trikeman
05-28-2008, 06:16 PM
I didn't want to hijack the other Tadpole thread anymore than we already did, so thought I would bring this here. I decided to stop in to my local bike shop today and drool over the store-bought tadpoles.
They had a Greenspeed, a Cattrike, and a a Terra Trike on display. All had the 20" rear wheels, and I was struck by how small these bikes are. I could probably carry one on the back of my DW :) The Greenspeed had a folding boom. I believe it would fit in the trunk of my car folded up.
Anyway I told the guy I was just browsing, which is about all I could do since the prices were $1,500, $2500, and $3,000 on them. They were beauties for sure. Nice and shiny and new, with that new-bike-smell.
What was interesting (to me anyway) was that the Terra Trike had bronze bushings in a set up a lot like what Brad showed as his first try. The Cattrike had Cane head stock king pins, and the Greenspeed (at $3,000) had bushings, as well. I asked the guy who owns the place if people liked the bushings. He said, "They do have a bit of play in them." I smiled.
Then, I looked at the cross members. All of them were in the same plane as the main boom, where they came across. I remembered Brad saying that he put the crossmember above the boom to give him more chain clearance. Sure enough they all were having to bend the chain more to get under the cross member. I asked if those pulleys were noisey, since all were smaller (like 2" or so) than the ones on our creations. He said they made a bit of noise. I smiled again.
With the 20" rear wheels, the rear derailer on the Greenspeed was almost touching the ground. It had maybe 1.5" of clearance. I also noticed that the Cattrike only had a Sora derailer. That seemed kind of low end for a $2.500 bike. I asked about top speed with those tiny 20" rear wheels. He said the Greenspeed had a 9 tooth sprocket on the rear for top end. Nice bar-end shifters though. They seemed as nice as the down-tube indexed shifters on my road bike, but they are at least Shimano 105s.
Anyway, I didn't buy anything. They were all pretty bikes, but for the price I could build 5 Street Foxes with really nice new equipment. I didn't examine the paint jobs critically (or the welds). I didn't want to appear too nosey. Maybe next time.
They had a Greenspeed, a Cattrike, and a a Terra Trike on display. All had the 20" rear wheels, and I was struck by how small these bikes are. I could probably carry one on the back of my DW :) The Greenspeed had a folding boom. I believe it would fit in the trunk of my car folded up.
Anyway I told the guy I was just browsing, which is about all I could do since the prices were $1,500, $2500, and $3,000 on them. They were beauties for sure. Nice and shiny and new, with that new-bike-smell.
What was interesting (to me anyway) was that the Terra Trike had bronze bushings in a set up a lot like what Brad showed as his first try. The Cattrike had Cane head stock king pins, and the Greenspeed (at $3,000) had bushings, as well. I asked the guy who owns the place if people liked the bushings. He said, "They do have a bit of play in them." I smiled.
Then, I looked at the cross members. All of them were in the same plane as the main boom, where they came across. I remembered Brad saying that he put the crossmember above the boom to give him more chain clearance. Sure enough they all were having to bend the chain more to get under the cross member. I asked if those pulleys were noisey, since all were smaller (like 2" or so) than the ones on our creations. He said they made a bit of noise. I smiled again.
With the 20" rear wheels, the rear derailer on the Greenspeed was almost touching the ground. It had maybe 1.5" of clearance. I also noticed that the Cattrike only had a Sora derailer. That seemed kind of low end for a $2.500 bike. I asked about top speed with those tiny 20" rear wheels. He said the Greenspeed had a 9 tooth sprocket on the rear for top end. Nice bar-end shifters though. They seemed as nice as the down-tube indexed shifters on my road bike, but they are at least Shimano 105s.
Anyway, I didn't buy anything. They were all pretty bikes, but for the price I could build 5 Street Foxes with really nice new equipment. I didn't examine the paint jobs critically (or the welds). I didn't want to appear too nosey. Maybe next time.