I am fortunate enough to have a Catrike Trail which has 3 x 20” wheels, a Catrike 559 with a 26” and the super fast Catrike 700. I ride thousands of miles per year(10k last year). The Trail is best for riding in hilly areas and is most maneuverable but not as safe feeling in rapid descents. The 559 is by far the most comfortable for long rides and touring and a joy to ride in any conditions. The 700 is an absolute fast beast, stable in rapid declines and has the largest turning radius . If riding a long level paved rail trail it can be ridden at high speed forever and is much lighter than the others. The high pressure thin tires make for a harsher ride so I select my trike for the day’s ride based on the type of trail I am riding. They are all great and if I had to buy just one for everyday comfort, speed and best general,use it would be the 26” 559.
Since youre a trike hoarder: id like to add a 26" rear to my terra gran touris. Its 24" now. Reason? Obstical roll-over and mild off-road comfort with better 26" tire options. Id be swapping between 24"-26" depending on planned trip. So any tips? PS, rear cassettes would be compensated for
I love your videos, here's my 2 cents. The speed seems to me to be only part of the overall gearing of a trike. I understand that the difference in size of wheels also includes the amount of traction on the road surface, especially rough, uneven surfaces. For those who take trikes off road or on bumpy paths, the lateral forces on the frame using larger wheels are higher than those for smaller wheels. Then there's ground clearance, which plays its part if you need to go over grassy rocky terrain and such (especially off road) often larger wheels are more suited for this and have the advantage of keeping the deraileur higher off the ground, minimizing its ability to pick up twigs and dirt that could block it up. I'm no expert, so I'd love to hear your thoughts.
My first trike was a gt3, very nimble, but didn't handle at speed very well compared to the magnum big wheel I bought new. The gt3 was notably slower than the magnum bw by nearly 10 kmh due to gearing, but considering the handling at speed it was safer that way.
Would replacing 20" wheels with 24" wheels on a Terratrike Mavrick raise the frame significantly? I'm thinking it would make mounting the trike easier for people with physical challenges.
Essentially that is what the TerraTrike Rambler is. Each manufacturer designs their trikes for specific wheel sizes. Altering the size would alter the engineers intention for the model, hurting performance.
I have a 20" wheeled recumbent trike from "Trident Trekker" and i love the 20" wheel and yes i dominate the hills but I have a 20" with a 10 speed cassette in the rear and a 3 ring front crank. But the problem im having is when im in the middle ring in the front and the 1st gear in the back my derailleur hits the ground, i could go for a shorter cage but that would mean giving up some of the range of gears i have. How could i fix this problem with out changing everything on my bike 😢😊
Not anything about the tire/wheel size…… how do you have your trikes hung on the wall. It is something I need to do to save room in my garage and stop having to tough it out by putting it in the basement each winter. Thanks.
Great question! You can use a bike hanger - we use the TerraTrike version since it's heavy-duty - and screw it into a stud in the wall. Then you just lift the trike up and hook the back wheel, voila!
The advantage of normal wheels, 650B, 700C is you can easiy and much cheaper find high quality wheel. For smaller sizes you are stuck with children wheels or you have to pay an insane amount of money to have a hand made wheel.
Micky, I enjoy your videos but I think you may have made a mistake in this one. Starting off from a dead stop I don't think you can get a 26 inch wheel to spin up faster than a 16 or 20 inch wheel but the 26 inch wheel retains it's inertia longer than the smaller wheels.
@@SuperAWaC No sir, from what I have seen it makes a huge difference. Of course the Gear Inch Final Drive would have to be comparable for an accurate comparison but Brompton for example nearly always dominates the folding bike races held every year in England with their 16 inch wheels. Greenspeed still has the fastest recumbent trike on the market with their Aero also with 16 inch wheels. My own Gekko with 20's always surprises a lot of riders how fast I can get off the line with it when compared to their 26 or 700 back wheels. I don't stay out front for long though because I'm an old fart. :)
@daytriker Thanks for the feedback! I believe the intention was that a full rotation of a 26" propels you further from the get-go compared to a smaller wheel :)
Considering the weight of rider and trike/bike, and the effort required to accelerate, nobody could tell the difference in acceleration due to inertia of wheel size unless the trike/bike was on a stand with the wheels off the ground.
I’m basically at the point where I’m going to have to commission a trike entirely to get the things I want out of it, like a frame that can accommodate 500lbs so I don’t have to lose weight BEFORE getting back into biking, but also electric hubs, because awd on trails is gonna be important to me, and 29” wheels, because that’s what my last mountain bike had, and after you go over a curb on 29s, you’ll never go back to 26.
@@arm279145 i mean no offence....but just get a golfcart. All that extra defeats purpose of a bike. A canopy and fairing are counter intutive. Is your wt mostly fat or are you large frame (like NFL large frame). If its fat, spend cash on trainer to get down to 300lbs then start biking
@@crabtrap I mean really what I’m looking to build is a recumbent electric awd trike, not tricycle. Just so happens that the tricycles have a very similar frame layout to what I’m looking for.
I have a Rambler with the 24" wheels. I do some of my riding off road so ground clearance is a plus. Electric assist is a game changer
I am fortunate enough to have a Catrike Trail which has 3 x 20” wheels, a Catrike 559 with a 26” and the super fast Catrike 700. I ride thousands of miles per year(10k last year). The Trail is best for riding in hilly areas and is most maneuverable but not as safe feeling in rapid descents. The 559 is by far the most comfortable for long rides and touring and a joy to ride in any conditions. The 700 is an absolute fast beast, stable in rapid declines and has the largest turning radius . If riding a long level paved rail trail it can be ridden at high speed forever and is much lighter than the others. The high pressure thin tires make for a harsher ride so I select my trike for the day’s ride based on the type of trail I am riding. They are all great and if I had to buy just one for everyday comfort, speed and best general,use it would be the 26” 559.
Since youre a trike hoarder: id like to add a 26" rear to my terra gran touris. Its 24" now. Reason? Obstical roll-over and mild off-road comfort with better 26" tire options. Id be swapping between 24"-26" depending on planned trip. So any tips? PS, rear cassettes would be compensated for
In addition to tire diameter, you might discuss the impacts of tire width.
Not mentioned: 26" and 700c, 29",27.5 have many tire options. Also, bigger is better for rolling over obsticals like roots,rocks.
I love your videos, here's my 2 cents.
The speed seems to me to be only part of the overall gearing of a trike.
I understand that the difference in size of wheels also includes the amount of traction on the road surface, especially rough, uneven surfaces.
For those who take trikes off road or on bumpy paths, the lateral forces on the frame using larger wheels are higher than those for smaller wheels.
Then there's ground clearance, which plays its part if you need to go over grassy rocky terrain and such (especially off road) often larger wheels are more suited for this and have the advantage of keeping the deraileur higher off the ground, minimizing its ability to pick up twigs and dirt that could block it up.
I'm no expert, so I'd love to hear your thoughts.
My first trike was a gt3, very nimble, but didn't handle at speed very well compared to the magnum big wheel I bought new. The gt3 was notably slower than the magnum bw by nearly 10 kmh due to gearing, but considering the handling at speed it was safer that way.
Very informational video sir 🇮🇳🇮🇳🇮🇳
Great video thanks 😊
Thanks for watching!
Would replacing 20" wheels with 24" wheels on a Terratrike Mavrick raise the frame significantly? I'm thinking it would make mounting the trike easier for people with physical challenges.
Essentially that is what the TerraTrike Rambler is. Each manufacturer designs their trikes for specific wheel sizes. Altering the size would alter the engineers intention for the model, hurting performance.
Thanks 😊
You're welcome!
Another good point is that trikes built for speed usually sit lower to the ground than trikes built to Cruze.
Especially the greenspeed aero. 7cm ground clearance! Fastest trike on the market.
I have a 20" wheeled recumbent trike from "Trident Trekker" and i love the 20" wheel and yes i dominate the hills but I have a 20" with a 10 speed cassette in the rear and a 3 ring front crank. But the problem im having is when im in the middle ring in the front and the 1st gear in the back my derailleur hits the ground, i could go for a shorter cage but that would mean giving up some of the range of gears i have. How could i fix this problem with out changing everything on my bike 😢😊
Try a bigger tire, that may help.
@@LaidBackCycles that's a good idea thx 🙂
Not anything about the tire/wheel size…… how do you have your trikes hung on the wall. It is something I need to do to save room in my garage and stop having to tough it out by putting it in the basement each winter. Thanks.
Great question! You can use a bike hanger - we use the TerraTrike version since it's heavy-duty - and screw it into a stud in the wall. Then you just lift the trike up and hook the back wheel, voila!
The advantage of normal wheels, 650B, 700C is you can easiy and much cheaper find high quality wheel. For smaller sizes you are stuck with children wheels or you have to pay an insane amount of money to have a hand made wheel.
20 inch for commuting. 26 inch would be great to pass the road bikes
With 1 exception: the greenspeed aero: 16" fronts, 20" rear. Fastest trike on the market.
Micky, I enjoy your videos but I think you may have made a mistake in this one. Starting off from a dead stop I don't think you can get a 26 inch wheel to spin up faster than a 16 or 20 inch wheel but the 26 inch wheel retains it's inertia longer than the smaller wheels.
Bike wheels are so light I doubt it makes much difference. It's pretty much all in the gearing.
@@SuperAWaC No sir, from what I have seen it makes a huge difference. Of course the Gear Inch Final Drive would have to be comparable for an accurate comparison but Brompton for example nearly always dominates the folding bike races held every year in England with their 16 inch wheels. Greenspeed still has the fastest recumbent trike on the market with their Aero also with 16 inch wheels. My own Gekko with 20's always surprises a lot of riders how fast I can get off the line with it when compared to their 26 or 700 back wheels. I don't stay out front for long though because I'm an old fart. :)
@daytriker Thanks for the feedback! I believe the intention was that a full rotation of a 26" propels you further from the get-go compared to a smaller wheel :)
Considering the weight of rider and trike/bike, and the effort required to accelerate, nobody could tell the difference in acceleration due to inertia of wheel size unless the trike/bike was on a stand with the wheels off the ground.
@@daytriker The diameter of the wheel changes the effective gearing ratio. OP is specifically referring to the inertia in the wheel itself
I’m basically at the point where I’m going to have to commission a trike entirely to get the things I want out of it, like a frame that can accommodate 500lbs so I don’t have to lose weight BEFORE getting back into biking, but also electric hubs, because awd on trails is gonna be important to me, and 29” wheels, because that’s what my last mountain bike had, and after you go over a curb on 29s, you’ll never go back to 26.
U are 500lbs? Or is that w gear? Ur biggest issue will be frame strenght not wheels n motors. Dont forget batt wt too.
@@crabtrap I am 450 lbs. but adding additional gear, storage, motors, batteries, cowling, and canopy, it’s a lot
@@arm279145 i mean no offence....but just get a golfcart.
All that extra defeats purpose of a bike. A canopy and fairing are counter intutive.
Is your wt mostly fat or are you large frame (like NFL large frame). If its fat, spend cash on trainer to get down to 300lbs then start biking
@@crabtrap I mean really what I’m looking to build is a recumbent electric awd trike, not tricycle. Just so happens that the tricycles have a very similar frame layout to what I’m looking for.