Low cost single speed?

[drafter]

The ones I have been looking at are the:

1. TerraTrike Cruiser w/shifter and brake upgrades or Tour
2. CatTrike Road
3. Stowaway II
4.Greenspeed G?

I have been looking at Utah Trike's site and looking at videos they have done.

One of my main concerns is that the business will still be there down the road for any type of warrenty stuff.

I am going to try to reach a gentlman that posts on youtube. He and his riding group ride trikes. He owns a TerraTrike Tour and some of his friends ride a CatTrike and Greenspeed I think. Hopefully I can get some ideas from him on how they work. I did notice on one of his videos that he changed the idlers and how the chain ran thru the system.

Thanks for you input and I will keep you informed as to what I find out from him. Have a good week-end.

[artwebb]

I thought about a recumbent myself, as I thought anything easy on the back would probably be easy on arthritic knees, as well, but then I wouldn't be able to do any of the tricks like bunny hops and such. Maybe when my knees get worse. The only Trikes I've seen in person are the Schwiin trike (not recumbent) sold by Walmart (that actualy looks like it might be acceptbly built) for $250 with one gear, and one in a bike shop that I didn't see a name on, but was 3 speed for $599.
The wife is set on the Schwinn when we can save enough up, as her balance isn't currently good enough (she thinks, and her opinion is the one that counts most) to ride a regular bicycle if we COULD find one rated for her weight.
As far as a recumbent trike, I can give no recomendation, as I have never seen or ridden one, but I did like the catrike based on their advertising, exept of course the price.
Whatever you wind up getteing, I hope it serves you well

[Cliffmeister2000]

I thought about a recumbent myself, as I thought anything easy on the back would probably be easy on arthritic knees, as well, but then I wouldn't be able to do any of the tricks like bunny hops and such. Maybe when my knees get worse. The only Trikes I've seen in person are the Schwiin trike (not recumbent) sold by Walmart (that actualy looks like it might be acceptbly built) for $250 with one gear, and one in a bike shop that I didn't see a name on, but was 3 speed for $599.
The wife is set on the Schwinn when we can save enough up, as her balance isn't currently good enough (she thinks, and her opinion is the one that counts most) to ride a regular bicycle if we COULD find one rated for her weight.
As far as a recumbent trike, I can give no recomendation, as I have never seen or ridden one, but I did like the catrike based on their advertising, exept of course the price.
Whatever you wind up getteing, I hope it serves you well

Bikes are great for your knees! There are many bikes out there that use a 7 speed hub that is very reliable, low maintenance, and believe me, if you have knee issues you want a few gears. I have a problem with my right knee. It just hurts. If I ride enough, it stops hurting. If I don't, it hurts. I guess it tells me if I'm getting enough exercise or not.

[Noob]

I didnt read all the pages but, Performance ( bike ) has some reasonable ss's. ... "townie" versions and "hipster" versions, with fixie provisions ( hubs ).

Super easy to lace up 3 or 7 speed internal hub. ( if needed ) to go from ss to multi-speed.

If those arent good enough, theres always the internets ... ( bikeisland.com -or- bikesdirect.com, same owner. )

If theres bike co-op in your neck of the woods, some super cheap deals there. The only downfall is that the volonteers get first dibs on the *new* stuff...

My neighboors "gifted" me a ( kids/20" ) bike or two, ( since they see me on my road bike and my townie grocery-getter... ) usually they just get left outside for a couple of nights and need a new chain & poss. tires...

.
.
.

[Fenlason]

I thought about a recumbent myself, as I thought anything easy on the back would probably be easy on arthritic knees, as well, but then I wouldn't be able to do any of the tricks like bunny hops and such. Maybe when my knees get worse. The only Trikes I've seen in person are the Schwiin trike (not recumbent) sold by Walmart (that actualy looks like it might be acceptbly built) for $250 with one gear, and one in a bike shop that I didn't see a name on, but was 3 speed for $599.
The wife is set on the Schwinn when we can save enough up, as her balance isn't currently good enough (she thinks, and her opinion is the one that counts most) to ride a regular bicycle if we COULD find one rated for her weight.
As far as a recumbent trike, I can give no recomendation, as I have never seen or ridden one, but I did like the catrike based on their advertising, exept of course the price.
Whatever you wind up getteing, I hope it serves you well

Bikes are great for your knees! There are many bikes out there that use a 7 speed hub that is very reliable, low maintenance, and believe me, if you have knee issues you want a few gears. I have a problem with my right knee. It just hurts. If I ride enough, it stops hurting. If I don't, it hurts. I guess it tells me if I'm getting enough exercise or not.

Bikes can be good for your knees.. actually they can be GREAT for them, but you can also hurt them from riding. Pushing to big a gear can really harm them.
My knees were pretty trashed at a young age. Wrestling team damage... Martial Arts... running and the Marine Corp. I was quite disabled when I got out. but I rehabbed them with cycling.. and when strong enough from that... strength training also helped.

I got them strong enough, and stable enough to take safely take up snowboarding.

It is a great workout.. and good for you..

[Fenlason]

I thought about a recumbent myself, as I thought anything easy on the back would probably be easy on arthritic knees, as well, but then I wouldn't be able to do any of the tricks like bunny hops and such. Maybe when my knees get worse. The only Trikes I've seen in person are the Schwiin trike (not recumbent) sold by Walmart (that actualy looks like it might be acceptbly built) for $250 with one gear, and one in a bike shop that I didn't see a name on, but was 3 speed for $599.
The wife is set on the Schwinn when we can save enough up, as her balance isn't currently good enough (she thinks, and her opinion is the one that counts most) to ride a regular bicycle if we COULD find one rated for her weight.
As far as a recumbent trike, I can give no recomendation, as I have never seen or ridden one, but I did like the catrike based on their advertising, exept of course the price.
Whatever you wind up getteing, I hope it serves you well

Actually I am not sure that a recumbent would be easier on the knees. It is actually easier to "push to big a gear and hurt them" otherwise not a lot of difference. They can be more comfortable on some back issues. .. and the seats are generally more comfortable... although on long rides.. some people complain that you can move around... you are pretty stuck in one position.

I am not sure of your wife's balance issues. A trike would of course help that. I am not sure what type of riding she would be looking to do. The adult trikes like the Schwinn are for a casual cruise. They sit you fairly upright, and are designed for very casual riding, they are not particularly efficient. With that scope they are fairly stable.

The recumbent trikes are more stable [being lower to the ground] but being lower to the ground can make them harder to get on and off. [I am not sure if that would be an issue for her]

The stability of the recumbents very greatly from bike to bike. The particular Cattrike I rode this summer, was specifically made to sit a little higher. Riding it agressively I was always picking it up on two wheels...

Their other models are more stable.

We sell about 1 adult trike a year [upright like the Schwinn] Most of them are one speed or 3 spped.. and it is pretty hilly here. Most people that have needed the 3 wheels are not strong enough riders to do the hills we have, with that gearing, so that limits some of our sales.

Flatter places they are much more popular. Some places I would think there might be a decent used market in them. There don't seem to be many here.

[Fenlason]

The ones I have been looking at are the:

1. TerraTrike Cruiser w/shifter and brake upgrades or Tour
2. CatTrike Road
3. Stowaway II
4.Greenspeed G?

I have been looking at Utah Trike's site and looking at videos they have done.

One of my main concerns is that the business will still be there down the road for any type of warrenty stuff.

I am going to try to reach a gentlman that posts on youtube. He and his riding group ride trikes. He owns a TerraTrike Tour and some of his friends ride a CatTrike and Greenspeed I think. Hopefully I can get some ideas from him on how they work. I did notice on one of his videos that he changed the idlers and how the chain ran thru the system.

Thanks for you input and I will keep you informed as to what I find out from him. Have a good week-end.

yeah definitely hook up with those with more experience. I am sure there has to be a forum or two.

I very much understand your concern on a company staying around.
Most often for a "wedgie" bike. the frame is the only longer term warranty issue. The parts warranty is shorter and in most cases the parts are made by someone else, but the bike company. So at least you can purchase another part.

Recumbents have a lot of special parts. So not only do you have worry about potential warranty issues.. just replacing some parts might be a problem.

In the past the size of a company made a difference.. or it's age. Today.. who knows.

it took a while to find your Stoaway II [for others it's a Trident].. hmm and I am still not sure which Greenspeed you are looking at. I did not see just a G.. although there were a lot of g's with other letters.

I did see that trident also makes a Tandem. I have also thought about Organic Engines bike.

[Fenlason]

I didnt read all the pages but, Performance ( bike ) has some reasonable ss's. ... "townie" versions and "hipster" versions, with fixie provisions ( hubs ).

Super easy to lace up 3 or 7 speed internal hub. ( if needed ) to go from ss to multi-speed.

If those arent good enough, theres always the internets ... ( bikeisland.com -or- bikesdirect.com, same owner. )

If theres bike co-op in your neck of the woods, some super cheap deals there. The only downfall is that the volonteers get first dibs on the *new* stuff...

My neighboors "gifted" me a ( kids/20" ) bike or two, ( since they see me on my road bike and my townie grocery-getter... ) usually they just get left outside for a couple of nights and need a new chain & poss. tires...

.
.
.

The bikes from bikes direct are not what they seem. We have gotten a lot of them at the shop for repairs.. or to be properly built. I know they sell a lot of Motobecane's . This is another company that is not what it was.. it is a name that was bought.

bikes direct are trying to say their bikes are the same quality as others.. but they are much much cheaper.

There is not that much "room" in the price of the bike for someone to give you a much better price than another. Mail order .. with no storefront can save you some money.. and the lack of advertising maybe... but there is not enough margin for the difference they try to claim. The bike business is very very competitive.

They list some of the specs.. but it is easy to cheap out on stuff not listed.

Even in bike shop bikes.. there are bikes that try to save you money. DiamondBack is one that I have experience with. Comparing a DB bike to a Miyata example which I also sold at the time.

At a given level of bike..The two models would be roughly comparable.. a quick look at the specs would show them to be the same. The DB was always a little less expensive.

Were they "nicer guys" or know of some secret? Or did they "cut corners" that Miyata didn't?
The Miyata would use $30.00 retail tires.. the tires on the DB.. would be $20. They would do that type of thing throughout the bike. The DB was less money.. but it was not the same bike for less money. at first glance they might seem that way... but it was not.


While at times the DB was a nice economic option, but at other times.in their quest to reduce cost. . they would end up with a not so good part. One model I remember specifically the BB bearings would often fail before the 30 check.... not good.

Not that any company has not run into something like this at one time or another.. those that are looking at low cost as a priority definately ran into it more often.

[Fenlason]

The ones I have been looking at are the:

1. TerraTrike Cruiser w/shifter and brake upgrades or Tour
2. CatTrike Road
3. Stowaway II
4.Greenspeed G?

I have been looking at Utah Trike's site and looking at videos they have done.

One of my main concerns is that the business will still be there down the road for any type of warrenty stuff.

I am going to try to reach a gentlman that posts on youtube. He and his riding group ride trikes. He owns a TerraTrike Tour and some of his friends ride a CatTrike and Greenspeed I think. Hopefully I can get some ideas from him on how they work. I did notice on one of his videos that he changed the idlers and how the chain ran thru the system.

Thanks for you input and I will keep you informed as to what I find out from him. Have a good week-end.

drafter.. thanks.. I did not know of Trident.. the people who make "your" stowawayII.. their tandem looks interesting. I like some of what they say

[artwebb]

Fenlason, she is not very well balanced, between mild cerebral palsy, inner ear problems to do with havivg been born premature, and being very overweight and detrained. Back injuries she has sustained don't help any, either. If I got fer a recumbent anything she probably would have a problem getting on and off of it, just like the Total Gym I bought her, and if she gets on it, she can't get back up (too close to the floor) Columbus is pretty flat and I don't see her being any more than a casual rider until her weight and conditioning improve. I'm also looking into some Tai Chi vids for her as well.
Our knee issues are probably very similar; twenty five years of MA training here, with a focus on Judo and Jujutsu (traditional japenese, not the brazilian derivative), very hard on knees, plus all the running, jumping off things like houses and small cliffs. No military service, but likely did near the same damage with a few years on the track team as a sprinter and high jumper, plus years of physicaly demanding work, from fast food (running on concrete to keep up with the rushes,heavy lifting and carrying on truck day) to Mechanic (bending over cars all day) to Detailing cars (lots of time on knees) and warehouse work (heavy lifting and carrying while turning, twisting) Also weightlifting (not body building, strength training, very heavy) I first noticed a problem five or six years ago and, becuase I still do manual labor, it has progressed rapidly. I doubt I could do weight training again, and as hard as you have to pedal sometimes, I doubt I'll need to, just do basic upper body stuff, and bike.
That's why, having done a bit of riding on my new BSO, I'm glad I did get something with gears, even as flat as my town is, I find middle gear front, fifth rear, too much on even a mild upslope. (2/4 is okay) I don't know the actual gearing of this thing (15 speed) but that seems pretty weak on pavement. I will do my best to heed your warning about too big a gear, as I'm exactly the type to use too much gear and hurt my knees. Thanks for the reminder

[Fenlason]

Fenlason, she is not very well balanced, between mild cerebral palsy, inner ear problems to do with havivg been born premature, and being very overweight and detrained. Back injuries she has sustained don't help any, either. If I got fer a recumbent anything she probably would have a problem getting on and off of it, just like the Total Gym I bought her, and if she gets on it, she can't get back up (too close to the floor) Columbus is pretty flat and I don't see her being any more than a casual rider until her weight and conditioning improve. I'm also looking into some Tai Chi vids for her as well.
Our knee issues are probably very similar; twenty five years of MA training here, with a focus on Judo and Jujutsu (traditional japenese, not the brazilian derivative), very hard on knees, plus all the running, jumping off things like houses and small cliffs. No military service, but likely did near the same damage with a few years on the track team as a sprinter and high jumper, plus years of physicaly demanding work, from fast food (running on concrete to keep up with the rushes,heavy lifting and carrying on truck day) to Mechanic (bending over cars all day) to Detailing cars (lots of time on knees) and warehouse work (heavy lifting and carrying while turning, twisting) Also weightlifting (not body building, strength training, very heavy) I first noticed a problem five or six years ago and, becuase I still do manual labor, it has progressed rapidly. I doubt I could do weight training again, and as hard as you have to pedal sometimes, I doubt I'll need to, just do basic upper body stuff, and bike.
That's why, having done a bit of riding on my new BSO, I'm glad I did get something with gears, even as flat as my town is, I find middle gear front, fifth rear, too much on even a mild upslope. (2/4 is okay) I don't know the actual gearing of this thing (15 speed) but that seems pretty weak on pavement. I will do my best to heed your warning about too big a gear, as I'm exactly the type to use too much gear and hurt my knees. Thanks for the reminder

Yeah it sounds like she has some challenges sorry...

The Adult trike would be her best option. If a stock 3speed is still geared to high. It should be relatively easy to change out the chainring up front for something smaller.

[Fenlason]

hmm in all my ramblings..

I do want to say there can be some deals out there. At times a shop just wants to move some old inventory. Because of the minimal mark up, at first stuff is usually not marked down that much, but at times. An owner will want it out.

There are also times when a bike company will discount product. At our shop we will special order these bargains.... any time we can.

Back when we sold a lot of Mongoose, we would specifically stock up on left overs..

There are times when companies don't have left over product.. at times product will sell out early...

It is generally the more expensive product, but shop employees will often have something personal for sale. Two of my co-workers buy a new race bike generally every other year. The companies sell to us, less than dealer's costs. Each bike company wants us riding their bike. they give us a deal, but want to make sure we keep it at least a year.

These bikes will of course generally be very well cared for.. and can be a real bargain.
My boss does not want us to actively sell our bikes through the shop.. he prefers we sell on Ebay. But now we will have people waiting for "us" to buy a new bike.

I most often purchase tandems.. and the companies I purchase from.. don't give me as big a markdown. My other bikes I myself tend to keep to long to get my money back out of. I get attached to them..

[artwebb]

Sorry, unable to post a few days due to computer probs. Yes, she has some challenges facing her, the biggest of which is inertia. When we met she was ovrweight, and always said she wasnted to lose weight. I am well educated, even if self educated, in fitness and ataining it, and have always been there for her if she wanted to avail herself, but every time I've actively tried to motivate her she resisted to the point that it killed my own motivation, and my own atttempts to get fit have fallen by the wayside for too long.
This adult trike we plan on getting her will be one in a long line of fitness facilitating machines of one type or another I've bought her to no avail. Just like the exercise vids I've recently bought her that she claims to do, but won't do with me. I strongly doubt she does the vid at all, just says she does so I don't ask why did I have to buy this if you won't do it?
I think she expects the equipment to do the exercise for her. This is part of the reason I got the bike. I can bike to work without any guilt trips about going out and exercising without including her so she can drag my fitness attempts to a stop. I believe she thinks if I 'get in shape' some other woman will come along and steal me away. I'm just trying to improve my health and life.
I currently work at HEB as a sacker (hello, crappy economy) and the best part of my work day is Lot Duty, which is mainly getting baskets that customers leave in the lot back into the holding area. Pushing rows of 4-8 shopping carts is great exercise, exept it seems to be a bit hard on the knees at their current level of disrepair. I wonder though if 2.3 miles round trip is really worth taking a bike for, maybe I'd do myself more good walking back and forth. I hate my current limitations, as I've always enjoyed phisical recreation and always done hard phisical work, and always liked it better than sitting at a desk trying to wrap my mind around someone else's boring problems (Part of the reason I didn't finnish school, more fool me) As someone who's been there knee wise, what are your thoughts, Fenlason? Any recomendations vis a vis the knee problems? My doc originaly did recomend walking (along with specific stretches for my plantar faciitis, another gift from spending hours every day on hard surfaces busting my hump to make someone else richer) Did your knee problems include arthritis or just wear and tear? What other exercises have you found beneficial?
Sorry to write a book here, I guess 'meeting' someone else with similar problems whose actualy beaten them is making my ramble a bit.
Thanks, Art

[drafter]

Weight loss and motivation are very tough to regain after a period of time. Sometimes it is a physical thing and other times it is a mental thing. If she isn't ready mentally to start to exercise, she won't be able to do it. A good friend is also very nessessary for moral support. Sometimes husbands are not able to help support in certain situations like this (too close to the situation). I found over the years, woman are very difficult for us guys to figure out. She may also be thinking that by you pushing for her to lose weight, that she is somehow letting you down and not apealing to you anymore. Then comes the "why try" thinking. My sister is in the same situation. At this time she really doesn't seem to care how big she gets.

As far as you biking, you need to do it for yourself. Fresh air and exercise has a way of clearing the mind as well as making you feel better. I like to bike, my wife likes to walk. No problems, I will walk with her somtimes and she will bike with me. It is all a preference thing. My wife walks with a bunch of ladies from our church so it is good for them. I would really like to try to get a group together this summer to ride together. Sort of a riding group.

I also appologise for this being so wordy.

[artwebb]

I've gotten way off topic, here, so I'll just blank this post, as I can't delete it