What Makes it Go?...

Probably the most commen expression you'll hear as you swerve along any given boulevard: "What makes it go?!"

They usually yell it as you're zooming by. And you sort of look at them incredulously, as in "can't you see? It's all ME!"

The Trikke 12 Roadster is powered by... well, it's a scientific term called Camber Thrust. The same force that propels an inline skater, or controls the pace and direction of a surfer or downhill skiier.

With Trikke, you're making short "S" turns... connecting them at their far apex, then back again. It's the power locked inside the swerve.

You'll feel three or four different processes when you Trikke (I've been doing it rigorously since September 2001, and I learn some riding technique, some performance-ehancing trick at least once a week, if not every other time I ride).

1) You'll experience the organic movement that comes from simply swerving: from making a partial circle, then changing direction. You can actually ride it like this... but not necessarily very fast. But it's the basis for good riding technique... so you'll want to learn this (we'l get you some pictures soon).

2) Weight shift: You'll find that shifting your weight forward, sort of pressing your knee forward as you lean your body that same direction, will create another additional feel of momentum. The most advanced form of this allows you to climb hills that look nearly impossible, even on a bicycle (in Rosarito-Ensenada, with 10,000 bicyclists all around, I was Trikking up this 3,000 foot "hill" while most of my cohorts were busy walking their bikes. It's a clue).

3) The rear-wheel swerve: This is one of the easiest ways to ride a Trikke... but for me was one of the last techniques I mastered. This is what a surfer feels when balancing on a wave... the back end is your focus, with the two trailing wheels and your hips doing 90% of the work. This is most effective when you have either no wind, a tail wind, or are just on a good, flat riding surface.

4) The Front-End Power Drag: This is a pretty advanced technique I "learned" from a guy in newport Beach who is definitely the fastest guy on take-off that I've ever seen. It involves using your arms to literally drag the front wheel left and right as you push off on the back, very quickly. It seems to amplify the mostion, reducing any front drag that may be happening, and you can take off like a shot.

The downside is that if you don't really watch the front-end action, you can throw your Trikke about 20 feet to your left or right is you lose traction, or miss-guage the amount of drag the surface represents (say, by hitting a wet or sandy patch).

There are kicks and pushes and body-flexing swerves that all come into play as well, as you advance. And on a given ride (for me, a ride will typically average 12 miles here in Vancouver in the winter months, and 15+ during the spring, summer and autumn), you may use every technique you know, as well as picking up a new one that you sort of organically "feel" as you're Trikking. Even Gildo, who's been developing and riding these things for well over a decade, still learns subtle techniques on a regular basis.

Trikke is like that. Sort of like Quantum Mechanics... the more you know, the deeper the rabbit hole gets...

More later on how to do individual riding styles and what to use when (and I'll have additional pictures coming to illustrate both the style, and what muscle groups are used).

Ciao!
ME

Comments

[Mexikorn]

Help! Money well spent is now sitting in the garage! We were all excited to try the Trikke8, neighbors even lined up to take turns and after weeks no one could do more than kick and scoot. Which is great fun, but the self propelling -Thrust ? well, what can it be? I've seen videos on YouTube with 5 year olds getting it right? Is it us? We are pretty fit people. Is it the wheels? How can I check our assembly? I noticed the front wheel will rotate backwards automatically when parked. It just takes a lot of effort to get it to go and then it just stops completely.

[Jacquie Nantier]

Ok, someone said something about the brakes here and I was wondering. Could something with the brakes cause the trikke not to move at all like it's stuck in the mud on flat surfaces. I have tried flat surfaces and I can barely get it to go, there has to be a slight hill for me to get any forward movement. I've had the trikke for 3 days and I would be happy just to be able to work out on flats, but this is ridiculous! I have the Trikke 8Air any help would be appreciated

[Ron Welemin]

O.K. I have a Trikke 8 and I love it. However, the roads around here are very rough with 2 inch cracks. The vibration is anoying. I'm having a tough time. If the wind is bowing, I have even more trouble. I am thinking in investing in a T12. Do you think it will make a difference. Thats a lot of money for me.

ME: Ron, I tried to love the Trikke 8 for almost a year before we were able to get prototypes of the Trikke 12. Once I had that monster under me, there was no going back.

Yes, it's worth it. I do 800-1000 miles on tough roads (and the 50 mile Rosarito-Ensenada at least once a year... you wanna' talk about TOUGh roads..;-)

If you can get the scratch together get the Trikke 12 Roadster. It's a completely different machine. Rather than just swerving, you're actually throwing your body weight around to accelerate. And anything short of a real pot hole is your friend.

[grecha]

I'm thinking this might be a way to get me active again after 10+ years and 100 lbs since I was last in shape. Any advice for a fat old ex-soldier?

By the way, I think I'd look silly wobbling around on it. But it's either a T12 Roadster or a bicycle.

[Alessandra Bragança]

Pelo menos assim sei que estás viva!

[Angela Kemper]

Ok, now this is REALLY embarassing... the brakes were all the way tight onto the wheels... :P no wonder it didn't go anywhere. DOY

Never mind..... :)

[Angela Kemper]

Got my first trikke and can't figure out how to make it move! Bummer. Will keep trying, but don't know if I am just too old to do this - I'm 30 and never rode a bike, have no balance, etc. I feel very safe on top of the Trikke, it just won't go... anywhere... I have no control at all, It's embarassing :(

[LC]

Getting some clicking out of the front end of a T12. These are not light clicks, it feels like someone is hitting it with a rubber hammer. Any insight on how to resolve? Also, how long do the tires last?

[Jim]

I bought the Trikke 12 and have rode it everyday for the last three days. I really like it. I would like to know about climbing. I can go pretty fast as long as it's flat. It seems as soon as there is even a slight incline, I have a really hard time, and almost grind to a halt? Did you expiereence this problem when you started out? Does the 12 seem faster then the 8 to you when you are climbing hills? Any suggestions???

ME: Hi Jim,

Thanks for the question... it's the same issue I ran into early on... but I had to make it happen in Mexico on a 50 mile ride. A good pressure cooker to really figure things out in a hurry!

OK, so an outline of successful hill climbing looks like this:

1) Can you ride fast on flatlands? If so, you're definitely on the right path to hill-climbing success. Here are some quick hints:
-Like inline skating, push-off at the apex of each swerve.
-Get your rhythm down so that you can ride it with very little shoulder pressure, then minimal leg effort. Knowing how to separate those efforts can make all the difference in the world to gaining speed up hill.

2) Climbing hills is all about kicking and punching:
-Keeping your foot planted firmly on the pad, kick forward with the knee while punching and turning with the same hand.
-Shift your body forward, and turn HARD on each swerve.
-Try dragging the front wheel across as you move from left to right. Not hard, but just barely break traction. It's a way to speed up your climbing cycles... the more cycles, the faster you climb.

3) Try attacking shorter hills first. Use the momentum from your flat speed to help get you started on the climbs.

4) Lean into it, and see how far it's comfortable to lean to get maximum performance in the climb. Use that as a barometer as you attack future hills.

5) I have some images coming with illustrations to help explain hill climbing in better detail (nd I'll work on some stronger explanations as the week gets under way).

Enjoy your T12. I just finished my ride today (sadly, with a flat tire!), but it was excellent in the sun.

Oh, and two things to check for:

1) If you can stand on the back pads, and, while holding the handlebars strait, wobble the wheels sideways with "slop", then you need to tighten the front allen screw (at the very front pivot on the Trikke). Use threadlock to keep it tight. If it's loose, you'll lase all kinds of momentum on hills, and feel less stable on flats as well.

2) Pump those tires up to 70-78PSI, or you'll also be fighting rolling resistance (unless you're exceptionally light, under 150lbs, in which case you can stay at 60-65PSI or so.

I hope these hints help, and I'll send more later.

best,
ME

[Sharon Gutz]

What is URL? Never heard of that. $399 isn't bad. Sharon

[Sharon Gutz]

Good morning, Mark. Little post polio gal here. I read your info. How much does it cost?
ME: Hi Sharon. You can pick up a Trikke 12 Roadster right now for $399... I'll send you a link sometime between now and Monday afternoon.

If you are riding 12 miles - wow!!!!!!! How do people keep up with you? How exhausting is it to use?
ME: It's a full-body workout... which also means not only do you use every muscle group... you also selectively use the muscle group that has the most energy or capability during your ride (sometimes I'm using mostly arms and chest, other times it's all legs, and on every ride, I take time to focus on my abs... nothing like having muscular arms, chest and legs, and a belly hanging out!).

One of the cooler parts of this is that as a muscle group fatigues, you can shift the effort to another muscle group, in real-time, and keep on Trikking. It's great, and in the 50 mile Rosarito-Ensenada ride, I was able to outrun a number of bicyclists by switching muscle groups, while they ran out of gas in their quads (one of the dominant bicycling muscle groups). Pretty cool. After the race (a bit over 4 hours) I felt like I could go another 20 miles at full-speed.

Let me know if there's anything else I can tell you, and I'd be happy to share.

Warmest regards,
ME

Sharon
(360)909-5624 cell 24/7