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My uncle has always been a tricyclist, and in my cycling club there has historically been a bit of a thing for them. So next Sunday is the Ron Sant audax and I drunkenly agreed to ride one of Ron's trikes in it. I've picked it up tonight and ridden a few miles home. Blimey, I really need to remember how to not fight them. @tired I think you might appreciate this. It's a Longstaff from the early 80's I think
That's beautiful. Always look like the sort of n+1 one should get.
A friend of ours (the late Frank Cubis - @tired probably knew him too) was big into these and held some long distance records on them;
Frank broke the RRA Cardiff- London tricycle record in 1972 in a time of 7 hrs 00 mins 37 secs.
In 1974 he set a new record time for Land’s End - London on trike of 14:48:22.
In 1974 he also won the Tricycle Association’s Higgins Trophy for the fastest “25” of the year anywhere in the country, in 1:01:08.
You used to be able to get bolt on kits for road bikes but I suspect they are a thing of the past now, like tandem trikes - which must be very sketchy!!.
You used to be able to get bolt on kits for road bikes but I suspect they are a thing of the past now, like tandem trikes - which must be very sketchy!!.
A conversation axle. I had one of those in the mid-90's, not seen one for years. My uncle, who is the current owner of this one still has a tandem trike, also made by Longstaff.
Fine looking machine but surely you now have 50% more chance of punctures 🫣
There's a guy on the localish audax scene who rides trikes. He let me try and ride one round the car park after an event. I was absolutely terrified trying to steer it, all felt very counterintuitive.
He looked quite terrified as well watching me trying to ride it.
There's a good bit in the End to End book about watching people trying to set the LEJoG record of random trikes - expecting two old codgers to come pootling through at 15mph, instead of which this thing comes flying past at 25+ mph with one wheel in the air...
Always found these interesting to look at but bewildered why able people would choose to ride them; must be a nightmare on today's potholed roads!
Had a long discussion with an old friend, who insists on riding motorcycle trikes, about how trikes don't/can't steer properly owing to using two-wheeled based rake, trail, etc. and them not being able to lean or counter-steer. Cloudy memory now but interesting at the time 🙂
Inside pedal DOWN. DOWN. Did I say keep the inside pedal DOWN?! Will post some pics later but I have the fastest trike in the UK (think sub 19 min 10 TT - not by me). That which does not kill you makes you stronger. And you can track stand at lights like a pro!
National 50 - managed 2:15 which was OK for a lumpy course.
It's a classic lightweight, handbuilt special. Quite light in 531 throughout. Has Higgins single sided drive, Ultegra 10-speed Di2 and a 56T chainring, Rotor SRM crankset for power meter. Front end has Use Tula aero bars, TriRig Omega aero brake on front and a V-brake on rear of the front fork. And of course it has 3x Hed3s, the rear having trike-specific hubs. I also have three training wheels with conventional spokes. It's actually pretty aero for a trike, but the records are held by a Cervelo carbon TT bike with trike conversion bolted on. I hope to chase the 12h record. One day.
Longstaff made some beautiful trikes, he tended to put the front brakes inline in front of the fork.
Yet another reminder that I have 3 broken ones in the shed. A Bob Jackson, which may be a Higgins (knackered axles and hub splines, a known Higgins (bent axle housing) and a two wheel drive Rogers (ridden into a tree with the usual 531 creased frame) Must try and make one out of the three one day.
ridden into a tree
Normally its a ditch once the road camber bites and you become a passenger. Happens to all of us. The TT above was the first ride for four years, excluding the ride up and down the road, where I had completely forgotten how to ride it! Plans were to do 50/100/12h BBAR but I got sick after that race. Hopefully this year.
How did you acquire THREE? Driveshafts can be easily replaced, and there is a Ken Rogers conversion to two-wheel drive. The Higgins will always be sought after and there is an active Facebook group and the Tricycle Society (of which I am a member).
I didn't do it! It lived at Pedalabikeaway as a hire bike. Fred Carpenter wouldn't sell it to me for years until a customer got about half way down the ramp to the road and got it wrong. I am a lapsed TA member, only this year actually and the Rogers pops up about every 5 years on the O3W forum as I ask how to do something, which I never do. Martin Purser gave me the bent Higgins to cut up and graft to the Rogers and the "Jackson" came from him as well. Chris Hewitt never replied to my request for axles and I sort of forgot. Got the Rogers out since my last post, looked at it and it is now in the way in the repair stand. Hmmmm