NoNaYet

I made what I believe will be effective skids for our Catrike Roads out of heavy schedule PVC in about 30 minutes.

I took 2 inch pipe, crosscut a line about 80% down 3 inches from one end, then ripcut a half inch wide line through the the 3 inch section. I then cut two lines from the other end back to the original crosscut, centered opposite the ripcut line, so I was left with a 2 inch strip attached to the 3 inch ring. The PVC is flexible enough to spread the ring and let it snap over the trike tubing, forward of the outriggers. After aligning it you clamp the ring down with a hose clamp. The 2 inch strip is flexible enough to curve along the tubing and be clamped down. I made these 15 inches long, but a little longer might be better.

NNY

N_C

Uh why are you making skid plates for a recumbent trike? When someone says skid plates I think of a piece of steel that goes under a rock crawling 4x4. Where are you planning on riding your trike? Up a power line on a mountain side.

lowracer1

I took mine offroad on a mountain bike trail........ a skid plate would have been welcome on that trail. I can see where he is coming from.

BlazingPedals

Sounds like he's trying to turn a Catrike into a KMX.

Isn't there a rule somewhere that says you shouldn't modify a bike (trike) to do two jobs when you could use the excuse to get another bike (trike?)

NoNaYet

Let's see, $2K aluminum frame with 3 inches clearance. Wrong move on a speed bump, driveway or curb and your reaching for your wallet vs. $2 worth of hardware and 30 minutes work.

A friend who actually works at Catrike told me he's seen damaged frames come in that were ground flat and/or cracked at the low spot.

NNY

blknwhtfoto

Seems like a good idea to me. PVC is a glorious material for DIY'ers. It can make any many man into Macguyver!

Bushman

you can also use HDPE high density polyethlene sheet, available in 1/2" thick and up. Its easily drilled or machined, can be bent easily with a heat gun and is incredibly long wearing (i use it on my river canoe , 20 years of river running and sliding along rocks, rocky bottom and very little wear on the HDPE. its super slippery to , when sliding over things.

banerjek

I frankly worry much more about tearing my derailleur off or damaging it than I do bottoming out. Even rather ordinary road debris (sticks, possums, etc) has the potential to do that.

Bushman

possums

JanMM

That rule is the corollary of the n+1 rule (Correct Number of Bikes to Own), where n is the number of bikes currently owned. Applies to trikes, too.