A
Artemisia
Guest
About this time last year I was spiritually - but not yet materially -
bitten by the Dark Side. The obvious merits of a recumbent trike, for
someone with balance problems and very heavy, extremely bruisable flesh,
became hard to ignore, and I spent many hours when I should have been
more gainfully employed, drooling over the Trice T. The thread
(http://tinyurl.com/yppgk3), which some of you might remember, went on
and on, and taught me a great deal.
Well, the yearnings have come back, but with more parameters. I want
commuter and touring functions, and need to face hilly ground. I must be
able, not only to get on trains and planes with the trike, but also to
transport it to the station or airport, with other luggage, unaided. I
do not drive and have no access to a car. Paris taxis are outrageaously
expensive and surly about accepting unconventional loads. For at least
the past four years, there have been no working elevators at the Gare du
Nord to reach platforms for the UK or the Netherlands, frequent
destinations. I cannot get on escalators because of my balance problems.
The amount I can carry upstairs, asthmatic and cardiac as I am, is very
limited.
Load-bearing capacity is becoming a serious consideration. My Dahon
folding tourer has changed my life - we have already done many splendid
trips together. But I am to heavy for him, and the penalty is non-stop
popping tubes, breaking spokes and warping wheels. Also I cannot carry
any luggage on him at all - even u-lock and water are problematic -
limiting my touring to trips with luggage transfer services. On the
other hand, it is relatively easy with Flyzipper to accept a ride home
from a colleague, or to load him onto the bus or van or indeed barge
that are the support vehicles for my tours.
So I want an easily folding or separating machine, with a good granny
gear range, at least partly shiftable at a standstill, with a load
capacity of at least 300 lb. I'm not totally sure, but I think I prefer
the more upright seat angle. I will have to do some tests, allowing that
almost none of the machines I'm admiring are sold in my area.
I've pretty much eliminated the Trice T from the lineup, because of the
conventional gearing system. I've been looking hard at the Scorpion FX,
though its load capacity is on the low side. Meanwhile, I've become
entranced with the wildly expensive Greenspeed models, especially the
GTO (http://www.greenspeed.com.au/gto.html) and Sheldon Brown's GT3
(http://www.sheldonbrown.org/greenspeed/).
I read the Folding Society's report on the Trice QNT
(http://www.foldsoc.co.uk/triceqnt2.html). While generally favorable,
the reviewer is extremely unconvinced on the transportability issue. He
says "It isn't realistic to regard them as suitable for a daily
train-assisted commute, however clever the folding arrangements might
be. In fact the folded size and weight would probably mean that using a
train to transport one would not be an option." He defends the folding
feature purely on being able to load the trike in a car. But train
transport is essential to my projects.
So can anyone having one of these machines comment on their portability?
Wafflycat, do you ever take Dr Norbert Frosty on trains or planes? Eric
Sandblom, did you finally possess the Scorpion FX you fell in love with
in February and can you tell us how you're getting on?
Has anyone tried the Greenspeeds? The GTO supposedly de-couples and can
be packed into two suitcases, more compactly, they claim,than a folder
into a single case. But are those suitcases standard-size checkable
wheely-pull baggage? And can the Greenspeed carry his cases, when his
cases are not carrying him (else what is one to do with them)?
How do you walk a Dark Side trike? Presumably it's too low to hold the
handlebars and toodle it along-side you like an upright? But there must
be occasions when you need to walk it?
Are there any other hard-line Car-frees on this list? I vowed sometime
around 1970 that I would never own or drive a car until they were
completely non-polluting. I'm still waiting. Meanwhile, environmental
awareness of some others around me is finally catching up with my
adolescent self. Is a really good bent trike like the GTO at least a
partial alternative to a car (it costs nearly as much)?
Finally, given that these machines are faraminously pricey, what do the
proud owners do about insurance, parking, locking? You can't just leave
them at the street corner! Unlike cars they don't have a double set of
keys for doors and ignition. What happens when you need to get off and
visit the castle? Assembled, they won't even fit into standard bike
parking racks.
Cheers all,
EFR
Ile de France
bitten by the Dark Side. The obvious merits of a recumbent trike, for
someone with balance problems and very heavy, extremely bruisable flesh,
became hard to ignore, and I spent many hours when I should have been
more gainfully employed, drooling over the Trice T. The thread
(http://tinyurl.com/yppgk3), which some of you might remember, went on
and on, and taught me a great deal.
Well, the yearnings have come back, but with more parameters. I want
commuter and touring functions, and need to face hilly ground. I must be
able, not only to get on trains and planes with the trike, but also to
transport it to the station or airport, with other luggage, unaided. I
do not drive and have no access to a car. Paris taxis are outrageaously
expensive and surly about accepting unconventional loads. For at least
the past four years, there have been no working elevators at the Gare du
Nord to reach platforms for the UK or the Netherlands, frequent
destinations. I cannot get on escalators because of my balance problems.
The amount I can carry upstairs, asthmatic and cardiac as I am, is very
limited.
Load-bearing capacity is becoming a serious consideration. My Dahon
folding tourer has changed my life - we have already done many splendid
trips together. But I am to heavy for him, and the penalty is non-stop
popping tubes, breaking spokes and warping wheels. Also I cannot carry
any luggage on him at all - even u-lock and water are problematic -
limiting my touring to trips with luggage transfer services. On the
other hand, it is relatively easy with Flyzipper to accept a ride home
from a colleague, or to load him onto the bus or van or indeed barge
that are the support vehicles for my tours.
So I want an easily folding or separating machine, with a good granny
gear range, at least partly shiftable at a standstill, with a load
capacity of at least 300 lb. I'm not totally sure, but I think I prefer
the more upright seat angle. I will have to do some tests, allowing that
almost none of the machines I'm admiring are sold in my area.
I've pretty much eliminated the Trice T from the lineup, because of the
conventional gearing system. I've been looking hard at the Scorpion FX,
though its load capacity is on the low side. Meanwhile, I've become
entranced with the wildly expensive Greenspeed models, especially the
GTO (http://www.greenspeed.com.au/gto.html) and Sheldon Brown's GT3
(http://www.sheldonbrown.org/greenspeed/).
I read the Folding Society's report on the Trice QNT
(http://www.foldsoc.co.uk/triceqnt2.html). While generally favorable,
the reviewer is extremely unconvinced on the transportability issue. He
says "It isn't realistic to regard them as suitable for a daily
train-assisted commute, however clever the folding arrangements might
be. In fact the folded size and weight would probably mean that using a
train to transport one would not be an option." He defends the folding
feature purely on being able to load the trike in a car. But train
transport is essential to my projects.
So can anyone having one of these machines comment on their portability?
Wafflycat, do you ever take Dr Norbert Frosty on trains or planes? Eric
Sandblom, did you finally possess the Scorpion FX you fell in love with
in February and can you tell us how you're getting on?
Has anyone tried the Greenspeeds? The GTO supposedly de-couples and can
be packed into two suitcases, more compactly, they claim,than a folder
into a single case. But are those suitcases standard-size checkable
wheely-pull baggage? And can the Greenspeed carry his cases, when his
cases are not carrying him (else what is one to do with them)?
How do you walk a Dark Side trike? Presumably it's too low to hold the
handlebars and toodle it along-side you like an upright? But there must
be occasions when you need to walk it?
Are there any other hard-line Car-frees on this list? I vowed sometime
around 1970 that I would never own or drive a car until they were
completely non-polluting. I'm still waiting. Meanwhile, environmental
awareness of some others around me is finally catching up with my
adolescent self. Is a really good bent trike like the GTO at least a
partial alternative to a car (it costs nearly as much)?
Finally, given that these machines are faraminously pricey, what do the
proud owners do about insurance, parking, locking? You can't just leave
them at the street corner! Unlike cars they don't have a double set of
keys for doors and ignition. What happens when you need to get off and
visit the castle? Assembled, they won't even fit into standard bike
parking racks.
Cheers all,
EFR
Ile de France