Tripleshift - Recumbent Trikes, Bikes and other cool things!

My vote for favourite bike of the year passing through our sticky fingers must go to the awesome Hase Pino! We also sold a Hase Kettweisel Ride which on the three wheel side was pretty cool and about the only practically choice available for three wheels on dirt!

Anyway, the Pino is a beautifully made tandem that combines a recumbent stoker position with an upright captain sitting behind the stoker. This seemingly outlandish arrangement provides a short, stiff frame with an aerodynamic layout and great captain/stoker communication. The comfort of the reclined seating position for the stoker is a hands free option that allows keeping on top of navigation, making sandwiches on the fly and taking pics! 

Warm up
Startline
Wynberg Hill
Blue Route
Oceanside Musings
Smitswinkel
The Nature Reserve Straights
Misty Cliffs
Soetwater to Noordehoek
Chapman's Peak
Suikerbossie
Llandudno Descent
Camps Bay through Clifton
The Finish
Analysis and Stats

The final stretch! With 2 weeks to before race and Nicholas due to arrive in 7 days time I took time off work to help Graeme with the last stages. We wanted to be ready for test riding when Nicholas arrived on Sunday giving a full week before race day. So, it was into the Caddy for a daily trip up to Veldrif. With baby Amy due to pop out any day I preferred to be at home for the nights!

Graeme had been working hard to get the fairing ready for the last stages.

We took the trike and crude plug up to Graeme Murray in Velddrif in mid-January for completion of the composite work.

Graeme has been hard at work initially fairing the plug and then laying up the female mould. See the photo-essay below for some of the steps involved:

Nicholas George rode the 2004 GTX race trike to a winning position in the unconventional field in last year's Cape Argus Pick 'n Pay Cycle Tour. The time of 3h06m was good for the unfaired trike but not quite up to the standard set by the racing recumbents in past years!

We are using the same chassis for 2005 with a few modifications. Most notable of these will be the addition of a head out fairing. See below for some shots of work in progress on preparing this.

We will also be running the new prototype Greenspeed Scorcher slicks for this year. These have been measured to have between 4 and 6.5 watts less rolling resistance at pressures between 60 and 100p.s.i. Across three tyres this will result in a nice saving of around 12 to 15watts. Although not so critical for the Pick and Pay Argus Cycle Tour which generally runs on good smooth tar the Scorchers are also a high volume 40-349 tyre that can run happily at lower pressures on rough chip-seal type surfaces. This should make them faster than the Stelvio under these conditions.

[Note: Graeme has stopped making these but I've left the article up for reference. 20071212]

There has been quite a bit of discussion in recumbent circles on the use of short cranks to increase pedaling comfort and power output. The ability to maintain a high cadence is an uncontested claim. This eases knee strain and is an easily tested benefit of shorter cranks. Not so easy to show is that power output goes up with the use of shorter cranks.

A shorter crank presents a smaller lever arm so the torque measured on the crank shaft [BB] will drop. This is compensated by the use of lower gearing allowing a rider using shorter cranks to manage hill climbs. Even though the torque may be lower, because the cadence is higher the measured power output will not necessarily be lower. In addition, in the recumbent riding position use of a shorter crank will reduce the angle through which the knee joint flexes and extends. This may improve the biomechanical efficiency of the muscles used for recumbent riding and is often quoted as reducing strain on the joint or improving pedaling comfort. Since speed is proportional to power shorter cranks may result in faster riding.