Reviewed by Adulttricyclereview.com
Catrike Road, Posted on November 13, 2015
The Catrike Road has been designed, engineered and built with the
utmost attention to detail. Catrike goal was to achieve solid
performance and the ride-quality expected of a Catrike, but with a layer
of comfort and shock absorption. The deadline was to achieve
perfection, not an arbitrary launch date for a new model trike. The
result is a fast and truly stunning looking trike, weighing only 38
pounds with incredible handling and comfort. With Catrike bold design
choices and careful structural and computer analysis, Catrike was able
to design a gorgeous trike with a swing arm, that is 100% CNC machined,
very light weight, strong, stiff and durable. The new Catrike Road has
15 new unique CNC machined parts. The Catrike Road is assembled with 12
Teflon coated bearings to avoid any metal on metal contact at the
joints. This results in zero stitcheon (static friction) which allows
the rear swing arm to move freely. All of the pivot housing is designed
and machined in the style of “fork” brackets for a perfect fit and zero
play between the bearings and pivots, providing a maintenance free
assembly. I am also very pleased to say that you can get a Catrike much
faster now than ever before. Up until the 2016 season, every Catrike
trike has been made to order. The old procedure was that 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, Hurray!!! Now you
can get your Catrike in your favorite color in less than half the time.
Frame: The frame on the Catrike Road 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 oversized, shaped and manipulated aluminum tubing. The swing arm
on the Catrike Road pivots on an oversized hollow alloy axle, actuating
the air shock in a progressive manner through a linkage system that
pivots through the frame. This suspension is unique, to the Catrike
Road, this suspension system provides both shock absorption and very
high torsion stiffness.
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 jobs are 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 Catrike
Road. Catrike chose a premium SRAM drivetrain 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
mateded the X-7 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 Catrike 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 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. Catrike also uses the Avid Speed Dial brake levers
which are higher quality and lighter then the brake levers used on
other brands. This combination stopped the trike consistently and I had
zero 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. 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 The seat height on
the Catrike Road is 9 1/4 inches. The seat angle on the Road can be
adjusted from 39 to 47 degrees. I found the seat angle on the Road to be
quite comfortable.
Ride: I found the ride on the Catrike Road to be a bit
stiffer than the ICE Sprint or HP Velotechnik Scorpion. The Catrike’s
short wheel base, direct steering and short travel rear suspension gave
the Catrike Road that performance sports car feel. I feel design wise,
the Catrike Road has the best designed rear suspension in the trike
industry. The rear suspension pivots on a massive aluminum tube which is
a very good design, simple, reliable, and strong. The linkage system
that attached to the rear shock is quite unique. The linkage system lets
the Catrike Road have a good amount of small bump sensitivity but when
you hit that big bump the resistant to the shock ramps up. I would have
loved to see the Catrike Road come with a 26 inch rear wheel but when
Catrike designed the Road 20 inch, rear wheels were all the rage. By
spring 2016 Catrike will be introducing a trike called the Dumont, it is
very similar to the Road but with a 26 inch rear wheel and a front
suspension. After riding the Catrike road you realize that Catrike did a
very good job with the Road. I felt no bob or efficiency lost with the
rear suspension. There was not pedal steering and braking was very good.
In conclusion: If you’re looking for a USA made trike,
that is quick handling and light weight, the Catrike Road is worth a
good look. I think when the Dumont is introduced in the Spring 2016, it
very well might take most of the sales away from the Catrike Road.
Pros: Light weight, best designed rear suspension, OMG paint, great fit and finish.
Cons: Stiffer ride than I personally would like for a suspension trike.