Sinner Comfort Trike

[a.twiddler]

Here are some pics of the Sinner Comfort trike I acquired recently.

It has some interesting features. It has a two stage drive with a chain to a Nexus 7 hub gear then another chain from a sprocket bolted to the body of the hub gear to the rear axle. The rear axle drives both wheels through a double freewheel system theoretically giving drive even if one wheel slips, unlike a differential or single wheel drive system. The height of the hub gear suggests that if fitted with a derailleur system hub the changer arm would be kept higher off the ground than you would expect with a small wheeled bike. Bottom gear works out at about 26" which doesn't seem low enough to me. The Linear is 17.5" approximately.

It has a double chainwheel on the front, but no changer or conventional post. The square protrusion behind the chainwheel looks as if it's designed to hold something, maybe a post for a light or computer, or maybe a custom derailleur post.

The frame is aluminium, the fork is steel. It has rubber block rear suspension. I've fitted a chain tensioner using an existing rear derailleur mounting point to make it easier to adjust the pedal to seat distance without having to mess about with the chain and eventually to fit some sort of front changer. The main frame and boom are a box section but unusually are rotated 90 degrees so the angles are made a visual feature. The mudguards are narrow but are substantially made. It doesn't feel particularly heavy to me but I'm not a weight weenie.

The seat came with some custom made rods so it can be mounted a bit more upright. I've tried it in the lower position but didn't get on with the supplied headrest, which is necessary at the lower angle so I'll use it like this until/unless I find a more suitable headrest.

The lot is finished in a cheerful tomatoey red.

It came with a rear frame extension and a large cargo box but I've left those off for now until I've finished fiddling with it.

Brakes are what look like old school BMX type twin pivot caliper brakes by Saccom. I hope that they will be at least as effective as the Dia Compe Big Dog on the rear of my Linear.

Just got to sort out a mirror and some lights before I do a test run.

 

[FrankCrank]

Not seen that patricular brand before. In fact, quite rare to see a delta of any type really - can count on one finger how many I've seen in person. I've heard they can feel a bit 'tippy' sometimes, but I'm guessing you're not planning to break any speed records

 

[404 Not Found Anywhere]

Looks really nice. The square tubing means that there’s no problem with alignment. I rode my first Kettwiesel for quite a while wondering why the front wheel seemed canted to one side before the penny dropped!

That upright stub looks like it might be for a computer mount - wrong way round for a front mech.

 

[a.twiddler]

Not seen that patricular brand before. In fact, quite rare to see a delta of any type really - can count on one finger how many I've seen in person. I've heard they can feel a bit 'tippy' sometimes, but I'm guessing you're not planning to break any speed records

Sinner are probably better known for velomobiles. It's unusual for a Delta being lowish (23" seat height) and compact. I suppose in bike terms it's more of a compact LWB design, relatively narrow track too. It's actually an inch or two narrower than my Linear (widest point across the handlebars).

Since I've been riding a recumbent I've seen three others, two trikes and a SWB bike on the road, and both trikes have been Tadpoles. They have all been fleeting glimpses. I haven't come across another Delta, or even another LWB bike yet.

 

[TheDoctor]

I've ridden a few 'bents over the years, but never a delta. Or a Linear, for that matter.

 

[recumbentpanda]

A two wheel Sinner was nearly my first recumbent, but I couldn’t quite afford the combined price and shipping at the time. I still like their unique looks. I read somewhere the owner chose the brand name because everyone was looking askance at his recumbents and made him feel like a sinner!
Was it Sinner or Ketweisel that had an arrangement whereby you could remove the front wheels of the trikes and connect them together in a road train -scary for the one at the back cornering at any speed!

 

[a.twiddler]

A two wheel Sinner was nearly my first recumbent, but I couldn’t quite afford the combined price and shipping at the time. I still like their unique looks. I read somewhere the owner chose the brand name because everyone was looking askance at his recumbents and made him feel like a sinner!
Was it Sinner or Ketweisel that had an arrangement whereby you could remove the front wheels of the trikes and connect them together in a road train -scary for the one at the back cornering at any speed!

Kettweisel made it it a feature of their advertising that you could fit an adapter to the rear of their trikes and by removing the front wheel of the connected one, ride them in tandem. They claimed that you could connect a whole series of them and make a sort of "road train." I wouldn't be surprised to find a video on Youtube, though I haven't seen it myself. I've not seen one Kettweisel in the metal yet, so to see a procession of them connected together would be quite a spectacle.

 

[Time Waster]

I once saw a tandem recumbent trike. Before I got interested in recumbents so I didn't pay attention to what it was. Might have been a 4 wheeler or 5. I only remember seeing two low down seats and thinking that must be hairy at speeds.

Saw a two wheeled recumbent tandem in Belgium 3 years ago when touring. Looked around for likely owners but the upmarket coffee shop out was outside of had only roadies I had seen get off their solo road bikes. Was impressive and quite long compared to upright tandems.

 

[Wobbly John]

There was a UK importer for Sinner in the early - mid '90s, as I remember him bringing some to the Mildenhall rally.

 

[byegad]

Not seen that patricular brand before. In fact, quite rare to see a delta of any type really - can count on one finger how many I've seen in person. I've heard they can feel a bit 'tippy' sometimes, but I'm guessing you're not planning to break any speed records

I can't speak for the Sinner but my Kettweisel, which has canted rear wheels, is as stable as my old Trice QNT and Catrike Trail. This despite my backside being 10" higher compared to these tadpoles.

 

[FrankCrank]

Pretty sure it was a Kettweisel I saw in Reading a few years back. Would love to try one just to see what they're like.
I go at a plodding pace, so only thing I'm likely to tip over is a unicycle. Can't help thinking of this character now:

 

[404 Not Found Anywhere]

Kettweisel made it it a feature of their advertising that you could fit an adapter to the rear of their trikes and by removing the front wheel of the connected one, ride them in tandem. They claimed that you could connect a whole series of them and make a sort of "road train." I wouldn't be surprised to find a video on Youtube, though I haven't seen it myself. I've not seen one Kettweisel in the metal yet, so to see a procession of them connected together would be quite a spectacle.

Hase used to have an owner’s day at their factory and one year went for the “record“ of how many Ketts they could string together. I think in the end it was something like 88 and they did actually manage to ride it round the town! Must have been a headache repatriating all those front wheels though!

We used to have two Kettwiesels and ran them in tandem (I still have the tandem hitch though I regret selling the older Kett 😢). There was a bit of shunt in the hitch at times but otherwise it worked well. My wife and I also prefer different cadences so I could spin away merrily whilst she mashed away slowly 😆. We now have an early-ish Lepus in the garage with two 26” rear wheels and it can be hooked up to the rear of my Kett without difficulty: though as it is a slightly more tippier beast (surprisingly less than you’d thin though) cornering has to be done a bit more carefully than riding solo.

There’s no reason you couldn’t link up different manufacturer‘s trikes, the tandem hitch basically is a dummy hub that receives the front forks of the trailing machine. I’ve seen Ketts and Greenspeed Anuras linked up this way. You could even fit a 20” wheel upright trike (though you’d lose the brakes as most such machines have two front brakes)

 

[a.twiddler]

Sinner Comfort Trike update
Including the “33.33 % (Recurring) Increase in Braking” Project

It's hard to believe that I haven't updated progress on here since last November!

I’ve been progressively adapting this trike since I first posted its details. It now has a front accessory bar using a Thorn saddlebag extender mount and a stem adapter. It came with a headrest which weighed a ton with its hefty mounting bracket. Not the place where you want excess weight so I made an alternative using some plywood and padding from a foam kneeling mat. It also has a chain tensioner now so that the chain can be moved between front chain wheels without having to add or remove chain links, and the boom can be adjusted simply. It came with a box which is now attached behind the seat and I’ve fitted a rack to the top of it.

Ever since I’ve had this trike I’ve been considering ways to fit a brake to the front end of it. As bought it had a double pivot Saccon caliper brake to each rear rim, operated by a lever on each side of the handlebar. There was no particular advantage to having individual rear brakes, as there is no noticeable brake steering as there would be on a Tadpole design. The brakes didn’t feel particularly dramatic but they worked surprisingly well from the speeds I’ve managed to attain so far. I haven’t managed to lock the wheels, but it’s always useful to have a bit in reserve, particularly now it has a shopping/ luggage box on the back.

I thought about making use of the drum brake attached to the 500A wheel (nominal 20”) which was formerly on my Linear. There is a braze on on one fork leg for a torque arm and it’s a shame for it to go to waste. Unfortunately the only way it will fit in the fork instead of the original 400A (nominal 16”) is without such tedious necessities as the tyre. It’s a frustrating as there is an indecent amount of clearance when the 16” is in place. I’d tried an extra long reach caliper brake as a cheaper alternative but although it fitted and worked the arm and cable clashed with the left pedal as it passed its forward limit -a drawback of the CLWB design. I looked on ebay for extra long centre pull brakes but there were none about.

During this period I’d also been keeping an eye out for a used 16” drum brake wheel to turn up but in the last six months there has been nothing. 20” and above seems to be the way it goes, and that was how I was able to get hold of a used 406 wheel for the Linear last year, giving me this spare.

Finally I bit the bullet and as the existing wheel has 36 spokes, as does the drum brake, I decided to shop around for quotes for getting the drum built into it. The stumbling block was that it was a non standard size and the cost of getting spokes made to suit was more expensive than expected. I had to file the end of the torque arm to make for an easy fit into the braze on stop to make sure it would go together, before splurging the money.

It’s done now, and the set up is being evaluated by our intrepid test pilot, ie, me. It all went together very well. I’ve fitted a twin cable lever on the left bar to operate both rear brakes, a little heavier pull than expected but functional. Getting them balanced was a lot easier than I expected. As the main brake on the Linear is the rear due to the weight distribution I’ve already got a left forearm like Popeye the Sailor, so not a problem. The right side has the cable running from the existing lever to the front brake. This is much lighter to operate than the original and due to the rearward weight bias could lead to interesting results if not used with care.

How does it work? It feels a lot more sure footed now all the wheels have brakes. It’s not as long as a Kettweisel or even the Linear so there is more weight on the front, even though it is still lightly loaded. No danger of stoppies, but the small diameter wheel combined with the drum feels quite sharp. More modern versions of the Sinner Comfort have a disc on each rear wheel, probably making a front brake unnecessary, but this is a more cost effective solution for my situation.

Yet to be proved, but I think being able to spread the braking between the wheels should give better control on loose or slippery surfaces, and is more in keeping with the traction available from the 2 wheel drive.