Reviewed by Adulttricyclereview.com
Catrike Dumont Review on December 14, 2020
Finally,
is the first word that pops into my head when I got my first chance to
ride one of the prototype Dumont trikes from Catrike. I saw one of the
first nonrideable prototypes in 2015 and I know Catrike has been working
on the Dumont for even longer than that. Catrike did listen to
consumers and dealers. Consumers want 26 inch rear wheel trikes that
fold and have suspension. Catrike delivered with the Dumont. The Dumont
is a totally new design from the ground up. Catrike calls the Dumont a
“performance trike” which seems about right to me. The seat is 10”
high, where the 5.5.9 is 11” but not like the Catrike 700 which is the
“race trike” at 8.5”. One of my favorite features is the two
transportation wheels. The Dumont can easily be rolled around the house
or garage folded, and then stood on end for storage.
Frame:
The frame on the Dumont is TIG welded aluminum. Catrike does it all,
cuts, bends, welds, heat treats, paints and assembles every trike in
their Florida factory. I would have to say the welds are beautiful and
of the highest quality in the industry. The frame is constructed out of
oversized, shaped and manipulated 6161 aircraft grade aluminum tubing.
Paint:
Catrikes 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 jobs are everything you want; clean, consistent and
durable, along with seven colors to choose from. Catrike does all
their own paint work, and I will have to say I have never seen a bad
paint job from Catrike. If you buy your Catrike in the winter, when
Catrike sales are a bit slower, sometimes Catrike will have special
color options or discounts on some models.
Drive Train:
The shifting is superb on the Dumont. Catrike chose a premium SRAM
drivetrain combination with wide ratio 11-36 cassette and ten cogs in
the rear and three in the front, for a total of thirty gears to choose
from. The new SRAM GX rear derailleur performed flawlessly, mating the
GX rear derailleur with the SRAM 500 TT Bar End Shifter and Microshift
front derailleur. Catrike uses this setup quite often on their trikes.
Bar end shifters are Catrikes shifter of choice and mine as well. Bar
end shifters just make sense for me. I feel they are easier to use than
the grip type shifters you see on some other brands of trikes. 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 my shifting with the grip type
shifters, so I applaud Catrike for choosing the Bar End 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. Super convenient features 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 and Hp
Velotechnik both chose to add 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 and Hp Velotechnik trikes.
Seat:
Catrikes are all now coming with the new padded seat. The new padded
seat has been well received by customers and people think it is a
premium feature from Catrike. The padded seat fabric is of very good
quality and is filled with a somewhat breathable foam. The foam does
seem to hold some heat but it adds a layer of extra comfort. The seat
height of the Dumont at 10 inches where as the 5.5.9 is 11 inches and
the Villager 12 ½ inches. The seat angle on the Dumont can be adjusted
from 42 to 49 degrees. I found the seat angle on the Dumont to be quite
comfortable.
Ride:
So I am going to say this is my favorite Catrike and it is Catrikes
best riding trike. The ride reminded me of my daughter’s Mini Cooper S
car. I love driving her car on occasion because it kind of feels like a
mini race car and feels just glued to the road. The Dumont kind of
feels the same to me as her Mini. Quick handling, light and nimble is
what first comes to mind. Most of the ride characteristics can be
attributed to the suspension and the steering.
The Dumont front
suspension comes with two different elastomers. Installed is the very
firm elastomer for people 160Lbs and heavier. Catrike also supplies a
softer elastomer for people under 160Lbs. The front suspension travel is
12mm which is not much when you compare to ICE which has 40mm and Hp
Velotechink which has 60mm. The Dumont rear suspension travel is 50mm
where as ICE rear suspension travel is 100mm and Hp Velotechink rear
suspension travel is 100-120mm. The Dumont comes stock with a Rockshox
rear shock which is a $200.00 upgrade on the Hp Velotechnik trike.
The
Dumont stayed with the same direct steering as all their other models
as apposed to the indirect steering on the ICE, Hp Velotechnik and
Greenspeed, trikes. Direct steering is a simpler design and seems to
have a bit quicker handling feel. Even thought direct steer is not my
personal favorite, I found the Dumont to handle just fine, the same as
the other Catrike trikes. Not that I wanted to make the Dumont trike
review a shout out between the three brands (Catrike, ICE and Hp
Velotechnik), but I found it is probably just the easiest way to
describe the new Dumont ride. So looking at the suspension travel
numbers you should easily be able to tell quite a lot about how the new
Dumont will ride over bumps. If you are looking for the plushest ride,
then hands down the Hp Velotechnik Scorpion FS 26.
If you are looking for more of that quick handling and tight more
aggressive ride and feel, then the Dumont and the ICE trikes fall
somewhere in-between.
In conclusion:
I think Catrike will be very successful with the Dumont. Every year
the stakes get higher in the trike business. Catrike has been left
behind in the trike business with no good suspension trike, up until
now. Yeah, they have the Road, but we do not want to mention that
trike. The Dumont is Catrike’s new flag ship trike and will steal some
sales from the 5.5.9.