Fireside Chat With Chonk

chonk · May 2017

Hey everyone.

I'm just starting to come up for air here.

It's been a busy couple of months and it doesn't seem to be letting up.

AND then I came into work to 100+ Russian spammers who decided to flood the forums - grrrrrrrrr.

So go ahead and ask away about the RoverAT or anything else. I'll do my best to monitor this discussion and answer your questions as well and as much as I can <wink>.

But suffice it to say this will be a very big summer of new products for us. The AT is just the start, and some will prolly be a little less 'ground breaking' as others but we do have some BIG things coming as well. I can't wait to share them.

Just a little FYI on the reason we've been quiet over the last year.
In the past we would announce new products when we were assured that the final prototype was correct and we had PO's placed. We'd announce it to the public (and dealers) with a price and in store date and start taking pre-orders.

Then there would be a delay in production or a small tweak in design that would result in a delay and/or price change. This not only frustrated us to no end, but also the consumers and our dealers. Although it was nothing we could have planned, I believe it eroded our trust and reputation.

Therefore we made a decision over a year ago that we would not announce nor release a new product until it was literally here or 'on the water'. You can imagine how difficult this is on our end to plan ahead for printing, marketing, dealer stocking, programs...etc. but we felt it was essential in restoring that trust and not leaving everyone hanging.

So while everyone has been contemplating the demise of TerraTrike over the last year because we haven't had a new product release, we've been finalizing several things so that when we announce it - boom - it's READY and IN STOCK with a well thought out and executed marketing plan.

Oh and BTW, last year was our 2nd best year ever and this years first quarter is THE BEST we've ever had. 2017 is shaping up to be a great year for us. So relax. We aren't going anywhere but up

So whatta ya all want to know?

IdahoTrailLizard · May 2017

Will there be a RoverAT kit?

Jrobiso2 · May 2017

Is there going to be a linkage steering, vertical handlebar, long distance trike to replace the Tour II?

chonk · May 2017

IdahoTrailLizard - Not any time soon. Although Ive hear of people putting 24" wheels on a Rover. So we won't, but you essentially could.
Jrobiso2 - Yes and No

Peanut · May 2017

The seat mesh for the Rambler AT will that fit on a traveler seat frame, and if so can it be ordered from you guys?

IdahoTrailLizard · May 2017

Would like to see a picture of this "new mesh seat" that I hear a lot about in the TT Owner's Forum.

Wonder if there will be a Custom Parts section that lists what TT has for sale past it's normal catalog?

PaulNM · May 2017

http://www.terratrike.com/images/trikes/rambler/2016/Rambler2.jpg

Jrobiso2 · May 2017

That's the seat originally from the high-end Sportster, and Taylor tells me it will fit on any of the trikes. Not in the catalog. Email TT with your details and payment method. Cost is $68 plus applicable taxes (and I assume shipping and handling).

Jrobiso2 · May 2017

@chonk you're killing me with the Yes or No answers!

I'm busting my butt to go from 370 pounds down to 250 (Lost 30 already) with the express intent on buying a low-rider cruiser trike as a gift to myself as soon as I reach the weight range for said trike. I'd like it to be from TerraTrike, not some foreign company! (although admittedly I drool over the Scorpion FS 20 and I'm praying TT gives us an FS trike)

Heck, I even added mountain bike bars to my Rover to give me "vertical handlebars" - now THAT's dedication to knowing what you want!

Elrique64 · May 2017

I'm curious to see if there are plans for a suspension kit for the Rover. I would be buying one, so there's one sold at least...

chonk · May 2017

Peanut - Yes it will fit.
Jrobiso2 I'll PM you.
Elrique64 - Plans? We're ALWAYS working on new things

but nothing coming in the near future for the Rover

rirover · May 2017

The rover sliding seat issue, is someone designing a non-slip clamp for the rover seat. I don't think we should all have to put hose clamps or u-bolts on our frames or have to stop every half mile to move the seat back into place.

Elrique64 · May 2017

We can PM each other now? Or are you sending one of those to his "wall" or whatever it is.

I second the sliding seat fix. Right now there isn't a real good way to prevent it, other than reefing on the QD bolt. Or putting on a ubolt or hose clamp.

So no suspension again this year. Too bad, that... The Rover's frame lends itself well to this type of upgrade, being modular. It's a shame that the company doesn't see potential in it the way some of the users do.

Jrobiso2 · May 2017

Check the images on the site for the Rover. They've changed the Y frame to give a good swept-back frame, allowing better heel room, but the seat mount has stayed the same :-(

Peanut · May 2017

Great, I got to ride a Rambler AT at Bikefusion last Friday. Fort Wayne Outfitters where I got my Traveler from had the Rambler and the new Rover there. When I sat in the Rambler with that seat mesh I wanted to get one.

Jrobiso2 · May 2017

Was that mesh with side support really that much better than the regular Rover seat?

Peanut · May 2017

Yes, You can feel the support in the sides, put it with a seat wedge and you have a bucket seat feel.

Jrobiso2 · May 2017

I see a $68 payment in my future . . . .

IdahoTrailLizard · May 2017

@Jrobiso2 - cut that 90° bracket off if you want a V :P

IdahoTrailLizard · May 2017

Any forum contests coming up? Will the Scavenger Hunt happen again?

Jrobiso2 · May 2017

90 deg bracket?

chonk · May 2017

IdahoTrailLizard - Hmmmm, I haven't planned anything - perhaps I should

JamesR · May 2017

while i like the idea of terratrike university, doubt it will fly directed toward dealers. problem being, my humble, your typical lbs sales and mech staff would rather die than be caught off-duty on 3 wheels.

am sure different story if trikes were cool italian-style https://etrike.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/leonardo-leuci-velomobile-open-hatch.jpg

forum content suggests terratrike purchasers need protection against the usual dealer. maybe something as simple as a tag zip-tied to the frame with advice to check this website for support material:

assembly manuals, safety considerations [sprocket guards, flags, bells, lights, hiviz, leg-suck, stoppies], diy upgrades and why, basic maintenance checklist, and new trike expectations - spoke setting, wheel true, brake glaze, cable stretch, seat positioning beyond the usual crap about xseam, checking toe-in, etc.

trike first aid - helluva note somebody needs to pay the lbs $60 to tweak brake and shift cables.

chonk · May 2017

JamesR

• We DO have a TTUniversity for our dealers - online videos detailing every aspect of assembly and maintenance for each model, tech bulletins etc. And for the most part they LOVE IT.

• Cool Italian Velo - If we made it we'd sell 6 a year and be out of business in 2.

• New TerraTrikes come with a "quick start" package that explains the safety suggestions, maintenance and where to get more info which includes our website AND BROL. Plus we've made our heel retention straps standard on all new trikes to combat leg suck and to hopefully pull the rest of the industry along in doing the same.

• Getting more into the minutia of maintenance (toe in, spoke tightening etc). is something most customers aren't interested in doing and better off having an authorized dealer do for them. Similar to changing the oil your own car, there is plenty of people that will research it and do it, but the most won't.

TCEd · May 2017

JamesR,

Except for a couple oddities trikes and bikes are the same and require similar maintenance. And most trike and bike riders are the same regarding maintenance, some do it and others go to the bike shop.

The big difference I see is the trike crowd seems to have more tinkerers and are spending a lot of time working on the trike vs riding it. Maybe that's due to having more retired trike riders with free time and more restrictive budgets.

The videos and instruction T.T.provides covers a lot but owners seem to get into problems once they start changing stuff provided by others and mostly with drive train changes.

ed

Jrobiso2 · May 2017

Yeah, that Italian velo - very slick, but like almost all velo makers, they are low volume. I think that particular one is a prototype by a single individual (saw it in a youtube video, IIRC). Almost all velos are now made in the Netherlands, where it seems to be a passion to ride in winter and thus velos are more popular (but still not commonplace).

I watch a youtube channel of a guy named Graham Williams (London) and his friend Johnny (Veloads youtube channel). They look VERY cool to ride, and I especially like the ones with tank steering vice central column, but they are hideously expensive and hard to work on. I think Spinner sells their Mango line for $10K, and that's the LOW end of the price line.

IdahoTrailLizard · May 2017

Took the bike shop I got Rover from half an hour to track down what they thought was the manual. I already knew of this place beforehand, Thank God!
In hind sight I should of ordered directly from TT when that BS didn't know what an x-seam was. And I really thank the person(s) that asked why my seat was so far forward. I had no idea then. :-O Without this forum I'd probably still be riding that far forward.
Once I did the self-measurement of X-seam with books and the other fellow's photos of their booms & comparing inseams, things were back on track. Now can see why TT removed the 90° crossbar from the Rover as I had to move the boom slightly out more for shoe-heal clearance. If that bar wasn't there I might of had a tad more room for my size 13 wides.

Yet the bar should give the Rover more support. Will see June 3rd when I go down the Weiser River Trail.

Guess I should get that alignment bar some day. It's trying to get the Rover's wheel at a near perfect 90° and to keep it from moving to see if it is aligned correctly. Wonder if there is a way to make a 90° brace to lock one's wheel in to keep it from moving, then check for to proper alignment.
Did the best I could and it seems okay up until I hit 12+ MPH and then I have to retrained the brain to light-grip the bars.... ! Which again was learned from this forum.

Jrobiso2 · May 2017

Wheel position locks? It's called lumber and nails :-)

Jrobiso2 · May 2017

P.S. That was me - I was shocked when I saw where your seat was. I figured the next post from you would be from the hospital, trying to clean the road from the wound that was your face.

chonk · May 2017

IdahoTrailLizard - People riding with their seat way too forward has been a continuous issue. Even though you can compensate with making the boom longer so that you "fit", it really isn't the optimum position.

That is why we are moving to the new fixed seat frame like what is on the new Rambler AT. It positions the seat in the optimum spot, makes the trike (and seat) more rigid but still gives the rider the ability to adjust for length where they SHOULD be adjusting - in the boom. You'll slowly see all of our models moving to this design.

TCEd · May 2017

Chonk, As a Zoomer rider I keep trying to tell them the same.

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