Ian wrote:

I have been riding a rear suspension only Challenge Wizard for a couple of
years, but due to an old knee injury am switching to a trike, I already have
a non suspension Kett Weizel and find with the mesh seat that this is more
comfortable than the 2 wheeler even though I then had a rear shock.
I plan on going for a tadpole trike, what are peoples thoughts on suspension
on trikes?

Also it may be my imagination, and it may only be here in the U.K. but it
seems that the general reaction to a recumbent trike is better than a
recumbent bike, on the Wizard I got mixed responses from pedestrians, from
very positive right through to very negative, however since switching to the
trike I have experienced no negativity, at church on Sunday morning in fact
I was giving rides to all and sundry.

I am planning to start selling trikes as a business, I used to work as a
cycle engineer years ago and do all my own servicing, repairs etc... as well
as a lot of other peoples, I think the resistance to adult trikes is more or
less non existant in the U.K., how are they viewed in the U.S.A.?

My Sunset and Dragonflyer have identical seats, approximately the same
seat recline, the same drivewheel size, and fat rear tires with similar
inflation pressures. Bumps that lift me off the seat on the Sunset are
hardly worth noticing on the Dragonflyer.

In addition, I can mash a big gear uphill with no noticeable suspension
pogo on the Dragonflyer despite its simple design (just a spring with no
shock absorber). I believe that this is due to the use of a step-up
jackshaft on the same axis as the suspension pivot. [1]

If I were building a trike, it would have a step-up jackshaft and rear
suspension.

[1] The step-up also allows for wider range gearing and small
chainrings, since it increases the effective rear wheel size for gearing
purposes.

Tom Sherman - Quad Cities
Red Sunset and Blue Dragonflyer