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Training on my trike
With the new GT5 trike, I went for my first "real" ride today. Only
maybe 35km, and around the river in Perth so a few hills but nothing serious, and what would have been an easy ride on my roadie, but it almost killed me! What's the best training method to aclimatise to the recumbent-trike style, and what are the tricks and tips? What average speeds do people exect to get whilst cruising on a trike on the cycleway and quiet suburban streets, assuming I average 28-30 on the roadie? Cheers David M |
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Training on my trike
"David M" wrote: With the new GT5 trike, I went for my first "real" ride today. Only maybe 35km, and around the river in Perth so a few hills but nothing serious, and what would have been an easy ride on my roadie, but it almost killed me! Just my 2c and hate to disappoint you, but you've just discovered the hidden secret of trikes. Trike riders perform well because they get fit for a trike. Put them back on a regular bike and they'll fly. I rode alongside Greenspeed trikes on several GVBRs in the 90s and the only time I saw them was as I was overtaking them. You've got a heavier vehicle, with three wheels to rotate instead of two (50% more rolling resistance) and not as much reduced frontal area as people assume. That's got to take a lot more effort to push, especially in hilly country. Don't get me wrong, a superlight, aero-faired, low, narrow trike pushed by a national track sprinter on a flat course is going to be a damn lot faster than the same guy on a regular roadie, but I'm talking about a standard trike, with some luggage, powered by a 40-50 yr old average rider. That's no record breaker. Ride a trike for comfort, style, load carrying or whatever other reason, but don't expect it to be radically easier, and in some cases it will be harder/slower than your road bike. What's the best training method to aclimatise to the recumbent-trike style, and what are the tricks and tips? Take Eddie Merckx' tip "Ride a bike, ride a bike, ride a bike" or in your case, ride a trike. Cheers Peter |
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Training on my trike
/"Peter Signorini" wrote in message
... Trike riders perform well because they get fit for a trike. I new there was some of the "fit for a trike" required... You've got a heavier vehicle, with three wheels to rotate instead of two (50% more rolling resistance) and not as much reduced frontal area as people assume. That's got to take a lot more effort to push, especially in hilly country. No illusions there - my roadie is 8kg, as 21mm tyres and only 2 of hem, at 120psi. Compared with 18kg, 3 tyres at 60-70psi.. But the difference is a level of comfort for day after day in the saddle (touring) as well as a minimisation of the risk of "drifting off" an either hitting a gumnut or riding off the shouldern to an almost certain case of road rash...and being able to carry some "stuff".. Ride a trike for comfort, style, load carrying or whatever other reason, but don't expect it to be radically easier, and in some cases it will be harder/slower than your road bike. What's the best training method to aclimatise to the recumbent-trike style, and what are the tricks and tips? Take Eddie Merckx' tip "Ride a bike, ride a bike, ride a bike" or in your case, ride a trike. Yeah, I guess that's probably what's required... Cheers David M |
#4
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Training on my trike
David M wrote:
With the new GT5 trike, I went for my first "real" ride today. Only maybe 35km, and around the river in Perth so a few hills but nothing serious, and what would have been an easy ride on my roadie, but it almost killed me! What's the best training method to aclimatise to the recumbent-trike style, and what are the tricks and tips? What average speeds do people exect to get whilst cruising on a trike on the cycleway and quiet suburban streets, assuming I average 28-30 on the roadie? Cheers David M This will make superb cross-training for your road bike but this is because you will be working similar muscles but in a different way. You will need to work on your 'recumbent legs'. If you really want to enjoy the trike forget speed for now as you will either master this on the trike or never. Take your trike out for a bit of cornering fun. Have you had it up on two wheels yet and how long did you keep the wheel up for? (Yes you can do front wheel wheelies on a trike but it best to do only one wheel at a time). You can corner hard by either leaning into the inside wheel to keep it down or just letting it hover off the ground. Remember that you can also pedal through corners that your roadster can't. You will also find other secrets of the trike. Those barber pole chicanes that you find placed at the end of some bike paths, the sort that you have to weave through on a bike you may find that you simply ride under on the trike. The next trick is to learn which of these are safe to do so at speed. A ride to the fish and chip shop is different, you can now ride off with a steaming packet on your belly, eating as you go. On a bike this is a juggling trick. And of course at the next Skyshow you won't have to sit on the grass and debris as you would if you rode your bike out there as this time you can ride your deckchair-on-wheels. Fireworks from the comfort of your own trike, priceless. As to speed trikes are a different pedalling style as well as muscles but speed comparable to a roadbike is possible. I've overtaken roadies out training around riverside Perth on the trike while towing home a trailer and a couple of palm trees (one roadie says to the other 'we're going so slow even the trees are overtaking us?'). However if you want to ride the 'Old Pappas' Tuesday morning ride, for instance, then you'd do it on a comparable road bike if you wanted to keep up, not a trike, not a lowracer, not a Kmart trashie. I've ridden my trike the 92km on the 'Sydney to 'Gong' ride and spent the ride passing untold bikes and other trikes. The trike allowed me to survive an emergency swerve while descending the hill after Waterfall, when I came around a bend to find the emergency crew looking after some cyclist who didn't handle the speed and corner. I missed the ambulance and the other cyclists who had wobbled into my path. The MTBers behind me were impressed with the trike's control. Later I stopped at a roadside diner for a massive burger and when I rode off it was onto a section of the 'Gong ride where there are the short, sharp seaside hills. I heard people complaining as they walked up the hills with their bikes that not only was I still pedalling but I was eating a burger with both hands while doing so. Further on was a steep downhill where you were supposed to wait for the police to escort you down in groups as it was reportedly too steep for the organisers to comprehend the joy of descending, I came upon this just after a group of riders had ridden off without escort and some poor cardriver was stuck behind these nervous cyclists. Not an issue, the trike descended better than all (weight and control) and I weaved through the strung out riders/driver, kicked the gear into top and away into the blue went that trike. In the latter part of the 'Gong you have flat roads and that godawful headwind. My trike isn't the standard tourer, with a slightly more inclined seat it is more aerodynamic that a standard roadbike easily. This was a shame as I didn't feel that headwind much but spent most of the last 10km having to pass riders who did on the narrow cyclepaths leading into Wollongong. I finished the ride well happy, others were plain tuckered out from the effort of hills and headwind. Lots of tired cyclists. I've ridden the HPV Challenge on the Canberra course where out the back of the road circuit through the hills there is a diversion, you can go straight but up a steep ramp between two hills or turn right halfway down the dip while at speed and then cruise around a better gradient without the need for knee surgery. The bikes had no choice but to take option one, the trikes ate up option two. What bike could handle the sharp righthand corner at speed down the hill and pedalling through the corner? And coming off the hills back onto the straight run pass the finish line was thrilling, you came about a tight bend equipped with steel rails at whatever speed you thought you could hit while still keeping all wheels on the ground and not sliding across the road. You wanted all the speed you could get for the following slightly downhill sprint along the straight then back around a long bend back into the rolling hills. Trikes dominated the front of that race. Gearing, handling, aerodynamics, load-carrying, comfort, let alone climbing and speed will be different for your trike and bike. From all this I'd say that expect your trike to perform differently, don't try to go the same speed along the same roads that you take your bike. Get out there and find those differences on your trike. And if you think trike, not bike then you'll enjoy the experience more. Ride lots to acclimatise. Expect to ride 25-30km while commuting and expect that roadies will try to pass you simply to try to prove a point. Experiment a bit on the handling, braking and your pedalling style, perhaps even cleat placement as ankling is different when your legs are no longer pumping below your saddle but suspended slightly above. Find some rolling hills to spin around on when you think you've got a bit of recumbent muscle developed, just to feel the difference in style. Oh, and practice steering by braking, cornering while locking up the inside brake and other arcane acts that you wouldn't consider for your bike. Some new trikers have practiced on the grassy banks around Kings Park or Subiaco, doing wheelies and brake manoeuvres on a safe surface. Just don't try to get airborne off a speed hump, such as those coming down from the Devil's Elbow along the Esplanade, Peppy Grove, as skill and backbone is required in landing safely on all three wheels with chain intact. Enjoy. |
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