Daily Archives: May 15, 2009
BROL Trizard Review Reply
The long-awaited Bryan Ball review of the RANS Trizard Delta Trike is up:
…Speaking of performance… Yes… The Trizard is fast. It is hands down the fastest delta trike I’ve ever ridden and is honestly right up there with some of the quicker tadpoles. It’s not quite as fast as the Catrike 700 I usually ride but it was much closer than I thought it would be. With a weight of 39 pounds, climbing is where it seemed to lose the most ground. The frame is long and the most crucial part is just a monotube but the pedal box is stiff and it felt pretty efficient…
Fairing graphics 11
Given a storage tail fairing, I think I’ll only place the name "Silk" on the fairing [lower left and right sides, beneath the seat] using the Silk font. It will look like this:
| On the front fairing [left & right sides], I’ll place my name [probably Jim Artis ~ small or maybe jalexartis on the lexan at its rear, just above the wheels]; a panther [medium size ~ facing forward, toward the fairing front, in the vicinity of the crank, maybe with a small Catrike 700]; and the Chinese Characters for Silk [very small, just above the wheel]. |
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Fairing evolution 3
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Given the morphing of Jeff’s original tail fairing from the rendering on the left to the production faring on the right, I wonder what the front fairing will look like? I had a few questions relating to the front fairing, which Jeff was kind to answer [see comments in yesterday's article].
- Q: Is the weight of the race & storage version about the same?
- A: The storage version weigh approximately 9 lbs. and the race version 7.25 lbs. The storage version is a little bit heavier due to the inner walls.
- Q: Will you also flock the front fairing?
- A: No. The front fairing shouldn’t be flocked, just the trailing part of an aerodynamic system.
- Q: I continue to reconfigure my trike for your fairings. Oh yes, is a Catrike Velomobile a possibility using your fairings?
- A: The eventual goal (if you have all of the fairings) is for the 700 to be like a velomobile with the sides open. I want to increase the 700’s speed and help keep sun and wind off of the rider to minimize cancer issues and extend the riding season.
Generally, I like to purchase lighter components and accessories where possible. In this case, I think the benefits of the two storage bins in the storage version of the fairing outweigh the speed advantage that a lighter race version fairing may give. I plan to buy the storage version which cost $100 more than the race version.
Well, now I know that my front faring will be a smooth coat of black paint and that flocking is only applied to the rear fairing. So aesthetically, do I want different faring surfaces for the speed benefit. I can better make the decision with roll-down test results. I do not know if Jeff’s test will include a flocked tail fairing.
It will be interesting to see how Jeff ties the two fairing together and provides UV protection.
With Goblin Motors’ Catrike 700 Kit, I may well consider riding my trike in a multi-day organized ride such as Cycle NC [Sep/Oct 09].
