Why make neck rests?  I made the first one because I love my Catrike Expedition.  But I definitely didn't like the walnut-size neck rest it came with.  And despite friends and BROL posters telling me how I was supposed to use a neck rest I figured it was my trike and I could use the neck rest in whatever way it made me comfortable.  With the seat angle set on the Expedition I found myself using the original neck rest a lot, and it was royally uncomfortable.  That was the beginning.  Larry Varney, Bentrideronline's co-editor, kindly wrote a nice review and all of a sudden folks were interested in trying one.

Are these neck rests usable on any manufacturer's trikes? The ones I'm offering now are designed to replace the standard Catrike neck rest. They fit the standard Catrike tower and use the standard Catrike mounting hardware.

Do they fit all Catrike models? Catrike offers neck rests as standard on the Road, Speed, Expedition and 700. The Villager, Pocket and Trail don't come with neck rests as standard equipment so they don't have the tower needed to mount these neck rests. But I'm working on a mount to fit those three models as well.

Is this an offshore industry? Well sort of...it's truly an island cottage industry...off shore Seattle. I make the neck rests, a good friend who otherwise designs and makes baby clothes sews the covers, and another friend who runs a commercial embroidery business from a small cabin on her property does the embroidery.

How are they made and with what materials? In brief...by hand, one at a time. The brackets are made of mild steel, and the neck rest base is ABS plastic. The bolts are stainless steel.

Originally all the neck rests were covered with open pore foam, and if that's what you want I'll still make you one. Larry Varney’s review is of the open pore foam. Recently I found a high latex that's become my new favorite. It looks and feels fuller, has a smoother surface and a bit more cushion. But both are really good and neither will mildew. The cover is the same on both – black, breathable, water-resistant material secured with a poly cord and sliding lock.

Because it looks great and personalizes your trike, one option most people seem to want is having their cover embroidered. Your avatar, name, email address, political statement, club logo...practically whatever you want is possible. Where only one color thread is used we'll match it to your frame color.

Catrike now makes their neck rests larger than their originals. How do mine compare? If at all possible you might want to decide this for yourself. Here's how they compare with the originals.

What do people who've bought these have to say?

Poppa1 "Add my voice to the endorsements for Steve’s headrest. Got it yesterday, installed it today and took a ride…far superior to the stock Catrike headrest!!! Err neckrest-"

KirkCTR537 "By the way Steve the new NECK rest works wonderful. Thank you very much. Happy hallucinations on the next batch you make."

Rzexpedition "Steve, I have now ridden two or three hundred miles using your neckrest. One thing I’m sure of is that it provides way better shock absorption than I was expecting or had before. I can ride on hard chipseal with myh neck resting on your neckrest and feel totally comfortable. I believe the reason is that foam you used on mine. I think the open pores are the reason, as they can compress as need (my guess). The smoothness of the foam isn’t an issue for me as the cover is what contacts my neck.

So, I'm wondering what this new high-density stuff will be like. Should I be trying to get that on mine? Thanks."

Woodog "I just received my headrest yesterday, and was only able to mount it today. What can I say... the original Catrike headrest felt too minimalistic to me but this precision neck/head rest is comfy many times over. I took it out for a brief ride but let me tell you, I'm going to like this. The embroidery was a nice touch as well.

He'll figure out that he should charge more for it at some point (It's certainly worth more) so if you were thinking you might need a quality neck rest, this is a good one."

Mikey "I haven’t installed mine yet, since New Yeller is not quite 100% assembled yet (more like 30%), but it feels terrific when I just lie on it…”

Woodog "I've got a little over 150 miles since I got the neck rest mounted, and there's joy in riding that I didn't know was possible. Before I used no neck rest. Now I'm learning to relax my entire upper body and working on smoothing the cadence. This is an excellent product, very cushy and kind to the body. I highly recommend one."

What do they cost? The neck rest is $35 plus shipping in handling, which adds about $5 if shipped within the US (postage varies

For an additional $5 you can have your cover embroidered with a couple of words of your choice.

If you want a logo or emblem of some sort the price will depend upon whether or not it's already a file in the embroidery machine's computer. If it's not we have it digitized for a small charge, and then the image is available to you if you decide you'd also like it on a ball cap, tee shirt or some other piece of trike gear.

Want to order one? It's easy and there’s NO NEED TO PRE-PAY. All I need is:

• Your BROL or Catrike forum screen name.
• Your mailing address.
• Your choice of latex or open pore. I'll use latex unless you ask for the other.
• Whether you'd like something embroidered on the cover, and if so,
• What you'd like embroidered, and the color of your frame so I can match it with the thread.

If you want an image embroidered we'll need a jpg of the art. I'll let you know what the additional charge will be.

Once the neck rest is done I'll mail it to you. If you're satisfied then send me a check for the enclosed invoice amount. I’ll include my address with your order.

If you're okay with this I'll gladly make you one. It should take about 14 days. Just send your order and mailing address to stevesussman@earthlink.net

Also, if you've got any questions, you can email me there as well.