Would you ever go from two wheels to three?
Would you ever go from two wheels to three? A few years ago a guy decided to bring his Spyder on one of our Sportbike rides and while he couldn't quite keep up he did better than I imagined he would. But, I've also heard these aren't too good for long distance trips as they tend to break down and qualified mechanics aren't always readily available.
What's your take on these kinds of bikes?
https://youtu.be/pd2h4o6Ox58
What's your take on these kinds of bikes?
https://youtu.be/pd2h4o6Ox58
Comments
Tadpole technology isn't new. Not like " oh some bicycle people do this" level of not new, but " oh the Morris Motors tadpole trike has been around for 75 years" level of not new.
Not only can a reasonably well designed one keep up, but you would be amazed at the level of additional stability and speed in Corners that you can achieve.
And then there's the Spyder. Which takes every positive aspect and future Tech element of this style of writing and turns it in to Windows 95.
They were fairly popular, even to racing leagues, in the post ww1 years. They never really died out, but never really got traction in the US, either.
But the Morgans weren't really "R&D" stuff, and weren't developing into sportbikes- or sportrikes, as the case may be.
THAT history belongs to the recumbent bike world. In the 1930s, the main racing league decided recumbents weren't allowable, and they pretty much disappeared for 40 years. In the 60s, we started seeing a lot of development of these, and the trikes came right along with it.
What was going on, of course, was SPEEEEEEED. The tadpole design (what people in motorcycling call "reverse" trike, even though it's the original form....) is very stable at speed and has good handling (regular harley trikes and 60 mph corners don't go well, yknow)
in fact, in the late 70s, a recumbent trike was the first "bicycle" to hit 55mh, and then 60mph (same bike) in 1980.
No engine, dude.
And that is where the engineering development started. You have all the aeropsace and spaceship dudes doing bikes on the side, coming up with countersteering and different suspensions, CoG sweet spots,
and most people don't know, because bikers seem to not pay attention to, or like, bicycles.
Deltas tip. (that's the "regular trike" people think of in the biker world.) You take a cornet at speed and you do a tricycle faceplant.
Tadpoles don't tip. They corner like..... race cars.
Traditional trike when I'm not able to kick mine up off the kickstand anymore. With luck, maybe just do a trike kit on the same bike I've got today.
Not hate, I'm just as unlikely to ever pay money for one as I am to buy a station wagon...
Kind of 50-50 on whether a Harley would be an improvement over a spider or not, but a Goldwing for sure. If I had the money to convert a Goldwing right now I might do it just for fun
So maybe I'm a little weird
That said, I know you're a fan of the Goldwing, and if they suit you, ride on... I've got no hate for those who ride spyders either, just can't understand what they see in them.
I just really like the extra speed boost and I really like shaft drive