Recumbent

[dsw]

Hi folks

joined your forum to fond out folks experience with recumbent. searched but cant find any articles currently.

my friend has a greenspeed magnum though i think i need smaller. i like the ICE adventure

im 152 . 64 kg
day trips paths and on tail trails
must fold
electric... which type ?

oh so many questions im getting confused

cheers

[LateStarter]

Hi folks

joined your forum to fond out folks experience with recumbent. searched but cant find any articles currently.

my friend has a greenspeed magnum though i think i need smaller. i like the ICE adventure

im 152 . 64 kg
day trips paths and on tail trails
must fold
electric... which type ?

oh so many questions im getting confused

cheers

Start here viewforum.php?f=29 (736 topics)

[zebee]

I have a GT20 which is the smaller version of the Magnum. No idea what the status of Greenspeed is now or who still sells them now it's a US brand.

If you are thinking electric what's your price range? Because a motor and battery is going to add in the region of 2 grand to the price.

I love my Bionx but they went out of business and so you can't get them anymore. You have to choose between a hub motor (which is mine) and something on the end of the boom as I dunno mid drive is going to work on a trike.

Where are you in Oz? That makes a big difference as to places to recommend to try trikes. And electric motor people. I can recommend Sydney Electric Bikes if you are in Sydney for getting a motor on it, although they may have gone off conversions.

[dsw]

Thank you zeebee for your informative reply.

we are sort of thinking ICE vs GX3. we think the electrics would be best not in hub ie the motor drives the chain wheel. We are on the sunshine coast qld . price... thinking 7k mark.

[skyblot]

Greenspeed are still available in Oz, not as plentiful maybe but still here.
Disclosure: I'm based in Redcliffe (northside of Brisbane) and deal in recumbents...but I won't post the company name here as I'm sure it will break all sorts of forum rules

GT20's are in short supply (none until December...), GT26's are available, as are Magnum's and in various models. Keep and eye on Gumtree etc as they do pop up at times.

Performer build a nice trike, no delays so far shipping from their factory.

E-assist is popular, Bafang mid drives probably the most popular. Rear wheel hub motors I've found to be hit and miss, quality and support in Aus varies - I've not gone down the road of buying from the likes of Ali Express or similar.

Your budget for a new trike with e-assist kit is realistic.

And just a heads up, most trikes are sized for taller people, and getting a satisfactory fit for the not so tall can be difficult. The current model Greenspeeds can be shortened to suit, other brands with welded on clamp bosses to secure the sliding boom cannot be shortened. I've found that by shortening the frame and going to shorter cranks we can normally get a good fit.

[eldavo]

Check out ebikes.ca aka GrinTech all-axle motor that allows front drive hub motor with disc brake for trikes, awesome specs, great videos.

https://ebikes.ca/product-info/grin-pro ... motor.html

[dsw]

thank you guys much appreciated

[zebee]

I'm 157cm, the GT20 fits me but you will need the shorter cranks and don't get a chain gobbler chain adjuster because there won't be enough room between even short cranks and the mounting arm. I think the GT20 might have to be modified for someone much shorter than me although Ian kept assuring me that his 5 foot tall wife was fine with it. I have to wonder if she had extra long legs!

The other trick for us short people is seat size. I had to cut down the GT headrest to get it low enough for me, and the seat curve is OK but not great. Certainly the GT fully mesh seat is more forgiving in that regard than a hardshell seat. I"m used to the curve on my carbon Encore now but it isn't ideal. Also pay attention to lever position and hand position. I tried one, can't recall which now, where my hands were uncomfortably far forward and wide. No doubt fine for a 5'10" bloke... Another plus for GreenSpeed is they have lots of adjustability in the handlebars.

Brakes are another problem. I am not a fan of the GT's drum brakes because they seem to need more oomph than I can provide with small hands. The mechanical disks on the Encore are far nicer and more powerful. Mind you they need a lot more fettling! The drums really are set and forget I think I have adjusted the cables on them once in 2 years meanwhile the encore has got through 3 sets of brake pads which means 3 sets of wheel removals.

Before I bought the GT20 I tried a number of other trikes and yeah none of them fitted out of the box they were all for people with longer legs. Annoying really because no way to work out what the feel really was like!

With a non-hub motor, be careful about how it affects the fold. Different trikes fold in different ways so the combination of motor and fold needs to be tested somehow. (And keep an eye on the installer, when SBC did mine they carefully ran their cables through the seat frame so the seat couldn't come off and the trike couldn't fold. At least they were embarassed about it!

[dsw]

Wow Zebee what a lot to think on. thank you do much. i tried the ICE today wasnt allowed to go far as not demo model chap very kindly set the seat and i was fine. but i dont know for how long. im gping to test a few more tomorrow.

For 7200 i can buy ice woth no electric but scared as this is a first ever recumbent and what if i screw up?

152cm i cant extend. i am pondering with chocolate so might extend sideways

[zebee]

ICE have a good rep for making decent trikes. I think it would be hard to screw up. You might find things that annoy you but every mechanical device has those! The GT's brakes annoy me, the Encore's seat annoys me, the Brompton's habit of loosening its fork nut annoys me...

Try every trike you can. See if you can get it on bumpy surfaces and see if your teeth rattle. Brake hard and see which brakes best.

The biggest hassle with chocolate is finding the steering arms have got a bit closer...


Zebee

[dsw]

thank you Zebee. Gave up chocolates redrawing the board. trying Trident and Catrykes on tuesday

[TrikeTragic]

Hi DSW:

You should also consider the Trisled Gizmo: https://trisled.com.au/hpv/gizmo/

Doesn't fold however is quite compact, and Trisled are very experienced at e-assistance. The Gizmo suits those who aren't "large", my wife rode a Gizmo for several years and she's "pocket sized"....

Cheers

[dsw]

Hi Alan,

Thank you so much, and also to your pocket wife. We little ones have problems!! Or we are such problems.

Beginning to think I might have to take a drive to Melbourne. I’m heading to Merimbula in a few weeks and Morwell is only ‘just down the road’ from there.

Also thinking I might call in on Canberra on the way to Merimbula (also on the way!). They apparently have a dealer there that lets you ride the cycles for a bit. I would really like to try one out before committing our money. Or are we too precious.

Cheers

DSW

[zebee]

IF you are thinking Flying Furniture they are no more. recumbent.net.au is still with us although Sydney is defiinitely a bit of a detour!