BikeArkansas

After a few rides on my Catrike 700 I had a new experience. While climbing a very steep hill, or steep to me anyway (Garmin says 17%), I was staying close to the curb because of heavy traffic. About half of the width of the lane was wet for some reason. Anyway, my rear tire, or drive wheel, started spinning. The trike came to a halt so I had to grab the brakes to keep from going back down the hill. I tried again and again to take off, but the tire would only spin. Due to the traffic, I had to be very careful trying to back down the hill to find a dry area. Once in a dry area and a break in the traffic I was able to swing out away from the wet pavement.

I have climbed many steep hills with wet pavement on bikes without this problem. I am not sure how the dynamics of the drive wheel works on a trike, but it seems evident it is different from a bike. As I write this I do not remember the brand of the tire, but I do know it is a 28mm road bike tire with 80# pressure. Wondering if I can climb steep hills in the rain?

Steamer

You discovered one of the weaknesses of a tadpole. Thats just the way they are. The 700 is prolly s little worse than most others due to the large rear wheel and laid back seat.

BlazingPedals

Tadpoles try to position the riders COG between the front wheels. Well, slightly behind them actually; but if the weight is too far back, the trike becomes tippy. I suspect you'll have the problem no matter what tire you use, unless you put some 20-30 lbs of weight on a rear rack - which will make you more susceptible to lifting a wheel in corners.

Juan Foote

This happened to me from time to time on my "Road" model as well. Have to plan ahead when you see leaf litter or spots that tend to stay wet for longer periods after rain. I actually had to route around one hill in my area because of it. It also rather "stinks" when you are out riding and come across a gravel or dirt road on it and have that issue a mile or so down said road. Walking with a bent is double sucky.

VegasTriker

The stock rear tire on a 2016 Catrike 700 is a 700C X 23 Schwalbe Durano. It has a maximum pressure of 145 psi. I run my 700C tires pretty hard though I never measure the actual pressure. 80psi sounds pretty low. If I ran my 2013 CT700 at 80 psi I would surely get pinch flats galore. It's possible the previous owner replaced your rear tire but if she only rode it to church on Sundays as you say, it must have been a really long ride to need a new tire. The stock tire doesn't have much tread the same as most skinny road bike tires. I dumped my Durano after a sidewall failure at 300 miles and haven't used Schwalbe tires since then. Can't say how my trike handles in the rain on a steep hill because it rarely rains here and I don't ride in the rain when it does.

tyrion

If you really need to get up the hill maybe you could lower the tire pressure way lower than normal, inch up the hill, then pump it back up.

BikeArkansas

My trike had the stock tire when I received it. I had an older 28 MM 700 road tire hanging in the garage. I installed that tire which is rated for 80 to 120 PSI. I wanted the better ride than the very high pressure tire that came stock, which is now hanging in the garage.

I did have a pinch flat yesterday. I will be installing a new 28 MM Gatorskin, which I have already bought. This tire has some flat resistance, can run lower pressures (80) and wears fairly well.

79pmooney

The Gatorskin may be a mixed blessing. Flat resistance, yes, but they do not have (as far as I have heard) grippy rubber or soft sidewalls. Both would be a real asset to you on steep, wet climbs. If I were you, I"d pass up flat resistance in favor of the largest feasible tire with soft sidewalls and grippy rubber. (Bigger tires tend to flat less anyway.) Two tires I like a lot but each not "perfect" are the Vittoria 28c Corsa G+. Very, very good tire but expensive. Sidewalls and tread are excellent. Wear is decent for a high end tire but not remotely in the Gatorskin realm. The other is the Panaracer Pasela. As big as you want; every size to 38c. Very nice sidewalls. Tread decent for mileage, zOK for grip. Those tires ride very well at low pressures. Price is quite reasonable. $35 in a shop and not on sale.

If I were you, I'd try the biggest Pasaela I could fit, drop the pressure until I saw a nice bulge to the sidewall (while on the bike) and go find a nice steep wet hill. Those tires may not be grippy enough. To get more grip, you will be paying the trade-off of less flat resistance and more expense. (The Vittoria G+ is a lot grippier but cannot be purchased in as large a tire and cost twice as much. Also wears out faster.) I have ridden the Vittorias up to 38c on the road, mostly so aI can ride to gravel country and go off pavement. The 35c in back with 45 pounds of pressure ride just fine. With your trike, I'd bet you would have no issues with pinch flats at 35 psi.

I am not saying that aren't other good tires out there. I choose to comment on just tires I know very well. I'll let others speak for the other brands.

Ben

markjenn

You might improve things somewhat with different tires/pressures, but I think the issue is more/less inherent in the type of bike and steepness of climb. 17% is a SERIOUSLY steep hill on any bike and a traction challenge with wet pavement no matter what the bike/tire.

- Mark

79pmooney

I realized after I wrote the above that I should have prefaced it with the fact that you need grip for your rear tire far more than any of us upright riders do. Going up steep hills, you have two factors working against you. 1) Your weight is much further forward and off the rear wheel and it is much lower so the incline of the hill has far less effect of leaning your weight back over the rear wheel. Hence all I wrote above to get more tire grip applies to you far more than us upright riders (except that when we lose grip we can fall a lot further to the pavement).

Ben

BlazingPedals

You might look into Compass tires, which are becoming more popular among velomobile riders. You can run lower pressures for better traction if you go wider, and the Compass line seems to have a reputation for being fairly fast. Probably not as puncture-resistant, though. TANSTAAFL

Hoopdriver

ICE Sprint with 20" wheels all round. My tires are 45s (and the roads are not steep around here) so the only time I have experienced spinning out is going uphill on gravel. Although really clumsy, I have found that arching my back with my butt off the seat shifts enough weight to the rear to maintain sufficient traction.