There's No Traction
 

I have a Catrike Trail that I recently (1yr) installed the Terracycle 26"conversion kit
I rode the Trail for 3yrs with the 20" rear and had no problem with traction on gravel roads,
with the 26"wheel and a 2"BigApple (all 3) I'm finding the rear has very little traction....What could be used on the 26" to increase the traction issue, but not go to a knobby tire. I need the traction but not at the expense of road resistance
Pic's of trike...before and after

There's not much you can do of significance other than going back to the smaller rear wheel. Perhaps less inflation pressure in the rear tire?

Hi,

I'm surprised as I wouldn't have thought this mod would change the drive traction much at all. Did the modification change the weight distribution (front/rear) a lot?

I can imagine one of the wider dual tread (smooth in the middle, more aggressive further away from the middle) might help. And Steamer's suggestion of less pressure is good too (unless you are already at the low end) - were you running the 20" at lower pressure than you're running the rear tire now?.

Cheers,
Charles

I've got the 26 inflated to 70, the 20" was always at 80, I'm guessing smaller diameter more torque
The 26 is great on the flats and downhill, but the uphill is slower with tendency to slip on a loose surface.

In the manual for my trice, it mentions improving drive wheel traction by reclining the seat. Of course, that only works if it's not fully reclined or if the seat even has adjustments. Not sure it's an option for you. I know having my seat most reclined position would be extremely uncomfortable.

Funny, I had a trail for three or four years, and the last year I had it I put a Utah Trikes 26" adapter and new wheel and tire in place, along with some idlers to get rid of those awful chain tubes. I didn't have any trouble with traction at all. The trike was maybe 2 mph faster, average, on a ride, with the big wheel on, but the traction and stuff seemed the same to me. Of course, I was about 260+ lbs at the time, and that puts a lot of load on the tires. You could load your trunk bag with bricks and see if this helps the problem? Traction is always tied to weight as well as torque....

Tractor Tom in Okeechobee, FL