"32GO" wrote in message
ups.com...
Chalo wrote:

Trikes as a rule have a natural "critical speed"... as
speed increases, the weight shift becomes more sudden
and eventually causes a violent response to even mild
steering inputs, up to and including high-siding the
trike.

While I can appreciate most of chalo's comments, this
bit seems to me to be what a logics professor might call
'A giant leap from a fallacious assumption to an
erroneous conclusion'. ;-) What exactly is this strange
"weight shift" and why would it become "more sudden"?
A well-designed stiff tadpole with an experienced, even
modestly talented rider doesn't go through some kind of
radical transition (like an aircraft at Mach One) so
that it begins to provide a "violent response" to his
control inputs.


Regarding Critical Speed:

I don't know about the science behind this but the idea matches my
experience on the trikes that I've owned. Everything is fine under 25 mph.
Even the top heavy Tricruiser is fine at that speed. At somewhere between 25
and 30, however, something happens and the steering characteristics change.
Under normal riding conditions you constantly make minor steering
adjustments to keep moving in whatever direction you are going. The side
effects of these minor adjustments is magnified by speed and then further
magnified by braking.

I think that if there were some way to keep going straight without turning
or braking (such as going down one hill and then immediately up another),
I'd be comfortable in the mid 30's.

BTW

I forgot to stick up for the Tricruiser before so I'll just do it here. Sid
(the builder) makes a nice trike and get people in at an entry level for
under $1,000. You can't compare it to higher end trikes and expect it to win
but for what it is, its great. Sid was a pleasure to deal with and the
Tricruiser was fun to ride.

Jeff