Long time lurker-2nd time poster..
Finally took the Scorpion out for its first quasi-ride this morning (1/2 an
hour/roughly a 1/2 mile radius) along a couple downtown Chicago streets just
to familiarize myself with it, and I am extremely pleased so far riding the
trike. Not surprisingly, I found myself unconsciously unclipping with one
foot at busy intersections and had to force myself to stop doing that, since
I'm sitting on three wheels now and not two. Hard to break old habits...
The trike was noisier than my old Gunnar df was, but I wasn't really
surprised, since my old bike had a much higher level of componentry and was
lot 'tighter' than the Scorpion. At least I hope that is the reason... I
did get a lot of stares ( mainly from drivers) but I don't know if it was
due to the bicycle, or due to the extremely high-viz clothing and flag I had
on. Doesn't really matter to me as long as they see me...
I also tested out the Garmin Edge 205 I picked up for it, and it was able to
quickly find its position even though it had to contend with the downtown
canyons I was riding through. My only regret is that I didn't pack for a
longer ride, (tubes, pump etc.) since I only wanted to bop around the
neighborhood, and it would have been great to take off and put some real
miles on it. I mounted it to the boom within easy reach, and was able to
operate it without any problems while pedaling. Time will tell though,
whether it's a solid unit.
The only downside is getting it in and out of my building, since the
scorpion's track is about as wide as the doorway, and the doorway is
slightly to the side of the exit, requiring the wheels to be turned as it
passes through it. I went to a recumbent because of a bad back, and I think
it's more damaging to my back just maneuvering it through the doorway than
riding a df would be! Without a doubt that will be the biggest challenge to
having/riding this bike..
Anyway, I've gotten a tremendous amount of useful information reading these
two newsgroups, and just thought I'd share my early, early opinions about a
couple items that someone out there may be interested in.
Chuck