#1
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steering
Hello all,
I'm new to the recumbent community. I'm absolutely, positvely clueless about certain - and probably straight forward - things. I was looking at recumbent trikes on the Greenspeed website (http://www.greenspeed.com.au/NewGSwe...a/homeusa.html) and I noticed that most of the bikes have the two wheels in the front and one in the rear. I really have no problem with that. But I do have one question: How do you steer? Regards, Cully_J |
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#2
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Cully_J wrote: Hello all, I'm new to the recumbent community. I'm absolutely, positvely clueless about certain - and probably straight forward - things. I was looking at recumbent trikes on the Greenspeed website (http://www.greenspeed.com.au/NewGSwe...a/homeusa.html) and I noticed that most of the bikes have the two wheels in the front and one in the rear. I really have no problem with that. But I do have one question: How do you steer? Regards, Cully_J With the handlebars! OK, OK- that was a little too obvious. On Greenspeeds, the handlebars pivot on a frame fitting, and there are linkage rods that connect the handlebars to the kingpins that hold the front wheels. In reality, the setup is very similar to almost every automobile built since time began. Not all trikes are like this, but this'll get you started. If you want to learn more, this page should provide you with many clues: http://www.eland.org.uk/steer_intro.html Jeff |
#3
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At this point I've owned four trikes (I still have two of them) and I've
test ridden at least 6 others. The design of the tadpole steering (two wheels in front, one in back) is fairly simple yet there is quite a bit of variety in implementation. If you are considering a purchase, test rides are certainly required. Examples: The Deltas (two wheels in back) tend to steer like ordinary bikes although you still have the Under Seat or Above Seat choice. Tadpoles have a bit more variety. When I test rode the Catrike I crossed it off my list immediately because I didn't like the feel of the steering. I understand that they have re-designed their steering for 2005 so I might feel differently now. Greenspeed and WizWheelz have more conventional tadpole steering. There are a few trikes that have a stick for steering. WindCheetah is the most famous. The stick is very responsive. On my first ride in a parking lot at low speeds I had the WindCheetah up on two wheels. That never happened in real riding. Tricruiser has "one sided" steering as standard with more conventional "twin stick" steering as an option. I've never ridden one with single stick steering. I am taking a friend of mine to look at a single stick model, however. He has a hand injury from a car accident that is not going to improve. The only option he has for cycling is to find something that he can completely control from one side. The Tricruiser with a single stick, disc brakes (front left and right controlled by a single brake lever), and a Rohloff Speedhub should be able to put steering, braking, and transmission all on one side of the trike. We'll see if it works for him. The sidewinder has front wheel drive and rear wheel steering. The feel is quite strange compared to everything else. I'd be afraid to ride this trike anywhere where you encounter high speed although the video on the website of the rider doing tight 360's is fun to watch. I wouldn't do it myself, however. So your simple question doesn't have quite the simple answer that you might expect. If your serious about getting a trike you've got to test ride them. Jeff |
#4
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Jeff Grippe wrote:
The Deltas (two wheels in back) tend to steer like ordinary bikes Objection! ;-) IME any trike[1] (including uprights) doesn't steer like an ordinary bike, because you have to actively move the steering to a far greater extent. On a bike you soon get used to steering by leaning the bike and using the inherert instability of a two wheel design to your advantage. Can't do that on the trike, so the go left you steer the bars left, rather than just lean the way you want to go. This can be *very* embarrassing on one's first go on a trike, as it /should/ be easier! I spent the first 100m on a Kettwiesel crashing into the kerb because I couldn't adjust for the camber and right wheel drive just by body position like I do quite unconsciously on a bike. Pete. [1] some cunning lean-to-steer designs may well be exceptions -- Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/ |
#5
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"Cully_J" wrote in message ... Hello all, I'm new to the recumbent community. I'm absolutely, positvely clueless about certain - and probably straight forward - things. I was looking at recumbent trikes on the Greenspeed website (http://www.greenspeed.com.au/NewGSwe...a/homeusa.html) and I noticed that most of the bikes have the two wheels in the front and one in the rear. I really have no problem with that. But I do have one question: How do you steer? The two front wheels are connected together by tie rods, like a car. The rear half of the trike (seat, frame, drivetrain) is very similar to a two-wheel recumbent bike. Some tadpole trikes (Catrike, Lo-Go, MR Swift, etc) are steered with two tillers that are directly attached to the front wheel kingpins (like a headset on a bicycle). You move the tillers left and right to steer, which is a bit unusual at first. This "direct steering" is *very* sensitive to rider input, which can produce a white-knuckle ride at times. The trick is to learn how to relax and modulate steering input, even when you are being jarred from side to side. There is also considerable pedal-induced steering, and significant brake-induced steering on many trikes. I have owned two tadpoles, my current one being a Catrike Speed, which requires the rider to learn how to evenly apply the disc brakes in order to stop without going sideways ;-) Tadpole trikes are designed to steer straight ahead automatically if you let go of the tillers. So, yes, you can ride them with no hands; but you can't lean-steer them as you can with a bike (darn). Some trikes have more castering action than others. The Catrike has just barely enough castering action to ride no-handed on level ground. Generally speaking, it handles like a sporty short-wheelbase roadster. I describe tadpole trikes as "three-wheeled go karts with pedals," which I find to be a useful analogy. |
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