More trike questions: Clipless?

On Feb 4, 7:11*pm, Tom Sherman
wrote:

Yes, clips and straps are fine on a trike, since there is no falling
over if one can not dis-engage quickly.


Good point. Unfortunately my left foot is a bit spastic at times. So,
I'm worried about unintentionally disengaging. However, on a trike I
don't really have to worry about "falling over".

Thanks the Lord for three wheels,
Cullen

aka Cullen Carter wrote:
On Feb 4, 7:11 pm, Tom Sherman
wrote:
Yes, clips and straps are fine on a trike, since there is no falling
over if one can not dis-engage quickly.


Good point. Unfortunately my left foot is a bit spastic at times. So,
I'm worried about unintentionally disengaging. However, on a trike I
don't really have to worry about "falling over".
[...]

You could consider "heel slings" that allow your feet to rotate freely,
but keep them from falling off the pedals.

Toe clips and straps would also provide more secure retention in this
case than "clipless", especially if you used a "velodrome" setup with
two straps.

--
Tom Sherman - 42.435731,-83.985007
"Those who can't do, teach,
those who can’t teach, teach gym" - Anon.

"gotbent" aka FRT rider wrote:
[...]
gotbent aka FRT rider


Not quite plowed wide enough for a trike:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzdaUBo3gMs.

However, goose poop and dog walker free.

--
Tom Sherman - 42.435731,-83.985007
"Those who can't do, teach,
those who can’t teach, teach gym" - Anon.

"Tom Sherman" wrote in message
...
"gotbent" aka FRT rider wrote:
[...]
gotbent aka FRT rider
Not quite plowed wide enough for a trike:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzdaUBo3gMs.

However, goose poop and dog walker free.

--
Tom Sherman - 42.435731,-83.985007
"Those who can't do, teach,
those who can’t teach, teach gym" - Anon.

Hi Tom, thanks for the link. The start of the video is interesting. It looks
like the trailer park in Batavia is still plowing the snow from their roads
onto the trail. I remember taking the same evasive action to get around the
snow piles last spring when most of the trail was clear enough from snow to
venture forth on three wheels (there's a bad pun in there somewhere). After
one early spring ride I sent an email to the Batavia Parks dept complaining
about the errant snow dump. Either someone at the PD called the owner of the
park to remove the snow, or he sent a crew and a plow over there to clear
the trail.

I never saw a shovel wide path through the snow on the trail before. That
must have been quite a job to shovel snow for about three or so miles. I
have enough trouble keeping up with my own driveway. ) The rider got a
little sketchy around Fabyan Park though. If things go according to plan, in
the next few weeks when the thaw starts the areas around the three bridges
park in Batavia and the Fabyan Park and Mill Run area near Geneva will
probably flood. The trail under the RT 38 overpass was under water a few
times last spring and summer.

Many years ago, before I gotbent I was riding with a buddy, on our mountain
bikes. We rode through the sketchy snow/ice pack on the trail up to
Fermilab. It was an arduous ride, particularly for a balance/skill
challenged person like myself. I thought the way back would be an easier
ride. What I hadn't counted on was how much harder it was to ride downhill
on ice, than going uphill. There was enough snow that we couldn't just coast
down and, even at our low speed, the ride soon became a white knuckle
experience. Somewhere between Raddant and Hart, the pitch was steeper and
the ice slicker and even though I was trying to be careful, the bike slid
sideways and dumped me on my arse. Soon I was in a race downhill against my
bike. Sometimes it was leading, sometimes I was. Then my buddy's bike took
over the lead with him in close pursuit. The four of us slid for what seemed
to be a couple hundred feet until we sild off the trail into the snow.

Even when the trail is mostly clear in the early spring, there can be
several places where melt water coursing over the trail will refreeze after
a few minutes when their tiny patches of sunlight retreat. I've had some
nasty surprises on late spring ice when I used to ride my RANS V-Rex on the
FRT.

gotbent, aka FRT rider

"Tom Sherman" wrote in message
...
Jeff Grippe Top Posted:
Lots of trikers use clipless pedals. I've tried them on various trikes
that I've own and I don't like them but I didn't like them on bikes
either so I'm not surprised. If you like them on bikes then you should
like them on trikes.

I don't like having all the force concentrated into a small area of my
foot. If someone made "whole foot" or "pedal sized" locking system, I'd
put it on my trike. It would be a dangerous thing to have on a bike
because you have to be able to get out of it quickly. On a trike that is
less of an issue. Meanwhile, even the biggest on I tried (the Shimano)
was still too small for my tastes.

I would hate to ride a trike for any distance without foot retention
unless it was a delta trike with the bottom bracket considerably lower
than the seat.Y ou do NOT want your feet to come off the pedals and catch
on the ground when riding at any speed above a slow crawl.

Besides "clipless, one could use toe clips and straps on a shoe with some
tread and a platform pedal with a cage that would lock into the tread,
Power Grips [1] or homemade heel slings.

[1] http://powergrips.mrpbike.com/.



I use the Power Grips on my Quadraped and am quite satisfied with them. I
find them a little touchy to adjust, but when they are well adjusted, they
are great!

--
Tom Sherman - 42.435731,-83.985007
LOCAL CACTUS EATS CYCLIST - datakoll

--
Jake Odell

Tom Sherman wrote:

I would hate to ride a trike for any distance without foot retention
unless it was a delta trike with the bottom bracket considerably lower
than the seat.Y ou do NOT want your feet to come off the pedals and
catch on the ground when riding at any speed above a slow crawl.

You certainly wouldn't, and I agree that clipless pedals are a jolly
good idea on a trike - but on the other hand, although I'm acquainted
with quite a few trikers, I'm glad to say I've yet to meet anyone who's
experienced the dreaded "leg-suck". Which isn't to say it's not a real
concern, just that it seems to be fortunately rare.

A brief experience of riding my trike unclipped was enough to make me
very keen not to repeat the experience though - my legs get tired much
more quickly without the support of being clipped in, even on the flat.

or homemade heel slings.

The guys at ICE used to make some nice heel supports, but they seem to
be far too busy making actual trikes these days :-)

--
Carol.
www.mullimages.com
www.wrhpv.com