Commuting on the trike

This last week has been great. Mostly because there were only four work days, but also because I got to commute with my trike. Riding on the trike is much better than riding the bike. It is so comfortable and makes going to work a totally different experience. My wrists and hands don't hurt anymore an d I'm having a lot of fun.

The first day of riding in the streets with cars it became very evident how much lower I am in the trike. Instead of being able to see over small cars I am now at the height of their doors. I also can't ride all the way in the shoulder anymore due to the width of the trike, which means I have to depend on the mirror a lot to see if there is anyone behind me. The mirror that came with my trike is nice, but it doesn't stick out far enough. I get a good view of my bicep, but can't see behind me very well. So, my first modification was to extend my mirror out an extra inch. It took me about 1/2 hour at Home Depot to find the right parts, but I was able to tweak it for less than $3. I got a 2" machine screw to replace the 1" default screw and then I was able to find some 1/2" spacers that had the same outside diameter as the mirror rod. The inside diameter was two big to allow the assembly to be screwed together straightly, so I found two smaller spacers that fit inside the larger spacers. The whole thing screwed together nicely. The spacers were white though, so I used a black Sharpie pen and colored them in to make them match. The whole project worked out very well and made a huge difference. I now have a much better view of cars coming up behind me and I feel much safer now.

Besides the mirror, my only irritation with the trike has been the loud rumbling from the rear idler. Everytime I pedal I can hear the chain bumping over the plastic wheels. I really wanted to get a better idler like the one in the front of my trike from Terracycle. According to their website, they only had a front unit available for sale. I decided to email them and see if they had something that would work. I heard back from Robert at Terracycle, and he told me that they actually did have one, but they weren't shipping it quite yet. If I was interested in one they could send me one. I told him to ship it to me and I got it today.

The new unit mounts in the same place as the stock idler but is considerably longer. On the drive side it has a sprocket and on the return side it has a strong super-slick plastic ring. The unit has two Abec-7 bearings and a modified shaft that allows the whole idler unit to slide to the left or right allowing it to line up with the chain best. The whole unit installed in about 5 minutes. When I got on the trike to test it out I was immediately impressed. There is no more noise from the idlers. The only noise I hear now is the chain rolling over the front sprocket and rear derailer. It is a stealth trike now. Riding home with the new idlers was great. It feels very smooth now instead of the previous bumpy feeling. I recommend the Terracycle idlers to any recumbent rider.

I've noticed that when I encounter people while riding the trike their reactions tend to be different than when I'm riding a bicycle. With the trike they tend to give me more room on the road. They wave a give me the thumbs up. I constantly hear comments like "I want one of those!"