# Looking for my 2nd recumbent.



## BlackPanther (25 Apr 2012)

O.K. so I've been bitten by the recumbent bug since acquiring a Bachetta Strada a few months ago, and now me wants a trike. I nearly bid on ebay last week on an ICE-Q (nt) but tbh I'm after something a little bit more sporty so I held off. An ICE Vortex would be my 1st choice were money no object, Catrike 700, Windcheetah etc etc.

There are a few Windcheetahs knocking around on forums, a cheap as chips one way up in Scotland, and an (I think) overpriced one in Leicester, which I may pop down to see and hopefully knock a LOT of the asking price.

Basically, if anyone is looking to sell a 'sporty' trike, then I'm looking to buy.


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## Gary E (25 Apr 2012)

*Looking for my 2nd recumbent.*


......where did you see it last?


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## ianrauk (25 Apr 2012)

The Catrike 700 would be my trike of choice.
It's an awesome looking machine.
And if the build is anything like my Catrike Bent then it will be a brilliant ride.


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## ufkacbln (26 Apr 2012)

Funnily enough I chose the Expedition over the 700 as it is a more robust machine. However there is little diffrence performance wise between the two.


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## GrasB (26 Apr 2012)

I'd recommend going somewhere that has loads of trikes in stock to try.

With regard to QNT v's Vortex, the pre-12 Vortex is basically a high performance spec version of the Sprint. The Sprint is the successor of the QNT. A word of warning about 2nd hand Windcheetahs, the boom is cut to length then glued into the metal boss. You can obviously shorten the boom with relative ease but lengthening it is a real problem.


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## byegad (26 Apr 2012)

I agree the QNT can be set up to be very sporty. Pull out the rear section as far as possible, recline the seat all the way, fit narrow tyres and you've got a radically fast trike. Alternatively try to find an ICE S, longer than the longest QNT set up, same track as the NT options and a hardshell seat. The thing is everyone who bought one seems to like it and so they only come up for sale very, very rarely.


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## BlackPanther (26 Apr 2012)

byegad said:


> I agree the QNT can be set up to be very sporty. Pull out the rear section as far as possible, recline the seat all the way, fit narrow tyres and you've got a radically fast trike. Alternatively try to find an ICE S, longer than the longest QNT set up, same track as the NT options and a hardshell seat. The thing is everyone who bought one seems to like it and so they only come up for sale very, very rarely.


 

I really really regret not bidding on the very highly spec'd QNT on ebay last week. It was in Sheffield f'gawds sake.Kicking myself, it went for £1250.

I may have a pop down to Leicester to look at a Windcheetah, but they have it for sale at £2000. They've offered it me for less, but it's still a bit out of my budget. It does have the carbon rear fairing, and it's a medium frame so should fit me better than the Windcheetah in Edinburgh.....though that one's significantly cheaper. Oh, what to do? That's why I was putting the feelers out on here, as I've noticed that a lot of 'bent riders have more than 1 machine, and was hoping someone would be looking to 'offload' one!

Thanks for the warning about the boom length GrasB. I've already done the measurements and a Medium Windcheetah should be bang on for me. That's another prob with the one for sale in Edinburgh. It's a Medium/Large, and it's a hell of a way to go to find that it won't fit me!


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## GrasB (27 Apr 2012)

You can work out of it's close to fitting by checking your X-seam lengths are about the same using the same measurement method. That is assuming it's an owner selling the machine rather than a shop.


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## BlackPanther (29 Apr 2012)

I've decided that a Vortex is well out of my price range. So I'm hopefully going to go and have a look at a 2nd hand Windcheetah Supersport. I'm a bit put off this by the amount of 'non-standard' parts fitted (plus it's a bit older (but supposedly very low usage)).....but I guess Manchester isn't too far for me to travel if I have any problems. I'd go for a 2nd hand Ice Sprint (or older QNT) but the phrase 'rare as rocking horse s***' springs to mind.
My other option, one I hadn't really considered is a Catrike 700. I've emailed Wheel NV in Kent, and if they have a demo I'll pop down for a look. Does anyone have anything to bad to say about the Windcheetah, and does anyone ride a Catrike 700? I've not seen anything too bad in the reviews, and the Catrike is by far the cheapest new option.....there's also the HPVelotchnik Scorpion, arghhhh.

Cheers, Carl.


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## byegad (29 Apr 2012)

The steering is very different on the Windcheetah compared to most other trikes. 

Some owners have written that they are unhappy at very high speeds, 40mph+ downhill, others will boast of speeds comparable to that reached by other makes' riders.

My three trikes are rock solid in the 50mph range, most trike riders with a few thousand miles behind them will tell you about similar downhill speeds, including Windcheetah owners, so it's not that the 'Cheetah is bad, just a bit different.

The person with the highest claim that I've spoken to, and believe, mentioned 70mph plus off Shap with a full touring load on an ICE trike. My personal recorded best is 51mph on my QNT, although the other two trikes may have exceeded this without a computer or GPS to confirm this. At these speeds you are taking a big risk, not in stability, but in stopping or avoiding a problem if another road user does something unexpected.


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## BlackPanther (5 May 2012)

byegad said:


> I agree the QNT can be set up to be very sporty. Pull out the rear section as far as possible, recline the seat all the way, fit narrow tyres and you've got a radically fast trike. Alternatively try to find an ICE S, longer than the longest QNT set up, same track as the NT options and a hardshell seat. The thing is everyone who bought one seems to like it and so they only come up for sale very, very rarely.


 

Not only did I drop on one, but I only had to travel 20 miles to Sheffield for it http://www.cyclechat.net/threads/new-machine-cant-wait-for-tuesday.101444/#post-1836741 . Compared to my jaunt to Cardiff for the Strada, a real result. Got it yesterday, been on on it today. Wow. Fast, easy, comfy, and I shouldn't fall off or get knocked off like I did on the Strada. I'm not going too extreme with the tyres, and I want the puncture proofness, so I've ordered some Marathon Plus's which are a bit narrower than the Marathon racers that are on it now. I've even got a spare seat (medium, the large fitted now is perfect for me) automatic chain adjuster (probably won't fit it though) and a spare elastomer suspension thingy ma jig.


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## byegad (6 May 2012)

Good luck with the M+s, I had them on my Kett' and it was like riding through treacle.


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## BlackPanther (6 May 2012)

byegad said:


> Good luck with the M+s, I had them on my Kett' and it was like riding through treacle.


 
I did think about just having an M+ on the rear.....still may do, but what is the best fast 20 inch tyre with puncture protection? I may go for Duranos on the front if the M+'s are too slow. I suppose a tube change wouldn't take 2 mins (q/r mudguards fitted.)

Crikey, if I do fit Duranos, I'd have 2 spare M+s......they'd last me a while!


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## ufkacbln (6 May 2012)

Beneficial treacle though, watching the number of punctures on the Isle of Wight Randonnee I am glad that I was shod in M+


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## byegad (7 May 2012)

It depends on where you ride. I find Big Apples fast and comfortable, they're on both my QNT and Kett', they are pumped up to 70psi, except the lightly loaded front one on the Kett' which is at 55psi. They don't suffer too many punctures, but i ride for fun and avoid lanes where the hedge have just been clipped and rarely ride in town where glass could be an issue. The Trail has Marathon Racers and they are no faster than the BAs but certainly harsher on poor road surfaces.

I tried Kojaks on the Kettwiesel, after the Marathon Pluses, and they were harsh and had poor grip on cold days as well as suffering too many punctures for my liking, after 1000 miles I replaced them with Big Apples.

Speed wise the Kojaks and Big Apples were no different and both a lot faster* than the M+s.
Comfort wise the Big Apples win hands down over both of the others.
Protection wise the Kojaks were a lot more fragile!
Fitting Kojaks and Big Apples is easy... Good taste precludes me from commenting freely on fitting M+s! Enough to say they are the only tyres that saw me snap a tyre lever while removing them.

* I average 10mph moving average and descend hills, of which we have plenty as fast as i can. My fastest recorded speed is 51mph.


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## CopperBrompton (12 May 2012)

byegad said:


> Good luck with the M+s, I had them on my Kett' and it was like riding through treacle.


I've heard lots of people say this, but I've done roll-down tests with trikes fitted with a variety of other tyres and there has been literally zero difference. Marathon themselves say the rolling resistance of the M+ is identical to standard Marathons.


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## CopperBrompton (12 May 2012)

PS - top speed to date, 54mph on M+ ...


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## byegad (12 May 2012)

Each to his own. Personally you couldn't pay me enough to run M+. 

My own experience is that they are slower than the BA or M Racers and while they do have reasonable armour in them they can be defeated, and when they are getting them off the rim can be an utter swine of a job. This from my 16 mile each way commuting days when I snapped two plastic tyre levers and in the end got rescued by car and used old metal levers to get the offending M+ off the rim. I changed to Pasela Tourguards after that which were faster, easy to get on and off even when new and suffered zero punctures in several thousand miles of commuting. In fact the only reason I know they were easy to get off was I fitted a new one the wrong way round on the rear wheel of my Thorn Club Tour and had to remove it straight away. Since sold, to a friend, the bike is still on my commuting set of Tourguards.


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## CopperBrompton (12 May 2012)

Well, I've only ever had one p-word in 5000 miles of riding on M+, so I can't say I have much experience removing and refitting the tyres, but I am the world's least mechanical person and I managed it with no tyre levers, trikes or Bens harmed in the process. 

Personally I won't use anything else - absolutely love 'em!


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## starhawk (12 May 2012)

I changed from ordinary marathons to marathon +, can't feel any difference but the back tire was a pain to mount, according to the cycle mechanic but that was on a strictly non-standard rim


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