What has wheels, brakes, cranks, mtb tyres but isn't a mountain bike???

FatMuz

FatMuz

Likes Dirt
I'm a bit nervous about how this latest machine will be taken by Rotorburners... I love it but never really wanted it. It has become a necessity of life, I'm afraid. Well that's what I'm telling my wife as the bills float on in.

I have had Parkinson's Disease for probably 10 years, but was formally diagnosed about 3 years ago. It's a weird disease because everyone seems to be differently affected by it... I don't suffer from the dramatic extreme tremors that you see from most Parkinson Patients... I do a bit but that may be something I will have to deal with in the future. My main symptoms at the moment relate to postural stability... I have issues with falling over lots... especially on my bike when maneuvering at low speeds... or even simply coming to a stop. I haven't been hurt at all just ego bruised and ribs sore from laughing.

Anyway... what I have gone and done is... I've started to play around on trikes. Not the old tri-cycle form our childhood but the super "cool" and "sexy" tadpole trike of the modern world. I have so far bought 4 trikes (All different + all necessary (I tell my wife))...
I have a
1) Rohloff 14 speed hub and Bafang 250W mid-drive equipped Performer JC26X
2) ICE Adventure HD with rohloff hub etc... (no motor)
3) HP Velotechnik Scorpion FS "Enduro"
4) HP Velotechnik modified Gecko trike into a Quad bike with Rear diff and Bafang 250W motor

The HP Velotechnik Scorpion is a full suspension model, but like most trikes it relies mostly on elastomer based suspension. It's effective but not really suitable for real off-road rugged riding. It has about 40 mm of travel.

In the end, in my quest for a true off-road capable trike... I've bitten the bullet and decided to sell all of my 2 wheeled jalopies except for 2 of them. I am churning that money back into a dream trike build... I am using Stein Trikes in Serbia. They hand build /manufacture boutique trikes of a very high quality. I have ordered a Rebel plus trike.... it will come with 100 mm suspension travel on all 3 wheels and some very funky Macpherson Strut double wishbone suspension. I will not get the trike for a couple of months and Viktor (Stein Trikes CEO) was kind enough to send me some progress pics the other day... what do you think?

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Well they certainly look pretty capable. Not as expensive as I expected either.
 
beeb said:
Well they certainly look pretty capable. Not as expensive as I expected either.
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It will be about $21,000 AUD imported to me here thanks to high freight costs and import duties + GST etc...

That's with no motor,,, just human powered. I am looking at fitting a CYC 250W motor at some stage (250w to keep it all legal).
 
FatMuz said:
It will be about $21,000 AUD imported to me here thanks to high freight costs and import duties + GST etc...

That's with no motor,,, just human powered. I am looking at fitting a CYC 250W motor at some stage (250w to keep it all legal).
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Yikes. Forgot about Border Farce. 😕
 
This is the holy grail of off-road trikes as far as I'm concerned at the moment. I saw this guy on a video of the Spezi bike show in Germany this year.
His name is Ahmad Omari and he is literally a one-man designer and engineer and has developed something called the Allroadracer TriX recumbent e-trike. Take the time to have a look at it...it is absolutely brilliant. I contacted him via email and he said that he only ever intended to build a single trike for himself...but he may consider building a batch of 10... purely for early adopters. I said, I'm in for sure... so hopefully it may happen one day in the near future. He is actually a really cool guy to chat with.

 
FatMuz said:
This is the holy grail of off-road trikes as far as I'm concerned at the moment. I saw this guy on a video of the Spezi bike show in Germany this year.
His name is Ahmad Omari and he is literally a one-man designer and engineer and has developed something called the Allroadracer TriX recumbent e-trike. Take the time to have a look at it...it is absolutely brilliant. I contacted him via email and he said that he only ever intended to build a single trike for himself...but he may consider building a batch of 10... purely for early adopters. I said, I'm in for sure... so hopefully it may happen one day in the near future. He is actually a really cool guy to chat with.

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The addition/inclusion of the lean function into that is awesome. Would make cornering a hoot.
 
Very cool!
Our club is chasing funding for a full rebuild of the Penguin MTB Park and we are planning to make all the green trails adaptive bike friendly.
 
Trikes are sick, especially Velomobiles. I was seriously considering a velomobile for commuting for a while but in the end the price couldn't justify the means.

In the mid 2000s my then late 70s grandmother and my aunt grabbed a couple of Greenspeed Anuras. You can hook these up in tandem, so I used to tow her around inner Melbourne for shits and giggles. We got more attention than the Lambo drivers.

Trikes are also pretty handy when Christmas comes around, the pic below is the sterling effort from one of our group Christmas rides.

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Anyway your project looks awesome, can't wait to see and hear about the results.
 
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Hey Everyone
Thankyou so much for the encouraging remarks... it means so much to me at the moment... a moment in my time where I am being forced to reinvent myself. I have been associated with mountain bikes for the past 30 years... who hasn't bought (or sold) some exotic bike part from "muz" on FB or Rotorburn Trading Area at some point in the past 30 years. In my job (32 YEARS) as a school teacher (Specal Education, Outdoor Pursuits and Behaviour Management), I've always relied on mountain bikes as a link to the younger generation, as a way-in to difficult kids minds at times. In a huge school of almost 3000 kids I was the "cool mountain bike teacher"... and then Parkinson's reared its ugly head... and I started to struggle physically for the first time in my life. Here I am about 4 years later and I have had to retire form the job I loved.

Parkinson's not only robbed me of my physical abilities but more importantly it robbed me of my identity. I could no longer be who/what I had cultivated for so many years.

Trying to see the positive side of early retirement, I originally planned to ride every day. I purchased 3 or 4 new bikes in the past 12 months and pushed on, trying to ignore the increasing issues with my postural stability and balance and the weariness... the weariness is something else all together. Some days I am flat out crawling off the couch and even stepping foot out doors. The weariness is the worst.

After several "Numpty" crashes/falls my Neurologist suggested I needed to stay off the bikes for a while, to which I protested quite strongly, and he casually mentioned I need to get myself a tricycle. After I cooled down from that insult, I began to browse Google and Youtube and think about the actual possibilities. I was inspoired by an American fellow, who founded an organisation called Spokes Fighting Strokes,... https://www.spokesfightingstrokes.org/
I am taking inspiration from this organisation to do something similar in Australia...targeting others with Neuro Degenerative Conditions... who maybe no longer have the courage or ability to get back on a bike and ride. This is where the trike is a great tool... if for no other reason other than it is pretty difficult to fall off a trike. In fact, it is as difficult to fall off a trike as it is to not smile when riding that very trike.

So, in the coming months we'll see how it goes. Keep an eye out for my community group ... STUMBLE AND FALL ADVENTURE CLUB...
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PS: If you keep an eye on my FB stuff you will see some amazing bikes being sold in the next few weeks.
 
I had a kind of awkward interaction with a handful of guys on these in Whistler a while back. They were waiting to drop into a trail, I pulled up behind them to a stop to regain feeling in my hands and wait for my soul to catch up. One of the guys stopped their chat and looked me over suggesting they race me down the trail. Polite me said "yeah sweet as bro's, want me to stop a bit further ahead and get a cool video of you guys coming through a section?". All of them laughed at me. Not one of them did not hold back in chuckling. They were American guys so already had an arrogant arsehole vibe about them and implied they'd beat me down the trail. Again polite me thought "Fuck off lads, I'm riding these blue Whistler trails no brakes and passing squids in the air". For your reference, it was the trail B Line. I let them go first thinking I could just drag brakes behind them and be part of the fun. That bit that I said where I'm not braking on these trails continued and these guys were hauling arse, I was stunned and absolutely stoked to see how much fun they were having. And man they were going fast. When we stopped we chatted for a while about just how capable these things are, the grip etc. They are really cool creations and I was so excited to see them again doing the Garbanzo stuff the next day. I was doing black trails only that day and didn't ride with them, they said I pussed out on being beaten by them again in good humor. Later that arvo they were having drinks and two of them certainly weren't as able bodied as most people that visit that place and I was chuffed to see these guys were doing exactly the same stuff as the rest of us and having an absolute time of it. I was so proud to see this and stoked for those guys. Fuck yes for mountain biking, get after it @FatMuz
 
Much respect @FatMuz

Takes courage to step into something new, especially something the old you would look at as someone else’s jam. You are a legend for being open to yourself and not simply giving up.

Anything with wheels is cool imo. If you can hurt yourself on it..well, that’s just a bonus :D
 
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