Bike versus trike? Which is better?

[mooserider]

In thinking about transport at BM, I was wondering which would be a better choice: a mountain bike, or one of those adult-sized tricycles with a basket over the rear axle? I already have the mountain bike (which needs a tune-up because of how long it hasn't been used), and keep seeing ads for a fold-up trike (!) from an RV supply company. I also have a gardener's heavy-duty wagon (unlike a kiddy toy wagon, this thing can supposedly carry 400 pounds and has fat tires like a wheelbarrow). So, would I be better off with the two-wheel mountain bike, plus the wagon if I need to get heavy supplies like ice, or with the tricycle?

[mudpuppy000]

The trikes look fun but seem like a pain in the butt to transport/store. You'll also go a lot faster on a 2 wheeled bike. For ice hauling you can just get a bike rack for the rear end and some panniers. I can haul 6 bags of ice with that, which is usually plenty.

[lucky420]

trike, trike, trike!!

I've used both the beach cruiser bike and last year used my new AWESOME trike. My trike is not a fold up (but many people on here swear by them). With a trike you always have comfortable seat and if you want to use it as a back rest (with your backpack behind your back) its pretty cool that way too.

So if you have room to haul a trike or a fold up trike I'd go that way. It really made a world of difference to me.

[FlyingMonkey]

I have used both a mountain bike & a folding trike. Going fast isn't a huge concern since the speed limit is 5MPH anyway.

The trike can obviously haul a lot more & is more stable when you are impaired, but last year I really wish I had my mountain bike. Between the post rain ruts & the dust dunes on the playa I got stuck a lot more than my 2 wheeled friends. Another thing to consider is comfort. Many mountain bikes have suspensions & you can always pad a seat. My ass & lower back absorbed every bump my trike hit. The biggest problem with my trike is it has very narrow wheels & not designed for sand. If I can get some fat meats on it I'm sure it will be the best bike I have ever had in the desert.

So I would say a trike with fat tires is my first choice, then a 2 wheeled mountain bike.

Have you seen Capt Voltaveus's's'es bike? I think it is just about perfect. https://eplaya.burningman.org/viewtopic ... &start=480

A big consideration is how you are hauling it. Just about anyone can fit a bike in their car but a trike (even a folding one) not so much.

[unjonharley]

I'm looking at putting the trike on the roof of the van... The batteries are the main weight.. So I'll put them inside the van.. Deer hunters block and tackle will help putting the trike up..

[Captain Goddammit]

There's no 5MPH speed limit. That's for Mutant Vehicles, not bikes.

[Ratty]

Really Captain??

[hug+kiss]

I'm thinking of getting one for 2016. I will be bringing my 10 year old daughter for the first time.I think she'll be fine during the day on her own bike but I'd feel a lot more comfortable not loosing her at night on my bike. Is a trike the best way to go or is there a better way to carry a 10 year old??

[Eric]

Have you seen Capt Voltaveus's's'es bike? I think it is just about perfect. https://eplaya.burningman.org/viewtopic ... &start=480

This link will take you directly to the post with the bike: https://eplaya.burningman.org/viewtopic ... 4#p1060964




A little URL trick - if you click the tiny box next to the "by" name on a post (see image) the URL in your browser window will switch to that post directly, which you can then cut & paste into your new post. Since there's up to 50 posts a page, it can cut the hunting down quite a bit when you're linking to something cool.

URL grab.JPG

[Ratty]

Hug+kiss, I would try searching craigslist and garage sales for a tag-a-long trailer bike. They aren't hard to find used for under $100.00. She gets to pedal and that helps both of you.

[FlyingMonkey]

Have you seen Capt Voltaveus's's'es bike? I think it is just about perfect. https://eplaya.burningman.org/viewtopic ... &start=480

This link will take you directly to the post with the bike: https://eplaya.burningman.org/viewtopic ... 4#p1060964




A little URL trick - if you click the tiny box next to the "by" name on a post (see image) the URL in your browser window will switch to that post directly, which you can then cut & paste into your new post. Since there's up to 50 posts a page, it can cut the hunting down quite a bit when you're linking to something cool.

URL grab.JPG

Great tip. Thank you Eric

[FlyingMonkey]

There's no 5MPH speed limit. That's for Mutant Vehicles, not bikes.

I thought that applied to all vehicles. The survival guide doesn't seem to have anything specific to bicycle speeds but it does state under driving rules, "the BRC speed limit is 5 MPH at all times". To me all times means while riding a bike too. Now you could split hairs and say that riding a bike is not driving but to me "at all times" seems all inclusive.

Of course not too many bikes have speedometers either.

[FIGJAM]

In most cities the rules of the road apply to motor vehicles and bicycles equally.

All samey same!!

Don't know about BRC???

[FlyingMonkey]

In most cities the rules of the road apply to motor vehicles and bicycles equally.

All samey same!!

Don't know about BRC???

We may have to ask the Oracle.

.......Oh Trilo?

[digital]

There's no 5MPH speed limit. That's for Mutant Vehicles, not bikes.

I thought that applied to all vehicles. The survival guide doesn't seem to have anything specific to bicycle speeds but it does state under driving rules, "the BRC speed limit is 5 MPH at all times". To me all times means while riding a bike too. Now you could split hairs and say that riding a bike is not driving but to me "at all times" seems all inclusive.

Of course not too many bikes have speedometers either.

It applies to ALL vehicles... bicycles included.

Bicycles
When bicycles are ridden with other traffic, cyclists must obey the same rules and regulations as other types of vehicles. The safe interaction between bicyclists and motorists is the responsibility of both parties.

Link

[remi]

I just purchased a Norco Parklane (Trike). It's awesome. I just have to weld together a basket/seat conversion for the back, and put fat tires on it, then power it with some sort of electric motor. Should be a dandy ride.

[hug+kiss]

@Ratty Thank you! I'll keep an eye out now for one. Her helping to petal would make a big difference!

[Captain Goddammit]

Jeesis H.
There's no goddamm 5 MPH bicycle speed limit in BRC.
That link to normal default world DMV traffic laws has nothing to do with mutant vehicle/bicycle traffic in BRC.

[GreyCoyote]

Jeesis H.
There's no goddamm 5 MPH bicycle speed limit in BRC.
That link to normal default world DMV traffic laws has nothing to do with mutant vehicle/bicycle traffic in BRC.

Lets not be hasty, Capt. Can you imagine Unjohn whizzing by on one of his contraptions clocking 40+ MPH after getting a jet-assist by breaking wind?

I vote we keep these old farts under 5 mph.

New BMORG campaign: "Safe. Sane. Seniors. Seriously..."

[Elliot]

I'm thinking of getting one for 2016. I will be bringing my 10 year old daughter for the first time.I think she'll be fine during the day on her own bike but I'd feel a lot more comfortable not loosing her at night on my bike. Is a trike the best way to go or is there a better way to carry a 10 year old??

You might consider a side-by-side trike. But the store-bought ones are expensive.
http://www.worksmancycles.com/shopsite_ ... /sbst.html

(Building a couple of these, cheaply, is on my to-do list.)

[Meat Hunter]

I used a trike last year that also had a front electric drive. I loved it.

However, some brands of trike's are heavy than other brands and you need a good bit more stopping power.

I strongly recommend that you purchase a trike that has 3-speeds and a Coaster Brake on the rear and Not one with an inefficient banded break on the rear.

[Elliot]

Meat Hunter makes a good point about stopping power. However, I am not a great fan of coaster brakes (pedal-backward brakes) -- be it on a bike or a trike, and perhaps specially not on a trike.

Granted, coaster brakes are near fool-proof -- almost impossible to damage or wear out. (Just be absolutely certain the torque arm is attached to the frame. This is the four-inch-long chrome lever on the left side of the hub. It MUST be attached to the frame with its little clamp or bracket.)

The downside to coaster brakes is that after stopping, the pedals are in a bad position for getting started again. With a freewheel you just spin the pedals backward a third or so of a turn, so you get good leverage to start out. This is not possible with coaster brakes.

On a regular bicycle with coaster brake, I just grab the saddle and lift the rear wheel off the ground while I spin the pedals forward to a good starting position. This trick may not be realistic with a trike, and you may have to push the trike forward.
Of course, if you have an electric motor also, you just let the motor move you forward.

I also agree with Meat Hunter that the "industrial" type of external band brake is not so hot. That brings us to a caliper brake that works on the rim of the wheel, or a disc brake. Caliper brakes require a bit of maintenance, but they can get the job done.

[captain voltaveus]

Thanks for the kind words on "The Voltcycle". It has been a fun project the past few weeks and just this past Saturday I took it out for a night of music and revelry and it actually performed pretty sweet. I was not as fast or nimble as the two wheelers I was riding / imbibing with, but it did better than I thought it would.



My goals were to have super fat wheels, and gears. My furred cruiser last year had style, but no gears or super fat wheels and I found my self pretty jealous of my camp mates who had both. I found myself stuck in drifts while they sailed on through... Plus I flew a large el wire lightning bolt above my bike and it was a sail - continuously knocking over the bike despite a double kickstand.

This year I have fabricated a metal lightning bolt that is a nozzle for a flame effect poofer and it seems even more likely to topple over a regular bike. The other two mounts on the rear basket are for two yet to be sewed Center Camp style flags that I have in mind.There weren't any obvious choices to just go purchase such a bike that I could find on-line, and I like Fig-Jam's philosophy of "build your burn", so I bought an el-cheapo Wallmart Dolomite frame, a trike kit +hubs + el-cheapo steel fatty rim(s) off of ebay and put them together. The actual frame used was a $20 thrift shop frame that had disc brake mounts. It involved learning how to lace wheels, along with multiple trips to bike shops and hardware stores to get it all sorted out, but it rides pretty sweet!



I'll post some pics / videos on the bike builders unite thread when I get the mini poofer up and running...

[captain voltaveus]

A big consideration is how you are hauling it. Just about anyone can fit a bike in their car but a trike (even a folding one) not so much.

I agree that hauling an oversized trike is an issue, probably best solved with a trailer if one had such an option. My Yakima trailer hitch rack seems maxed out when the trike is on it, and there isn't much room for fellow travellers' bikes.

My plan is to try and fabricate a rip-off of the "North Shore" style racks, which are rediculously expensive and seem pretty simple to weld up. Some square steel tubing and a Harbor Freight hitch... Here is a link to a thread I found of others who have done just that.

http://www.pinkbike.com/forum/listcomme ... did=136031

[trilobyte]

Trikes are awesome, but a much bigger investment (more money, more gear hauling space). If it's your first burn, I'd recommend sticking with something basic to start - you can always upgrade into something more elaborate in future years if you decide you want to come back and it's an area you want to step up. There are a million other details (and expenses) to sort out, and some of them (like playawear) can easily suck up every last dime.

[melodiousdirge]

Bike:
Easy, cheap, easy to transport, faster than a trike, more maneuverable, can be used outside of BM

Trike
Harder to come by, bit of an investment, slow, heavy, difficult to transport, BUT! you can offer people rides on the back, it can be ridden completely wasted (I got called out in 2012 for falling asleep mid pedal on my desert trike), and I absolutely love being able to haul all my shit with me out at night including water, snacks, clothing layers, etc. It's also more difficult for someone to make off with if it's just locked to itself.

[remi]

A big consideration is how you are hauling it. Just about anyone can fit a bike in their car but a trike (even a folding one) not so much.

I agree that hauling an oversized trike is an issue, probably best solved with a trailer if one had such an option. My Yakima trailer hitch rack seems maxed out when the trike is on it, and there isn't much room for fellow travellers' bikes.

My plan is to try and fabricate a rip-off of the "North Shore" style racks, which are rediculously expensive and seem pretty simple to weld up. Some square steel tubing and a Harbor Freight hitch... Here is a link to a thread I found of others who have done just that.

http://www.pinkbike.com/forum/listcomme ... did=136031

REMEMBER: When hauling bikes with a bike rack like the one above, keep your licence plate clear or they will pull you over, ticket you.. and look for probably cause to search. Keep that licence plate visible!

[remi]

I used a trike last year that also had a front electric drive. I loved it.

.

Where, how much? I'm looking at different options to power my trike.. would love to hear what people have done.

[melodiousdirge]

Where, how much? I'm looking at different options to power my trike.. would love to hear what people have done.

+1 for any leads

I looked into it briefly; it seems like some research and improvisation are necessary in most cases, but the front wheel drive seems the simplest.

[remi]

I found a way of getting a small 50cc gas motor attached to it with double mufflers... however, am I right to assume that if it's a gas motor it would need to be registered with the DMV? If so, then I'll have to go electric, which seems like it'll be 5 times more expensive.