"Ohio Jerry" wrote in message
...
Well folks, I did it.

After reading all the posts replying to my question about pedal steer,
I called someone who had a tadpole and asked him about his impressions
after having ridden it for a while. I also had the idea of wheedling a
test
ride out of him. He said he liked it but hadn't used it much. In fact he
was
thinking of selling it. So I tried it out and bought it the next day.

I think I got a real good deal:
Terra Trike 3.4
100 PSI tires
Rack, Lotsa lights, Mirrors, Air horn, Fairing, Doorbell (Bing-Bong !)
Computer
18 months old, 105 miles
$900

Pedal steer was no problem for me, but after putting about 15 miles on
it I thought "This thing is a @#$% dog! I didn't expect it to be real
fast,
but this is ridiculous!" Anyway, the left disk brake started "singing". I
felt the disks and both were hot. The brakes were dragging all this time!
It was like riding uphill all the time. Adjusting them made a huge
difference.
Afterwards, it wasn't *too* hard getting up into the 20+ MPH range.

I also removed the fairing. It seemed to interfere with the "trike
experience".
It also made it kind of a challenge for an old fart like me to get in &
out
of the
seat. I'm not that fast a rider anyway--somewhere close to Ed Dolan's
10-11
MPH
average--at least in an urban area.

Speaking of Mr. Dolan..You were right about multiple bents. Between my
wife and I we now have three of 'em.

Jerry

Jerry, you got a great deal on your TerraTrike. Some like the fairings and
some don't. I have mixed feelings about them myself.

It is hard for me to go 20 mph on my trikes, but I can go that fast on my
two wheelers, at least some of them. But unlike many others on this group, I
consider 15 mph to be fast. I think trikes are mainly for cruising around
town on safe roads. There is no downside to them if you have that attitude
about them.

I think your TerraTrike has a higher BB than mine. I have one of the early
versions, the one with the 26" rear wheel, above seat steering and the RANS
seat. I do prefer the lower BB which mine has. Let me know if you ever
experience any foot numbness due to the high BB. However, even your
TerraTrike has a lower BB than most other trikes currently being made.

I am embarrassed to tell others how many recumbent bikes I have. When asked,
I answer more than one and less than 15. The secret to having this many
recumbents lying around the house is not to have a wife and to have a fairly
large house. Otherwise, forget about it.

Regards,

Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota