When Tom from velofix halton was by last week, he said he thought the trike had the fittings to complete a working set of gears. So he came by this weekend to put them on. Took the trike for a test ride with new gears on Sunday. It worked out just as tremendously as I had hoped!
The trike already had sprockets on the back. But the shifter seemed to have been replaced by the twist throttle. Also there was no derailleur. Which would help with the slipping chain problem.
When the temperature dips, and the roads get low-level frosty, slushy or snowy, I can still get out on the trike because it's so solid. With the three wheels and its weight, i don't really worry about slipping. That means i can enjoy a longer cycling year. But since the trike didn't have gears, I was left with one fixed tension (or not so fixed since the chain kept slipping), basically, and the motor, and so a more limited workout. Now with gears, I can increase the amount of pedaling time on a ride, especially important during cabin fever season.
This is a game changer. It wouldn't have even been possible if Tom hadn't been able to come out and have a look at the trike and consider it a work in progress. Now there are only about 2 months of the year that I may not be able to fully access my al fresco cycling gym. For that I am very thankful.
