Catrike 2007 Trail, 2007 Road, 2007 speed, Pocket, Expedition Owner's Manual

TM

Owner’s Manual 2007

TM

Road

speed

Big Cat HPV, LLC 720
Business Park BLVD, Unit 22
Winter Garden, FL 34787
email: [e-mail]
phone number: [phone]
fax number: [phone]

TM

06 Introduction
07 Safety and riding tips
09 Maintenance tips
10 Assembly instructions
22 Specifications
23 Limited Warranty

Contents

Thank you for purchasing a Catrike! You made a great decision by buying a fine
quality product that performs well and will bring you fun and good times for
years to come.

Please take a moment to read through this document, especially the sections on
safety and riding tips. You may find that the most comfortable place to be while
you're doing this is sitting (stationary) on your trike!

We hope you enjoy owning and riding your Catrike!

Happy Trails,

Paulo Camasmie, CEO
Big Cat HPV, LLC

Introduction

Safety tips

Riding safely depends on many things, from proper equipment to alertness to your attitude on the road. Above all, use
common sense.

The ideal place to ride your Catrike is bicycle trails & paths. The Catrikes are probably the best choice in that setting. You will
enjoy the view, relax and socialize. You will have the most comfort, peace of mind and fun. If you elect, however, to ride on
streets, you will have to do it at your own risk and know that whether it is a regular bicycle, a recumbent or a tricycle you have to
be very careful. Because a trike is so low to the ground you have to be extra careful with cars and trucks. Therefore you have
to take a great care to make yourself visible. In part, you do this with equipment such as brightly colored clothing and helmets,
use of the safety flag that comes with every Catrike, and also with blinking lights and reflective stickers. But you also have to
ride in such a way that you engage the attention of motorists, making eye contact, signaling your intentions, being courteous,
smiling and waving. You use your voice to get attention. You also pay a lot of attention when riding in traffic and you obey all
traffic laws and rules of the road. The positive side is that recumbent tricycles are very much a novelty, and once you make
sure that you are being seen, you generally find that motorists leave you more room and respect when you're on our Catrikes
than they do when you're on upright bicycles. Nevertheless, always assume that they don't see you.

Reflective and high-visibility gear is great (and we use it all the time), but it's no substitute for lights when riding at night or in
low-light conditions. The new super-high-output LED rear lights are very effective. Any small headlight (those that look like
flashlights) may be enough to help oncoming motorists see you, but it's not sufficient to actually light your way. If you're going
to ride at night, spend the money and get a good headlight.

While it may seem silly to wear a helmet on a low-slung tricycle, you should always do so. It's very hard to tip the trike over, but
it can happen. Also, if you have a close encounter of the worst kind with a car or stationary object, chances are you won't stay
on the trike. Always wear a CPSC-approved cycling helmet when riding your Catrike. A brightly colored helmet also helps
motorists see you.

You're very low, and it's possible for road grit to get whipped up by the wind or kicked up by passing cars and hit you in the face.
This is especially true in the spring in areas where sand is used on the roads in winter. It's a good idea to wear sunglasses to
protect your eyes. You may also want to wear gloves. It's easy to reach the ground on your Catrike, and getting a palm full of
sand and ground glass is no fun.

We strongly recommend the use of a mirror. Don't rely entirely on it. Turn and look before changing lanes or turning across the
line of traffic.

Riding along a line of parked cars presents a particular danger for those on low-slung bikes and trikes. Motorists have a habit
of opening their doors suddenly without looking behind them…and even if they do look, they're concentrating on looking for
oncoming cars, not a low trike. When riding along a line of parked cars, look for occupants inside as you approach. If you see
someone sitting in the car, give them a bit of extra room.

Pedestrians, too, often aren't looking where you are. Use caution when approaching crosswalks and use your bell, horn or
your voice to alert those who may be stepping into the street.

Your Catrike has a fixed seat for several good reasons, and one of these is that it keeps the center of gravity where it should be
for good handling. If you carry loaded panniers, avoid putting the weight too high and too far aft, or it can cause poor, even
unsafe, handling.

Safety and riding tips

TM

owner’s manual - page 07

owner’s manual - page 08

Riding tips

If you don't have experience with recumbent tricycles, you may find that for the first few rides you experience noticeable pedal
steer (pushing hard on the pedals makes the trike swerve) and brake steer (grabbing one brake harder than the other causes
the trike to swerve). These two phenomena become much less noticeable as you gain experience. Pedal steer is minimized or
eliminated by pedaling smoothly at a fairly high cadence, rather than mashing hard. Brake steer is minimized by braking
smoothly and evenly…if the trike lurches under braking you're overdoing it (it's like driving your car…you don't stand on the
brakes every time you slow the car; rather, you learn to modulate the pressure so that the car does not lurch).

The smoothest, most enjoyable ride comes when you learn not to over control the trike. The steering is very responsive, and
does not require much input at all to make the trike change direction. The less you try to steer, the smoother the ride will be.

It's possible to get the trike up onto two wheels, but this should be avoided. It puts a lot of stress on the components and can
cause loss of control. Bicycle wheels, hubs and tires are not designed for heavy lateral loads, and if you go up on two wheels
you're asking them to do something they were never meant for. Your Catrike is wonderfully responsive and handles very well,
but it's possible to overdo it. Use common sense. You'll find that the trike stays more firmly planted when going around a corner
at speed if you lean to the inside of the turn.

The brakes on your Catrike are very powerful. It is quite possible to do a “stoppie” on the Catrike (lock the
front wheels and lift the rear wheel off the ground by jamming on the brakes). In extreme cases, you can hit the chain rings on
the ground and damage them. Use common sense. Don't use maximum braking unless you really need to. (At high enough
speeds, the trike won't lift the rear wheel…it will just skid. And at very low speeds, there isn't enough momentum to hit the
chain rings on the ground.)

Brake Steering: Our frames are designed for a diminished brake steer effect. However keep in mind that the
trike is not a heavy vehicle such as a car. It does not have hydraulic, electronics or self correcting mechanisms either. It is
instead, a very light recreational vehicle with a mechanical steering linkage that carries a rider sometimes over 8 times its
weight. Therefore the weight & dynamics of the driver can exert total control over the capabilities of the vehicle. It does
demand that the rider develops proper riding skills, such as smooth pedaling, smooth steering and smooth breaking and that it
is always conscious when riding. The Catrike has front brakes only, since in a breaking situation 90% of the weight is
transferred to the front of the trike. The front brakes are also independent, meaning that you can break the right wheel only, or
the left wheel only. Therefore, especially in high speed or down hill situations, it is mandatory that you pull both brakes at the
same time and with the same intensity. If you elect however, to brake only with one brake, this could cause the trike to steer out
of your path and cause serious injury or death.

our new peace boom and boom clamp is designed for high pressure clamping and has an indexing system
to keep the boom from twisting more than a few degrees. Make sure the boom clamp is tight enough, so the boom will not twist
while you pedal. The indexing tab should be used as a guide; it is not intended to keep the boom from twisting under pressure.
Just like a bicycle seat post clamp, it is the rider's responsibility to check for the boom clamp for tightness. There is a plastic
shim included between the boom and the main frame to eliminate any gap and to increase clamping action. Make sure the
plastic shim is correctly placed before riding your Catrike. If for any reason, you are unable to install or tighten the boom clamp
or are missing the boom shim, please do not ride your Catrike and contact your Catrike Dealer or Big Cat HPV, LLC. Failure to
do so might cause the boom to twist and cause serious injury.

CAUTION:

CAUTION:

CAUTION:

TM