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5.8 Hill climbing
A recumbent trike or bike tends not to climb a hill as quickly as an upright bike whose rider can get off the saddle
to use his/her weight to get extra effort. It will climb in comfort at a lower speed and in a lower gear. Try to
keep your cadence up by shifting down early. You should never need to get off and push, even when carrying a
heavy load. Just gear down and keep spinning until you reach to the top of the hill.
5.9 Descending a hill
CAUTION, take care on your first downhill rides until you gain experience. It is not unusual to reach
speeds of over 40 mph on steep descents. You will find you can go faster and with much more confidence once
you are used to the way the machine handles. Because there is less air drag in the recumbent position you will
go faster than a bike. You have powerful brakes with good stopping power.
CAUTION, the brakes are powerful and if they are applied sharply on some of our models with higher seats, you
can cause the rear wheel to rise up. This can result in some loss of directional control.
5.10 Ground clearance
When going over very rough ground, it is possible, but unlikely, that the underside of the frame could make
contact. If you think there is a chance that the underside of the frame may hit an obstacle, get off first and look
under the trike to see how close things are getting. You will quickly learn to recognize terrain that your trike can
easily handle. If you do contact the underside of the frame then, it's unlikely any serious damage will be done
(other than scratching the paint) but check to make sure everything is OK. A good way of riding over obstacles is
to aim your trike so that the object goes directly under one of your feet. This way it misses the front wheel, the
central frame, and the rear wheel.
5.11 Muscles
The first few times you ride your new trike, you will feel the muscles on your legs working harder than you may
be used to. This is because pedaling from the recumbent position uses different muscle groups than riding in an
upright position. You will find a noticeable improvement in this in a few days, and with a couple of months, you
won’t notice anything different at all.
When you are riding a recumbent, the best approach is to keep your cadence a little high, even if it means
gearing down a little early. One good reason for this is that the recumbent seat allows you to brace yourself
when you push on the pedals, and this makes it possible to put large loads into your knees. On an upright bike,
if you pushed that hard, you’d lift yourself out of the saddle. Also, try to remember to shift down before you
come to a stop; you will find starting off again to be much easier.
5.12 Folding and unfolding the trike
Folding and separating tool-lessly
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Ensure the chain is in top gear (on the smallest sprocket at the back)
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Release the two lower quick-release clamps holding the seat in place. Release the seat angle quick-release
behind the seat. Slide the two clamps under the seat off the main frame seat cup. Remove the seat.
•
Remove the rear mudguard and/or the rear carrier.
•
Remove the back wheel by undoing the quick-release axle and sliding the wheel down out of the dropouts,
holding the rear derailleur back out of the way if necessary.
•
Undo the Velcro retaining strap, then lifting both rear chain tubes up to the lower rack mount; fold the back
legs under the frame.
If you have the optional Q/R kit you can go further
•
If you want to further reduce the length, release the quick-releases holding the front boom and either push it
in fully, or pull it out completely. It is a good idea to mark the position of the boom with a permanent marker
so it can be easily returned to its original position when you reassemble the trike. If you pull it out
completely, you will need to unhook the chain from the chain rings.
•
Remove the front mudguards (if fitted) by releasing, then unscrewing the quick-releases.
•
Release and remove the quick-releases from the front wheels.
•
Release the quick-releases on the handlebars and fold them down flat.
Summary of Contents for TRICE 'Q'
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