Hi All!

Back safe and sound from Provence and first major tour on the recumbent
trike.

Among the technical issues I noticed, this trike, which has a 27-speed
SRAM Dualdrive shifter (three SRAM gears that can be shifted at a
standstill plus a derailleur with nine gears on it) is geared rather
stiff. I spend a lot of time in I-1, and never practically go beyond
III-6, even on the last day when I found myself on the Nationale 7, a
dual carriageway where trikes fear to tread! Comfortable cruising on
flat straight roads is at around III-4 or II-5. The last two gears seem
so high that I cannot see a use for them, since at those speeds,
downhill, I tend not to pedal anyway.

My favorite upright also has a SRAM Dualdrive, but with only 7 plates on
the derailleur. On this bike, I often use the highest gear.

I should mention that the cranks have been changed on the trike which is
now fitted with special short cranks, to go with my medium height. But I
was told one effect of this is that the gears might go stiffer.

The lowest gear is not really low enough to get me up my nightmare hill
on the way to work. I have to push furiously and can only manage a few
strokes before giving up to take a breather.

Now I have heard of people apparently changing the plates on a
derailleur to raise or lower the gear set. So I want to know, before I
get in touch with the Darth, if the request is feasible, if it is easy
or exorbitantly complicated to do, and what sort of price range are we
talking about.

I'm afraid also of disappointing my Darth, because when I bought the
trike in November we were discussing fitting him with a Schlumpf
Mountain Gear in addition to the SRAM. This would cost some 400€ extra,
and of course would add weight and fiddle. Is this a better solution, or
should I prefer substituting the original SRAM cassette for a lower version?

Thanks for your opinions - you people are so helpful!

EFR
Back doing laundry in sweltering Isle de France