Trikes on gravel roads?

"Bikerchief" wrote:...

Quoted message said:

I live out it the country and have to ride down 3 miles of gravel roads to get ot the paved roads.
I find it almost impossible to ride down these roads on my V2 after they have laid down rock. The
rocks are anywhere from marble size to ping pong ball size.

I was wondering whether a trike could handle these conditions? Does anyone have any experience on
rocky roads with Trikes?

Thanks

Dan, I go camping/touring with my Lightfoot trikes (Transporter, Roadrunner, Courier) and find them
excellent on gravel/rocky roads.

Freshly graded gravel roads are tough slogging though, especially after rain. Barry Davidson

--
"There is more to life than increasing its speed." -Gandhi

Dan,

A couple years back I tried to ride a fairly rough Rail Trail on a Rans Stratus and was not
impressed. This last year I tried the same ride on my Greenspeed GTO, still .not. impressed. The
small tires and no suspension did not make it.

Greenspeed is now offering suspension as an option I believe. Optima has for some time. But, I guess
that I would want to ride a trike on a similiar surface before I would lay out the money. I love my
GTO, but I stay off rugged trails and roads.

Gary McCarty, Greenspeed GTO, Salt Lake City

[email hidden] (Bikerchief) wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I live out it the country and have to ride down 3 miles of gravel roads to get ot the paved roads.
I find it almost impossible to ride down these roads on my V2 after they have laid down rock. The
rocks are anywhere from marble size to ping pong ball size.

I was wondering whether a trike could handle these conditions? Does anyone have any experience on
rocky roads with Trikes?

Thanks

Dan

[email hidden] (Bikerchief) wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I live out it the country and have to ride down 3 miles of gravel roads to get ot the paved roads.
I find it almost impossible to ride down these roads on my V2 after they have laid down rock. The
rocks are anywhere from marble size to ping pong ball size.

I was wondering whether a trike could handle these conditions? Does anyone have any experience on
rocky roads with Trikes?

Thanks

Dan

While I don't own a trike right now, I'll bet they're perfect for gravel roads- there's no way you
can fall over.

It'd be a little dustier, but I bet you'd go a lot quicker on a trike than on a bike on
loose-surface roads. Check with Greenspeed- they've had people ride around Australia, on all sorts
of surfaces. If they can survive thousands of miles of dirt roads with touring loads, your 3 miles
of gravel will be a piece of cake.

Jeff

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Bikerchief
I live out it the country and have to ride down 3 miles of gravel roads to get ot the paved roads. I
find it almost impossible to ride down these roads on my V2 after they have laid down rock. The
rocks are anywhere from marble size to ping pong ball size.

I was wondering whether a trike could handle these conditions? Does anyone have any experience on
rocky roads with Trikes?

Thanks

Dan

A lot of the low end concession trikes such as Trailmate and its competitors are marketted for beach and campground use, so its certainly doable.

On soft gravel, unlike pavement, more tire footprint translates to less resistant since you ride on top of the loose gravel rather than sink, so wider tire upgrades might be considered. If you are travelling significant distances on the pavement and have chances to secure a wide wheelset or partial wheel set, you might carry thin wheels while traversing the gravel, put the thin wheels on at the pavement and securly chain the wide wheels till your return.

You might also need consider trikes with above average ground clearance since you likely will see more bumps on gravel than on pavement.

Mountain quads are intended for off road use - but extremely pricey. Ameritricruiser has 3 1/2 rear suspension travel. Sun has the EZ-3, EZ-3 aluminum, and is comming out with a high tadpole.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Jeff Wills
[B][email hidden] (Bikerchief) wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I live out it the country and have to ride down 3 miles of gravel roads to get ot the paved roads.
I find it almost impossible to ride down these roads on my V2 after they have laid down rock. The
rocks are anywhere from marble size to ping pong ball size.

I was wondering whether a trike could handle these conditions? Does anyone have any experience on
rocky roads with Trikes?

Thanks

Dan

Jeff Wills said:

While I don't own a trike right now, I'll bet they're perfect for gravel roads- there's no way you
can fall over.

It'd be a little dustier, but I bet you'd go a lot quicker on a trike than on a bike on
loose-surface roads....

The only HPV's I have found to work well in gravel from a control point of view are trikes and MTB's
with knobby tires. The MTB is faster on gravel in my experience, but very uncomfortable compared to
a rear suspended tadpole trike.

Tom Sherman - Recumbent Pedant Curmudgeon

"Don't Have a Cow, Man!" - Bart Simpson

Unfortunately, yes. Trikes do not handle gravel well. You get hit by stones, and with Tioga Comp
Poole or Primo tires, you don't get much traction. A couple of months ago, I was on the Schuykill
Century (doing the 38 mile ride) with my Penninger, and had to go over several miles of extremely
rough towpath, followed by slippery cobblestones.

The trike did a lot of bouncing on the gravel, but made it through. It could not make the
cobblestone stretch because is was very short, steep, uneven and slippery. The drive wheel kept
slipping. I ended up walking that stretch.

The return trip on the towpath caused my brake mounting bolt to vibrate loose, and have the brake
caliper dig into my tire. I had to stop and reset the brakes. Once I got home I loctited the screw.

To make a long story short, nothing will beat a mountain bike on gravel.

Poiter said:

The MR Swift Explorer with 3 wheel suspension will happily ride over a 4"x4" piece of wood on any
wheel with very little effect on the rider. This is an Australian trike manufacturer - available
in USA through dealers. Photo here: 150.203.47.54SV300325.htmlOpen ↗ Pete OzHPV
Canberra

In the US, 4"x4" dimension lumber is approximately 3.5"x3.5" due to drying shrinkage and planing of
the rough cut lumber (which is nominally 4"x4"😉.

Tom Sherman - Recumbent Pedant Curmudgeon

"Don't Have a Cow, Man!" - Bart Simpson

[email hidden] (Bikerchief) wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

I live out it the country and have to ride down 3 miles of gravel roads to get ot the paved roads.
I find it almost impossible to ride down these roads on my V2 after they have laid down rock. The
rocks are anywhere from marble size to ping pong ball size.

I was wondering whether a trike could handle these conditions? Does anyone have any experience on
rocky roads with Trikes?

Thanks

Dan

I own a Swift trike which I do ride on unpaved road (gravel). It does a good job handling and
moving, however,somewhat slower than on a regular road. On a trip in Texas Hill Country, I rode 27
miles on a gravel road, and it felt comfortable. My trike doesn't have shocks, but a new Swift
Adventure does. You can find it at mrrecumbenttrikes.commrrecumbenttrikes.comOpen ↗.

Victor Swift triker

Gary Mc said:

A couple years back I tried to ride a fairly rough Rail Trail on a Rans Stratus and was not
impressed. This last year I tried the same ride on my Greenspeed GTO, still .not. impressed. The
small tires and no suspension did not make it.

I don't know how rough your Rail Trail was, but I was recently in Salt Lake City with my Gold Rush
and found a very nice road that climbs out of Bountiful. I think it's called Skyline Drive. Just
above the last of the new development in Bountiful, the road turns to dirt, a bit rough and rocky in
places, but rideable. I rode up to the top of the ridge almost 4000 feet above Lake level but ran
out of daylight to press on and do the entire loop down Farmington Canyon and back into Bountiful,
so I turned around and coasted all the way back the way I had come. The Gold Rush (and I'd assume
the Stratus) handles these kinds of roads easily. You might consider trying this road. The view
isn't bad either.

--
Bill Bushnell

Gary Mc <[email hidden]> wrote:

: A couple years back I tried to ride a fairly rough Rail Trail on a Rans Stratus and was not
: impressed. This last year I tried the same ride on my Greenspeed GTO, still .not. impressed. The
: small tires and no suspension did not make it.

I imagine a trike would be a very rough ride.

Maybe it's just fat tires and a full suspension bent with the coils set to soft that the OP would
need. I had the opportunity to ride a Street Machine with said type of suspension around a
parking lot with nice bumps this summer and man did it feel like... umm riding on some comfy
ultra-soft stuff.

--
Risto Varanka | helsinki.fihpv.htmlOpen ↗ varis at no spam please iki fi

Depends on the tires and how stiff the frame is. If you run the high pressure road tires designed
mainly for smooth rolling and speed, they'll likely be a little harsh on the gravel. If the frame of
the trike is pretty rigid, that too will make it hard. If the frame has a little flex, or you have
rear suspension, it'll probably be much better. Running slightly fatter tires that aren't as hard
will help too. I build my trikes with long, unsupported mild steel chainstays and no suspension.
They're 15" (on average) from the cross brace in front of the rear wheel to the rear drop out. It
gives me over an inch of travel and myself and a couple others often go triking down some local
mountain bike trails in the bush. No stump jumping or anything like that, but very acceptable ride,
and I have back pain and some rods and screws in my back. My 2nd trike had a stiffer, triangulated
rear end, and it was about as subtle as a bull dozer on bumps.

The thing you need to decide, is how much of your highway speed do you want to trade off for comfort
on the gravel. I haven't built a suspended trike yet, but I've ridden a couple. Quite likely a rear
suspended trike would be the comfort solution while still keeping the road tires.

"Bikerchief" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I live out it the country and have to ride down 3 miles of gravel roads to get ot the paved roads.
I find it almost impossible to ride down these roads on my V2 after they have laid down rock. The
rocks are anywhere from marble size to ping pong ball size.

I was wondering whether a trike could handle these conditions? Does anyone have any experience on
rocky roads with Trikes?

Thanks

Dan

meb <[email hidden]> wrote:
: wider tire upgrades might be considered. If you are travelling significant distances on the
: pavement and have chances to secure a wide wheelset or partial wheel set, you might carry thin
: wheels while traversing the gravel, put the thin wheels on at the pavement and securly chain the
: wide wheels till your return.

You'd need wheels with a quick release, of course...

: You might also need consider trikes with above average ground clearance since you likely will see
: more bumps on gravel than on pavement.

Wouldn't a normal touring trike with a bit over 10 cm of clearance be just fine for most
gravel roads?

--
Risto Varanka | helsinki.fihpv.htmlOpen ↗ varis at no spam please iki fi