Speed on a trike?
 

I'm looking into trikes and am wondering what kind of speed you trike riders are pulling on the flats. I know of course that fitness levels will vary.

Lots of variables here to answer your question. Weight? Areodynamics? Fitness? I can manage to hold 28-30 kph on my Catrike "Road" but only on the flat. (Climbing is not so good.) The Catrike 700 is very fast and the Windcheetah is right up there as well. Or, you could go with the Avatar Velo from Trisled. Fully enclosed trike that cruises at a mean 50 kph! Mike

http://www.trisled.com.au/avatarvelo.html

Depends on a lot of factors - among them are the direction of the wind, the weight of the trike, age and fitness of the rider, how long your legs are, how far you have ridden, type of tires on the trike, quality of the trike (bearings, etc), and even toe-in setting on the front wheels for a tadpole trike. The temperature plays a role. My fastest speeds are when the local temperature is in the 90s. It goes down when it gets over 100 and also when it gets colder outside.

I only keep track of my average speed in an urban environment with occasional stop lights and quite a few stop signs. On days when I am simply riding to put in 10-15 miles, my average speed will usually be somewhere between 12.5 and 14 mph. If there are garage sales in the neighborhood it goes down by an mph or two. I can probably sustain 15-16 mph on a level stretch with calm winds for the total distance but there is really no place for me to ride where I only encounter absolutely flat road. Every direction either goes up or down in elevation over a few miles. That means I will be doing 12 mph in places and 20+ in others.

That said, I'm 67 years old, rather short in stature, but do ride one of the best trikes on the market, a Greenspeed GTO. It's got a gear range to accommodate any terrain and the components are top notch.

On the flats, my speed is usually around 18-22mph as long as I don't have headwinds. At least in my area, it's very hilly so my average speed usually ends up being about 15mph though.

Have you moved from the Tailwind to a Catrike as your main ride?

Pretty much. They are both definitely a lot of fun.

Holding effort levels roughly equal, I'm about two mph faster on my Volae Century than on my ICE Q. If I could keep only one ride, though, it would, after some monumental whinging, be the trike.

I have a Catrike Expedition and a Speed. I average 12.5 mph over the course of my ride. I can maintain 14-16 mph over the flats but with all the lights and stop signs it really cuts into your average. If you are a DF rider I would say you will lose anywhere from 1-2 mph average. I am 63 years old 6" 195 lbs. I am faster on the Expedition than I am the Speed.

WOW! Those are very cool. Shame they haven't integrated any lighting into the design.

Having looked over the specs of both those models- to my untrained eye, the Speed on paper should be faster. Do you attribute your better performance on the Expedition to the larger drive wheel or slightly more relaxed positioning?

I've got a Catrike Speed. Over a pretty flat 37-mile loop I ride regularly, my best speed on the Speed is 15.0 mph; my best speed on my racing bike is 16.7 mph. I could probably go faster on both—none of those rides were at maximum capacity.

Question? Not trying to hijack this thread - but another question in conjuction with the how much slower (or faster) are you on your trike vs bike...

Using the above example, you are slightly slower on your trike than on your bike for the same *ride*. So, why then ride the trike at all? In *your* view Sir, is the comfort and relaxed way of riding a trike worth the slightly slower speed?

And, if so, why then do you ride your bike at all?

Or, is it simply a case of desiring different *rides* depending on mood, etc?

Can you see where I'm going here? What is it, or why have the trike since the bike is faster, or, why have the bike since the trike is more comfortable?

I'd love to see your (and others) views here?

TY :o

To answer the above ^ question, I think it depends primarily either on mood or the "mission" at hand.

I've been riding conventional racing bikes for about 25 years, and I still like riding them. I got the trike specifically to ride the Southern Tier. It worked out pretty well.

I don't race. My racing bike is a nice bike, but even there I made choices that emphasize reliability over weight. And touring definitely isn't racing, though my goal on the ST was to put in long days, and in that regard, the trike was the right choice. In that context, the question isn't how fast you can ride 100 miles, it's how fast you can ride 100 miles when you rode 100 yesterday, and the day before that, and the day before that. My racing bike would have pounded me to jelly after a few long days.

Now that I've finished the ST, will I keep the trike and my bike? Yeah, probably. They're both valid riding experiences.

Good question, I think.

My particular bike is not less comfortable than my trike. I much prefer the trike for neighborhood and urban rides because it allows complete attention to my surroundings and provides an easy chair for conversational stops. I like the bike for rural and exurban roads because it seems to encourage more attention to the physicality of riding itself. Both experiences are pleasant. I consider myself fortunate that both ways of riding fit into our garage and budget.

I have totally switched from regular bikes to recumbents. Comfort and ability to enjoy the ride is the reason. I can ride my recumbent all day without any of the aches and pains I get riding a regular bike. The slower speed is a concern however I am pretty much a loner and ride that way. I do have one riding friend that is my age (58) and since I am a runner and I lift weights I am in good enough shape to keep up with him just fine on his upright bike. I doubt if I will ever again enjoy riding a upright as much as I enjoy riding my recumbent.

No1mad- I think I am faster on the Exped because of the larger rear wheel. Plus the Speed I have is one of the originals #74 of 200. It has same seat angle as Exped and I am more comfortable on the Exped. It just seems like it is less effort to keep it at speed. The Speed gets to crusing speed faster but is a little harder to maintain

I think you mean "whining."

Whinging: to whing (third-person singular simple present whings, present participle whinging, simple past and past participle whinged)

1. To move with great force or speed

BP, I think you need to acquaint yourself with Britticisms.

Nope, there could be a fine whine or two involved, but it would likely be full blown if mostly silent whinging. I would not one bit enjoy giving up either trike or bike riding.

I've got a Waterford (upright) and a Expedition Catrike. The trike is about 1/2 to 1 1/2 mph slower. I can average 19 to 20 mph on a 10 mile flat road on the trike. I love riding them both, but lately I seem to ride the trike more often. Why ? It's more fun. I love riding my Waterford (the most comfortable upright I've ever ridden), but the trike makes me feel like a little kid playing zoom-zoom. And it's a blast to pass the Armstrong Wanna-be's on my trike. They have that "what the hell was that" look. As was stated, which one I ride on a given day depends on what mood I'm in and the terrain. The trike is definitely slower on the climbs. But it rips on the downhills.

ben

To me it really depends on how fast you'd like to ride. If I push myself I can maintain 16-18 mph on the level for 5+ miles. But I don't usually do that, so I average about 13 mph on the level over a long distance.

@@@

You might find this article by Ashley Guy over at Utah Trikes of interest regarding speed and such...

<http://www.utahtrikes.com/ARTICLE-27.html>

This trike is on Craigslist this morning. It did about 17 mph real easy when I had it a few years ago; but the alignment didn't hold and a steering connecter broke so I sold it. The photos below are when I had it. Great for a beginning triker- taught me a lot; speed is not THAT important, and what I did not want in a trike :D
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/nby/bik/2121028165.html