and compare that next to a modern built like a tank aluminum downhill frame and that will most likely be a situation where the aluminum frame is stronger. Trikes are no different, it all depends on the frame itself and what it was built out of and what the geometry arrangement is. Now I personally am very suspicious of the strength of the hinge joint point on most folding bikes including the folding trikes especially the ones with a single hinge point that takes all the stress as a point load and point loads on joints with no geometric spreading of the stresses can reach incredible levels due to the enormous torque generated.

tiniree

My husband bought me a 26" Meridian trike and while I like it, I am thinking the 24" might be better. I am 5' 1 1/2" tall with an inseam of 28". While I don't have a problem riding the 26", I find that the handlebars seem too far ahead of me.

I am wondering if on a smaller frame, the handlebar and seat are closer together??

no1mad 

Welcome to the Forums .

Frame sizing can be a bit tricky. If you were talking about a bike from the LBS, then yes, a smaller frame would mean a shorter top tube, which means there is less distance between the seat and the bars.

However, most of the bikes (and that term is applied rather loosely here, I'm afraid) sold at department stores are sized by the wheels and not the frame. Your current trike rolls on 26" wheels, the 24" version has that size wheels. What that boils down to is there is a chance it is the same frame, but with different sized wheels. This affects the stand over height by lowering the frame closer to the ground a bit, but will not have any change on the seat to bar distance... that's assuming it is in fact the same frame (which it probably is in order to keep production costs down).

JusticeZero

Aluminum can be used to make some seriously sturdy frames. I'll grant that the weight weenies win too often, but Aluminum is a pretty good material to build with once you've got a good idea of how it's different. I personally prefer the rigidity of the aluminum frames i've ridden on. I'd love to get hold of a heavy-built aluminum utility bike or trike with a solid build that takes advantage of the wide bars and spaces available that are still pretty reasonable in weight.

kacz2664

Nice Job on the mods. I would have never of guessed that a conventional freewheel would fit on the Meridian. I'm not sure how you're going to get the triple to work as there isn't a good mounting point for a front Derailleur, but I'm keenly interested on how you might pull it off.
i wonder if anyone thought of this?
it works like a charm. this is how i get 3 speeds from my meridian.


https://