A year of trial, error, failure, and FUN

 Things I've learned over the course of a year of owning and riding a recumbent trike:

Never believe that something is as good as "they" say it is. You have to experience it yourself. That can be a catch 22 if you think too much about it. How do you experience owning a trike if there is no one that has one or even sells one unless you travel 10 hours to get to a shop (which happens to be the only one in Japan)? BTW, the shop didn't have the trike in stock. So, I had a choice, either do nothing or take a risk and do as much research as I could on trikes. I could not find any cons about trike ownership, but I did find lots of biased opinions in favor of them. Hey, ICE had these cool videos and their Facebook page had lots of information (so I thought). I was sold on the fact that the trike was made in Europe (which I later found out it was not) and the company is one of the most experienced in the industry (which it is). Well, at least they have a very good warranty. My advice, try to test ride as many as you can. If you can't, learn to learn from your mistakes. I knew if I rode, like in the good 'ole days, I would feel better and look at my senior years in a different light. Sure enough, I lost 12kg, heart rate/ blood pressure dropped like a rock, my sleep has improved, and I created an escape from everyday life. In other words, triking has been good for my mind, body and soul.

Stuff happens...sure I'm the only one in ICE recumbent history to ever own a defective frame. Yeah, right. I went through a pair of front tires in 3000km. I should have gotten at least 6k to 10k. The alignment was slightly out, but the dealer said it was fine. Learning from my mistakes, I became an expert on alignment and trike maintenance in general. Just recently, my trike was experiencing hesitation while climbing the steep hills around Tsukahara. I expressed my thoughts on the matter to my dealer and he passed that info along to the manufacturer of the motor. Of course, the manufacturer thought it was a fluke occurance and doubtful it would ever happen again since the motor is still relatively new. I had them send me an analyzer so I could see for myself if this problem was in my imagination. Long story short, the motor did have a torque sensor problem and will require a trip back to the manufacturer. I'm waiting for all that to unfold as I had planned ahead of time to have a motor on hand before I sent the defective motor back. The motor is on it's way back to the dealer and the new motor is on the trike ready to be ridden when the weather clears. You already know about the frame. With the new front suspension, all is good. I've learned that disc brake pads have a short life in hill country. I love descending down those hills at 75km+, but it comes at a cost. I purchase brake pads in bulk to take care of that situation. 

Another thing worth mentioning about owning a trike in the middle of nowhere is that maintenance becomes the owners responsibility. I knew this way before purchasing a trike. I've always been mechanically inclined so this wasn't much of an issue for me. I bring this up because of the amount of tools I've had to acquire since becoming a tricyclist. Trike stand, torque wrench, cog removal tool, crank arm remover, headset removal tool, and several more that I don't remember the names for. This is on top of the standard bike tools that I've owned over the years. Working on the trike is fun, but riding is more fun.

Speaking of riding, this year minus two months for maintenance and weather, I've ridden 4000km+ mostly either uphill or down. No flatland around here. If I ever get my act together and have a reliable trike, I'll set my goal to 10000km for a year. It's not anything I lose sleep over. Heck, I'm 65 and not getting any younger. Just getting out of bed is a major achievement for many individuals of my age. If I make this goal, great, if not, well, I'll concentrate on having leisurely fun. I do want to keep riding till at least 75. Why not?

Speaking of leisurely fun...I have a sound system on my trike that would make any music aficionado envious. OMG, you listen to music while riding? Isn't that illegal? Just wait a minute. Sometimes those long hills need a distraction. Music is the perfect cure. I mostly listen to acoustic instrumentals and throw in some classic rock if I want to quicken the pace. Music is provided via Amazon Prime Unlimited. I made a speaker mount that is tucked away behind my head, mounted on what I call an accessory post. The post is made of a carbon fiber tube. Lightweight, but rigid and strong. My iphone is controlled by a remote mounted near the steering tube which then controls the volume and song selection. The iphone rests in a clear top pocket of my Ortlieb bag mounted right next to my side. I use this bag to store snacks, sunglasses, spare tube, toilet paper, and a first aid kit. The sound system is one of the few things I have never had any problems with. It's fantastic to have "Sunday" acoustic guitar in the background while gliding past spectacular scenery or some Springsteen helping me up a steep incline. And to answer that question, nope, nothing illegal about having a speaker as long as I'm not distracted from traffic. Oh, and about that...also mounted on that accessory tube are turn signals, 400Lm blinking lights (front and rear), video camera, and radar with video. The radar is tied into the speaker system so, when a car is anywhere in sight, the radar alerts me both audibly and visually. In other words, the music automatically lowers and the radar alerts me of oncoming vehicles. I don't have to bother looking in my rear view mirrors for traffic. It's a good thing. 

Speaking of good things...another addition are sealed bearing idler wheels from T-cycle. I got tired of those silly chain tubes. Who the heck needs them? They trap dirt and grime. They're ugly and most of all, make noise when pedaling. The new idler wheels are fantastic! Clean, solid, well made and super quiet. So quiet in fact, that I was able to sneak up on a wild boar before he/she even knew I was there. I don't recommend doing this, but the boar was only the size of a large dog and I didn't see any tusks...while I was riding quickly away. Several other mods are installed, but I'd like to do further road tests before disclosing them. Oh, and the dual battery mod is working very nicely.

Okay, enough of that long-winded stuff, let's see some photos. These are in no particular order since Blogger has a mind of its own when it comes to downloading images.

This is the video camera mounted forward on top of the accessory pole. I had to design something that could hold the weight of the camera without bending the extension to the holder because of the rough roads. There's a lot of leverage up there. It took several tries (failures) before I came up with a rock solid solution.

Continuing down the pole are both the forward and rear facing blinking lights. At 400Lm, no problem being seen in daylight. I have a forward one to prevent cars from turning in front of me. The light actually makes cars slow down as they approach.

Continuing down the pole is my most important accessory, a radar/ rear facng camera. I can't ride safely without this jewel. The radar lets me know when cars are approaching both visually and audibly. I highly recommend this for anyone who rides on public roads.

This is part the sound system. I use this to control the volume and song selection on my iphone. 

This is a view of the accessory pole with the turn signal and speaker.

More remotes...mounted on the left is for the turn signals, lights and horn/ security alarm. On the right is a remote for the Garmin computer. The battery switch is mounted lower center.

On this side is the Garmin computer, Motinova (motor) controller, and sound controller.

Here's a view of the accessory pole. Note how little frontal surface is exposed thus creating very little drag on those screaming descents.

This is a view looking forward.

The pole is mounted on the seat rail along with the rear racks. Also visible is the speaker. I used velcro to hold the speaker on a aluminum mount I fabricated. (If your interested in the mount, let me know in the comments). The mount allows just enough flex to keep things from breaking. I also made a protective strap in case the speaker decides to escape. Again, this took several design changes before I was satisfied it was road worthy. 

Here's where the pole mounts to the seat bracket. Very clean and extremely reliable.

Another safety item. A 2200Lm front headlight with plenty of power to be seen by oncoming vehicles.

Great investment! The T-cycle idler wheels take care of several things. No more chain tubes, easy to lube and clean, and no more noise. Pay the extra for ceramic. I haven't seen any wear.

Look at that beautiful clean and unobstructed chainline. I tell ya, get rid of those chain tubes.

Don't forget to change the idler under the seat. Easy one hour job to change those idlers.

Another very important modification, the neck rest. The one that came from ICE was...um...useless. This one from T-cycle is super comfortable, adjustable and supportive. I lean back on the climbs, listen to music, and feel like I'm resting in a La-z-boy recliner.

Well designed, highly adjustable and made for anyone who has neck issues. 

Back to the accessory pole...here's a closeup of the turn signal/ hazard light/ flashing light/ horn/ alarm. What can I say other than it works.

These racks are made for suspension trikes by T-cycle, Super simple install. I wouldn't put a lot of weight in the bags, but it's rigid enough to support light touring loads. If needed at a later time, I'll purchase a Radical Design trailer.

An update on the battery modification: I replaced the connectors with higher amperage parts. I noticed that the motor connector showed a slight heating/ carbon build up problem. Rather than risk a serious problem down the road, I made things a little "beefier". Alrighty then, that about sums it up for this years trike mods. If anyone is interested in further details just drop me a line in the comments section. I've had over a thousand views just for the battery mod, so I know you're out there. Cheers!