More flats with trikes?

Do you get more flats with a trike? After all you have three tracks you have to steer through the
bad stuff instead of just one.

Then again, on upright bikes I never seem to get flats from glass or noisy icky plastic stuff I ride
through... it's always something I didn't notice, like a thorn... Currently 7000+ km with no flats
at all, *knock on plastic imitation of wood*

--
Risto Varanka | http://www.helsinki.fi/~rvaranka/hpv/hpv.html varis at no spam please iki fi

 

My wife and I ride delta trikes on mainly city streets and gravel paths. Our experience has been one
flat for each of us in about 17 miles. This is not much difference than our experience on 2 wheel
recumbents. I would have expected fewer flats on the trikes because of the total weight more or less
divided over 3 wheels rather than 2.

Perhaps over time this may yet prove to be true.

Larry

On 14 Jun 2003 [email protected] wrote:

> Do you get more flats with a trike? After all you have three tracks you have to steer through the
> bad stuff instead of just one.
>
> Then again, on upright bikes I never seem to get flats from glass or noisy icky plastic stuff I
> ride through... it's always something I didn't notice, like a thorn... Currently 7000+ km with no
> flats at all, *knock on plastic imitation of wood*

 

On Sat, 14 Jun 2003, Larry Webber wrote:

Oops. That's 1700 miles =)

>
> My wife and I ride delta trikes on mainly city streets and gravel paths. Our experience has been
> one flat for each of us in about 17 miles. This is not much difference than our experience on 2
> wheel recumbents. I would have expected fewer flats on the trikes because of the total weight more
> or less divided over 3 wheels rather than 2.
>
> Perhaps over time this may yet prove to be true.
>
> Larry

 

I have (never) had a flat since I was age 14. Either I am the luckiest SOB on the planet or the G-DS
figured I had replaced far more than my fair share of tires prior to age 14 and it was time others
got flats. From age 3 to 14 I must have averaged 2 flats a week and it drove my dad nuts...but
having 2 cousins with their own bicycle shop made it easier. They used to order 100 tires wholesale
once a year (just for
me). I had this theory that either tire compounds took a giant leap forward because of kids like me
OR plastic soda pop bottles became popular and people stopped tossing their glass bottles out
their car windows for kids like me to run over. I did however taco lots of wheels and destroy hub
axles in my day and am still doing that.

I replace my Slick tires once a year and use knobbies in winters and so none of my tires are on the
2 or 3 wheel bents more than 8 months.

On 14 Jun 2003 13:33:17 GMT, [email protected] wrote:

>Do you get more flats with a trike? After all you have three tracks you have to steer through the
>bad stuff instead of just one.
>
>Then again, on upright bikes I never seem to get flats from glass or noisy icky plastic stuff I
>ride through... it's always something I didn't notice, like a thorn... Currently 7000+ km with no
>flats at all, *knock on plastic imitation of wood*

 

Had a trike (Jouta) for about two years, sold it because I got sick of mending punctures! With
modern tires (say Schwalbe Marathon) it should be less of a problem though. I certainly hope so:
right now I want a Flevobike Versatile velomobile. Actually, with a lowracer you can't "see and
avoid" road debris either, and I hardly ever have a flat these days.

Mark van Gorkom.

 

[email protected] (Mark van Gorkom) wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...

> Actually, with a lowracer you can't "see and avoid" road debris either, and I hardly ever have a
> flat these days.

Good Grief! There is no way in this world I want to ride anything on two wheels where I can't "see
and avoid" road debris. This may be the fatal flaw to all low racers if true. The worst accident I
ever had was on my RANS (Tom might be looking so I gotta spell it right) V2 with the Meuller fairing
which prevented me from seeing a crack in the road. No thank you! I want to see the road up ahead of
me every inch of the way at all times.

Ed Dolan - Minnesota

 

So far this year, with about equal miles, it's DF three flats (one was spoke problem), trike zero.
It did, however, take me a while to automatically put obstacles between the wheels.

>> Do you get more flats with a trike?

 

thats what Thorn-proof tubes are for!

 

Mark van Gorkom wrote:
>
> Had a trike (Jouta) for about two years, sold it because I got sick of mending punctures! With
> modern tires (say Schwalbe Marathon) it should be less of a problem though. I certainly hope so:
> right now I want a Flevobike Versatile velomobile. Actually, with a lowracer you can't "see and
> avoid" road debris either, and I hardly ever have a flat these days.

I have no problem seeing road debris while riding my Sunset.

Tom Sherman - Various HPV's Quad Cities USA (Illinois side)

 

Tom Sherman <[email protected]> wrote in news:[email protected]:

>
> Mark van Gorkom wrote:
>>
>> Had a trike (Jouta) for about two years, sold it because I got sick of mending punctures! With
>> modern tires (say Schwalbe Marathon) it should be less of a problem though. I certainly hope so:
>> right now I want a Flevobike Versatile velomobile. Actually, with a lowracer you can't "see and
>> avoid" road debris either, and I hardly ever have a flat these days.
>
> I have no problem seeing road debris while riding my Sunset.
>
> Tom Sherman - Various HPV's Quad Cities USA (Illinois side)
>

I'm on my 2nd trike and 2nd year of triking. Haven't had a flat yet.