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!"
No comments:
Post a Comment