The project is finally complete and I’m riding a new trike that satisfies many of my original goals.  In the end it didn’t make much sense to delay installing the Schlumpf so I combined phases II and III.  Details following.

Platform

To repeat, I’m going into this project with a platform that I believe is about the best for both commuting and touring—a recumbent tadpole trike with 20” wheels all-around.  A 2016 ICE Sprint frameset is the starting point.

Goals (beyond a stock production trike)

These are goals I achieved after my original dreams were dashed against the rocks of reality.  Still, some dramatic improvements.

• Fast, precise, reliable shifting that is impervious to freezing (Phase I)
• High quality, ergonomic shifter (Phase I)
• Smooth, reliable brakes that are impervious to freezing (Phase II)
• High quality, permanently mounted, self-powered lighting (Phase II)
• Optimized gear range (Phase III)
• No front derailleur (Phase III)

ICE Sprint Frameset with Hydraulic Brakes

ICE and their dealer network (in my case, Chip at The Recumbent Trike Store) continue to have their act together.  One of the many reasons I stayed with ICE is that they make starting with a frame set, in any possible configuration desired, extremely easy.  And once I pulled the trigger, a very customized set of components arrived quickly, exactly as ordered, and in perfect condition.  ICE shipped the components to Chip in Denver, who then added a few non-ICE parts I’d ordered and shipped them on to Boise.  Chip was readily available via phone, text or email for the occasional question and easily answered them all.  And I knew from past experience that the rare question Chip couldn’t answer would be promptly, cheerfully, and completely answered by Patrick, Neal, or any number of others at the factory.

I’d originally planned to procure some Shimano hydraulic brakes on my own, believing them to be superior to the Tektro hydraulics provided by ICE.  I still believe that, but three considerations changed my mind:  1) The Tektro brakes are mirrored, making for a clean installation, 2) ICE integrates third-party components well with their trikes, and 3) It was one fewer task on my list.  Time will tell if I made a good choice but I do like the looks of them on the trike.  And there is some value to me in supporting a manufacturer (Tektro) that bothers to make trike- and recumbent-specific cycling components.  I already have two concerns though:  the pads squeal in high humidity and the handles, inexplicably, rattle.  The former problem may be no worse than other disc brakes I’ve used, and the latter is probably solvable.  We’ll see.  But oh, the modulation is so nice and smooth.

I chose a black frame, not because I’m enamored with the color, but because I’m completely bored with the other choices of red and blue.  I’m pleasantly surprised with the results—I think it looks quite good.  But I’d love to have more color choices.  If it were up to me, my new trike would be retina-searing yellow.

Boxed

Inside box

Frameset w/ brakes, minus seat and boom

Human-powered electrical system with lights and USB charging

Just as the days are getting longer, I finally have permanently mounted, self-powered lighting.  So far it is everything I’d hoped.  The Schmidt Edelux II headlight and Busch-Muller Toplight Brake Plus taillight illuminate immediately with a turn of the Schmidt Son XS-M dynamo hub, mounted on the left wheel (it can go on either side).  I chose the side opposite the chain line to allow more room for cabling.  It’s pretty amazing to me how little rotational speed is required to provide adequate light, and once moving both headlight and taillight are quite bright.  I need some time on it away from city lights but I think the bright LED bulb coupled with quality optics that concentrate the light where needed will completely illuminate my path without blinding oncoming traffic.  The engineering and craftsmanship are beautiful, making the typical lights found in the USA look pathetic by comparison.  The plastic taillight is less inspiring but functions well, albeit with an insane plastic-on-plastic rattle when bumped a certain way.  I’m pretty sure it’s the source of an annoying rattle that I’ll be tracking down soon.

The dynamo is silent but I occasionally notice a not-unpleasant vibration transmitted through the trike frame when the lights are turned on.  Of course it adds drag when providing light and/or USB power but it is well below my ability to detect while riding.  On the bench it’s easy to see that the unloaded dynamo wheel spins down a bit faster than its mate on the right side, and quite fast with the lights turned on.  But on my daily commute it just feels like free energy.  I think the ultimate test will be a moonlight ride up Bogus Basin Road, 4000 feet of elevation gain in 16 miles.  If I’m able to see on the way up without supplemental lighting and feel good when I get to the top, it will be an unqualified success.  I suspect it won’t be quite that perfect on a constant uphill climb,  an outcome that wouldn’t necessarily diminish my enthusiasm for the system, but I have to know where the limits are.  Watch for the report in a blog post near you.

With a human-powered electrical system on board, of course I couldn’t resist adding a phone charger to the system.  I initially assumed I’d have to build the charger myself, not realizing the market for such things is already maturing.  I chose the Sinewave Cycles Reactor, which on paper at least is an engineering marvel, and on the trike a thing of beauty rivaled only by the Schmidt headlight and the trike itself.  The front derailleur tube, an otherwise useless appendage in my derailleur-less build, is a great place to house all the wiring and electronics for the headlight and charger.  The Reactor is designed to replace the end cap of a steering tube on a threadless headset.  Perfect.  In initial testing the Reactor appears to work as advertised but I need to do a lot more to understand it’s capabilities and limitations.  I’ll report my findings, as well as detailed instructions on how I installed it (a little trickier than I’d imagined), in a future post or two.

For the electrical wiring harness I used the same coaxial cable that Schmidt uses on the SON hub, obtained from Peter White Cycles, who also soldered on the necessary connectors at the headlight and taillight ends.  They do excellent work with a soldering iron and shrink tubing, far better than I, and I have quite a bit of experience.  I used quick-release connectors obtained from Sinewave Cycles to break the cables wherever the trike frame breaks—at the boom and the rear frame section.  The Sinewave connectors look similar to connectors that Peter White sells, but they’re quite a bit cheaper, and the quality is excellent.  They come with the shrink tubing and instructions necessary to create really nice connections.  Even with my marginal soldering skills.

I had planned to use the quick-release connectors inside the derailleur tube to make it easy to disconnect the headlight, but decided that would be more work than the gain would justify, and would be more failure prone.  I used 1/4” ID poly tubing to guide the cables along the frame, attached to the frame via cable ties where the shift cables normally attach.   I used the two holes at the bottom of the boom (one of them intended for the non-existent front derailleur cable) to run the headlight and brake cables inside the boom.  From there I routed the cables from the boom, past the bottom bracket, and into the inside of the derailleur tube.  I routed these cables before the Schumpf was installed.

I drilled two holes for the electrical installation, one 9/32” hole for the headlight and taillight cables at the top of the headlight bracket on the derailleur tube, and another 1/4” hole for the brake cable at the lower left of the rear rack.  I used an existing hole at the rear of the rack to route the taillight cable to the light. I finished the edges of all the holes with black primer and rubber grommets.  The diameter of the Schmidt coax is a little too wide for the Di2 grommets so I used grommets obtained from a local hardware store for all of the holes for lighting.  I attached a Busch&Muller B&M471LH nylon headlight mount from Peter White Cycles to the upper water bottle mounting nut on the derailleur tube.  Because the rivnuts have a sizeable shoulder that protrudes above the surface of the tube, I had to grind off an equivalent amount on the backside of the headlight bracket in order for it to mount flush to the tube, without rocking.  This left precious little material left for the bolt to hold onto, but so far it’s extremely solid.  If that changes I’ll go back to my original plan and fabricate my own mount out of aluminum that picks off both the water bottle nuts instead of just the top one.

I routed the taillight cable through the lower left tube of the rear rack.  This makes for a clean install but more importantly prevents panniers and such from coming in contact with the cable.  I chose the left side to mount the taillight (cantilevered from the provided left-side attachment point) because it puts the light closest to the traffic I’m trying to avoid.  When operating primarily in countries that drive on the left side of the road, you’d probably want to mount the taillight on the right, which would require different cable routing.  The optional top portion of the rack has a nice taillight mount right in the center (no cantilevered bracket required) and quite a bit higher than the mount I used.  I chose not to use this mounting location for the taillight because I wanted the option to remove the top rack, and the cable routing to it wouldn’t be nearly as clean.  I attached the provided rear reflector there, giving me two reflectors in the rear (the Busch-Muller taillight is also a reflector).  As long as the reflector doesn’t rattle, I’ll keep it there.

With a little time on the trike I’ve decided to just keep the top portion of the rear rack installed.  It adds some rigidity to the wings of the lower rack, which otherwise flex more than I would like.  More importantly, it gives me a handle when maneuvering the trike that doesn’t require me to stoop down to grab it.  Even with the top portion permanently mounted, I prefer the taillight mounted on the lower portion because the routing of the power cable is so much cleaner.

The electrical connections were straightforward.  The Schmidt hub doesn’t use frame ground, which is a good thing, so I ran two conductors everywhere via the Schmidt coaxial cable.  Among other things, this means polarity doesn’t matter.  I ran power from the hub to the headlight, and then from the headlight to the taillight.  This allows the headlight to control when the taillight is on, and prevents potentially overloading the taillight (not a problem with the light I chose).  Peter White has a detailed treatment of the wiring.

Cabling prep (installed to boom before Schlumpf)

Boom

Boom, near bottom bracket

Headlight assembly at derailleur tube, after Schlumpf install

1. Locate hole for headlight and taillight cables just above headlight bracket when mounted on top water bottle nut.  I kept the hole as low as possible on the derailleur tube to avoid interference with the Reactor USB charger and the star nut required to secure it.  The hole ended up about 3” below the top of the derailleur tube.
2. Drill 9/32” hole (just big enough for two cables inside grommet).  Paint exposed aluminum and install rubber grommet.
3. Route cables from headlight through grommet and out the top of the derailleur tube.  Trim cables so they are just long enough to easily splice them with the cables coming from the rear.
4. Create three-way splice:  Headlight cable, power cable from dynamo hub, and Reactor cable.
5. Create two-way splice: Taillight cables from Schmidt and Busch-Muller lights.

Headlight and taillight cables entering derailleur tube

Splices

Routing cables through headlight mount

Cabling to hub and taillight

1. Using zip-ties, attach a length of 1/4” inner-diameter poly tubing to the available cable mounting points on the frame, from the pinch collet bolts of the boom to where the rear section inserts into the main frame.
2. Drill a 1/4” hole in the poly tube near (maybe a little in front) of where the cross tube meets the main frame tube.  This is where the power cable from the dynamo hub will join the taillight cable on its way to the boom.
3. With dynamo wheel installed on left side of trike, connect mating connector to the dynamo hub connector.
4. Route cable along the bottom of the cross tube of the frame.  I used a section of black Shimano Di2 wire cover (essentially high quality adhesive tape) to attach the wire to the cross tube.  This worked quite well and is nearly invisible (hence no picture).  Because I’m paranoid, I zip-tied both ends of the covered run of cable to the cross tube to prevent the tape from peeling back.  I’m not sure this is necessary.
5. Insert the un-terminated end of the power cable into the hole previously drilled in the poly tube and route the cable out the front end of the tube, where the boom attaches.
6. Drill a 1/4” hole in the bottom left tube of the rear main rack (not the top section).  Paint exposed aluminum and install grommet.
7. Route a section of taillight cable from an existing, grometted hole near the taillight mount at the rear of the rack to the hole previously drilled in the front of the rack.  I used a section of cable with the terminals for the taillight already installed by Peter White.
8. Route a long section of taillight cable through the poly tube from the front to the rear.
9. Install quick connectors in headlight and taillight cables in the front to allow removal of boom section.
10. Install quick connectors in the rear section of taillight cable to allow removal of the rack.
11. Attach the taillight to the left side of the rear rack.  I fabricated a mounting plate for it from a small piece of aluminum plate, which turned out to be extremely solid.  I spray painted the plate black and attached it with stainless bolts and nylock nuts.
12. Connect cable to taillight.  Note that because I’m not using the frame for ground, polarity doesn’t matter for any of the electrical installation.

Schmidt coax connecter

Headlight and taillight connectors at boom

Poly tube for headlight/power and taillight cables

Cable runs at rear of trike—parking brake, Di2 shift, taillight (with connector)

Taillight cable entering hole drilled in rear rack, Di2 cable crossing through frame

Taillight bracket.  Corner beveled for clearance with fender.

Taillight finished.  Cable enters rack tube using existing hole.

Headlight finished, with charger and accessory mount installed

Headlight with USB charger and cell phone mount

Front chain line

Ultegra Di2 Electric Shift

This was primarily a matter of transferring the Di2 components from the old HDQ trike to the new Sprint.  I could have transferred the entire right handlebar over, they look identical, but instead I used the new handlebar.   Rather than repeat the installation steps I’ve already outlined, I’ll discuss the differences and discoveries with this installation.

• I routed the shift cable through the handlebar so that it emerges on the opposite side of the trike.  This avoids any possible contact with the chain, and lets me run the cable back on the left side of the frame before routing through the rear section to the right side near the rear derailleur.  It also allows me to run it parallel to the taillight and parking brake cables, keeping things tidy and facilitating folding the frame, if I ever care to do that.
• I discovered that the Shimano E-tube wire holders can be persuaded to go into a 1/4” hole, but don’t want to come back out.  I ended up destroying the cable that ran from the splice in the handlebar upright to the junction near the battery.  It was too long anyway, I replaced it with a 150mm cable and didn’t reinstall the wire holder.
• I ran the shift cable through a short piece of 7/32” ID poly tube, parallel to the bigger tube used for the lighting cables.
• I was able to re-use everything else, including the long cable going to the derailleur.
• I didn’t anticipate how much narrower the handlebars are on the Sprint compared with the HDQ.  On the Q I could push the handlebar in all the way toward the center of the trike without affecting the shift cable where it exits the handlebar.  On the Sprint, the end of the inner handlebar tube can overlap the exit hole for the derailleur cable that is drilled into the outer handlebar tube.  If this happened with the cable in place, I’m sure it would be sheared in two.  To prevent this from happening I installed a Cateye clamp around the inner handlebar tube which prevents it from being pushed too far in.  I don’t anticipate ever needing to adjust my handlebars in that close so this limitation is not an issue for me.

Di2 is working perfectly, just like on the HDQ.  There was one problem however, still unexplained.  In calibrating the derailleur I went from an offset of +4 on the HDQ to –16 on the Sprint.  +/- 16 steps is the limit of calibration for Di2—I’m at the absolute limit.  I can’t even follow Shimano’s published calibration steps because they involve going 4 steps beyond center and then adjusting back until chain noise ceases.  I’d need a limit of –20 to do this.  I also had to adjust the high and low limits a similar amount.

I can think of only two things that could cause this change:  A left offset in the cassette relative to the shoulder of the hub or a right offset in the derailleur hangar.  I did remove the cassette to clean it but can’t imagine how I could have reinstalled it in a way that shifted it left.  The hub has a spacer but this is used to move the cassette to the right  to allow a 9 or 10 speed cassette to be used on the wider 11-speed spline.  With an 11-speed cassette this spacer is not used.  This leaves the derailleur hangar or maybe the dropout on the frame.  It doesn’t look it, but maybe it’s bent somehow.  At some point I’ll take some careful measurements which should tell the tale.  But for now it’s shifting great so my motivation is low for this task.

Di2 cable leaving handlebar on left (non-drive) side, cable tie used as stop

Two 1/4” holes drilled in handlebar tubes

Cateye clamp to prevent handlebar tube from sliding inward and shearing Di2 shift cable

Di2 derailleur

Di2 cable opposite chain and Terracycle dual idlers

Schlumpf Speed Drive

Installing the Schlumpf was one of the first tasks.  I prepped it by installing the headlight/power and taillight cables to the boom (see above) and shipped it off to Utah Trikes.  They installed the Schlumpf and shipped it back.

So far I’m happy with the Schlumpf.  Like everything there is a tradeoff:  a little bit of noise and a slight reduction in efficiency in overdrive for the benefit of not having to deal with a massive front triple and a derailleur with its associated shifter and cabling.  Already a net gain in my book, but the biggest advantage to getting the crank down to one chain ring is a perfect solution to the 20” drive wheel problem.  It is difficult to completely compensate for the drop in gear-inches using conventional bicycle components.   By choosing the appropriate single front chain ring, I can easily dial in my gearing in 1-tooth increments.  It doesn’t get any better than that.

One nice benefit to the Schlumpf is that they offer 155mm crank arms in addition to the more common longer sizes.  I have relatively short legs—it might all be in my head but I prefer shorter crank arms.  Good luck finding this in conventional components.

With the Schlumpf DualDrive and an 11-32 cassette in the rear, I’m running a 34 tooth front chain ring, a nice alternative to the massive 56 tooth ring I’d need to provide the same top end with the Ultegra cassette.  A few weeks into this configuration, I’m finding that my gear range is about what I expected.  I’ve easily tackled my steepest local ride, but at the lowest gear so no reserves on the low end.  I can’t power down steep hills but I have plenty of top end on the flats and small downhills, which is all I care about.  I can comfortably complete my flat daily commute without ever shifting into overdrive, but occasionally do to kick up the speed a bit.  Would I like more range?  Yes, another gear’s-worth of range would be nice, to provide a little margin on the low end.  The ability to run an 11-34 in the rear would be about perfect.  But I think this compromise will work out fine.

Final gearing numbers

Drivetrain

ICE highly values folding.  Except for the Vortex, which is of little interest to me, you get a folding frame with an ICE trike whether you want it or not.  And with folding naturally comes tubes to help manage the chain while folded.  I don’t share ICE’s enthusiasm for either folding or chain tubes.

I find chain tubes needlessly noisy and complex, though to be fair I’m amazed at how well the tubes have worked on my Q, and how long they’ve lasted.  At nearly 25,000 miles I’m still running the original tubes, though I’m on my second spring metal bracket, near the idler.

In eight years of owning the Q, I needed it in a smaller package only once, and folding wasn’t remotely good enough.  To transport the trike via train I completely disassembled it, something the ICE design facilitates quite well, independent of folding.  Otherwise I either throw the trike on a HItchrider car rack or just ride it to the start of the ride.   Folding adds unnecessary complexity and weight for a feature I’ll never use; the reduction in chain clearance around the knuckle where the frame folds reinforces the need for chain tubes that I don’t want.

Further, I’m not a fan of the factory idler.   Smooth, hard plastic idlers make a lot of noise.  A toothed idler makes much more sense to me on the drive side of the chain where force is high.

So my decision to completely customize the chain management should come as no surprise.  I didn’t completely succeed; the jury is still out on whether what I came up with is a net improvement.   I have a standard ICE chain tube set waiting if I decide not.  But I’m so close! Just one unanticipated quirk of the new ICE design keeps me from perfection:  the rear rack.

Unlike older models, the 2016 rear rack attaches at the rear suspension pivot.  This is a problem because the drive side of the chain runs close by.  To provide clearance, the rack attachment on the right side dips down below the pivot centerline.  This works great when loaded, but when the chain goes slack it drops onto the aluminum rack, causing an unbearable clatter.  I can’t remove the rack, so the fix, of course, is a chain tube.  Thankfully not a complete set of tubes—I installed just one 19.75” tube that runs a little behind the rack attachment point to just under the seat.  This prevents chain-on-rack noise as well as any clearance issues with the knuckle or the seat, though the latter two can be solved without a chain tube by replacing the knuckle quick-release with a bolt and keeping the lower seat straps tight.  I keep the tube in place using a floating chaintube holder from Terracycle, attached to a convenient bolt hole on the rack.  This is an ingenious little device, though mine failed in the first week when a rivet broke.  It was easy to fix and Terracycle rushed me a replacement for the fabric cover that was lost.  They said they’d never seen this device fail before, further establishing my credibility as the pre-eminent clearinghouse for defective merchandise.

By fixing the single chain tube to the rack, the idler configuration is much simpler because it doesn’t have to deal with tubes.  I installed a Terracycle dual idler directly to the factory idler mount on the frame.  This keeps the chain line as straight as possible for both the power and return sides—no more snaking the return through an s-turn using a chain tube.  I admit I’m a bit of an idler snob.  A similar replacement on my wife’s old TerraTrike dramatically reduced noise.  The reduction on ICE trikes is less because the design is better to begin with, but it’s still noticeable.  The bigger draws for me are the primal feeling that toothed is better on the drive side and the exquisite quality of these idlers.   They’re like gold, but way more useful.

This configuration would be a slam dunk except that the chain tube noise is almost exactly what it was with the stock ICE chain tubes on my Q.  I know the source of the noise is the tubes because I ran without any tubes for a couple days; when powered up with no tubes, the drive train was completely silent.  I may be able to knock the chain tube noise down with a creative mounting design, but that’s way down the list of projects.  The noise isn’t that bad.

I also experimented with a Terracycle idler in the rear for the return chain.  Managing side-to-side sway was necessary on my HDQ so I thought it would be for the Sprint as well.  By removing the quick-release on the knuckle I was able to find a spot for the idler that allowed adequate chain clearance.  However this lowered my ground clearance by 3/4”, and when I hung the trike up in the rack at work, the weight of the trike rested on the idler.  I didn’t like that so removed the idler and, surprise!, shifting still works great.  For now I’m running in this configuration.

Terracycle front power and return idlers

Installing Terracycle floating chain tube holder to rack

Original installation, complete

.

Broken rivet, lost cover

Replaced rivet with bolt, reversed tube mount, waiting for cover replacement

Replaced frame fold QR with 30mm M6 cap screw

Rear idler, now removed

Trike resting on rear idler in hanging bike rack

Other components

I installed a new Sigma BC12.12 wired bike computer to the frame cross tube.  In this location the computer is so close to the sensor that I don’t see the point of running wireless, eliminating a set of batteries and potential interference issues.  I cut the sensor cable to length and spliced it back together.  I don’t really like staring at my bike computer—I have a phone app for that if I’m feeling geeky—so prefer it out of my main view.  I can see it easily enough with a slight tilt of my head if I need an update on speed.  Otherwise the computer exists primarily as a reliable, zero-touch odometer.  I’m not in love with the Sigma, they must have gone out of their way to clutter it with four independent buttons, but it gets the job done.  I may move it to the right side at some point to put the speed display as far to the outside as possible, making it a little easier to see.

Disc or v-brake?  I hemmed and hawed and wound up going with an Avid BB7 disc for the parking brake, primarily because I had one (and a centerlock rotor) in my garage.  My other rationalization is that it is easier to get the rear wheel on and off with a disc brake vs. rim.  Nice that the ICE frames support both.

Bike computer mounted on frame cross tube, sensor lead cut to length and spliced

What’s not to like?

Overall, the design and craftsmanship of ICE trikes is excellent.  I don’t have enough experience with other trikes to prove it, but it’s easy to make the argument they’re the best.  Certainly among the best.  But even after hitching my ride to a high quality brand, there are inevitably some aspects of the arrangement I don’t like.  I’ve talked about some of them before—the nearly exclusive compromise of folding frames and chain tubes, the Capreo rear hub, minimal choice of colors, and scant options for a rigid rear frame come to mind.  While mildly annoying, it’s easy to see why ICE made all of these decisions.  They’re reasonable decisions that just don’t happen to align perfectly with my sensibilities.

There is one decision, though, that is uncharacteristic of a company with such excellent attention to detail.  I’ll be blunt—the ICE-branded parking brake lever is an unmitigated, steaming pile o’ poo.  Having this component on your trike is worse than having no parking brake at all.  I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve set the brake, only to watch the trike roll away anyway.  No matter how hard I’ve tried to increase the friction by turning the cheesy Phillips-head adjustment, after a few days, or hours, or minutes it has loosened up and won’t hold my Avid BB7 disc brake caliper tight to the rotor.  It’s infuriating.  But like most problems in life, there is a solution:  the SunRace SLM96 “Thumbie” left friction shift cable.  Chip sells it because he, too, has given up on the ICE solution.  Unlike the ugly, plastic, worse-than-useless ICE lever, the SunRace lever is a beautiful, machined aluminum component befitting a trike the caliber of ICE.  And it just works.  I now have this on both of my ICE trikes;  the ICE lever is in a junk drawer where it belongs.  Note that both the ICE and SunRace levers are shift levers, not brake levers, so take the thinner inner cable.  I run this inside a normal brake housing, which works great.

ICE/Park vs SunRace parking brake lever– No contest

Cost, in Dollars and Grams

I gave up trying to account for every possible component, so the math may not add up very well, but the numbers I do have should be pretty accurate.  In my normal configuration with rack, lights, USB charger, phone mount, mirrors, flag, rear fender, Schlumpf, front idlers, disc parking brake, pump and small tool kit, the trike weighs in at 45.6 lb.   Switching from the folding QR lever to an M6 bolt saved 45g – 11g = 34g.  The weight of the Schlumpf is about a wash compared with a triple front crank with derailleur and shifter.