Recumbent Tricycle | The Performer JC-70 Recumbent Trike Review

This recumbent tricycle video is for the fellows over on the Bentrider Online: Forums:www.bentrideronline.com/messag...
The JC-70 is a Taiwan built tadpole recumbent trike. I like the trike. It will suit my needs.
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[@jamesmchugo9422]

Great information, thanks for the review. I’m working up to getting my first trike and your information is just what I’m looking for.

[@karlInSanDiego]

Thanks for the honest review about an issue.

[@kemobam]

Well done, brother. Looks like a blast. Have fun.

[@BlackWarriorLures]

It certainly is!

[@rbishop12399]

the camp trip sounds like a good idea , good luck on fishing trip

[@BlackWarriorLures]

Yup! It'll be fun.

[@FirstLast-ml7yf]

Note: Old rabbit ears antennae (one of the "ears") are great for measuring toe-in settings and transferring from front of tire to rear of tire..

[@BlackWarriorLures]

Ah, great tip, thx.

[@FirstLast-ml7yf]

Also...on my Actionbent, I cut the handlebars at the headset and put them through new regular stems to enable fore-aft adjustability if your arms are cramped.

[@BlackWarriorLures]

Sweet!

[@ratdog3055]

My wife and I have enjoyed biking for years. If you ride any road, light your bike up with strobes, etc. It really makes a big difference. We have several beautiful trails to ride which is a lot easier and safer. Enjoy your low rider (LOL)

[@BlackWarriorLures]

hehe! Yeah, I definitely need to get some red strobe lights.

[@vhf2582]

This is one of the most versatile KZbin channels out there.

[@BlackWarriorLures]

Thanks! I have a lot of varied interests

[@vhf2582]

Keep up the good work. And I guess I will say this one time, roll tide. Lol.

[@BlackWarriorLures]

@@vhf2582 lol Honestly I'm not much of a football fan. The game I attended was the MSU game of Mike Shula's last year. Big AL left the Bryant Denny Stadium running for dear life that day! I know a young lady who ran track for MSU. She a veterinarian now.

[@vhf2582]

Forgot to ask if you majored in business. Sounds like you either majored in business or economics.

[@BlackWarriorLures]

@@vhf2582 Well, I majored in music performance, bachelors and masters, played saxophone, alto player. But, I read and study all the time. That's te only way to keep up these days.

[@smalltowncustoms9793]

Just stumbled upon your video.. Your talking about wheel wobble.. Have you tried towing the front in more? And possibly check your bearings, you might have one hanging up/ low on grease possibly sticking? Or have you already figured it out and if so what was it? Thanks for the video.. I'm diebetic too and waiting on my trike to arrive in next few days..

[@nigelnightmare4160]

The main problem is they didn't alter the caster angle from the 20" rear wheel version. Which means you have a steeper caster angle and that makes the steering twitchy and causes the shimmy.

[@BlackWarriorLures]

I was wondering if something like that was the case. Do you know of anyone who uses a 20 inch on the JC-70?

[@nigelnightmare4160]

@@BlackWarriorLures That would be the JC-20. I have test ridden both and the JC-20 didn't "shimmy" on the downhill whereas the JC-70 DID! Getting the toe-in spot on helped. Hope you get it sorted.

[@FirstLast-ml7yf]

I had the shimmy on my Actionbent trike and I cured it with a couple of greased O Rings under the headset caps to increase the "stiction" / resistance of turning..these damped out the harmonic frequency which was feeding forward into a shimmy. I prefer toe in of zero. Max is hookworms also had less shimmy than schwalbe big apples...you need to find just the right sized o rings at auto supply store...

[@BlackWarriorLures]

Hmm, never would have though! of that!

[@JamesJReid]

nice trike. good luck

[@BlackWarriorLures]

Thx! It's certainly fun.

[@richardtapia5286]

Really appreciate the video about your experiences with the JC-70 trike. I was thinking of purchasing one and asking, why such a cheap price? Now I know part of that answer. I know that one critique does not accurately describe the ride performance for this trike. Other people made have had a a different experience. I am a overweight VN vet with diabetes and more; I need more exercise but feel reluctant to get out and cannot spend a fortune. This trike looked like a possibility... but then,.maybe not

[@BlackWarriorLures]

I have liked it well enough. I think it's a good exercise bike. I wouldn't want to bike tour the USA with it or anything.

[@daytriker]

I have had to solve the front wheel wobble on a customers Direct Steering trike also & here is what I have found - Stand in front of your trike facing the front wheels. Grab each wheel at about 10am & 2pm. Now move your hands towards & away from each other to see if there is any end play in your wheels. If there is, you have probably found the cause of your front wheel wobble. Remove the end play which can be in your headsets, in the fixing bolts to your tie rod end links or may be your wheel bearings need to be pre-loaded properly. Do a front end alignment with 3mm toe in & you should be good to go. Also be aware that the design of a Tadpole Trike is not optimum for hands free riding. You may always have some wobble if you let go of the hand grips.

[@BlackWarriorLures]

thx!

[@daytriker]

@@BlackWarriorLures Did you check for end play on your front wheels?

[@Alex4surf]

Hey i've got the same trike, generation 2 Knuckles. Also to get back in shape after surgery. Your steering knuckles seem to be aluminium and mine are steel. I have the same wobbly front wheels. Did you get it to stop wobbling by now? I also got a rack and a fender in the back. Very cool video best of luck for your health and fitness progress :-)

[@BlackWarriorLures]

Same problem. I don't believe the new knuckles fixed anything. I believe the JC-70 steering design is flawed, but it is useful for what I need at the moment.

[@flakk8001]

​@@BlackWarriorLures I purchased the JC-70 last year (same gen as yours) and it has a slight "death wobble" at higher speeds which apparently is normal for the style of steering (Direct). I looked all over the place about it and it is something that just happens with that type of steering system. Direct steer is the handle grips tie directly to the steering of the wheels with the single tie-rod joining the wheels together and indirect steering is the hand bars will have a tie-rod attached to each bar end which cross over each other to the steering knuckle of the wheel. As long as you have the geometry (as you did with the slight toe-in) it reduces the wobble and makes it much easier to handle at higher speeds. Since having mine set up properly (built it myself) at a shop, I now longer have the wobble at low speeds and even at higher speeds (25+ mph), the wobble is not even noticeable while holding onto the grips.

[@BlackWarriorLures]

@@flakk8001 Hey, thanks for chiming in on this.

[@silinusvers]

On the Amazon reviews someone put a hydraulic damper on it to solve the shimmy. Say can I ask what your hight and weight is? I'm 6,3 and 275lbs, im really thinking of the JC-26x.

[@BlackWarriorLures]

I'm 6 ft 1 in about 250 at the time of this recording.

[@silinusvers]

@@BlackWarriorLures thanks, Here's that review I mentioned www.amazon.com/Performer-JC26X-Recumbent-Trike-Blue/product-reviews/B071CWBCN4?reviewerType=all_reviews. He talked about that hydraulic dampener he put on the steering, sounds like it solved the issue.

[@kevinhornbuckle]

I am the same size/wt. as you. Did you get one? I am considering the model with the large rear wheel.

[@theretiredfatguy]

Are you Type 2 ? If so, 4 years later, how are you doing now. ?

[@BlackWarriorLures]

Yes, type-II. It has creeped a lot this past years or so, but I have not been disciplined in my eating and exercise. Also someone stole this trike.

[@bobcatt2294]

I thought all the JC series had rear suspension. I do not like direct steering. Thumbs up.

[@BlackWarriorLures]

Yeah, the direct steering is too twitchy for me.

[@colingregory7464]

Have you tried a steering damper ? They do them for motorbikes, could you adapt ?

[@BlackWarriorLures]

A damper would be the ticket. However, someone stole this bike. If I get another it'd be the Catrike. They have steering dampers in the head sets to stop that wobble.

[@colingregory7464]

@@BlackWarriorLures have had to catch the bus home occasionally due to the bike running away without me

[@BlackWarriorLures]

@@colingregory7464 Wow! People.

[@jamesbarker213]

You mentioned 1 centimeter of toe in. That seems way too much. IDK for certain but I seem to recall from email I received from Trident (I had a similar issue) and I recall being told that toe in should only be “off” but a couple of millimeters. I could see the wobble when you rode up onto the road. JC70 is not a junk trike. Not high end but they are good Trikes. You mentioned “heavy weight” about yourself. IDK your weight but that trike does have a maximum weight rating. Could be related. Also, Schwalbe Big Apple tires at least up front will improve the ride. My Trident had 20” all around and along with some caster/toe in adjustments with those tires it rode quite well. I did find also that a headset was loose. Good luck!

[@BlackWarriorLures]

Yes, 1 cm of toe-in is too much, that's why I said I had to take more toe-in out of it. I do not exceed the weight limit. I am under the weight limit by about 20 lbs, and I'm losing weight every week. Still maximum weight and optimal weight are different things. Most likely I'll take the trike to a friend's house and better set the toe-in since he has a flatter, more level garage. Headsets have been checked many times. They are tight. Big Apples or Big Bens will definately be an upgrade. Will probably run a bigger Marathon Plus on the rear. For now I need lower gearing. Plan to switch out the 30t tractor gear for a 24t.

[@jamesbarker213]

Black Warrior Lures I did some more checking and a BROL member who was 63 a couple of years ago when he posted it said air pressure in front wheels can affect ride quality. He had similar issues and lowered air pressure and it fixed his issues. One thing to check also is wheel trueness. Is one or both front wheels especially are trued correctly then you are likely to have stability issues.

[@BlackWarriorLures]

@@jamesbarker213 I may know who you're talking about. Yes, I have run different pressures from lower pressures, even below the minimums, up to slightly below the maximums. It doesn't ever go away. I never said it was a junk trike, I said less than optimal. My definition of optimal is a world touring trike. This is not a world touring trikem thus less than optimal. not junk, but not optimal. According to Rob, if you err, err on the side of too much toe-in, so I was on the right track the whole time.

[@anim8ted923]

Still riding the Performer trike? Did you solve the shimmy issue?

[@BlackWarriorLures]

Yeah I still ride it. With that trike you arms are meant to be the dampeners.

[@andy-the-gardener]

@@BlackWarriorLures this is true. i have a catrike that shimmies alot on certain ridged surfaces, like caused by tree roots, with low tire pressure. raising front pressure to about 60psi helps alot. but not a total cure and it makes the ride v harsh. i find pulling back on the handles dulls the shimmy so its not reaaly an issue. i think i do it automatically so i dont notice the shimmy

[@BlackWarriorLures]

@@andy-the-gardener Thx for letting me know.

[@davidsabine6942]

I have a jc70 and i put a motor on it ,it wll do 30 to 35 mph and i dont have a problem at all with a wobble at all.

[@BlackWarriorLures]

That's good to know. They are good trikes for the money. Remember that this was an older model, although it did have the newer retro-fitted steering knuckles. I wonder if that added weight of the motor and battery helps?

[@davidsabine6942]

@@BlackWarriorLures no its all in the alighnment ,i had some problems with mine wareing out the front tires until i got the alighnment correct , mine is set at 1/8 " toe in.

[@davidsabine6942]

@@BlackWarriorLures you should get a motor for yours ,there not that expensive but the batteries are .i got a 1000 watt motor with two batteries a20 ahr and a 15ahr both are 36 volt i weigh 210 lbs and my bike will go 30 mph its range is about 25 miles of more if you just cruse at a slower speed. The slower you go the l9nger the range .i have done a round trip of about 40 miles.

[@BlackWarriorLures]

@@davidsabine6942 It'd be nice, but someone stole mine.

[@davidsabine6942]

@@BlackWarriorLures so sorry to here that.

[@Bassplayingypsy]

Look up rake and trail. Sounds like caster is off on both sides. Needs more rake by probably lik a millimeter or so. This is the main difference from an under $2000 trike vs an over $2000 trike. Could also be the rear tire might be too large diameter for the caster angle of the front. In other words. It has the caster of front end to lacks and causes that shimmy in the front end. Yours isn't the only one that does this. Many of them do from this company. Jc 20, Jc70. Oh even their carbonfiber frame does it. Something in the geometry of the frame altogether. Get an ICE sprint x. You won't have that problem.

[@BlackWarriorLures]

Thank for chimming in. I've always wondered if I had the steer off in some way.

[@donedeal8385]

Trikes are perfect for handling etc. Or fab a flag for your rod and bring a rod. Nice vid.

[@BlackWarriorLures]

Thanks 👍

[@Rottingboards]

Stay on the trails. Roads are very dangerous due to everyone texting and driving.

[@catudasa3898]

Black Warrior, there is a way to defeat diabetis but it's not easy. Becoming Raw Vegan is the key. Look it up my friend. Internet is there for us man. Many, many people did it already. With succes.

[@BlackWarriorLures]

Oh, thanks for chiming in.

[@jimjr4432]

Wow, at this date, I hope your diabetes is under control. I also hope at this point you still like riding. Blessings.

[@BlackWarriorLures]

Well, someone stole this trike a couple years ago.

[@UPGardenr]

GET OFF CARBS TRUST ME I KNOW WHAT I'AM Talking about

[@BlackWarriorLures]

Yup! Actually fasting gets me off everything.