I decided to venture on this ride with the QNT trike. I am still trying to make up my mind if it will be my ride of choice for the Cycle Oregon week ride. I have done this same ride the other times on my F5 high racer so I know how I can do on that bike. I am proud to say that the trike performed AWESOME. Way above expectation - save for a total of 5 flats (4 on the ride and one at home upon my return) that tried to derail me. I'll have a post soon on my diagnosis of the flats - it was not the tires or inherant to the trike platform, but I have never flatted as many in years of cycling as I did today. Still, the ride on the trike was so fun that not even repeated flat changing and tube patching would take away from the perfect weather, great roads, and good times.
I wound up with a ride time of 3H and 20M for the roughly 65 miles and an average speed of 17.4 MPH. This really surprised me and I believe I have decided - the trike kicks ass and will be a blast on Cycle Oregon. It is comfy, stable, fast, easy on the road, comfy, and no worries about balance on the steep climbs (none really on this ride) as they are so COMFY! And lounging on the trike during lunch while eating a sandwich and copious amounts of cookies versus sitting in wet grass has its advantages.
Enjoy some of the pictures I took of the ride below. It was is a great one!
Line was long but moved fast - the turnout was huge!
Now THIS is what I call a family truckster!
While enjoying the view from my recumbent,
I like to think about how much I love Jelly Beans...
Rest stops are well stocked and volunteers were wonderful!
Nice open roads with little traffic and perfect weather!
Lunch in Champoeg State Park
Flats R Lame
Can high cruising speeds be maintained on a trike over the long haul?
YES!
At the finish! Took this picture and then noticed:
DOH! ANOTHER flat??
I only went to grab a cookie!!
Nicely done. I am glad to see your trike performed so well. I am expecting my Mango Sport soon and will be riding it during the STP and other rides. I am a wee bit concerned about the extra weight but I don't think it will be that bad if I am in shape.
ReplyDeleteAgain,nicely done and better luck next time on flats.
Duncan,
ReplyDeleteThanks! I diagnosed the flat issue - Ill post it here later. I already did a bit on it on Bentrider... I was a bit baffled on the course but I was not diagnosing real fully - just throwing tubes at 'em...
Looks like it was a fun ride - except for the flats. I used veloplugs on my road bikes, but had problems like yours with the front tires on my QNT. I have thought of adding electrical tape over the veloplugs, but then wondered if there would really be any advantage over rim tape. Wonder if the side loading on the non-leaning trike tires causes the tubes to be more sensitive than on road bikes, because I have also noticed that when my front tires are over 75% worn, I start getting more flats.
ReplyDelete