Peregrine Bike Works

This is my 100th post! How appropriate that I am writing about the place where it all started, Peregrine Bike Works (PBW) in Chico, CA.

I visited PBW today. The owner, Hugh, hosted an open house. He had more trikes than you could imagine in one place.

It was a great place to go to test ride the best trikes as my need for speed develops.

Here is a list of all the trikes I saw today at PBW:

** Recumbent Tadpole Trikes **

ICE:
Q with mesh seat & 20" rear suspension wheel,
Qnt with hardshell seat & 20" rear suspension wheel,
Qnt with hardshell seat & 26" rear wheel,
T with mesh seat & 20" rear suspension wheel;

Greenspeed:
X5 (16" wheels, sport folding),
GT3 (16" wheels, touring folding),
GTO (20" wheels, touring take-apart);

Catrike:
Trail (20" wheels front & 20" rear),
Speed (16" wheels front & 20" rear),
Road (20" wheels front & 20" rear),
Expedition (20" wheels front & 26" rear),
700 (16" wheels front & 700c rear);

HP Velotechnik both 20" wheels and rear suspension:
Scorpion (20/20 aluminum frame w. suspension,
Scorpion FX (20/20 aluminum frame w. suspension & folding)

Wizwheelz (Terra Trike):
Cruiser (20/20 - steel frame fits the budget conscious);


** Recumbent Delta Trikes **

Hase:
Kett-Wiesel (27-speed, aluminum frame),
Lepus Comfort (14-speed w. Rohloff);

Greenspeed:
Anura (18-sp, with differential and Schlumpf Speed-Drive);

Sun:
M3-UAX (budget)

There was a lot to choose from to say the least.

I am looking for a bit more speed. Currently, when I am in my highest gear I sometimes find that I could use one or two more gears to power the trike at higher speeds. Higher gearing mainly means that I need a bigger wheel in the back (drive wheel).

So I mainly looked at two different trikes: the ICE Qnt with a 26" drive wheel and the Catrike 700.

ICE Qnt with 26" drive wheel

This is the same trike that I ride currently except that it has the 26" drive wheel. I was naturally very comfortable on this trike because it rides just like the one that I have ridden for 7,000 miles. I love the feel of the steering and I am a firm believer in drum brakes which come standard. I love my current trike, it is very dependable, solid and comfortable. The fact that I could get higher gearing from the same trike is very attractive.

Catrike 700

The main attraction for this trike is the 700c drive wheel. This huge wheel will not only allow higher gearing but this is the standard wheel size for upright road bikes. Therefore this trike will accommodate a standard racing wheel at a reasonable price. One can save a lot of wind resistance with blade spokes or a full carbon fiber disc in the rear.

This trike is much lower to the ground making it more aerodynamic. However the seat angle does not adjust so one needs to be comfortable with the laid back position and reduced vision.

All Catrikes have direct steering. The feeling is way different than the indirect steering on my ICE. This would take some getting used to. Also Catrikes feature disc brakes and do not offer drum brakes which would be a consideration for me.

Thoughts
These are both great trikes. The bottom line is that I want to find the fastest trike available. The true test would be to take each of them out on a 10 mile time trial, may the best trike win...maybe next time.

Along with the trikes we saw other great items such as this crazy contraption:


Somebody showed up with this great traylor hitch rack, which doubles as a sweet display stand for trikes. Hugh does not carry this product but I'm sure if you are interested, he could find it for you.


It was a great event and PBW is a great place. I believe Hugh will ship a product anywhere in the country (World?). If you are interested in a trike just visit the PBW web site or stop by for a test ride if you are in the area. Say hi for me.