JCB

Has anyone heard of the Sherer USA TLT Torque lever recumbent trike? It looks weird.

scottogo

https://www.shererusa.com/index.html
Has a lever and chain system.
Claims 45 mph on flats.

ppc

Well yeah, if you put an angry gorilla in the seat, it'll do 60mph no problem. Seriously though, a bike goes as fast as you push on the pedals, so speed claims are nonsensical.

About that lever system : it's be tried again and again on bicycles and never sold, because it's a proven fact that it's less efficient than rotary cranks, for two reasons :

- It takes energy to start and stop your legs twice per pedaling cycle. This energy is totally wasted with a lever system, it's partly converted into rotary motion with standard cranks.

- Only newbies put energy in a bicycle chain strictly by pushing down. Good cyclists, when they want to go fast, pedal in circle and power the cranks during most of the rotation. The lever system forces you to adopt a dud pedaling style.

blknwhtfoto

I think that thing looks rad. I wonder what makes it "faster", I am skeptical about that, but its fancy all the same.

Doug5150

I think it's not been successful just because in most attempts (of a lever-pedalling system) it's been significantly heavier than a regular crank system. Recumbent riders tend to be more tolerant of weight than upright riders, if it pays off in efficiency or comfort over the long run however. I don't know how the Sherer attempt stacks up, not having ever seen or tried it first-hand.

As to the efficiency, what "top pros" do almost doesn't matter to the rest of us. The question is, would it make a casual rider faster? It could very possibly be more efficient over an actual ride, if the lever system allowed using different pedal strokes and leg extensions (which it would seem to do). Lots of shorter pedal-strokes for high-speed cruising, and fewer, very-long pedal strokes for powering up hills. You cannot get that with a crankarm, because the crankarm is always 175mm or 170mm or 180mm.

....It is a strong suspicion of mine that using the same pedal stroke and leg extension all the time is not most efficient, but that we have not yet seen any bicycle that worked well enough to demonstrate the advantage. Much like how if you are jogging/running, you do not use the same pace or distance between steps all the time.
~

BlazingPedals

It bothers me that the maker doesn't seem to understand the difference between torque and power - longer lever arms produce more torque at the expense of a longer pedal stroke. Gear it up to reduce the distance and you've lost your torque. I can see where pushing with both feet would help with instantaneous power, but when you get to the 'bottom' of the pedal stroke, there's that inevitable, long return stroke during which time there is no power applied. The hill had better be very short!

As I've written before on other forums, I'd be happy to test it out if I ever see one in the flesh. Until then, I'll consider it a curiosity, like a rowbike or an irish mail.

bentpebbles

The cranks CNC 7075 black anodized aluminum each has it own cable and a small sprocket to drive the main chain drive. You can pedal each independtly or together or only (1) leg at a time.

The trike is a chrome moly frame total weight is 37lbs

This person did the wheels and help Kurt Sherer do the frame https://www.tetcycles.com/

Mine has (72) speeds Shimano Altus and a SRAM 3 speed rear hub.

Tektro cable actuated disc brakes.

Ground clearence is 4.5 inches

lee_rimar

Someone who HAS one speaks!

How does it ride? Are you faster on it than other trikes you have ridden? How is it on hills?

megaman

My understanding of this trike is that you don't have to use the same leg extensions. I guess I should have tried it out. If I see one again, I will.