The Rover Has Landed!

  Well the TerraTrike Rover arrived today.  It arrived boxed, but I was surprised to see, fully assembled.  I checked air-pressure on the tires, added some air to them, read the warning read me before you ride paper, and I was gone!  Even as a three speed, it was well worth the wait.  I felt like a kid again, pedaling up the hill and then coasting back down.  It was everything I expected and more.  OK, let me be a bit more concrete.

Steering - Very responsive but not what I would call squirrelly.

Brakes - More than sufficient.  You will have to get used to providing the same pressure on both brakes at the same time in order to stop in a straight line.  You will pick this up quickly.  Or you can just grab one side hard for some brake steering.  Don't do this until you have had a lot of practice at very low speeds.  Do this wrong and you are getting thrown off the trike.  Also, for braking, don't just grab both brakes and squeeze as hard as you can.  The brakes have enough stopping power to stop the trike in situations where you are going fast enough you won't be stopping with the trike.  You will get launched from the bike.  The coolest part about that is that after being launched from the trike you will no longer be holding on to the brakes.  Which means if you were going down hill, you have the possibility of running over yourself with your own trike...  Again, start off slow, and as you get used to your trike, brakes will be easy.

Pedaling - I live in a very hilly area.  The three speed will have no problem climbing most hills.  I haven't had any problems yet, but am shooting for even hillier areas tomorrow.  However, the three speed will run out of top end well before you do.  Pedaling uphill in third speed, I could have shifted up another gear and been very happy to have more speed.  I strongly suggest ordering the eight speed.  If you can't get an eight speed because they are all sold out, when you buy the three speed get ready to sling some money into a shimano 8  speed hub, a new 8 speed shifter, and paying the local bike shop mechanic to re-lace your rear wheel (quite possibly paying for new spokes as well).  If you think you may go that route, check back in on my blog, as I will be having that done to my trike in just a few days.  I will be posting about the difference in handling right after I get the trike back.

Safety - Yeah, I know, this should have been first.  But here goes.  Here is what you will need to add to your  trike.  A Helmet, so yeah, it goes on your head.  But this trike is faster then the bike you had when you where a kid, and handles differently.  Get a helmet.  Flags - you are sitting lower then cars and you need them to see you.  Add a pair of bicycle flags at eye level to a sedan.  I bought regular bicycle flags, and used a hobby miter hand saw to shorten them to the right length.  Lights - You will need at least one head light (but two look cool if you put one on each handlebar) and one tail light.  Reflective tape - put it every where, getting seen equals a less chance of being run over.  I bicycle bell - you could just scream as you pass others, but then they might catch you later.  A bell is a kinder way to say "Excuse me, coming through".

Customizing - of course I am.  Aren't you?!  Stay tuned, I will be posting pictures.

Summary - This trike is everything I dreamed it would be, as far as the ride goes.  Don't lose track of the fact that I intend on breaking the trike down to separate smaller packages, and mailing to myself in Afghanistan.  But for now, I'm a kid again.  The best way I can describe the Rover experience (and my wife agreed after she took it for a test spin) is it handles kind of like a go-cart.  It feels like you are going even faster then you are, because you are so close to the ground.  Still you aren't as low to the ground as most other trikes, which makes it easy to just stand up when you're done pedaling.  I would strongly recommend buying one for commuting, riding around a college campus, getting back into shape (that's me) or for just plain fun.  It is worth saying again, buy the eight speed model.

I would write more, but I need to go out to the garage and take my trike for a spin one more time tonight.  I do understand why there are so few posts by people who have bought one of these.  They are too busy pedaling!

Oh, and the guys at the El Paso Bike Shop loved it!  Just sitting still it says, "Ride me, we will go fast and have fun!"

The Second Phone Call

Yep, I got another phone call today.  This one was from the friendly folks at UPS.  They wanted to make sure the delivery was to a residence, and then to set up a delivery time.  OK, so the delivery time was between 12:00 and 16:00.  Try nailing down the cable company to that kind of schedule!  So the Rover arrives on Tuesday.

There will be pictures and video of the Rover being assembled by a non-professional (me).  However, I have prepared.  I have watched the Youtube video from TerraTrike several times on how to assemble the Rover.  Having never assembled one before, I still expect it to go rather quickly.  It just doesn't look very difficult.

Tuesday, hmm, today is Friday, but it's in the evening, so I won't count it.  That leaves Saturday, Sunday and Monday.  I won't count Tuesday because I will actually receive the Rover on Tuesday.  So by my count, I have three days to wait...  Maybe I will go to the bike store and pick up a flag and a few other accessories on Saturday.  Get the tools set up for the arrival.  That way I'n not really waiting on Saturday, I'm preparing.

I hate waiting...

The Phone Call

I had been expecting an email from TerraTrike telling me that my Rover had been shipped.  I got a phone call today instead.  They wanted to know what color I wanted the stickers on my trike to be (purple of course).  Oh, and by the way, the Rover won't ship until next week now.  I didn't even bother to complain.  I don't think most people would even care that I'm going back to Afghanistan in less then 30 days.  Or that I need time to custom build plywood shipping containers for each part so it can be sent via USPS to my base.

Now don't get me wrong.  I think the Rover is a great solution to my needs, and well worth waiting for.  But that phone call seemed a little silly.  What kind of question was that?!  Of course I would want the details to be purple.  Purple is a cool color.  I'm a cool guy.  The question should never have been needed to be asked.  Maybe they've never seen a picture of me?

On the other hand, I unpacked my welding equipment.  I have some stock square tubing lying around.  If I can only find a donor bike laying around, I may whip up a recumbent two wheeler to help pass the time...

I would spend more time being witty, but I have this strange urge to go find a cheap used bike.  I got the welding equipment, a chop saw, a grinder, and I'm feeling just a little bit wild.

Why I Ordered from the Manufacturer

I hadn't mentioned that I had ordered direct from the manufacturer.  I did look into making the purchase locally, but no one carried, much less had in stock, a TerraTrike of any model, much less the Rover.

I see no point in ordering something through a bike shop if I can get it faster by having it delivered to my door.  Anyway, the Rover is advertised as being very easy to break down and re-assemble.  How hard could it be to put it together myself when it arrives?!  For a fee, you could have the Rover delivered quicker, so of course I paid up in hopes of having more time to test ride it before I ship it to Afghanistan.

The lady I spoke with while ordering the Rover from TerraTrike was very helpful.  So far, I would give the company an A+ for the purchasing experience.

So now I wait, thinking happy thoughts of pedaling my very own Rover.  Wondering as I wait, where are all the cool videos on youtube of other new owners riding, assembling, customizing and enjoying their Rovers?  Never fear gentle readers, for I shall address those inadequacies as well!

The Bike is Ordered!

The Rover has been ordered. I could not get the 8 speed I wanted, they are sold out. So, I ordered a three speed. But I will have an 8 speed. I went to the bike shop and had a Shimano 8 speed hub ordered. They will lace it into my rear wheel when the trike arrives. The shimano part will be here by Wednesday, my trike by Friday. I have to have the Rover ASAP, because I will need to build plywood shipping containers for the different pieces, so I can mail them. I will assemble it myself when the trike arrives, test ride it as a three speed, and then take it in for the shimano upgrade.

The Shimano 8 speed hub has the same dimensions as the original Sturmey Archer hub, so there should be no problem having the hubs swapped.

Are we there yet?

So What's This About?

I have ordered a TerraTrike Rover. After digging through the internet, I have found over 90% of articles available are just copy and pastes from the manufacturer news releases. The other 10% seem to be from folks who have spent a lot of time on the recumbent or bike scene and are what I would consider professionals.

Not the information I was looking for. So here it is, my fix for the rest of you and a way to track my adventures for me.

So, why did I choose a Rover? I need something that can handle my weight (265 pounds) and can be broken down small enough that I can mail the pieces through United States Postal Service. I also wanted the sealed hub for gears, because of the flour consistency of the sand in the area I will be riding. Do some of those requirements sound a little odd? Well, here's why.

I spend a lot of time on a base in Afghanistan. I need a way to work out, but don't have any time, as I work 12+ hours a day seven days a week. The speed limit is 12.5 miles an hour, my place of work is a little over 6 miles from my tent. I hope to pedal fast enough that I can get a workout en-route to the office (a shipping container) without losing any time I usually spend productive in my workplace.  I can bypass customs by using the U.S. Mail System. Otherwise, I have no idea how I could get a trike through Afghanistan customs.  Mail call.

Before this I had purchased a mountain bike from the Post Exchange. How can I say this? It didn't work out. I was too heavy for the bike, the tiny little seat was painful. But I knew I needed to pedal my way to a healthier me. I started looking at recumbents, but could find nothing that I could mail to myself. Then I found the Rover. So, here goes my adventure!