Recumbent Vagabonds

Cyclists heading south along the Pacific Coast, on Highway 101, staying in tents along the way. Living basically saves money and is more fun.
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"TAKE IT EASY ... TAKE A TRIKE!" - trike hobo
Steve's current recumbent trike is a 2021 HP Velotechnik Scorpion fs26 Enduro, outfitted with Schwalbe Marathon PLUS road tires instead of the stock knobby off-road tires. He has also owned a 2015 ICE Full Fat off-road trike, a 2014 Catrike 700 speed trike, and a 2007 ICE Qnt trike ... not to mention three bikes (Specialized Roll Elite - Motobecane Night Train fat tire - Easy Racers Gold Rush recumbent)
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Other websites by Steve:
trikeasylum.wordpress.com
silentpassage.wordpress.com/
trikegypsies.wordpress.com/
trikephantoms.wordpress.com/
mojavetraverse.wordpress.com/

[@OnceWasHopper]

Nice trip (ride) down memory lane. Loved seeing your old scorpion with your custom “handle” rear rack and custom light bar. You and Dave are like recumbent zen masters. Living the life.

[@EZSteve]

Recumbent Zen Masters ... I LOVE IT! Thanks for the title my friend. steve

[@henryk8253]

Steve, how long is the chain stay (distance between bottom bracket and rear axle) on your recumbent tadpole trike? I've got into an argument with my neighbor (he rides upright bicycles) who claims that you can't "cross-chain" a bicycle. While I do agree that you can't "cross-chain" (ride in a small/small or big/big chainring/cog combo) an upright bicycle, you can "cross-chain" a tadpole recumbent trike... right?

[@EZSteve]

Well, technically, yes, a rider can simultaneously use the small/small or large/large chainring/rear cog combinations on a recumbent tricycle because of the immense length of a recumbent trike chain (about three, or slightly more, normal bike chains depending upon the trike), BUT, there is no need to do so for an experienced rider. I have never done it because the straighter a chain runs, the longer it lasts. Eliminating any amount of diagonal line in a chain's travel is a good thing. On a traditional bicycle, a chain would likely derail if there was enough slack in the derailleur adjustment to allow for small/small or large/large, or at the very least, it would be quickly worn down due to the angle. On my HP Velotechnik Scorpion, I have a single 32 tooth chainring on the front because the function of the standard chainring derailleur up front is replaced with an internally geared rear 3-speed hub. As a result, I can use any combination of gears I wish because the chain runs straight and true no matter what. On my trike, or any trike with a single chainring up front and an internally geared rear hub, all speed combinations are possible. I can use any combination of my 27 speeds I wish, and my chain will not suffer. On other trikes I've had, such as my 30 speed Catrike 700, I effectively had only 15 speeds because of the cross-over dynamic you mention here. On a long wheel base recumbent bicycle, this is no more of an issue as it is on a recumbent trike, due to the very long chain length, which greatly reduces any chain wear. On a normal recumbent trike with no internal hub (3 chainrings up front) using the "forbidden" combinations can be done if there is enough chain length to allow for a large/large combination, but if that were the case, then a small/small combination could very well result in a chain derailment. So yeah, you can use any combination of gears on a recumbent trike, but it is never necessary in reality for any experienced rider who understands that 50% of the gears are duplicate "cross-over" combinations,which only serve to cause chain issues at some point. On my Catrike 700, I kept the chain as short as possible, which meant I could not reach the large/large combination physically (not enough chain to even allow it). This whole question is really moot because a triker need not use the extreme cross-over gears any more than a standard bicyclist would. Technically, you are correct ... there is enough chain and length to allow "cross-chain" combinations on a typical recumbent trike. steve

[@supremeflagship8965]

I don't have a recumbent tadpole trike at hand, but I've heard that the LWB (Long Wheel Base) models have up to 64" wheelbase. Add some 16" of boom length and you have roughly (that's a very rough guess) 80" from rear wheel axle to bottom bracket. Hope that helps.

[@EZSteve]

@@supremeflagship8965That is a very close estimate Supreme Flagship 8965! My HP Scorpion is about 85 inches long front to rear, entire trike, from the front of the chainring to the rear of the rear tire (in other words, the absolute minimal amount of physical space needed to park it in the garage). For my trike, a few inches would need to be deducted for half the rear wheel to estimate the overall chain distance. steve

[@supremeflagship8965]

@@EZSteve Hi Trike Hobo. The distance between rear wheel axle and bottom bracket on a recumbent tadpole trike depends on rider's height and their inseam length. Riders with shorter legs will have shorter distance between rear axle-bottom bracket and riders with longer legs will have longer distance between their rear axle-bottom bracket. So it varies between different riders and their trikes. HenryK asked what's the distance between bb-rear axle and I gave him a rough answer. I did not expect to come very close though...

[@EZSteve]

@@supremeflagship8965When I got this trike from the dealer, who said they had set the boom length for my X-Seam, it looked awfully short to me ... and sure enough, it was ... I had to add four links of chain, extending the length, in order to have the proper pedaling distance. So yes, that distance does indeed vary as you mention. steve

[@The-GreenHornet]

Steve, what time would you usually be all packed up and pedaling every morning?

[@EZSteve]

A certain getting-up time was never part of my routine, but since I usually was sleeping in a tent, once it started getting light, I was awake. Not only the light woke me, but also the fact that I hit the sack early each day because I was wiped out from pedaling for eight hours or more, and lying down to sleep was a top priority. Oh, one more aspect was that I had to pee, so between the light, the ten hours of sleep, and having to pee, getting up was usually something that occurred fairly early (long before motorhomers awakened if I was in a campground). steve

[@The-GreenHornet]

@@EZSteve Makes sense