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Converting to trike - questions

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Old 08-24-11 | 04:42 PM
  #26  
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From: Lincoln Ne

Bikes: RANS Stratus TerraTrike Tour II

Kinda strange that you cadence went down. I ride a regular LWB bent, and my cadence went up. Btw bent legs to take a while depending on how much you ride of course.
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Old 08-24-11 | 07:43 PM
  #27  
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Somewhat surprisingly to me, my cadence is returning to the mid-80s range over 15 miles.
What made the difference? Switching to clipless and a seat positioning adjustment are the two biggies, I guess.

The other thing is that it seems that with the shorter rides I was taking, I wasn't really getting loosened up. I finally pushed thru the discomfort to 10 mile plus rides and found that doing 15-20 was actually relatively easy (other than dealing with Southern Louisiana temps and humidity). After 5-10 miles, I'm able to find a "riding zone" where a 75+ cadence just feels right and my average cadence over an entire ride has begun to climb back up and stay there over longer distances.

Strange in a way, but not so much in another.

I'll just accept it and move on.
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Old 08-24-11 | 07:50 PM
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From: Huntington Beach
Hmmmm....Well, you have at least doubled the weight of your vehicle and changed your position from relatively vertical to prone. So, that's pretty much what was to be expected!
The weight difference alone is the first issue.... No real solution to that, unless of course you can loose an equivalent weight off the engine!
As to the prone position, you are having to support the weight of your legs in that position - hopefully you are using clipless pedals and shoes, which helps but at least for a time you will have to adjust your thinking that no muscle power needs to be wasted purely to hold up your legs (seems obvious, but not necessarily so to your brain which has to make the spacial adjustment)
As to cadence, I find my cadence is always somewhat lower on my bents and even lower on my trike. This seems to be more of a problem for those of us who ride DF's as well to a great extent. If you ride the trike exclusively, it tends to come back up with experience and practice.
Speed......well, at least for a while I would try not to emphasize that....I doubt if it will ever be even close to what you had on your DF. Console yourself with the fact that in the right gear you can climb a wall and not fall over! Of course, where you are, it matters not.
My advice is forget the performance for a while and give yourself time to adjust and most importantly ENJOY THE RIDE!
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Old 10-02-11 | 06:42 AM
  #29  
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From: Lincoln Ne

Bikes: RANS Stratus TerraTrike Tour II

Someone mentioned having three wheel bearing to overcome. The Cruiser has sealed bearing, and on my new TT they are not holding back the trike. On my patio where you cant see any decline at all the trike will start rolling off.

I have had my new Cruiser for about 125 miles. I come from riding a LWB Stratus. I have noticed that I think my cadence is a bit slower for some reason. However I really dont care, as I ride for pleasure and exercise.
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Old 10-02-11 | 08:08 AM
  #30  
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From: West of St. Louis

Bikes: (3) 1970's Raleigh Sports, (1) 1968 Robin Hood 3 speed, 1974 Raleigh Grand Prix, 1976 Raleigh Grand Prix, 1969 Peugeot UO-18, 1971 Peugeot UO-08, 1980 Giant road bike, 1954 Humber, 1940ish Hercules Popular, 1963 Dunelt, 2007 Trek 3700 mountain bike

[QUOTE=drmweaver2;13096799]I've also considered pinning a map/cue sheet to my shorts but hadn't considered using an elastic strap to hold either end down as I don't want to cut off blood circulation any more than necessary (not sure if this is a reasonable concern or not). [I]QUOTE]

I spent many years in the Wis Nat Guard working on and flying in helicopters. One thing we used was a kneeboard that strapped to our leg and held our maps and charts, a bit more than the simple strap below.



Here's a link to several types of kneeboards:

https://www.helicoptersonly.com/contents/en-us/d38.html
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Old 10-02-11 | 11:35 AM
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Originally Posted by gbalke
used was a kneeboard that strapped to our leg
Thanks. I appreciate the idea and actually gave it a try with a homemade one a while back. I decided that a "quarterback's play arm band" worked better for me as any strap holding the kneeboard on needs to be tight enough to hold it in place while the leg/thigh is constantly flexing . And that's just too uncomfortable for me.

On the trike, arm sweat gets soaked up by the band and it's a natural thing to just raise the arm to look at/read something. And I found one that has 3 pages that can be flipped - so it works well for multi-sheet cue sheets AND a mini-map.

So, the "quarterback's play arm band" was a natural once someone local suggested it.
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Old 10-02-11 | 05:06 PM
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well, I hear you.... I'm not on a trike, I am getting used to an SWB after 40 years doing metric centuries and commuting on road bikes. At first i even had trouble pushing off, no muscles in the right place! I still find intersections a bit daunting, also hairpins, starting uphill....and quick steering! Though I have to say it's getting easier every day. I don't worry about my performance or the guys zipping by in spandex...hey, been there, done that. I just concentrate on enjoying the ride and the views I've never seen on my DF bikes - what, there was something to see beside the asphalt and the wheel in front of me!?! Speed or long tours can come later....in the meantime, I get a kick out of all the kids saying "look at the cool bike!" as I roll by....
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