05 - T78AirDeluxe... The Lean Green Trikking Machine!

I made contact with Rob Billing at Trikke Australia (he had a different website to the one I had previously looked at in January 2013). 

Rob confirmed he had T78AD's available and I'd chosen the Green color option. 

Trikke T78AirDeluxe - 2012 model color options

Rob shopped around for price comparisons on freighting the T78AD from Melbourne, Australia to Westport, New Zealand. We decided on the freight option that suited us both and I organised payment. Within 2 days it was in New Zealand, but it took another 3 days for it to be processed via Customs etc. By February 11^th 2014 I had received the T78AD and had it assembled. 

My T78AirDeluxe after assembly - Feb 2014

I knew about keeping the tire air pressure up to at least 80psi, but trying to get the T78AD moving compared the the T5 was like starting all over again... it took me 2 weeks of little 10-15 minute practices sometimes 2-3 times per day to gradually re-discover the revised "sweetspot" and learn how to work this larger heavier machine.

I'd be constantly reviewing YouTube Trikke videos to work out what I needed to change in my riding style so that I could improve my technique. Here are some video examples...

Trikke inventer Gildo... power Trikking.

Rob Billing (Trikke Australia) showing core Trikking concepts

I was mainly practicing on a nearby stretch of new concrete footpath (sidewalk) and a nice new asphalt cul-de-sac (similar to the Trikke Australia video link above) from a recently developed subdivision. Just having a slight head wind would slow me down to a crawl on the footpath, but at least the cul-de-sac had some slight slope for water run-off so I could circle around and practice my turns, leans and larger carves. I'd even get brave and attempt to Trikke the slight inclines of the pre-formed lanes for the rear sections that were still undeveloped.

Early on in the practice sessions it was obvious that I needed a set of gloves to reduce sweating hands slipping on the hand grips, provide additional hand comfort and to prevent potential blisters on longer rides.  I checked out options at my local bike shop and decided on their "Specialized Body Geometry Gel" fingerless version.  Ahhh, so much better with the gloves on. The gel pads were in the perfect places for great comfort and grip. Yes, they were more expensive than other variants, but I'm happy to say after 3 years I'm still using them and in 2016 I purchased an identical pair as a backup. 

My Trikke bike gloves

The factory leatherette handgrips on the T78AD were interesting to grip, but I needed better wrist support. I'd seen details of the T12 Roadster factory grips but they were too difficult to source in New Zealand. I had upgraded my 2-wheeled bike handgrips a year ago and figured something similar would work well. 

Ergonomic Handlebar Grips

The new handlebar grips gave my hands more surface area to grip with the gloves as well as supporting correct wrist position. I had most of the personalized "comfort" issues taken care of and was now prepared to do longer rides with a little more practice.

By the end of March 2014 I was confident enough to put in a decent distance to log my first full ride... 11km (7miles). From there my ability to carve evolved with each subsequent Trikke ride. Our NZ summer was almost over and so I had to pick a decent weekend during the Autumn and Winter months to keep up my Trikke riding skills. For 2014 I only managed 15 rides that totalled 168km (105miles), 4 rides at just over 15km (9miles) and towards the end of December I rode my longest distance of 21.32km (13.32miles).

Sophie had tried the T78AD a few times and was able to carve quite well, but she still preferred the now undersized T5 for some reason.  Oh well, she had lost some interest in Trikking, but her Dad was getting well and truly hooked!

Size difference T5 vs T78AD

To justify all the expense of purchasing this wonderful machine, that was worth more than any bike I would consider purchasing, I knew I had to keep making the effort to ride the Trikke as much as possible... had to get my monies worth. I could feel the difference in my shoulders and arms and liked the result of having more muscle definition in those areas.

I'd gradually modified the T78Air during that first year to better suit my needs, by changing over to more ergonomic handlebar grips. Another upgrade was to add on bar-ends and hooking up a mobile phone holder and speaker onto the centre of the handlebars for music & GPS tracking while I was riding. 

Example of Bar-ends

When I added the bar-ends and got used to them, I realized how much additional carving swing and punch I now had... they were improving my overall speed and enhancing my ability to take on small inclines. It wasn't until a few years later that I realized I should have added a hand grip sleeve over the bar-ends for better grip and comfort.

I had also created a crude "parking block" from 3 off-cuts of timber so that the T78AD could stand up without rolling or tipping when not in use.

"Parking Block" for front wheel

With all the little upgrades adding to a more enjoyable Trikking experience I was loving this T78AirDeluxe... it was so much fun, especially when I could play my favorite music while Trikking to keep me motivated. 

2014 had come to an end... would 2015 be just as rewarding for Trikke rides?

04 - Middle age spread... Hunt for an Adult sized Trikke.

November 2013... Sophie (now 11yo) was getting taller and the T5 was looking a little undersized. I was now 42yo and starting to see the effects of middle-age spread, particularly in my waist and stomach area. It was time to find an exercise solution that my body could handle and that I could enjoy. 

I used to run an annual local half-marathon in my mid-20s, but I encountered shin splint issues that stopped my training in my 4th year. I became a family man at 28 after finding my soulmate Kristen, and my commitment to regular exercise gradually decreased as the family dynamic evolved over time. Now in my 40s, I enjoyed walking our dogs for 7+miles (11+km) at a time, but even that was flaring up my shin splint pain again and my knees were also complaining. I needed something low-impact but still let me get outdoors. Biking was OK, but it only worked my legs and of course a bike seat is not the most comfortable thing to ride on for 2hrs+. 

The Trikke was a potential solution, but I needed a more adult version that Sophie could also use compared to the little Poly-wheeled T5. I also needed something with tires instead of Poly wheels as my local town had a variety of path conditions (concrete, chip-sealed (tar-sealed) & minimal asphalt), and our road surfaces were mainly chip-sealed, but some rural roads had older chip-seal that was almost as smooth as asphalt.

Comparison Chart of Body Powered Trikkes

After a few weeks of comparing information and specifications on the T78AirDeluxe, T8 Air Sport and T12 Roadster models via the www.trikke.com website, and watching some online videos on YouTube, I decided that the T78AirDeluxe was going to be my choice due to the similar features of the more expensive T8 Sport but the T78AirDeluxe was within my potential budget. 

T78AirDeluxe

T8 Sport

T12 Roadster

The T12 looked like an awesome ride from what I had seen on YouTube videos but the additional expense made it difficult to justify, especially when I had to factor in international freight, customs duty and foreign exchange rates. Plus, I had no idea just how big the T12 was... would it be too big for me or too heavy to get moving? 

I had never invested this much money on a fitness item before, so I knew if I committed to purchasing a new Trikke I would definitely have to ride it as much as possible to ensure I put my hard earned money to good use. I could not afford to have it sitting dormant in the garage when I could be out riding it when time permitted and the weather was good. I had to make a commitment to myself that I needed a Trikke to assist my fitness levels and get in better physical shape.

I made contact with Ana at Trikke Tech again in January 2014. We discussed freight costs from USA to New Zealand and due to the high expense it seemed uneconomical to purchase from the USA as the freight cost was almost 80% of the retail price of the T78AD, plus customs duty etc. Ana gave me contact details of the latest Trikke Australia distributor as another option.

03 - T5... the search for Trikke

In mid-January 2013 I had to broaden my search to find suitable T5 wheels. I located “Trikke Australia” but after emailing them and having no response after 3 weeks (not realizing that the link on Trikke Tech's International Distributor list was out of date and the Australian distributor website was stale and contact details were not active). 

I had to continue the search and managed to make contact with Trikke Tech USA.... I was able to communicate directly with Ana D'Arace. At this early stage of my Trikke knowledge I had no idea that Ana was actually Gildo Beleski's wife. Ana kindly fulfilled my order for a full set of 5-inch Poly wheels and within a week they arrived with a bonus of 3 little plastic Trikke mini toys in Green, Orange and Yellow. Cool.

Trikke mini toys

Installed the new Poly wheels and a decent smooth ride was now possible. 

Our T5 with new Poly Wheels

Over January and February (height of our NZ summer) I took Sophie to a nearby asphalt tennis/netball court where she could have plenty of room to try and work out how to ride this 3-wheeled Trikke... I had to demonstrate technique to Sophie by having to ride the T5 myself numerous times. I didn't really know how to get this shiny chrome machine “self propelling” but on occasion I fluked the “sweet spot” and could see the benefits of regular practice to get the Trikke T5 working the way it was designed to be used.

A few sessions later I had learned where the sweet spot was for me to carve around the tennis court area without having to push with my feet.... now I had that sorted I could show Sophie how it was done... another couple of practice sessions later and boom, Sophie had found the correct technique and sweet spot. She was so happy to finally have discovered the secret to body-powered Trikking. I was very proud that she stuck with it to finally be able to ride it correctly.

At Sophie's Primary School they were having “scooter Fridays” where the kids could bring their rip-sticks/wiggleboards/scooters to play on during breaks/lunch hour. Sophie was keen to take her T5 to school to ride and see what the other students thought of it. Sophie was proud of how nobody else could get it to self-propel.... and how she was able to carve around the courtyard of the school without having to push with her feet like the scooter riders were having to do to retain momentum. Nobody else had ever seen this machine called a “Trikke”.

02 - First encounter... of the Trikke kind.

In December 2012 we purchased, from a local person, a used polished-alloy "T5" Trikke for our 10yo daughter Sophie. It looked like something a little different compared to the “rip-sticks” of the day... and offered our daughter a stable ride and a point of difference compared to those rip-sticks/wiggleboards and kick-scooters that were becoming the latest craze for the kids. Sophie had a kick-scooter but that was becoming a little boring for her.

Example of the Alloy "T5" Trikke with flat handlebar

The T5 had huge obvious flat spots (previous user had obviously been doing high speed skids) on the rear Polyurethane (Poly) wheels which was not helping Sophie to learn how to self-propel, or even just enjoy it as a 3-wheeled kick scooter. 

Our T5 Poly wheels with Flat Spots.

After doing some online homework about this “Trikke” machine we had, I went in search of a New Zealand distributor to purchase replacement Poly wheels. No luck on the search... the NZ distributor was no longer operating. I tried to check at local bike shops and NZ online bike/scooter suppliers to see if they had the correct sized Poly wheels... they looked like they may be “standard”, but no, they were different to anything in the NZ market.

Latest (2016) T5 variant polyurethane wheel

Discovered how the Trikke polyurethane wheel sizing worked:

5″ – for models T5

6″ – for models T6, T67  (T67 Front wheel)

7″ – for models T7, T67 (T67 Rear Wheel, T78 Rear Wheel, T7)

8″ – for models T78, T8

01 - What is a Trikke?

A Trikke (pronounced like "bike") is a standing 3-wheeled Body Powered carving vehicle that utilize Trikke Tech's patented 3CV technology to allow a rider to propel a chainless, pedal less device forward without ever touching foot to ground.

Trikke T12 Roadster

Trikke carving vehicles allow a rider to utilize a fundamental physics principle known as the Conservation of Angular Momentum. The front wheel is offset compared to a standard bike's front wheel... this means that combined with the angled frame design, the front wheel naturally wants to turn to correct the offset, thereby creating momentum.

While travelling on a slalom-like path, a rider moves his center of gravity (his mass) from left to right (for example) while leaning the vehicle into a right turn; this movement of the rider’s mass is towards the center of the turn, thus decreasing the radius of an imaginary circle which is formed around the center point of the rider’s turn. This movement of mass to the center of the circle acts in the same way that an ice-skater increases her velocity if she pulls in her arms (decreasing her radius) while she is spinning on the ice.

Because of the vehicle’s design, a rider can learn to maximize the velocity generated from making each turn and then transfer that momentum into the next turn, and so on and so on. Propulsion can be so effortless that it feels like magic, or as strenuous as a full-blown sprint. Your choice! Either way, it is an awesome low-impact form of exercise with a big enjoyment factor built in.

"With the three wheels combined with the cambering system, you have 3 points-of-contact to the ground, meaning that the Trikke riding platform is surprisingly VERY stable."

It is comfortable to ride a Trikke, as you don't have a seat to get uncomfortable sitting on for a long time... your feet, knees and legs in general act as your shock absorbers, much like a snow skier does, but there is less impact on the body with a Trikke. A standard bike rider is mainly using their legs to do all the work and their upper body is bent over and not really benefiting from the exercise... whereas on a Trikke, you are utilizing the majority of your body's muscles (legs, hips, torso, arms, shoulders) in a comfortable upright standing position. Regular Trikke riding, normally called "Trikking", can result in weight loss and toning of muscles and strengthening the entire body as you ride.

1 Hour Calorie Burn comparison

There are a variety of Trikke models covering 4 year olds to senior riders 84 years old and above, so a wide range of rider heights and weights are covered.

In this blog I hope to cover various subjects:

• My discovery of Trikke
• ride locations
• models owned
• upgrades & accessories
• maintenance
• information
• opinions & ideas
• videos
• learning to ride
• technique & incline/hillclimb work.

#T12 Roadster, #T78AirDeluxe, #Tribred #E-Kit, #T5, #BodyPoweredVehicle #BPV, #3CV, #Carving, #TrikkeNewZealand