Reviewed by www.Adulttricyclereview.com
Catrike Trail, Posted on November 13, 2015
We complained for years that Catrike needed a folding trike and
Catrike finally delivered. I hope Catrike was reverse engineering and
testing everyone else’s trike. If this is true at least it would be an
excuse, while Catrike is the last to market with their folding trike. So
with my first look at the trike, it looks petty similar to the Catrike
Villager but with a lower seat height. But then I noticed two things,
the wheels on the bottom of the seat, and some black piece under the
trike. Our testers really wanted to play with the folding mechanism and
see if the long weight was worth it. Ok, so here we go, step one, loosen
the quick release on the back of the seat and fold the seat down,
check. Step two, unlatch the hinge underneath the trike with the quick
release, check. Step three, pick the trike up and fold the rear wheel
under the trike, check. Step four, snap the rear frame into the plastic
clip, check. (The clip holds the front and back of the trike together
when folded.) Next was to stand the trike up on end, now we know what
the small black piece was for, it’s a trike kickstand! So our testers
had a lot of fun teasing each other about trike kickstand. So the guys
conversation went something like this “Trike kickstand, no such thing,
Dude. I am telling you the new Catrike Trail has a kickstand. Hey man,
you BS you friends and I will BS my friends but don’t BS me!” I am sure
it takes a long time to do the CAD work and get it right. I am sure it
is no easy task to get the trike to fold, the rear end to swing
underneath and turn 90 degrees all at the the same time. I am also sure
Catrike tested that hinge super thoroughly. The hinge is a big deal, I
am sure Catrike was not willing to give up any frame strength and you
surely do not want any movement at the hinge. I will have to say you
have nothing to worry about I am sure Catrike did more than enough
worrying about the hinge for everyone. So did Hp Velotechnik Gekko FX
pave the way for Catrike? I think so. Both trikes seat fold the same.
Both trikes use a flat fold under design. Both trikes have
transportation wheel on the back of the seat. Catrike is now stocking
trikes so you can get a Catrike much faster now than ever before. Up
until the 2016 season, every Catrike trike has been made to order. How
the procedure has gone was the bicycle dealer places an order with
Catrike and Catrike would build the trike in the color the dealer
requested. This process took about four weeks, until now. Catrike for
2016 will be stocking trikes. Hurru!!! Now you can get your Catrike in
your favorite color, in less than half the time.
Frame: The frame on the Catrike Trail is aluminum, TIG
welded together in Florida, I would have to say the welds are beautiful
and of the highest quality in the industry. The frame is constructed
out of oversize shaped and manipulated aluminum tubing.
Paint: Catrike paint jobs are a work of art. There is
no one in the bike industry that is better, maybe just equal to
Catrike’s paint jobs. Their standard paint job is everything you want
in a paint job, clean, consistent and durable along with seven colors to
choose from. If you buy your Catrike in the winter when Catrike sales
are a bit slower, Catrike will give you five additional colors to choose
from.
Drive Train: The shifting is superb on the Trial.
Catrike choose a premium SRAM drive train combination with ten gears to
choose from in the rear and three in the front for a total of thirty.
The SRAM X-7 rear derailleur performed flawlessly, Catrike mated the X-7
rear derailleur with the SRAM 500 TT Bar End Shifter and Microshift
front derailleur. This is a combination that Catrike uses quite often.
Bar end shifters are Catrike shifter of choice and mine as well. Bar end
shifters just make since for me, I feel they are easier to use that the
grip type shifters that you see on most other brands. Grip type
shifters work fine. If God knew I wanted to ride a trike with grip type
shifters, he might have put my thumbs on the other side of my hands. I
feel I do not have as much control of the grip type shifter, compared to
the bar end type shifters.
Brakes: Catrike chose my favorite mechanical disc brake
system the Avid BB7 brakes with the Avid Speed Dial brake levers. This
combination stopped the trike consistently and had no brake rub. I have
no issue with the mechanical brakes that Avid offers. They are simple,
reliable and easy to adjust. A super convenient feature of the Avid
mechanical brakes are that each brake pad can be adjusted independently
so you can really dial in your brake adjustment. Catrike chose a simple
Velcro strap that you wrap around one of the brake levers for your
parking brake. I really like this because it is simple and adds no
weight to the trike. This also allowed Catrike to be able to use a
premium brake lever. ICE trike chose a different route by adding a brake
to the rear wheel and a remote shifter to control the brake. This works
well but added almost a pound to the ICE trikes.
Seat: The seat that Catrike chose for both the 5.5.9
and Trail really differentiate Catrike form other brands of trikes on
the market. The only other brand I can think of that has a padded seat,
is Ti-Trikes. Both the 5.5.9 and Trail are touring-comfort trikes, I
think the people that are attracted to the 5.5.9 and Trail, are going to
like the padded seat. The seat height of the Trail is 9 inches, which
is fairly low. The seat angle on the Trail can be adjusted from 42 to 52
degrees. I found the seat angle on the Trail to be quite comfortable.
Ride: I found the ride on the Trail to be typical
Catrike. 20” wheels all the way around and Catrike’s aluminum frame puts
the Catrike in the stiffer riding category. So who would want to buy a
Catrike Trail? Someone who wants a folding trike, made in the USA, with a
sporty ride and that is lighter than most other brands of trikes.
In conclusion: The Catrike Trail is a solid trike that
has a sporty ride and folds for transportation. The Trail is a good
value and come with some accessories that you would have bought anyway.
The trike folds down to 43” x 32.5” x 22” and only weighs 37 lbs. The
Trail can can carry people up to 275 lbs. I think the Catrike trail will
be upstaged by its younger brother the 5.5.9. The 5.5.9’s higher seat,
long wheel base, 26 inch rear wheel, will sway a lot of people in that
direction.
Pros: Folding, light weight, OMG paint, adjustable recline for the seat, great fit and finish.
Cons: Really none. It just comes down to what are you looking for in a trike.