Bicycle question, three-wheelers??

theflyingpickle · Post by **theflyingpickle** » Fri May 20, 2011 8:23 am

Bicycle question...Has anyone here had a trike-bike (3 wheels) on the Playa? If so, how did it work for you? I'm trying to choose between that and a standard bike with cargo trailer to haul my project stuff on the playa. Suggestions?

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Fri May 20, 2011 8:36 am

theflyingpickle wrote:Bicycle question...Has anyone here had a trike-bike (3 wheels) on the Playa? If so, how did it work for you? I'm trying to choose between that and a standard bike with cargo trailer to haul my project stuff on the playa. Suggestions?

I have had a three wheeler on the playa nine out of ten trip to the playa.. I was lost without it last year.. On a bike you have go fast enough to stay up.. This is to fast to look around and enjoy.. To fast to stop and talk to other burners.. On a three wheeler you can ride along with people walking.. You can stop , look around, and take photos without haveing to park and get out your ride.. Trikes all have baskets to hual ice and other shit.. Every year some one needs me to trike something across the city for them..

This year I 'm bring a reBike.. Adding a set of training wheels.. So it will be a bike with three wheels in back.. So I can go sloww enough to have fun. Instead of rushing from one shinny thing to another..

ConnieH · Post by **ConnieH** » Fri May 20, 2011 8:57 am

one of my campmates brings his trike and lets others use it for errands - it's awesome and so very helpful on ice and recycling runs! Just make sure yours has fat tires...another friend brought a skinny tired trike one year and it failed miserably on anything other than hardpacked playa.

theflyingpickle · Post by **theflyingpickle** » Fri May 20, 2011 8:58 am

Thanks! Tell me, does a trike fit on a standard bike rack?

Minxy · Post by **Minxy** » Fri May 20, 2011 9:29 am

I think it would totally depend on the specific trike and specific bike rack! However, with enough bungee cords you can secure "almost" anything.

FIGJAM · Post by **FIGJAM** » Fri May 20, 2011 9:33 am

Minxy · Post by **Minxy** » Fri May 20, 2011 9:37 am

I WANT THAT TRIKE FIGJAM!!!!!

FIGJAM · Post by **FIGJAM** » Fri May 20, 2011 9:44 am

It's a palmer ind. joyrider!

3 speeds and reverse!

(I never peddle.)

Post by **AntiM** » Fri May 20, 2011 12:42 pm

We hang our trikes off the front of our trailer. But then, our bike rack is a custom job that folds up of the back of the trailer (one bike, one garden cart).

unjonharley · Post by **unjonharley** » Fri May 20, 2011 4:04 pm

FIGJAM wrote:It's a palmer ind. joyrider!

3 speeds and reverse!

(I never peddle.)

You've been peddleing it for a long time/\.

Elorrum · Post by **Elorrum** » Fri May 20, 2011 4:46 pm

We trikers are a pretty proselytizing group. I put a trike kit axle on my bike last year, and won't go back to two wheels if I can help it. Like unjon said, the difference in how you have to concentrate on staying up, maintaining speed, and keeping upright through the bumps and drifts on a two wheeler and the relative ease through all this on a trike is a big difference. Getting cutoff on a trike is no big deal, just stop, sit, wait, and go again. You can go a lot slower if you need to, and no worries about falling over. If you want to stop and talk to someone, you still have a place to sit. The cargo capability is another big plus. I haven't tried to fit it on a bike rack yet, it's in pieces, and so is the bike rack. Last year, I actually just dissasembled it and put it inside my little hatchback car. This year, I'd like to get it on the rack as much as possible. I'm hoping it will hold on the outside position on a two bike, bike rack. I didn't get any photos of it, darn that.

FIGJAM · Post by **FIGJAM** » Fri May 20, 2011 5:42 pm

unjonharley wrote:
FIGJAM wrote:It's a palmer ind. joyrider!

3 speeds and reverse!

(I never peddle.)

You've been peddleing it for a long time/\.

Only a year upjon!

peyote2004 · Post by **peyote2004** » Sun Feb 12, 2012 5:12 pm

Elorrum ... Did you get the trike to fit on a standard bike carrier?

CornMan · Post by **CornMan** » Sun Feb 12, 2012 5:21 pm

One person in our camp had a trike. It took a bit more muscle to get from point a to b than a two wheeled bike, but it was a lot of fun to ride.

Post by **trilobyte** » Sun Feb 12, 2012 5:55 pm

Here's another thread on the subject, but I think there are others too. My girlfriend and I got Worksman Port-o-trikes for last year's burn and they were awesome. 3-speed made it easy to pedal even in dunes or against the wind, though most of the time 2nd gear worked fine for me. The fold-up design worked beautifully for our needs, a pair of them fit inside the back of our cargo van and are fairly easily stored in our storage space and are workable in our loft space in the city. I went a step further with mine and replaced the standard tires with knobby ones - while last year had great playa conditions it made a lot of difference when it came to the dunes and occasional soft spots out in deep playa.

Elorrum · Post by **Elorrum** » Sun Feb 12, 2012 7:18 pm

I didn't bring a rack 2011, took the whole thing apart and put it inside the car. I'll try the rack this year, and see how I can reduce the parts I need to break it down to. Best case scenario is it fits intact, but I have a feeling it's just too wide.
edit to add: Zeke, I love the stock pot cargo case!

TinkerMom · Post by **TinkerMom** » Mon Feb 13, 2012 7:47 pm

Elorrum, can you take off the rear assembly? Then put the main bike part on the rack, closest to the vehicle, then the rear part in front of
that only sideways. Should fit. I have been thinking about it for you for a couple of days.

Mine doesn't break down in that manner. It's a franken trike. I did take it all apart and repaint it, and put all
new bearings, and changed the gearing to be easier to peddle. I just drag a wagon for ice trips. I will have pictures
on Wed.

SageV · Post by **SageV** » Mon Feb 13, 2012 7:54 pm

Trikes don't wipe out if the playa is sandy and get stuck, which is nice. With the right basket, the daily trips to Artica for ice are a breeze. They also don't get mistaken for other people's bikes and appropriated as often like most other bikes do. However, don't get yourself an expensive one. A crappy one is just fine and there are bike support services on the playa for minor repairs.

Post by **trilobyte** » Mon Feb 13, 2012 8:20 pm

They're also great for art tours and lazy pedaling. Go as slow as you want or come to a complete stop as you pass by awesome artwork or grab a quick pic.

Post by **AntiM** » Mon Feb 13, 2012 8:40 pm

Sage Venkman wrote:Trikes don't wipe out if the playa is sandy and get stuck, which is nice. With the right basket, the daily trips to Artica for ice are a breeze. They also don't get mistaken for other people's bikes and appropriated as often like most other bikes do. However, don't get yourself an expensive one. A crappy one is just fine and there are bike support services on the playa for minor repairs.

They do, however, get purposefully stolen more often. Mine was swiped (I had lent it out), but the asshat rode into the ranger HQ parking lot in a whiteout and just left it... so I got it back. Read the riot act to the person who failed to lock it up... granted, it was ranger HQ and in a terrible whiteout, yet someone tried to take it.

SageV · Post by **SageV** » Mon Feb 13, 2012 8:47 pm

AntiM wrote:They do, however, get purposefully stolen more often. Mine was swiped (I had lent it out), but the asshat rode into the ranger HQ parking lot in a whiteout and just left it... so I got it back. Read the riot act to the person who failed to lock it up... granted, it was ranger HQ and in a terrible whiteout, yet someone tried to take it.

Yah, that's what I was trying to imply by the "don't bring an expensive one" comment. I think a lot of playa bike theft is just people wiped out who mistake any bike for their own. Trikes, however, are better locked up, or bring one you won't miss if it goes away.

FIGJAM · Post by **FIGJAM** » Mon Feb 13, 2012 9:46 pm

The other pic went missing, so heres another.

I don't peddle anywhere.

30 mile range.

mshaman · Post by **mshaman** » Tue Feb 14, 2012 8:10 am

Trikes have 50% more rolling resistance than a bike by definition, but no less rolling resistance than a bike with a trailer. I find the ride of a bike less bumpy than a trike, but the trike is very convenient for hauling fire toys.

Attached pic is how we hauled our bikes and trikes last year. Until the ticket fiasco, I was building a 2nd such rack for this year... 2 levels, 10 bikes and a trike on one rack.

I really don't like trikes with 20" wheels... they are too small and bumpy and get sucked into the sand. If you're going trike, go for at least 24" rims. Hauling the trike with bigger wheels is a pain in the ass, but worth it once you're on the sand.

SageV · Post by **SageV** » Tue Feb 14, 2012 8:21 am

FIGJAM wrote:The other pic went missing, so heres another.

I don't peddle anywhere.

30 mile range.

A friend of mine built one like this, but he kept the pedals because he says he gets more range out of it, because you can pedal to overcome the rolling resistance from a dead stop, which he claims saves a lot of battery power.

Oh, you have pedals on there after all, is that just first gear only?

FIGJAM · Post by **FIGJAM** » Tue Feb 14, 2012 9:17 am

I could peddle, but I'm lazy and have a bad back.

The electric drives the left wheel, peddleing drives the right, so if I hit a dune I have 2 wheel drive.

Post by **AntiM** » Wed Feb 15, 2012 5:28 am

They have to have functional pedals to be allowed as an assisted bike/trike, otherwise they fall under mutant vehicle.

Canoe · Post by **Canoe** » Wed Feb 15, 2012 9:57 am

AntiM wrote:They have to have functional pedals to be allowed as an assisted bike/trike, otherwise they fall under mutant vehicle.

Or handicap assist device?

gyre · Post by **gyre** » Wed Feb 15, 2012 6:54 pm

For cargo, don't forget the xtracycle option.

Post by **AntiM** » Thu Feb 16, 2012 2:59 am

Canoe wrote:
AntiM wrote:They have to have functional pedals to be allowed as an assisted bike/trike, otherwise they fall under mutant vehicle.
Or handicap assist device?

That handicap placard is golden, but you'll still need to preregister it.

Canoe · Post by **Canoe** » Thu Feb 16, 2012 9:45 am

AntiM wrote:
Canoe wrote:
AntiM wrote:They have to have functional pedals to be allowed as an assisted bike/trike, otherwise they fall under mutant vehicle.
Or handicap assist device?
That handicap placard is golden, but you'll still need to preregister it.

Preregister it, as in:

before arriving on the playa, or
before you use it once you arrive on the playa, or
both?

Bicycle question, three-wheelers??

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