Going
down hill
The
top gear you need will depend on how you like
to ride down hill. If you like to pedal up
to about 25mph (40kph) and then let the hill
do the rest, you will be happy with the standard
top gears offered. The top gear speed will
depend on your preferred pedaling style -
if you spin the pedals round, you will be
able to keep pedaling at a higher speed. If
you like to pedal slower then you will prefer
a higher top gear. The
main thing to remember with a lower top
gear is that you will always be able to
arrive at your destination without any trouble
though your journey time may be very slightly
longer (it's speed up the hills that soaks
up time not down them). On the other hand,
it is great fun pushing a big top gear when
the roads and your energy allows.
Shown below are the recommended
gear options for each model grouped together
by rear wheel size. Any gear component option
can be fitted to any custom trike with the corresponding
rear wheel size.
Each basic gear option
can be upgraded to a higher level of component
specification if desired. The upgraded components
are generally lighter in weight and tend
to last longer.
Many gear combinations
are possible and we could list hundreds
of permutations but we have selected parts
and groups which are compatible and which
give specific gear ranges.
If you
have any particular requirements or components
you prefer for your Trice from the custom model range, please contact us for our comments
and a quotation.
We use predominantly Shimano
gear components because of the wide availability
and proven performance.
Like many cyclists we
use "gear inches" to give an idea
of how the gear options compare in their
overall range. The range will depend on
the chainset, cassette and actual tyre diameter.
The gear inches number is a simple calculation
-
Number of teeth on the
chainring divided by the number of teeth
on the rear sprocket multiplied by the tyre
diameter.
So for a 52t chainring
and an 11t sprocket on a 20" wheel
with a Marathon tyre, the gear inch will
be -
52/11
x 19.25" = 91"
The wheel sizes we use
are generally known as 18", 20"
and 26" . In practice the actual outside
diameter of the tyre depends on the type
of tyre fitted. So be warned, a 20"
wheel can actually be 18.5" diameter
if a Stelvio tyre is fitted for example!
When buying tyres for
any bike or trike it can help to know what
the ETRTO number is for your wheel size.
The first table below shows the numbers
for our wheel sizes. For example, our 20"
wheels are ETRTO 406 (this is the same 20"
as many BMX wheels). Another less common
20" tyre size exists and is known as
ETRTO 451 - These DO NOT fit our 20"
rims!
The actual diameter is
not particularly important unless buying
replacements except that it does effect
the gear inch calculation. So if you want
to know more exactly what gear inch range
your trike will have, you need to factor
in the tyre diameter you will be using.
The table below shows the actual diameters
for the various tyres we use.
In the remaining tables
below, the actual gear inch range is shown
for the various setups we offer. We have
shown the gear inch range based on the tyres
we offer that could typically be run with
each type of gearing.
| Actual
wheel diameters used by ICE for gear
inch calcs |
| Wheel
size |
ETRTO |
Actual
Approx. Tyre diameter |
| 18" |
355 |
Stelvio
16.5", Marathon 17.25" |
| 20" |
406 |
Stelvio
18.5", Marathon Slick 19",
Marathon 19.25" |
| 26" |
559 |
Stelvio 24.5",
Marathon Slick 25" |
We can
obtain and fit many types of gear components.
The following tables are our recomended options.
If you have any gear component preferences
that you would like fitted to your trike then
please contact us to dicuss possibilities,
prices and pros and cons. Only available on custom model Trice. |
