which pedicab to choose?

[robin850]

newbie here, asking questions as usual.

out of the major brands available, which pedicab would you buy?

my business will be in the USA. the area of service has 2 sizeable hills.

thanks for the advice.

:confused:
Cheers,

robin850

[robin850]

okay, i guess this question was too open-ended for some of you to answer.:rolleyes:


i've narrowed it down to MainStreet or Charleston.

thanks anyway

[tdayuk]

With two big hills in town, you would realy only be looking at a trike pedicab & its also wise to go for (as you have already stated) a mainstreet, maximus or velocab. Have not heared of the other you mentioned but will look it up.

[tdayuk]

MMMh! Looked at it & would say go for a mainstreet out of the two. I have been riding for a long time on many different styles & this little sucker has hassle written on it.

-No wheel guards.
-Rear chain is mighty long.
-Rain cover will rock like hell & then snap.
-Single point fork (most heavy duty work, so a triple tube is best or the new maximus special fork (email them!!!)).
-6 spocke special will have less sideways strength & if you rub one to many curbes you'll need a new wheel for sure. Spockes can be swapped & a wheel rim replaced, solid unit not so.

Question how long they been making trikes & do they have public liabilety & that killer for all newbies, how many have they sold or made?


With two big hills in town, you would realy only be looking at a trike pedicab & its also wise to go for (as you have already stated) a mainstreet, maximus or velocab. Have not heared of the other you mentioned but will look it up.

[robin850]

I bought one of those cheap chinese pedicabs on eBay as an experiment. $300 after shipping, tax, etc. conclusion: not a "real" pedicab.

if you are more than 5' 6" you won't fit well as the driver. I am 6"2" so i bought a new post and seat right away. now the seat is high enough, but the crank arms are really short and the bars are as high as they can go and I feel like i will take a header if i hit a pebble.

i had to put a new axle and bearings in the front wheel because the included hardware had pieces missing and looked like it would collapse if i tightened it up.

putting it together was a bit of a jigsaw puzzle, as only a parts list was included.

does anyone want it? it would probably work okay as a recreational bike on flat ground for non-tall people. you can have mine for $150, not including shipping.

[tdayuk]

Well, if in europe I'd go for velocabs or maximus. In the states top of my list would be Mainstreet, it's little use not having the back up of a good company when your setting up. The pedicabs work hard & when things break, then its no good a 'friend' made you a bunch of dodgy trikes, as you have no come back & probably no expertees or public liabilety or proven spair parts.

The hills cut down my choice for SUVs as these are recumbents which are a pig going up a hill. If you have a tight budget, then ask about reconditioned trikes direct from the maker & builed up slowly.

Lots of this stuff I have learned the hard way with 3 different companys & even as I type these words, have been getting 'feedback' from some riders regarding a company here setting up with about 40 trikes (priced around £1800 new), after the second year having to replace all these trikes. The guy is nearly broke because of these bargain trikes. (Break down costs of the first year added nearly £300 per bike per year! :eek:

So thats what I'd do.

[robin850]

thanks for the reply and the pertinent information.


I couldn't agree with you more. A tried and true supplier with a quality product is definitely better than trying to save a bit of cash and getting an inferior product.

luckily I only wasted $300 on that chinese piece of crap. MainStreet here I come.