I guess, Harvey, that you wouldn't want a Model A Ford either. Just as pointless but still fun. ;-)
Paul Patzkowsky
Longmont, Colorado (where I can still do trackstands if needed)
> Date: Fri, 23 Oct 2009 20:00:16 -0400
> From: hmsachs@verizon.net
> To: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org; marc.stmartin@earthlink.net
> Subject: [CR] British racing trikes: our version of mules.
>
> I put a lot of miles on a Jack Taylor trike a couple of decades ago. A
> lovely build. In my not-so-humble opinion, a racing trike is a cross
> between a bike and and a really Bad Idea. Yeah, I got ok at riding it,
> could ride far as I wanted on two wheels, etc. Neat novelty, but for
> most folks I just consider it a mutant w/o much grace.
> First, there was the steering. Why do bikes have the front geometry they
> use? so they will steer in the direction of the lean. So, riding in a
> lane on a crowned road means that the trike continually wants to steer
> itself toward the edge of the road. The gutter. Neat, eh? And then there
> is the drive train. Marc has the rare bikes with differentials. The JT
> had one-wheel drive. Drove the left rear wheel through a live axle on
> which the FW was mounted. OK in Britain, but Bad Idea here in the
> colonies where we drive on the right, and weight transfers to the right
> on that same crowned road. Yup, sure was easy to get the drive wheel to
> spin. And then there is cornering. It is an unnatural act. Have you
> noticed that children's trikes have changed from the functional
> equivalent of a high-wheeler with two trailing wheels to low seat units
> that slide out in corners instead of tipping? Well, the vintage trikes
> still tip right good, eh? By comparison, I find high wheelers pretty
> easy to ride.
>
> So, as far as I'm concerned, the classic racing trike is just a triumph
> of craftsmanship over sound design. When I'm old enough for a trike,
> mine will be a "tadpole" recumbent: low center of gravity, single rear
> drive wheel, and automotive steering for the dual front wheels.
> Handling is super, and braking is vastly superior to the kludges of the
> old Brits: typically two brakes on the front wheel, nothing in back. If
> I want a vintage feel, I can always mount a Campgranola Gran Turismo on
> it, eh?
>
> end of rant. :-)
>
> Marc, you can send me any spare Abingdons, eh?
>
> harvey sachs, curmudgeonly at the end of a hard week.
> mcLean va.
> +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
> >
> > Hi Dmitry,
> >
> > I have two fixed gear trikes; a Buckley and a Selbach. Both use the
> Abingdon differential. The Selbach is disassembled and at the shop of a
> well-known builder, the other I ride from time to time. People in
> Livermore, California do not know what to make of a racing tricycle.
> I've had folks ask if I was handicapped ;^) Yes, a fixed gear trike in a
> corner is a handfull. I suspect that the focus for these spindly old
> girls was out-and-back time trials; e.g., one corner taken slow.
> >
> > Marc St. Martin
> > Livermore, California
> > USA
> >
> >
> http://www.wooljersey.com/