Krispysteve's Blog

2012-02-09T18:44:00.000-08:00

Look what's coming to the island...a Greenspeed GLO! It's a product of the Greenspeed Custom Shop made about 5 years ago for Larry Varney of Bentrideronline.

I love the Catrike Expedition but have always wanted a touring trike that could be disassembled pretty quickly into a small-enough bundle to be easily taken on a plane, train or intercity bus. Greenspeed and touring are synonymous...their touring and expedition trikes are legendary.

The GLO is a touring hybrid - 16" wheels for superlow wall-climbing gears, a DualDrive hub, hydraulic brakes, quick disconnect cables, an S&S connector that quickly takes the frame apart into two pieces and a 10 degree more seat recline than the GTO. I'm hoping to pick it up from Larry at the Catrike Rally in March. It seems a bit weird that because it doesn't fold, taking Msafiri (the Expedition) to Florida for the Catrike Rally is practical nightmare and I'll be riding the GLO. Oh well. So now it looks like my list of reasons for not taking off on another cycle-touring adventure is one hellofalot shorter.

Totally unrelated, here's a photograph Dave sent of the new CURVE kit mounted on his TerraTrike Tour. Because I didn't have a TerraTrike in my shop, his masterful up-close photography has been incredibly helpful as I've re-designed the bracket to maximize rear wheel clearance. Now I just need to get him to back up a bit so we can see how the whole trike looks with the CURVE kit!

And finally, someone recently asked which trike manufacturers we made CURVEs and CURVE kits to fit. So I figured I'd just attach our product descriptions, price list and how to order information here. Just click on the pictures and the information will get larger.

For more information you can always find me at www.stevesussman@earthlink.net. Don't be scared off by the spam protector...I root around in the 'suspect mail' pile at least once a day and will fish you out...promise.

2012-02-08T15:47:00.000-08:00

Some nice news...and finally a chance to move on to other things. I posted this on BROL the other day:

"Finally...thanks to the seemingly endless patience of thefriendly testers from the BROL community and a couple of re-designs, the CURVEkits for TerraTrikes are now available.

The same gently curved 3"x6" neck rest with a 2"thick and cushy memory foam fill, "T" tower, 75mm mtb stem and endcaps, plus an adapter bracket designed just for TerraTrikes.

The cover is breathable and water-resistant, and secured with apoly cord and slider.

As always, embroidery is available to personalize yourtrike...and you're limited mostly by your imagination.

The complete kit is $110 plus a small ship charge. The cost of embroidery depends uponyour selection, and you get to see the art before we do the embroidery."

I honestly don't know that I'll sell many of the TerraTrike kits but getting the adapter bracket made was becoming an obsession. So I'm glad it's finished and I can move on to other projects like hardshell mounts, new sidemount stuff and the top secret project X.

Letting people know about the kit was also a perfect opportunity to gather up just some of the recent embroidery we've done.

Larry Varney's cover is being embroidered as we speak. With luck he'll have it in time for the upcoming Catrike Rally the beginning of March.

Its been sunny and in the high 50's for the past 4 days. Now it's raining again but I just noticed that the daffodils are beginning to appear. Oh boy...Spring's coming!

2012-02-02T17:21:00.000-08:00

The new TerraTrike CURVE kit adapter mount brackets look great. The tube is thicker wall, the fit is tighter and the weld is much longer. Today I mailed out the new brackets to all the wonderful testers who received the TerraTrike kits with the older mounts. And the new kits are now available for sale...finally.

The other day I was asked whether the CURVE neck rest with brackets that fit the stock Catrike mounts can also fit the kit mount...the "L" tube and mtb stem. In the past I've said no, that even though the CURVE neck rests were the same the mounts were different and not interchangeable. Well that's not entirely true. Here's a picture I received from a customer who no longer wanted to use the stock mounts and wanted to fit his CURVE to the kit. It's ingenious really, and quite simple. The horizontal arm of the "L" tower is 1" OD, just like the seat brace tube on the Catrike. He mounted the two stock black clamps on the "L" tube and then mounted the CURVE to the stock brackets. Adjusting the neck rest face up and down by rotating the clamps means the tube can be used to stop the neck rest from rotating downward. And I think by moving the clamps closer to the neck rest brackets you can eliminate the spacers as well. Good idea. So in case you were wondering, turns out the answer is yes the stock brackets can be retro-mounted to fit the kit tower. Not an intentional design...but it works.

TOT's coming. I know it's only February 2, but if the next 4 months go as quickly as the last 4, it'll just be a flash before we're loading up the trikes and heading for Kellogg. I hired a well-known industrial designer in Germany (right...my son Noah) to create some new art designs for the TOT souvenirs. I saw on his blog that he'd hired a junior designer to bring a fresh and youthful perspective. Here's what Noah posted on Maya's blog. I'm excited to see their work!

Grandpa Dirt asked Papa to design some graphics for his bicycle friends...Papa asked Maya for some help sketching out a few rough comps...
payment naturally delivered on completion: "Chocolate!"

I was asked to see a CURVE on an ICE trike recently. Here's a picture someone sent me a while ago of their beautiful blue ICE.

2012-01-24T15:22:00.000-08:00

It’s sure cold in an un-insulated shop. We probably had about 8-10” on theground by the time the snow stopped. All that snow on the shop roof did a great job keeping the cold in. The thin metal walls did their parttoo, and after standing on the concrete floor making parts for a couple ofhours my knees were so sore that anything falling on the floor will be stayingthere until June. It’s not a goodsign when I’m thinking of welding as a way to stay warm. But while the weather definitely dialeddown my enthusiasm for spending time in the shop there’s still be a lot goingon.

I did some overdue fine-tuning on my trike stand afterfinding some neat ball bearing rollers at Harbor Freight. With one on the bottom of each leg thestand rolls and spins easily…it’s so much easier to use now. I also removed the gimcracky assembly Ibuilt to hold the trike’s main tube and replaced it with a simple rubber-coated“Y” hook. There’s definitelysomething to be said for simplicity.

Msafiri is now resting comfortably in the refined stand while I finishfabricating the new front fender mounts.

As for neck rests, I managed to get enough made to fill allorders and (for a wonderful change) even have some actually available in stock. I even finished extra “T” and “L”towers and side mount kit “L” arms…this definitely is a first. We have a bunch of covers currentlybeing embroidered…people have created some very neat images that I’ll post assoon as the covers are done. Here are two I just shipped out the other day.

Speaking of shipping, yesterday when I was mailing orders Idiscovered the USPS rates had gone up. So anyone receiving an order with the shipping charge changed…it’s justbecause the postal rates have been increased. Sorry. Allthings considered I think the postal service is still a great deal and I’minvested in keeping it alive. It’san interesting case study - whether a highly prized service or commodity in oneera can successfully adapt to challenges of another. Kodak couldn’t, but I’m hoping the postal service will.

The last bit of current news is about the TerraTrike kits. Yesterday I mailed out the first kitorders after stewing about it all weekend. Renie’s was in that batch. It has been here too long, so it was great to put the cover on a neck rest and finally pack it to ship.

The reason for my shipping procrastination was all about the power inthe number “3”...deciding whether to wait until the Type 3 brackets were welded andpowdercoated before shipping the kits.

You know about "3's"…third time’s a charm;three strikes and you’re out; three’s a crowd; three times lucky…which would it be?

Trying to get these adapter brackets right has been a great lesson inthe value of destruction testing. I used a Rover when I did the Type 1 design and it fit just fine. Based on the fit I made and powdercoatedabout a dozen of the Type 1 brackets before sending one to Mark Peele and another to DougMcConnell to test. I learned twothings – first the design dimensions were fine for a Rover but not for other TTmodels…not enough rear wheel clearance. And second, the force of pressing against the neck restcreated enough torque to essentially pull the tubing stub out of the adapterbracket. It didn’t break the weldbut it did peel the tube off.

So I quickly changed the bracket design to move the tube to thebracket top. Figuring I'd lickedthe problems of torque and seat clearance I made a dozen of the Type2’s. Before sending them to bepowdercoated though we decided to sacrifice one to make sure it wouldstand up to the torque that leaning against the neck rest would generate.

Using a long piece of steel pipe as a lever I torqued on thebracket until it broke. Although it took quite a bit more force than the originalbracket, it dideventually break.

Interestingly as we applied torque to the leverwe noticed that the tubing stub on the bracket to which the mtb stem isattached began to deform from round to oval. The deformation increased aswe increased the force until, while the weld never broke, the thin wall tube literally tore. I used a lot more force than anyoneleaning against the neck rest would most likely generate. However I decided there was a need for Type 3. It's a bitmore compact than Type 2 and with some production refinements. But the biggest change is the tubingstub. Rather than having a verythin wall, it’s now either .095 or .125 wall. Since the tube is only 3”long it doesn't increase weight much, and it dramatically increases thebracket’s strength. A dozen of the Type 3 brackets being powdercoated now and should be finished inabout a week.

So in the end,rather than delaying shipping even again, I mailed the first kits with theunpowdercoated Type 2 bracket, a letter of explanation, and a promise that thefirst Type 3 brackets will go to these folks.

Should I have waited and even further tested folks’patience? Maybe, but I’m hopingfolks understand and that the power of “3” will be, “third time’s a charm.”

2012-01-02T14:16:00.000-08:00

I figure I'll start 2012 with a notice, an admission and an executive decision (albeit a somewhat painful one.)

The notice: I’ll be gone until January 10…I’m going south to play with my kids andgrandkids for 6 days, and to see if I can warm up my feet from standing on theconcrete floor of my unheated shop and dry out the moss growing on mybody. So for the next 7 days thefactory’s closed.

The admission: Getting away from this enterprise's simple beginnings has been fraught with tough lessons and not much fun. Making the TerraTrike adapter bracket has been way more a stresstest than a design project. Thefirst version bracket was a perfect fit for Rovers but not for other models.

The second version (at least judgingfrom Dave McConnell’s Tour) works fine on all TerraTrike models. To make it a bit more compact Idown-sized the bracket slightly from Dave’s type 2 version and made the first batch of thenew type 2's.

Just before taking the new brackets to be powdercoated I heard from Mark Peele who was testing out the type 1version. He had some troubling news. The short 3” piece of thin wall tube on the bracket actually tore fromthe torque of the neck rest and “T” tower on the mtb stem. The weld held just fine, but the thin wall tubing firstdeformed and then tore.

The tubing used on the type 2 version has a thicker wall, butonly marginally. And I have morethan a dozen of these new brackets sitting here, although not yet powdercoated. So earlier today I wentover to John’s. We attached one ofthe new brackets to a steel plate, mounted the mtb stem and used a 1” piece ofsteel tube in the stem as a lever. We torqued the bracket until it broke. Well it’s definitely stronger than the type 1 version, inpart because of the different design. But before making another batch of brackets I’ll try torque testing themwith some tubing of different wall thicknesses - about twice as thick as on thecurrent type 2 brackets. And thatleads me to the executive decision…

The decision: Even though I realize this slows down delivery on TerraTrike kit orderseven further- I think I’m setting a Guiness anti-speed record, I’m not sendingout kits with brackets if I’m unsure of their strength. Clearly this doesn't do much for my reputation, but trading quality for speed just doesn't make sense. What a way to begin the new year.

That said, I do have about a dozen of the original type 2 adapterbrackets sitting here. They may in fact be plenty strong enough, but honestly Idon’t really know. If anyone wouldlike to be a tester I’ll gladly give away the brackets for free. They aren’t powder coated, but theyhave all the hardware needed.

The new TerraTrike kit, which includes the CURVE neck rest,“T” tube, mtb stem and adapter bracket, will be $110. If you’d like a kit with one of the original type 2 brackets you can have it for $85, the same price of the Catrike and ICE kits which don’t require the adapterbracket. If you want one of the$85 specials and for some reason the bracket doesn't hold up I’ll replace thatbracket with one of the new ones for just $25…free shipping.

If no one wants the type 2’s then I’ll simply pile them nextto other near-great ideas in the shop’s museum.

Might as well end on a glimmer of good news: Hereare the two latest embroidered covers. The flaming blue trike cover is looking for a home. If you’re interested let me know.

2011-12-26T10:35:00.000-08:00

Perfection is elusive…ormaybe “illusive” is a better word. Everything, even good news, seems to come with qualifiers,.

A couple of days ago I got anemail from a customer who’d been waiting patiently for his order and was justchecking to see if I’d died. Thishas been a year where just about everything that could have happened to disruptproduction and slow delivery did happen. Its been a bit of a nightmare. But then just in that moment when I was thinking this really isn’t funanymore and I’m worn out from apologizing and trying to control theuncontrollable, I got a note that said, “Thanks for the quick service.” And then I got another, “Your packagearrived today! It works great!Your check is already in the mail. I hope you get it as quickly as your packagecame to me. Thank you.” Perhaps there’s hope after all.

The TerraTrike project hasbeen another example of both elusive and illusive perfection. It took a while, but about a month agoI finished the first batch of powdercoated TT adapter brackets. At last I could offer a CURVE kit thatfits TerraTrikes…or so I thought. Here’s the kit (without neck rest cover), along with the new adapter bracket,mounted on a Rover. It fits reallywell and leaves plenty of room for adjusting the recline angle of the seatback. So what was elusive?

Well Dave McDonnell lives notfar from Seattle and wanted a CURVE kit for his TerraTrike Tour. He wasdown here during the Thanksgiving week so we met for coffee in Seattle, had agreat visit along with Penni and Dave’s partner Jim (honest, that’s her name)and I gave him the first kit to try out.

A couple of days later Davesent me some pictures of the kit installed on his trike...he said he was reallyhappy with it, but looking at the pictures it was clear that on his Tour thebracket design definitely limited the amount of seat back recline. So I went to the TerraTrike website andchecked the dimensions of the different models. My “duh” moment was when I realized how different the Roverdimensions are from the other models including the new Rambler. Unfortunately the only model easilyavailable to me for testing had been the Rover at Angle Lake Cycles.

Embarrassed, I immediatelymade a new bracket by moving the cross tube from the bracket back to the top,and sent it off to Dave to try. From Dave’s comments and the new pictures he sent it looks like it worksjust fine…no more limiting the amount of seat back recline. So I’ve just finished fabricating 15 ofthe newly re-designed brackets that are also a bit smaller than the second one I made for Dave. The cross tubes are atJohn’s being welded now and then are off to be powder coated. Then hopefully finally the elusiveTerraTrike CURVE kits will be available…with the first one going to Dave andthe second to Renie for her new Rambler.

Renie’s will be a special joy to deliver since her CURVE cover has beensitting on my desk for a couple of weeks and it’ll be great to finally send ithome. So anyone with a TerraTrikeinterested in a CURVE kit, this is a good time to get your orders in fordelivery in about 3 weeks.

And so the year draws to a close at the Finer Recliner micro-industrialcomplex.

Its been quite a ride – I’ve met loads of wonderful folks anddelivered CURVE’s, CURVE kits and side mount kits to new friends around the USand Canada and as far away as Uruguay and the Netherlands. The learning curve remained steep, butwonderful and unexpected gifts arrived often at exactly the rightmoment…generally when I was just beyond the end of my wits.

A very special thank you tothe folks who each make this small business run – my friend John on lives on this island and does all the TIGwelding; Zubin, a former islander now in San Francisco who sews the greatcovers; Deana who’s in Bellingham, a hardcore recumbent enthusiast and is doingthe beautiful embroidery; John and Micah who own Tacoma Iron Work and do ourpowder coating; Jason, in China, who digitizes our original art; and all thewonderful folks at our suppliers who keep us in ‘stuff.’

A couple of weeks ago I got anote from someone saying he was glad I was making these parts because hepreferred to use his spare time riding. Well two days ago I turned 70…and it’s a bit of a stunner to associate thatnumber with MY age. What he saidgot me thinking. I’m dreaming of trying out that new DualDrive with a long biketrip next summer. I want more timewith my kids and grandkids…and most definitely with Penni. I’m itching to return to building myown recumbents and building gates. And there are loads of maintenance chores calling at our place. Its lucky the Finer Recliner has beenboth fun and a great manufacturing learning lab because the way it works now isa lousy model for earning any money. And it takes a lot of my time. With so much else calling there’s a lot to think about this year and I’m excited to see how 2012 unfolds.

Penni gave me an iPad for mybirthday. I think it will be trulyspectacular once I learn how to make it work...hell, once I can turn it on. And then there’s my cell phone and monster iMac – I can’t even scratch the surface of their potential which is magnitudes greater than my ability toeven imagine. It took me a weekafter I got the cell to just figure out how to answer a call! Well it’s my wish for 2012 that thehuman brain does NOT surpass my cell phone, computer and iPad as my least used mega-creation and gift.

I don’t believe in waiting for judgment by a higherpower because it doesn't take a genius tosee how we are doing. Just look around…and take a good look inside. So I’m hoping that 2012 is ayear for awakening - turning away from ideologues, religious and political self-righteoushypocritical extremism, group-think and sound-byte opinion-forming,us-versus-them justifying, selfishness and greed. We don't need everyone to take their heads from where they currently seem to be stored and bring them out into the light - we just need each other...and a critical mass. With some attention and some work we can begin to really use our brains, and 2012 can be a year for mindfulness, compassion, curiosityand informed choices.

Best wishes from Penni, Travis, Gomez and me.

2011-11-16T10:05:00.000-08:00

A lot's been going on. I finally found a good spot for my latest gate. Turns out that finding a place to put them is actually more fun than making one to fill an existing opening. Hanging this tree gate meant planting a 30' hedge row and sinking posts...kinda backwards I know, but with no location constraints it's definitely more fun.

Because we all needed a break, the three of us, P, T, and me, drove down to Cannon Beach for 4 days. Last year when we were there the weather was wild. Day and night - high winds, freezing temps, sleet and rain. The weather didn't keep us off the beach, we just bundled up in all our rain gear and went out. Travis could have cared less...regardless of the weather he just wanted to play ball. It was funny...facing south on the beach I could throw the ball about 20' when I really tried. Facing north and using the same effort, I could throw it about 20 miles!

All the required gear - ball, thrower, poop bag.

This time, though, the autumn weather couldn't have been more beautiful. Each day was warmer and sunnier than the one before. The Hallmark Inn is beyond dog-friendly...when we arrived in our room there was a basket of goodies just for Travis - treats, a frisby, special towel and a water bottle with fold-out drinking trough. We had a great time - long walks on the beach, exploring tide pools, spectacular sunsets, lots of ball-chasing exercise for Travis, good food and fun wandering around Cannon Beach, the best company, cozy evenings by the fire...

Truly a dog with a one-track mind

Is it possible to love a dog too much?

The only thing wrong with our time away was that it was just too brief. But we came back to some other bits of good news...3 dozen mtb stems that'd been back-ordered for 6 weeks finally arrived, and I finalized an agreement with a new embroiderer, The Salem Emblem Shop in Salem, Oregon. Turns out they did our great-looking TOT patches the past two years and are willing to take on the neck rest embroidery. They do really wonderful work, so I'm excited to see the first batch of covers that'll be arriving soon from Zubin.

One of those first covers will be this one. It'll be fitted to the first TerraTrike CURVE kit, and should soon be on its way to Las Vegas and a new orange TerraTrike Rambler. I sure hope Renie loves it.

It's true...I Photoshopped the extra length of the "T" tube to make it shorter.

And speaking of the TerraTrike CURVE kit, I recently fitted the powdercoated prototype on a Rover Dale has at Angle Lake Cycles. The "T" tower was too long (I Photoshopped it shorter in the first picture,) and I'm changing out the 75mm mtb stem for one of the new shorter 60mm stems. I just finished the first batch of 8 adapter brackets that are now at John's to have the tubes TIG welded on; then they're off for powdercoating, and as soon as they return they're ready to ship.

Even without posting on BROL that the kits are in production (ha...that's a fancy over-stated way of saying that I'm making them,) I've already got orders for half the first batch. I've tried hard to make the adapter bracket as simple as possible in part to make producing them relatively straightforward, and also to keep the kit price low. If you see one of the adapter brackets you might reasonably ask what took me so long to make them. And the truth is I've procrastinated...I didn't believe it was fair to have to charge more for the TerraTrike kits than for the kits that fit Catrikes, ICE, HP and others. In the end I just decided that I didn't design the double-tube seat braces on the TerraTrikes that require the adapter, so I'll just make the kits and let the market decide. The bracket adds about $20 to the cost of the kit, so the TerraTrike CURVE kit (adapter bracket, "T" tower, CURVE neck rest, mtb stem and end caps) will be about $110.

Now I'm hoping I can find a fabricator to produce the brackets inexpensively so I can stop making them myself, and I can get on to a couple of other projects about which I'm really excited. But that's a story for another time.

2011-09-28T09:18:00.000-07:00

I must get at least one email a week about fitting a CURVE kit on a TerraTrike. And it was probably almost a year ago that Jim and I made a couple of day trips up to Mike's Bikes in Sequim to take TerraTrike seat frame pictures and measurements.

Getting this relatively simple bracket right has been quite an exercise. The first prototype looked neat, but involved multiple individual pieces that had to be welded and holes to be tapped. The quote to fabricate the bracket was $64...I thought it was a typo. So I started over with prototype 2...no bending, no tapping holes, no seam welds.

Now that Dale at Angle Lake Cycles is a TerraTrike dealer life's a lot simpler. He's just a short ferry ride away, and he stocks plenty of TerraTrike, Catrike, ICE and HP Velotechnikit trikes in addition to a goodly supply of Rans and Bacchetta 2-wheelers. So it's no longer an expedition to try fitting my prototypes and new accessories.

Yesterday I hopped on the ferry and headed down there to try out prototype bracket #2 on a Rover. Three pieces of good news - the bracket's a very simple build, it works perfectly and version #3 (the final item) will be about 1/3 smaller. I should be able to get the new one made and be sure it works within the next week.

With some luck the TerraTrike kits can be available by mid to late October, just in time to bring the trikes indoors and use them as lounge chairs while watching tv.

I realize that speed hasn't been my greatest strength, and not just with these brackets. Back-ordered parts continue to be a nagging problem. And the worst of it is that I never know when, for example, stems will be out of stock for a month.

Since I'm mostly doing all this for fun I try to look at this micro-industrial complex as a great learning experience about manufacturing. I have most of the same challenges I'd have if the business was 1000X larger...just with less to lose (or gain) financially. Size aside, I hate having to explain delays to customers, and I don't want anyone to think I'm not grateful off the charts for their patience and understanding. In some ways being small presents more challenges - one in particular is trying to find providers of certain services consider doing work for me as fill-in for them...something they'll get around to at some point when they have time between large jobs. I understand their realities, but that doesn't help me. Still, I'm pretty sure I'll figure all this out.

Recently a couple of folks asked whether the side mount kit would fit on the new Catrike Villager with the adjustable seat. Well it fits just fine. Dale has a great selection of Villagers in stock, and my toughest decision was choosing on which color Villager to try the kit.

Time to get some orders filled.

2011-09-16T12:36:00.000-07:00

The sun's out and it's still warm but the season is clearly changing. It's getting darker about an hour earlier than just a month ago, there's that scent of Autumn in the air, the alders in the pasture are beginning to lose leaves, and while there are still caches of plump blackberries to be found, the island is beginning to look kind of berry-picked-over.

I finally got around to mounting my new neck rest, and now that how I see how great it looks I'm not sure why I didn't do this a long time ago. The nut on the embroidery matches a burn scar on my arm that's a perfect image of a 1/4-20 nut...something I did to myself trying to make a jam nut with a pair of vice grips and my belt sander. As the red hot nut landed on my forearm I remember thinking, "This is gonna be a great scar!" Right. A perfect metaphor that says a lot about me.

This is the first "L" tower using different size vertical and horizontal tubing. By using 1.125" OD tubing for the vertical arm there's no longer a need for a shim. Plus the extra 1/8" in diameter makes the tower even stronger. Jim (jimali) was right...the mount is rock solid enough to lift the entire trike using the neck rest as a handle.

Also, all the new "L" towers have the extra 1" stub on the short end so you can mount a pair of tail lights if you choose. Being the tallest spot on the trike, mounting the lights on the tower should make you even more visible.

And speaking of tail light mounts, someone recently asked for a bracket like the one I have on my rear rack for mounting a pair of lights. I made him one and he sent this picture. If anyone else is interested let me know. The bracket will fit any rack having a plate with two side-by-side mounting holes underneath the rack top.

Mom's 89th birthday present - her first-ever bike

On a totally different subject, my mom, who's about to turn 97, has been spending the summers here on Vashon with us for the past 5 or 6 years. This has been her escape from Florida summer heat and a chance to hang out with her family (both my sisters also live on the island.) Summers here have meant a lot of time spent outside in a comfortable chair reading, and enjoying the service around here which is pretty darned good. She's been a local fixture as she takes her daily walks and often parks herself down at the mailbox, sitting in her walker and reading the mail. Folks driving down the road often stop to say hi and to chat with her. A few years ago I remodeled one wing of the house so she has her own room, bathroom and entrance, and while she's no great fan of the cold season this really has become home for her. Well about a month ago she decided that this year she's not going back to Florida and will be staying here with us. So a part of my life has now come full circle. Blessedly mom's totally present, so even though the conversations can be awkward this has been an opportunity for some relationship re-negotiating. Lucky for me Penni is incredibly welcoming and caring...and seems to have a wonderful relationship with "Syl." So along with trying to help my mom work out closing up a life 3000 miles away, I've also been busy building ramps and extending steps. Just inviting another person to live with us would be tumultuous enough...that person being my mother increases the tumult potential exponentially.

As for what's in the works, here's prototype #2 for a TerraTrike neck rest mount that will allow installing a CURVE kit on just about every TerraTrike model including Rovers and Ramblers. I've had a lot of requests for neck rests from TerraTrike owners, but I've really dragged my feet on designing an adapter bracket. For a long time I've thought it unfair to TT owners that because of the way TerraTrike makes its seats I'd need to add an adapter bracket to CURVE kits to fit their trikes...and as a result making their kits more expensive than the ones that fit Catrikes, ICE, Tridents, Bacchettas... I've toyed with making an entirely different neck rest mount, one that didn't involve using a mtb stem or tower tubes, but that mount is so simple and solid I just kept going in circles. Finally I decided that I wasn't the one who designed their seat frames so if CURVE kits are going to fit their double tubes then there was no avoiding an adapter bracket. Now the challenge is to make it as simple, and therefore inexpensive, as I can. I think we're close with this one. I'll post pictures once I've tested it, probably at Angle Lake Cycles.

By the way, loads of neat new embroidery on the way - I'll post pictures next time. The flaming trike image has gotten quite popular, with a number of folks requesting the trike frame embroidered in a color that matches their trikes. Looks great!

Well, time to go play ball with Travis.

2011-08-29T13:36:00.000-07:00

I just got a nice note and some pictures from Al deMoya. Thanks to his collaboration we can now add Bacchetta's with recurve seats to the list of bikes we can fit with Finer Recliner CURVE neck rests. Great job, Al!

And then there's the news from Catrike that they're stopping production of the Musashi. That means anyone who has one or gets one soon will have a true American classic. While I'm sure I'm not that influential, I do hope the Musashi's demise didn't have anything to do with the art I posted last week. So if any Musashi owner would like one, here's what's available especially for these great bikes.

Finally, John posted this picture on BROL to show his new embroidered CURVE...it matches the tattoo on his leg. Scots on trikes!!!

2011-08-23T17:36:00.000-07:00

Here's a new embroidery image for Musashi owners.

We'll gladly personalize it to match your frame color. Neat, isn't it? Maybe I should add flames.

2011-08-21T15:34:00.000-07:00

We seem to be in an embroidery cycle lately. It's funny - we go along for a whilewith people ordering un-embroidered covers, and then all of a sudden folks wantto add a bit of personal bling. The process can be fun...like when I wrote to Robert Crumb forpermission to embroider Mr. Natural, and the results are really nice. Here are some of the latest.

Here's the famous Mr. Natural, courtesy of Robert Crumb, and now off with the rest of a CURVE kit to Soldatna, Alaska.

You can get just about any image you want because if we can't find it somewhere amongst the thousands of embroidery stock images we can always digitize your original art.

This lighthouse cover and CURVE neck rest kit is a gift from Russell (Mt_Top), John (enumclaw) and me in Thomas' memory to Denise, the person with the winning bid for ROA...Thomas' Catrike Road. Lighthouses were a Thomas favorite.

This pair is a "his and hers."

This cover's for dragon lovers. The photograph doesn't do it justice...the colors are vibrant.

I'm not sure why this looks gold because it's really a brilliant candy red. It was chosen to match a tattoo, and it's a near-perfect match.

I like this image so much that it's now a permanent part of our library. Now anyone can have it, and we'll match the trike color to yours.

It's about 80 degrees on a perfect sunny and cloudless summer afternoon. Travis is lying in the shade under a tree with a ball in his mouth just in case someone wants to come out and play. I'm gonna go turn on the hose and soak us both down.

2011-08-17T07:53:00.000-07:00

Training wheels begone! I've always believed that training wheels are one of the first really bad bits of advice adults give to kids. Ever seen a child turn a corner on a bike with training wheels? S/he's always leaning the wrong way! When Josh and Noah were little we built 2 wheelers without pedals out of wood. So long as they could put their feet flat on the ground they could learn to balance in just a matter of minutes.

I took the cranks off a Granny's Attic recycle bike to see how long it would take my grandson Henry to learn to ride on 2 wheels. I don't think I've ever laughed so hard...but I didn't laugh long. In about 10 minutes he was riding.

It's all in the concentration.

Okay, the helmet's not a perfect fit, but it's a helmet.

We're off!!!

Uh oh...something's caught.

Good thing it's just his tee shirt (no laughing.)

Without the damn helmet this is easy!

Success!

And here's my last bit of evidence...Maya, my 2-year old granddaughter having her first Laufrad experience.

Why couldn't bike shops use these pedal-less 2 wheelers as loaners? You put down $50 to borrow the bike, and as soon as your child can balance on two wheels the shop puts the $50 towards the purchase of a new bike. And training wheels can go the way of Edsels.

Last tidbit for today...the embroidery learning curve continues. Turns out that blending is one of the most difficult challenges for embroidery, and it's expensive. The Flaming Trike art looks great, but it's really hard to get the color blend to work and it takes thousands of stitches, meaning it's expensive. So I re-did the art, and I hope you agree that the finished product looks terrific. And for only half as much.

I'm taking Travis and we're going riding.

2011-08-16T16:27:00.000-07:00

First an order update. All orders I have as of yesterday - all CURVE kits, Catrike replacements and side mount kits have either been shipped today or are made up and waiting to ship as soon as two things occur.

Shims. All the kits (neck rest and side mount) use a 1 1/8" to 1" shim that are in notorious short supply. I bought just about all the stock my supplier had about 6 weeks ago and am down to just a couple left. Today they got a new supply and I just ordered 20 more. They should arrive here Monday or Tuesday.
Zubin has finished all the embroidered covers and mailed them to me yesterday from San Francisco. They should arrive here on Wednesday.

So, if you've ordered a CURVE to use on your Catrike with the original hardware, and the cover is embroidered, it'll ship from here on Thursday. If you ordered a CURVE kit or side mount kit I'll ship the minute the shims arrive...that is unless your order has already been shipped.

It's pretty clear that while my customers just want their stuff, they've unwittingly (and possibly unwillingly) signed up for this micro-enterprise experiment. Don't get me wrong, I love doing this, am having a great time and am learning more every day. My biggest challenges all relate to production and delivery, not (I'm sure hoping) product quality...that is since I stopped using the adhesive that put people into orbit and dissolved about 20% of my brain cells.

Two major goals for next year (to keep me from going nuts) are, first, to be able to order from the source and in quantity for more savings, and to be able to manage inventory and production better so I can fill orders more quickly. Trying to manage parts inventory, make all the pieces, oversee my friends who weld, sew or embroider, respond to inquiries, then do the accounting, work with the companies who fabricate the brackets, powdercoat parts, digitize original art and supply images, do the accounting, design new accessories and develop new mounts for more manufacturers...and respond to special requests all seems like a lot for one person who's also trying to keep three relationships alive (Penni, Travis and Gomez), make time for my kids and grandkids, keep my consulting practice going, and make sure there's time to play.

The other day someone posted on a Catrike forum thread that they were having a problem keeping the stock neck rest hardware adjusted and free from movement. I posted pictures of Jim's Catrike kit. It's adjustable up and down, fore and aft, side to side...and the CURVE's face can be tilted as well. And when it's set to your sweet spot it will stay put.

2011-07-23T18:59:00.000-07:00

I apologize.

It's really embarrassing getting so much practice saying this, and I wish I could figure out how to avoid what has been happening.

This time its been mountain bike stems for the kits. Being a small business (if there's a size smaller than small then that's what probably applies to me) I can't afford to buy in the quantities that would guarantee me always having a parts inventory. I have a good source for quality stems at an affordable price, and so I've kept a small inventory of stems...enough to enable me to fill orders in a reasonable time.

Until about a month ago all was well. Then the lethal combination of more orders than inventory, and the supplier out of stems occurred. Its taken about 5 weeks to hear from the supplier that my order of stems has finally been shipped. With luck they'll arrive early next week and I'll be able to ship out orders that some of you have been patiently awaiting for far too long.

It's really disappointing to have really nice finished neck rests like these sitting here waiting for the stems to complete the kits. So...I apologize. Kits should be on their way within the next few days.

2011-07-21T23:01:00.000-07:00

After posting the pictures of Cornell's and Jim's beautiful trikes I began wondering why it was that I had a completely cobbled-together, eternally loose and un-embroidered neck rest...in fact I'm still using the original prototype. Sure it says something about durability, but it's not very good advertising.

So I'm removing the stock neck rest hardware with its bored out spacers and oversize fender washers and replacing it with one of the Jimali-inspired kits.

The embroidery is inspired by a scar on my forearm...a reminder of one (of many) of the stupider things I've done in my life. I tried making a jam nut by gripping a regular nut in a pair of vice grips and then holding it against the belt sander. When the nut was red-white hot it popped out of the vice grips, performed a slow arc through the air and then settled neatly on my forearm, searing a perfect image of a 1/4-20 nut...and a reminder that thinking isn't necessarily a time-waster.

One piece of really good news is that I should finally be able to clear up my backlog of orders very shortly. The mountain bike stems I use in the kits have been out of stock for more than a month, and one drawback of being such a small business is that my sources for parts are limited. I just can't afford to order inventory in the quantities many suppliers demand. Today I got notice that my parts have finally been shipped. This means I should be able to ship kits within the 7-10 days to some really nice folks who have been waiting patiently...actually more than patiently.

Here's a new image just finished today that's ready to go off to be digitized and then embroidered. This will be one beautiful neck rest!

2011-07-18T01:33:00.000-07:00

Boy time sure moves with ever increasing speed as I get older. Even though I swear to hang on to each precious moment time just seems to race by. Now it’s mid-July, this weekend is Strawberry Festival on the island, TOT2011 is history, and lots has happened since my last post.

Thomas’ unexpected passing has been widely reported on BROL. His tenacious will to live and continually test himself in the face of a horrendous traumatic brain injury was a marvel to all who knew him. And since he was such a prolific forum poster, his passing has left a huge empty space. He was thoughtful, friendly, inviting…and at times for me, abrasive. But even in THOSE moments it was hard not to admire the intensity with which he lived, and all the time and effort he put into being a friend to others. He is most definitely missed, which in my mind is how people live forever. Jim is tuning up ROA, Thomas' trike, and at the request of his brothers it is being auctioned off with the proceeds to be donated to BROL. I'm donating a new CURVE kit embroidered with a lighthouse, one of Thomas' favorite images, to mark his Catrike Road's special history.

TOT2011 was a blast...definitely the best one ever for Pen and me. Good weather, fun rides and great times gathered under the portico outside the hotel. Dave Hansen grilled some outrageous grub one evening, and people brought enough food to the potluck to feed most of Kellogg. The day we all had lunch in Wallace the dozens of trikes and velos were a gawker’s paradise. “What’s it like to ride one of these?” “How hard is it to pedal?” “Is it comfortable?” “What’s one cost?” and a dozen or so other questions were answered over and over with patience and grace. Everyone was a super trike ambassador, and I think that for the couple of hours we spent having lunch there and clogging the streets we were the talk of the town.

While Penni and I enjoyed the riding and laughter with friends, Travis especially loved the ice cream shop in Harrison where, according to the owner, dogs ate free. He had a huge dish of homemade vanilla ice cream…his favorite. A bunch of us rode from Kellogg to Enaville for our annual dinner at the Snake Pit. It was dark on the ride back, and with our wild assortment of lights all on, we snaked back along the bike trail like an electric Chinese dragon.

I wasn’t sure how well my back and knee would hold up to the riding so the day 15 or 16 folks decided to ride Dobson Pass I elected not to go. It was a tough decision…I’d been looking forward to doing the climb all year but I was afraid I’d blow out my back or knee and that would be the end of riding for me. But on the last day…which was overcast, cool and threatening to shower, I decided to try the Pass on my own. When I got to the pass I took the required, "I made it" photo, and spent a nice half-hour talking with a couple of guys from the county road crew. They were both curious about the trike, and one of them tried riding it all geared up in his heavy boots and jeans. Then there was the rocket ride downhill back into Wallace. What a rush! Definitely a whole lot faster than the climb up! The road from the Pass all the way to Kellogg was into the wind. It didn’t matter much on the rocket ride down into Wallace, but from there to Kellogg the downslope was gentle. Because of the wind I missed out on would have been a nice coast and ended up pedaling back to Kellogg. I’m proud of myself for waiting till the end to try climbing the Pass, and even prouder that I made it up. I felt smooth and pretty strong, and delighted I’d decided to leave Travis with Penni.

As for neck rest news, here’s Cornell’s BlueCoyote, a Catrike Expedition…definitely elegant in its simplicity. Cornell supplied the original art for the embroidery and we had it digitized – meaning it was converted into language the embroidery machine understands. So if you are interested in embroidery for your new neck rest, remember you’re not restricted to stock images. Give me some ideas and I’ll search our stock image sources and offer you some choices. Or if you have a piece of original art, the digitizing is only a small extra charge.

Jim’s two Catrike Speeds sport the optional stub on the “L” tower allowing him to mount a pair of tail lights alongside the neck rest in a high and visible location. If you’d like the extra stub on your tower just ask…there’s no extra charge. In fact I may start making them all like that. Folks who don’t want the stub can simply cut it off.

If you’re looking for tail lights, we have the PlanetBike Superflash Turbos at really great prices when you order your neck rest. Don’t forget to ask. These 1 watt tail lights are definitely for riders who want to be seen.

From Virginia, here’s Henry’s new kit on his ICE. The "L" tower's a great place to mount Topeak bottle brackets.

And from the Netherlands, here’s Roelof’s new CURVE on his Catrike Speed. I looked up his address using Google Earth so I now have a pretty good idea where this Catrike lives. It looks like great riding!

I've had a number of questions from folks having a problem with stripping the threads from either one of the two spacers in the stock Catrike mounts, and also with struggling to keep their neck rests from moving once they'd found the sweet spot.

Regarding the stripped threads, one choice is to contact Catrike and see if they'll just sell you a new spacer. A second relatively easy fix is to remove all the threads inside the spacer by drilling clear through it, then inserting a 10-24 threaded rod with two lock nuts in place of the original two cap screws. A third choice is to replace the stock neck rest tower with a kit - mtb stem, "L" tower and shim. This a strong and rigid mount, and I can pretty well guarantee that it will not move. In fact I've seen Jim lift his Speed holding the neck rest. Keep in mind that the brackets on the CURVE for the stock Catrike mount are not interchangeable with the circular clamps on the CURVEs that fit the kits.

Here's an update regarding CURVE mounting systems for TerraTrikes, including the Rover, and for the ICE hard shell seat. I know I've said before that a prototype for the TerraTrike is done. I've been kinda stuck at this stage for awhile. It didn't seem right that TerraTrike owners would have to pay more for a CURVE kit because they would need an extra mount adapter in order to attach the kit to TerraTrike's unusual double seat tube brace. Those two seat brace tubes coming together means a standard mtb stem can't be directly attached, so an additional mount adapter is required. But as more TerraTrike owners have requested neck rests I've decided to make a few of the mounting adapters, keep the cost low, and see if people like them. At the same time I'm working on an new mount that would eliminate the mtb stem and "T" tube entirely. It'll be a while before I know if this will actually be as sturdy as the current kit.

As for the hard shell seats, I made a mount using a drawing (actually a rubbing) I got from Izzy a while ago. I took that bracket to TOT figuring there'd be some ICE hard shell seats on which to test the bracket. What I discovered is that Izzy's original seat back, the one I used for the prototype, is flat. The new carbon seats have two deep ridges running the length of the seat...and a result, the bracket is too wide to fit between the ridges. Arrrrggggghhh. For such a simple product, the learning curve seems at times extreme. Or perhaps I'm just an idiot.

Speaking of learning curves, for a long time I've been interested in learning how to do simple machine fabrication. I'm a moderately skilled woodworker and metal worker, but in NO WAY am I a machinist. I've a friend who is letting me use his old hand-operated mill, and he has been pretty helpful with learning tips. What I'm discovering is both exciting and frustrating. It's exciting to be learning something new...a craft I greatly admire and skills I covet. What's frustrating is that even the simplest things are difficult at the start. I imagined I'd immediately be able to cut slots in aluminum that were smooth and as slick as a warm knife cutting through butter. My first slots look like they were nibbled by metal-eating termites...and then I snapped off the cutter. So now I'm watching YouTube milling videos. My hope is that before very long I will at least be able to produce reasonable looking and working prototypes. Before long...I hope.

Here's something that's working really well...the side mount kit for Catrikes. I've been using it for a couple of months and like it more all the time. What a treat to be able to get to stuff like gum, lip balm, a snack, phone...even my gloves, while I'm riding. The kit will accommodate just about every handlebar bag.

The side mount kit includes a 130mm stem, shim and "L" tube of 6061 aluminum with end caps. I have it on Msafiri (my Catrike Expedition) but haven't tried it yet on other Catrikes. What's especially nice is that the kit is adjustable so the bag can be raised both up and down, as well as its distance from the seat.

I found the Avenir bag on Amazon. It was well-reviewed, and since it was less than $40 I figured I'd try it. It has a lot of nice features including a built-in map case, and for the most part I'm completely satisfied. The mount's quick release is a great feature that allows me to take the bag off easily while not disturbing the mounting bracket.

The one feature I'm not thrilled with is that the Avenir mounting bracket is plastic. In tightening the clamp it didn't take long to drive the cap screws through the top of the bracket. A couple of stainless washers solved the problem, but it'd be nice if the clamping mechanism was a bit more sturdy.

And finally, to wrap up this entry, here's Travis in one of his favorite TOT poses - hanging out in the cool tall grass on those sunny and very hot days.

2011-05-13T11:03:00.000-07:00

Here's part of the new Spring wardrobe at the Finer Recliner.

Blessedly I'm almost caught up with back orders...just a couple more to get out and then at least for the moment things should be quieter around here.

One of the best parts of this micro-business is when I've got a batch of finished neck rests sitting here ready to be mailed...especially the embroidered ones. I love how they look. If anyone's thinking about a new neck rest this would be a good time to order...before the next rush. And as for embroidery, if I can't find a stock image you totally love we can also use your original art. Just about anything can be embroidered so use your imagination.

Tuesday I sent out the first order for a Catrike side mount handlebar bag kit and I'm anxious to see whether folks take to those. I really like mine...it's the perfect easily-accessible spot for snacks, maps, my phone and camera, the velcro brake strap, and until recently, my gloves. What's especially nice is that just about any of the new handlebar bags will fit so you can choose exactly what you want. And by using a mtb stem for a mount, the kit is adjustable up/down and in/out so each person can put it right where s/he wants it. All the aluminum tube I've been using to this point has been unfinished. I'm learning more about anodizing, so this may be the next addition...perhaps it might even be colored...how cool is that?

Last night Travis and I went out for his first run using the WalkyDog/Krispysteve attachment. It was just about a perfect success. Now I'm looking for a harness that either has a side attachment point, or could accommodate one being added, so the harness wouldn't be pulled over to the side when Travis runs.

Okay...time to head to the post office.

2011-05-11T16:10:00.000-07:00

Well it's ready to test the new WalkyDog rig with Travis, but the weather's more suitable for an Ark. Undoubtedly he'd be fine out running around but on a trike I'd probably have a mid to large-size puddle in my lap. I think I'll wait a bit.

Hopefully this will work really well. It'll be great getting to ride with two hands again. Stay tuned.

2011-05-08T14:30:00.000-07:00

It's probably a strange Mothers' Day present.

Both my sisters have said they wanted trikes, but these are tough times for luxuries (I should probably pay more attention to my own observations.) And then yesterday I came across a listing for a Mantis on Craigslist...and it was only a few miles away in Tacoma. Turns out it's essentially brand new and was available at a great price so now we're a 3 trike family. True Andie and Carole are going to have to figure out how to share, but I'm sure they'll work it out.

The Mantis has a Dual Drive which I may pirate for Msafiri. And it's a folder which is really exciting. When I first began looking for trikes I just liked how this one looked. It took a couple of years but now I have one...yea! I'm looking forward to tinkering with it. Actually the tinkering's already begun. There are two quick releases locking the seat onto the frame. The welded tubes the QR's go through are bigger enough than the QR bolts that it seems impossible to keep the seat solidly locked to the frame. Tomorrow, I'll try shimming the steel tubes with brass model makers' tubing.

I took it out for a short spin - I've never used a Dual Drive before and I can quickly see how much I'm gonna like it. It feels like a lot lower geared than my Expedition when I have the Dual Drive in its lowest gear. And I'm thinking I can make it even lower by going to a 24 or 26 tooth granny. Riding the trike, it feels a lot more spidery than my Catrike, and surprisingly even more spindly than Penni's GS GT3. I'm curious to see just how solid it actually is.

The neck rest is already in the trash...it's really just junk. The seat back is so high that I'll just make a new neck rest from some scrap memory foam and rest it on the top of the seat with velcro...no need for any hardware to raise it higher. And the trike needs at least a rear fender.

I've never used twist shifters on a trike before. I'm surprised that I kinda like them. What I don't like is that there's no real place to rest my hands. So I'm adding bar ends at the tops of the handlebars to use as hand rests and mirror mounts. Now if I can just get the seat firmly locked down. Stay tuned.

2011-04-27T00:02:00.000-07:00

Its been over a month overflowing with surprises, excitement and sadness since I posted to this blog. For Capricorns like me who generally imagine the worst there's been plenty of news to feed on - multi-disasters in Japan, the floods in the US, the confusing Spring uprisings in the Middle East, the fighting in the Ivory Coast and in Libya, the noxiousness of US politics, some pain in my own family...it just goes on.

Gratefully, the change of seasons has arrived on this lovely northwest island...at night our pond is a croaking frenzy of a million frogs desperate to find a date...it's like matchfrog.com; daffodils and cherry blossoms in bloom, trees leafing out, the grass lush and getting to shin-high...and best of all, it's still light at 8:30 pm. I love this time of year...alive with re-birth, hope and new possibilities. Last Saturday felt like mid-July...warm, sunny, deep blue sky without a cloud in sight. So we gathered up Travis, hooked his trailer to Msafiri and rode off to wander. This was his first trike time out this year and he was off like a sled dog, in a shot quickly pulling me, the trike and his trailer up to 20 mph. He ran happily up and down hills only getting into the trailer when I insisted because I thought his heart would burst. We meandered for a couple of hours, stopping to lie in the grass and play ball with Travis...and take pictures of Penni. It was an absolutely perfect afternoon.

The Finer Recliner has had its own special moments in the past couple of months. We've had more orders than ever before. And while that's great news it's also stretching this micro-niche industrial complex to the limit. John is welding "L" and "T" tubes in every spare moment; there's been a burst of requests for embroidery so Cara's very busy; and Zubin is sewing covers when most other folks are sleeping.

The first two Trident neck rest kits shipped. Both are embroidered and look great. Plus I had my first kit orders for a Hase delta and a TerraTrike Rover. The TerraTrike needs a special adapter bracket to mount the kit's mtb stem. TT seats' horizontal brace tubes are a pair of side-by side-tubes each 7/8" OD located ed pretty far down from the top of the seat. Jim and I took an afternoon to drive to Mike's Bikes in Sequim so we could try out the prototype bracket. It fit fine although re-designing the shape somewhat will move the mounting tube up higher, making the kit a lot simpler to mount. I'm fabricating the new bracket from aluminum and will send it and a CURVE kit to a Rover owner for testing. I'm hoping he'll be delighted.

And now there may be a totally new FR product. I've been really impressed by the ICE side mount bar for handlebar bags. I think it's a terrific idea. Having a handlebar bag right at your arm seems like the perfect place to store things within easy reach, without having to get off the trike. And it's also a great way to get rid of all those little ditty bags.

The challenge of applying this concept to Catrikes is the lack of horizontal seat brace tubes. At first I thought about a bar mount clamp on the main tube, but that involved (duh) fabricating a large clamp, and also meant the tube on which the bag would mount would be unsupported and fairly long.

Having so many mtb stems sitting around for the neck rest kits probably helped, because pretty soon it dawned on me that my Expedition's chainstays were 31.8 mm, a perfect match for a mountain bike stem. And so my design for a handlebar bag side mount was hatched. It's a 130 mm stem with a 6 degree rise, an aluminum "L" tube and a shim. What's especially nice about it is that unlike bars clamped to a horizontal seat tube, this set-up is remarkably adjustable. The handlebar bag can be adjusted up and down, and can also moved closer to and further away from the seat. The Avenir bag was a great bargain on Amazon, has an enclosed map case and pockets inside, and mesh pockets on both ends...perfect for stashing my velcro brake strap. I'm riding with it now, and so far I love it.

Here's something else that's been in the Finer Recliner workshop for a while...a dog walker. What inspired this? Well...
- I've been holding Travis on a leash when I ride and he runs, and I'm kinda done steering and braking with one hand...it's not especially safe;
- I bought a WalkyDog, but there's no great place to mount it, particularly because the seat stays on the space frame tail in towards the rear dropout. Mounting the WalkyDog there points it down towards the ground;
- I'm consumed with thinking of mtb stems as a universal building block for just about everything.

- ...and I'm feeling really good about the strength of the Catrike chainstays.

So here's my latest piece of stem-inspired craziness. The 130mm stem lets the vertical tube clear the seat stays. I'm adding a piece of bungie to the end of the rope to let him move further away from the trike, and also to take up the shock of his lunge when we get started. This is ready for road testing, and I'll keep you posted. My guess is that it'll work just fine.

Finally, with May just a few days away, the 2011 TOT gathering in Kellogg, Idaho is less than 2 months from now. Trying to reign in the garment craziness of last year's event, this time we're just doing caps and patches. Andie Styner (my sister, www.roobiblue.com) re-did last year's logo to add a velo and to change the color to honor Gregg McLean. This logo on black ball caps is going to look great.

Anyone wanting a cap or patch just go to the thread on BROL(http://www.bentrideronline.com/messageboard/showthread.php?t=70860) and post your order. I'll be delivering everything at TOT unless you won't be able to make it. In that case I'll be glad to mail your order to you. And I still have a couple of TOT2010 caps and patches in case you missed your chance last year.

By the way, someone asked about the difference between the mens' and womens' TOT caps. It's pretty subtle. See for yourself.

And so to wrap this up it seems like rolling with the Earth's natural forces and the universe's unending fickleness would be enough of a challenge for most people. But nope, we still have to endure the horde of humans behaving like they have no resources beyond their amygdalas. And then there's American politics with the current clown king, the exemplar of narcissism, Donald Trump. How encouraging to have the bar set so low...just about anybody could be President. But then he's not special, just following in the footsteps of other infamous underachievers.

2011-03-16T17:03:00.000-07:00

It’s still rainy, but colors are beginning to appear. And the timing’s perfect because the gray is beginning to wear on me.

Along with the crocuses, daffodils, buds on the trees and bushes, and the crescendo of a million little frogs out in the pond in the evenings, there are some other bits of good news.

CURVE kits are now available for all Trident trikes – Stowaways, Spikes and Chameleons.

Kits are also available for ICE trikes with mesh seats.

And we’ve just finished a prototype kit bracket for Terratrikes so CURVE kits can be fitted to all TT’s including the Rover. Terratrike kits should be available shortly.

The custom kit for the Actionbent T1X was finally finished and shipped to Michael Clark recently. Making a bracket without having the trike and just relying on photographs and emails was a challenge, but Michael was great to work with. Here’s some of what he had to say after he installed the kit with the new adaptor bracket.

“The curved neckrest that Steve fabricated for my 2010 AB T1X arrived today in the mail. The excellent news is that it fit like a leather glove and is PERFECT in every way how it works with my mesh seat. I am so excited and now I'm praying for a little better weather so I can make some miles since my melon sized head/neck is supported. The way this looks on my T1X is like 6 million dollars. His neck rest is like the fancy icing on a wedding cake. My trike is red and the neck rest cover has large red block embroidered lettering that says "HOTROD" on the black cover. ...All good things come to those who wait!!!!!”

I don’t generally do this, but I’m feeling proud and want to share some of what customers have been saying. Here’s some recent comments. Thanks to you all.

“Looks great, fits perfectly. …Enhancement idea: add a small waterproof cloth roll up pouch and end caps for the top tube, so people can use it to stash a spare $20. That's what I'll be doing. Just a thought. It's already a very nice product. Thank you, Steve.” - Avery Jenkins.

Thanks Avery. All kit tubes now come with end caps like Hotrod's. You have to supply the $20!

“Thanks so much. The neck rest is great!” - Walt Ebbert

“Thank you for the beautiful new headrest. I think it will be a great addition to my Road. The quality and workmanship are excellent.” - Patti Erickson

“Thank you so much for a great job! I love it! - Dean Vesey

“Awesome job on the neck rest. Looks really great on my “Hot Rod.” I’m sure it will make me go faster.” - Bill Lewis

And here's the cover for Cornell's new neck rest that will go on his beautiful blue Catrike Expedition...the Blue Coyote.

When you order your new neck rest ask about embroidery. The possibilities are nearly endless, and in a rainbow of colors.

It seems surreal to be writing about neck rests while a madman and his army are slaughtering his own citizens and an island nation already reeling from devastating natural forces is trying to cope with the unimaginable horror of a nuclear catastrophe. The neck rests are something small I can control, a center that helps me anchor when so much that's indescribably powerful is totally out of my control...or even influence. Be wary of business interest and their minions who tell you that blue is green, that nuclear energy is safe and what's happening in Japan could never happen here.

And while I'm clearly off the neck rest subject, question leaders who tell you that basic quality health care for all Americans is socialism and un-American because it requires that all people have health insurance. T.R. Reid wrote a really fine book entitled, "The Healing of America. A Global Quest For Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care." Here's an interesting quote. "Perhaps the most tragic indicator of America's troubled health care system is the number of newborns who die each year. ...Surely any decent health care system would develop effective mechanisms to avoid neonatal death. But out of twenty-three wealthy countries, the American health care system ranks dead last when it comes to keeping newborns alive. Our rate of infant mortality is more than twice as high as the rate in the top-ranked countries, Sweden and Japan." Maybe if more families could afford prenatal care this wouldn't be true. Here's another interesting quote. "When I was traveling the world on my quest, I asked the health ministry of each country how many citizens had declared bankruptcy in the past year because of medical bills. Generally, the officials responded to this question with a look of astonishment, as if I had asked how many flying saucers from Mars landed in the ministry's parking lot last week. How many people go bankrupt because of medical bills? In Britain, zero. In France, zero, In Japan, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, Switzerland: zero. In the United States, according to a joint study by Harvard Law School and Harvard Medical School, the figure is around 700,000."

Resist sound byte truths, question authority, be wary of anyone selling "THE truth," and then go take a nice bike ride. Spring's nearly here...and for the moment, the sun's out.

2011-02-02T17:47:00.000-08:00

Two new CURVE prototypes - one for Trident and the other for an Actionbent mesh seat.

What makes the Trident kit different is that it uses a "T" tower instead of the standard "L" tower. Also the tower is longer to accommodate the lower horizontal seat brace, but the 6061 aluminum tubing is really sturdy so there's no flex. The prototype has a longer throw mtb stem then the one in the standard CURVE kit to get the tower away from the rear wheel. I left the tower's horizontal tube longer as well to allow tail lights to be mounted. If only someone made lights we could slide into the tube ends like caps. Something particularly nice about the Tridents is that all models, including the new Spike, use the same seat. I shipped this prototype off to Trident World Headquarters this afternoon to see how well it fits on a whole trike, not just a seat sitting on my kitchen table.

Making a prototype mount without actually being able to put my hands on the trike, or even just the seat, is a challenge. I made this bracket for Mike Clark's new T1X, and if it fits he should be able to mount a CURVE kit using a "T" tower rather than the standard "L". This will most likely be a one-off. I think most Actionbent owners have hard shell seats. Also, the company markets so many different types of bikes, and I think most of them have slightly different seats, even the mesh ones. If this bracket works on Mike's T1X I'll be happy.

2011-01-28T18:22:00.000-08:00

Travis mulling over my dilemma

A test of trust. I guess sooner or later this was bound to happen. After all, am I really trusting if its never been tested?

In November I received an order for a CURVE neck rest for a Catrike Expedition, so I mailed one to the customer. Shortly thereafter he sent me an email saying it arrived without hardware. Well of course it did...it uses the stock Catrike hardware. No, he said, he needed the entire kit. So I told him I'd send him a kit, and asked him to return the original neck rest to me. When he received the kit I got another email saying it had no instructions. No one had ever asked before, but I created some illustrated instructions and promptly emailed them off.

Now it's January 28. As of today the original neck rest has never been returned, nor have I been paid for the kit. I've sent a number of emails without receiving a reply. And in spite of scouring the web I can't find a phone number for this guy.

So why would someone do this? Trikes aren't exactly cheap, and they're a hobby, perhaps even a toy. The neck rests aren't particularly expensive especially compared to the cost of an Expedition, so why would someone choose to skip out on an obligation? Is he sick and in the hospital? Has he died? I may never know.

Years ago I had a motorcycle stolen...my beautiful custom 1966 Triumph Bonneville. I'd spent the entire evening with this guy going over the bike, talking about the great review it had gotten in one of the cycle mags, taking him for a ride, even letting him take it for a test on his own. So when he said, "Just let me take it for one more short ride...I really like it and for sure I'm gonna buy it," of course I let him. When he didn't return I began to worry that he'd had an accident. I ran a few blocks in the direction he'd gone fearing he'd put the bike down and was hurt. Stupid me. My wandering around looking for him gave him so much extra time that by the time I finally called the police he was probably 3 states away.

So fast forward about 40 years and I start this micro business making neck rests for trikes. And despite my experience with the motorcycle (and a few others along the way), or perhaps because of it, I decide to run this business on trust. No pre-paying. Send me a check when you get the neck rest. And so now my trust gets tested again. Should I change my business and expect people to pay when they order?

I think not. I'll probably ask for a physical address and a working phone number with each order, but now that my trust has been tested I've decided I'm not giving into the few. No pre-payment required.

And on a totally unrelated subject (or maybe not), look what I saw on a cold, drizzly and grey day in downtown Seattle. Hard not to smile. Kinda reminds me of one of my favorite film clips.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlBiLNN1NhQ.

2011-01-20T13:00:00.000-08:00

The Trident neck rest prototype is looking really promising. Instead of the usual "L" tower it looks like this one will use a center-mounted "T" tower. In the picture the tower's top crosspiece has yet to be welded on. What remains to resolve is whether there's sufficient clearance between the extra adjustment tubing at the bottom of the stem and the trike's rear wheel or fender. I may go with a longer throw stem if necessary. I'm hoping this will be ready for sale by early March.

Other good news...I have some Catrike CURVEs in stock ready to ship. They'll be perfect now if you're living somewhere warmer, or perhaps if you're snowed in you have your trike in the living room. With a new neck rest watching TV while sitting in your Cat will be a luxurious new experience.

2011-01-14T10:19:00.000-08:00

It was a great day to drive to Sequim. Grey, drizzly, heavy overcast...Jim (jimali) and I headed for Mike's Bikes in Sequim to look at a TerraTrike. In the past couple of weeks I've had inquiries about mounting my neck rests on ICE, Sun, Trident, TerraTrike and ActionBent trikes. Having all these possibilities is a great way to begin the year.

We already know the kits fit on ICE trikes with mesh seats, and it looks like it'll fit on at least the Sun model I was asked about. We have a Trident seat on its way from Tom Flohr to make sure we have a kit that will fit all Tridents including the new Spike.

The day trip to Sequim was to see whether there's an easy way to mount one of my neck rests on those trikes. The good news is that they all use essentially the same seat, Rover included. So one mounting mechanism will work for all. The other good news is that Sequim is in a rain shadow on the Olympic Penninsula, so while it was rainy and grey everywhere else we got to spend a few hours in a pocket of scattered clouds and, yup, even some sun. That alone was worth the trip.

Sequim's right on the Olympic Discovery Bike Trail, and Mike's is conveniently located about a block off the trail. It's a really nice shop with a great selection of bikes, gear and accessories...and they rent bikes and helmets if you're just up for a day ride. http://www.mikes-bikes.net/ Mike wasn't around but the mechanic couldn't have been more helpful. He pretty much said, "There's the TerraTrike, enjoy yourselves." He said that if we wanted to take the seat fabric off so we could see better that was fine with him, and he obligingly got a new Rover seat out of a not-yet-assembled Rover's box so we could see it was identical to the Cruiser.

Jim's good company and was a never-ending source of, "Well what about doing it this way..." suggestions. In the end we came up with a possible solution good enough for a prototype. The challenge is to find a good mounting location high-enough on the seat back to keep the lever forces of leaning against a neck rest to a minimum. The seat-back brace tube is actually two side-by-side small diameter tubes so the mountain bike stem won't work. Plus I think it's too far from the top of the seat and a rider's neck...too much moment arm force would be applied to the braces. My original idea of using the open tops of the two vertical seat braces to attach a new horizontal brace to mount the stem won't work either. The caps look like they're too difficult to remove, and there's a smaller diameter inner tube in each for mounting a flag.

If anyone's actually reading this I can just imagine how incomprehensible it must be. I'll upload the photos I took and a drawing of the prototype later.

It turned out to be a perfect day - really nice drive in beautiful northwest country, great company, good conversation...and a fine dark beer with a friend before catching a ferry home to Ms. Penni, Travis and Gomez.

It's been a while

2011-01-07T14:55:00.000-08:00

I just discovered a note from 12/27 from Walt Ebbert. Walt, you said you wanted a neck rest for your 2009 Expedition. I'd be glad to make you one. The best thing to do is to send me an email at stevesussman@earthlink.net.

Hard to believe I haven't posted since before Thanksgiving, so I'll try to make this one special.

But all things considered it makes sense. It has been a constant parade of visitors and carrying on throughout the holiday season. Plus the weather's been lousy so I've spent a fair amount of time splitting and stacking firewood, and finding excuses to stay out of the shop.

The big issue for me the past two months is to finally find out what the neck rests actually cost to make. While I've never compared the two business models - my consulting practice and making the neck rests, I really began to doubt I was even breaking even...and that's with the assumption that my time doing all the fabricating was worth nothing. The tug between wanting and fearing to know kept me pretty much paralyzed for the past two months.

But now it's done and in the process I made some surprising discoveries. The biggest is that the most expensive neck rest to make is the one I began with…the replacement for newer model Catrikes. It really shouldn't have been a surprise...fabricating and powdercoating the brackets, plus the additional stainless hardware, is expensive.

In a nutshell, here's the deal...and just about all of it is good news:

WHAT WON'T CHANGE:

The CURVE KIT ("L" tube, mtb stem, shim and CURVE neck rest) will remain $85.
The CURVE neck rest with the circular clamps for older style Catrikes remains $45.

WHAT HAS CHANGED: The CURVE replacement for the stock Catrike rest that mounts on the vertical arms is now $55. The reason for the increase is simple - fabricating and powdercoating the brackets, plus the additional stainless hardware, is expensive.

Like before, please figure a small shipping charge.

MORE GOOD NEWS (at least I think it is):

The KIT also fits ICE trikes with the mesh seat,
We've about to begin testing the KIT for Tridents...all of which use the same seat.
I've had inquiries for TerraTrikes and Actionbents so I'm starting design work on those as well.

2010-11-19T18:15:00.000-08:00

2010-11-08T13:40:00.000-08:00

Here's a picture of the full kit. It's a CURVE neck rest, "L" tower (6061 thin wall aluminum), mtb stem and shim.

It will fit all older model Catrikes that came with the tube tower, and all newer models like the Trail, Pocket and Villager you may have ordered without the neck rest. I'm pretty sure it will fit a Dash as well.

We're also trying the kit on a Trice Q...the challenge is making a shim for 1" to 7/8", the diameter of the seat back cross brace. I'll keep you posted about this one.

2010-11-04T12:57:00.000-07:00

Here's what really made me smile yesterday. My granddaughter Maya, the perfect ad for pretzels on a chilly Autumn day in Germany. Is it possible to love someone too much? Maya's one of a bunch of people I feel this way about...oh, and of course four footers as well - Travis and Gomez for sure.

About neck rests. I've had a bunch of inquiries about how to order a neck rest, and since it's simple I should have probably explained it here.

Ordering is easy and there’s no need to pre-pay. If the neck rest is for a Catrike and you'd like one without embroidery here's all I need to know:

Is the neck rest to replace the stock rest on a newer model Catrike with these towers?

If so, then all I need is your mailing address. 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. My address is on the invoice.

If you'd like something embroidered on the neck rest then tell me what you'd like. A name, screen name, nickname or short statement will add about $5 to the cost. If you tell me the color of your frame then I'll match the thread. If it's an image you want, give me an idea and I can send you some choices, or if you have original art I can have that embroidered as well. Cost varies for each depending upon thread count and whether we have to digitize your original art.

If the neck rest is for an older model Catrike with one of these mounts I'll need to know so I can send you one with the proper brackets.

If your Catrike has no neck rest right now (many Villagers, Trails and Pockets can be purchased without neck rests) you'll need the complete kit of neck rest, "L" tower and mtb stem. Let me know this when you order.

And if the neck rest you want is for another manufacturer's trike let me know which brand. Some require the full kit plus just another shim.

For all these other neck rests, I'll need the same information I described above it you'd like them embroidered.

And by the way, feel free to email or call with questions and any special requests.

2010-11-02T13:35:00.000-07:00

I posted this last night on BROL in response to a question...so I figured I re-post it here since I get a lot of questions about neck rest models and available options.

"...here's the deal with the two shapes. The first neck rests I made were ROLL models. I used 2" thick open pore foam as fill. They were nice and people liked them...I really liked mine. Unfortunately the adhesive I was using caused the most amazing hallucinations and was probably what finally caused me to tattoo the note, "If I seem lost, please return me to..." on my hand.

I started making the CURVEs after I made a special order half-round neck rest for someone who needed to stabilize his neck side to side. The open pore foam fill didn't work well with the CURVEs so I began experimenting with latex...and began testing new less personally toxic adhesives. The latex was great, and I really preferred the CURVE design because I like how it cradles my neck. However I soon discovered the manufacturer couldn't control the latex density and so some batches I got were so soft they were unusable.

So I bit the bullet and started using memory foam, which is 3X as expensive as the other fills. Then I graduated from hand-made brackets to having them fabricated by a great shop in Portland and then powdercoated in Tacoma. And I finally discovered what seems to be the perfect adhesive.

Just about all my orders in the past 9 months have been for CURVEs, and the feedback has been terrific. I think that with the CURVE I've finally found the perfect combination of shape, fill type and adhesive.

As a result I've stopped making the ROLL model. And there's another reason. Memory foam seems happy folded into the CURVE but not happy wrapped around the ROLL base. It wants to return to its original flat shape. And because the adhesive works so well it becomes a tug of war between the two with the end result being that over time the memory foam seems to tear. While there are solutions they greatly increase the cost of making the ROLL. And since the CURVE works so well I just don't think it's worth the expense.

I've tried them both and I really love the CURVE.

By the way, I just sent off the first kit for a Trice Q and am anxiously waiting for feedback. And I have full kits available for Pockets, Trails and Villagers."

I'm really excited to see how the Trice kit works. It's essentially the same as the Catrike kit with one added shim to adapt the mtb stem to the smaller diameter horizontal seat tube.

2010-10-07T12:22:00.000-07:00

Good news. The first batch of neck rests with the new machined and powdercoated brackets are in the mail to customers. As soon as the embroidered covers to come back from Zubin those neck rests will be on their way as well.

Also...I HAVE INVENTORY! So anyone wanting a CURVE without embroidery can get pretty quick delivery.

And what I'm especially delighted about is that this past weekend I finally delivered and installed Matt and Heather's wedding present...only 22 months after their wedding.

Matt is Penni's son, and she's been an absolute saint about how long it took to make this gate. We've just said it's an early anniversary present.

By the way, check out the paw and the orange and blue ball at the bottom of the gate. That's Mona's way of saying, "Just in case you were thinking about throwing my ball" (for the billionth time.)

2010-09-24T18:49:00.000-07:00

I think this is the best way to let everyone know what happened and what’s happening…the tough news and, hopefully, the really good.

First of all, I sincerely apologize. It has been really embarrassing and painful the past few months having apologies and excuses be the bulk of my conversations with folks who either had, or wanted to, order neck rests. It’s especially bad because I consider many of you not just customers, but friends.

Briefly, the tough news. TOT was great. But within days after Penni, Travis and I got home, just about everything “Finer Recliner” – neck rests and gear, ran off the rails…a real soap opera. Our sew-er moved to California and abruptly decided to stop making our neck rest covers. Next our embroiderer cancelled without notice. Then we had a death in our family, and, finally, a crisis with our kids in Europe brought everything else to a screeching halt. I filled what outstanding neck rest orders I could with remaining supplies while trying to decide what to do next.

Obviously the only reason to buy a great neck rest is to HAVE IT…and in a reasonable amount of time. Until the train wreck we’d been improving our products and speeding production. I sure learned that a little business like ours isn’t as resilient to a huge hit as a large company.

So...here’s the good news.

• NECK RESTS. We are back in production, and think our new rests are better than ever - still with that great memory foam, but now with new mounting hardware. They will fit existing Catrike towers, and we have Cateye brackets for horizontal tube mounting applications.

• BRACKETS. Our first batch of two dozen CURVE brackets have been fabricated in Portland (a great referral from Pat Franz. Thanks, Pat.) Our brackets are now powdercoated, not painted, making them way more durable. We have them in stock now.

• COMPLETE NECK REST KITS. For people whose trikes have no neck rests and therefore want full kits ( "L" towers, mtb stems and CURVE neck rests), we now have in stock nice short-throw mtb stems and shims, and 6061 “L” towers. And with short notice we can size the tower arms to fit different applications, like if you want an extra inch to mount a tail light.

• COVERS. We have resolved the cover-making challenge. (Thanks, Zubin.) We are building an inventory of unembroidered covers. This will speed order-filling for people who don’t want embroidery. We will have inventory in a week.

• EMBROIDERY. We are trying out a new embroiderer. As before we will custom embroider names and/or images. We can also work from your original art. Covers must be embroidered before sewing, so filling custom orders will add approximately two weeks to delivery. We’re hoping turnaround will be quicker than that, but it’s our starting point.

We have back-orders we’re working to get delivered quickly. I hope the systems we have in place now will only make our products better and our service faster.

And hopefully for the last time, I apologize to everyone who has had to wait.

2010-08-24T23:07:00.000-07:00

The Good News. For anyone wanting a full neck rest kit - I've got plenty of short throw stems, a couple of 1" "L" tubes and the shims (1 1/8" to 1") are on their way from the distributor. Also, the first shipment of laser cut neck rest brackets have arrived and they look...well, alike. And believe me that's great news. I'm sure gonna miss the cutting, drilling and grinding.

And here are some of the latest neck rests. Thanks, Cara.

The not-great news. Because of a death in our family I've got to leave, and so won't be able to make or ship neck rests, separately or in the full kits, before most likely the third week in September.

The mixed news.

The good - by the end of September, and perhaps sooner, we should have a small inventory of CURVE neck rests, the ones purchased by almost all of our recent customers. So anyone wanting a plain one should be able to get pretty quick delivery.
The not-good - until we iron out some problems we're not going to be doing embroidery. Hopefully this won't be for long. I never would have imagined so much drama was possible in such a small business. Foolish me. People have been really happy with our neck rests and I won't do anything to compromise what we offer. So we're gonna take a couple of weeks to iron out our remaining speed bumps.

And just in case mine isn't the only life with speed bumps at the moment, here's a little something to think about. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sA_0cvd1EUM

2010-08-12T14:42:00.000-07:00

Organization development consulting is the way I earn enough to pay my mortgage and indulge the 'Finer recliner' experiment. If you're at all curious, my website, www.stevesussman-otc.com has loads of information about my practice.

I've been thinking a lot about what I tell my clients regarding change, and what I wrote here in an earlier post...

"Change doesn't happen because you simply find a better way. Change happens when the present way becomes intolerable."

Even though I've made some serious changes since we started, till recently I've had a pretty high threshold for what's tolerable.

Oh there have been some major changes - no more hallucinogenic glue, introducing the CURVE (which has become about 95% of all orders,) using memory foam fill exclusively, making full kits (stem, "L" tube towers and neck rest) for Catrikes with no neck rest hardware, offering some custom kits for Sun trikes, modifying the mounting brackets to make them simpler and smaller, and offering all sorts of embroidery option.

But it's clear that the critical next changes would be big ones, not just simple refinements:

Being able to cut way down on the time it takes to fill orders. This demands major manufacturing changes, not just me working faster.
Offer simple hardware that'd allow the neck rests to fit a wider range of recumbent trikes and 2-wheelers. This would mean having access to parts as a manufacturer or wholesaler rather than continuing to buy them over the counter at my local bike shop. Note: I do want to give my local shop a plug however. Jeff, the owner of Vashon Island Bikes, routinely sells parts and accessories at or below on-line prices. If you want a wonderful day of rural riding...with hills, a delightful ferry ride with terrific views, great places to eat afterwards, some neat B&B's if you decide to make a weekend of it, make sure to visit Jeff's shop in the village for maps, bike rentals, advice and great deals.

Well following the latest snafu's in filling orders quickly I'd finally had enough. So here's the news:

All the CURVE brackets are now being laser cut by a custom fabrication shop. The first 24 have been ordered and should be here shortly. This will save me an enormous amount of time. I'll continue to make the bases, and cut and glue the fill. But with the new brackets I should be able to fill orders in days rather than weeks. Sadly (I'm sure) the brackets will no longer look like they were nibbled by elves.
I now have a manufacturer's account with a bike parts and accessories distributor, so now I'm able to purchase short-throw mtb stems and shims for the full kits. I have a dozen stems on the way. This means I can offer quality stems at a very good price without having to scrounge around to buy a stem or two at a time...retail. UPS just arrived! Stems are here, shims on the way.
We'll be pre-making batches of CURVE covers. This means if you want one unadorned that will speed delivery as well. We're still doing custom embroidery but it'll take a bit longer. I don't want to discourage the personalizing with embroidery...we've been making some really nice covers for folks lately.

And there's more in the works, but I'm hoping this will be a great next step. We may eventually transition from pvc and abs bases to all-metal, but for now we'll see how these changes go.

2010-08-05T01:33:00.000-07:00

What I know about change is that people rarely stop what they’re doing merely because they discover a better way to do something. They change only when the way they’re doing something at present becomes intolerable. And “they” in this case is me.

For the most part making the neck rests has been a wonderful experience. I’ve met terrific people and made some new friends as I talked with, and shipped neck rests to, people round the world. Feedback from customers that has felt incredibly good. I’ve had amazing hallucinations with that first can of contact adhesive I used – I traveled to other planets and realities, most likely at the cost of more than a few brain cells. I've enjoyed helping turn customers' ideas into finished embroidery. I’ve learned a ton about manufacturing and ten times that about collaboration as Zubin, Cara and I slowly figured out how to make this work while at the same time nurturing what really matters…our friendship.

And then there’s the part that hasn’t been so great:

I’m embarrassed by continually apologizing for long wait times. Trying to maintain a consulting practice during the day means long nights in the shop. There just aren’t enough hours in each day.
That first can of adhesive.
Making and fitting the steel brackets by hand takes hours, and the process is imprecise…especially in the winter when I’m working in an unheated shop.
I discovered belatedly that the foam supplier couldn’t control the density of one of the fill materials I was using so I ended up paying for a batch that would have made better clouds than neck rests.
Its been next to impossible to get mtb stems at a reasonable price for the full kits. And having to buy them retail has made this even worse.
And then on top of everything else Zubin decided to move back to San Francisco, so now we’re mailing stuff back and forth, which has slowed things even more.

When I couldn’t find the energy to write in this blog for over a month I decided the situation, finally, was intolerable. It was either fill the current orders and then close up shop, or start doing things very differently. Since there's plenty more I can learn and more I'd like to try, I'm choosing Option B.

So, here's what "intolerable" has inspired. I've sent drawings to Puget Sound fabricators for estimates on manufacturing the brackets for the CURVE and ROLL.

A leading bicycle parts and accessories distributor has approved my opening an account, so now I have reliable wholesale access to the stems needed for the full kits.

Neck rests and kits are waiting for covers. Customer designs will be embroidered in the next couple of days, sent off to San Francisco to be sewn, put on the neck rests and shipped...finally.

2010-06-07T15:14:00.000-07:00

I knew this would happen sooner or later. Well, the time's come.

Choosing fill material for the neck rests has been a journey beginning with open pore foam which some folks love and others think is too firm, then anti-microbial latex which is cushy but has inconsistent density...so inconsistent that my supplier will no longer cut it, to what I'm hoping will be the best fill by far - Sun-mate medical memory foam. That's the exciting news.

The not-so-exciting news is that there were really no good options between the latex and Sun-mate, and the Sun-mate is three times as expensive. Couple this with the fact that my margins were so thin to begin with, if I simply absorb the added cost then there's no sense in continuing to make these. I've tried keeping the price of the neck rests as low as possible and that's still my intention.

So, I hope you'll understand my raising the price on both the ROLL and CURVE models. In the coming weeks I'm hoping to make a decision about having all the parts fabricated in a production shop. If I can do it at a reasonable cost it will help me overcome my greatest challenge - providing high quality neck rests in a reasonable time. I don't yet know what the impact would be on the price, but that'll be a major decider in whether I go ahead.

Thanks to all of you who've purchased my neck rests. Since I'm really excited about this new fill material I'm hoping those of you who are considering a new neck rest will be enticed to try a CURVE or ROLL, even if it costs a small bit more. Thanks.

2010-06-06T23:36:00.000-07:00

I realize I can't push against the natural forces of the universe...but in this case that bit of information doesn't really help.

Neck rest orders continue to back up. The PVC I ordered came in...the wrong stuff. And when they told me they re-ordered what I'd asked for it turns out their computer didn't place the order because it checked inventory, found the wrong stuff, thought it was the right stuff...and so it didn't order. And its been 4 days since I was told my new foam cutter would be here in 2...still not here.

But...covers have been sewed and embroidered, and brackets cut, finished and painted. And the great new medical quality foam is sitting here ready to be cut. Now I just need base material and a foam cutter and I'm back in business.

I did get one neck rest mailed out yesterday and one special order for Jim Artis, soon to depart on his "Ride for the Republic" adventure on his newly designed and built quad, Fargo. It's quite the amazing hpv - hopefully some pictures will follow as soon as his set-up is complete and he's ready to begin his journey. I'm hoping our neck rest will comfort at least one small part of him as he rides.

Travis and I took advantage of yesterday's spectacular weather to do our post office and errand run in style. He ran alongside and helped going up hill into the village, then grabbed a ride in the trailer all the way home, sitting with his head out the sun roof taking in the sights, ears flapping in the breeze and encouraging me to pedal faster.

Since I couldn't make neck rest bases I spent the afternoon hanging about 35' of gutter from the roof of the old stables, and then ran the downspout into a rain barrel I've made from a surplus 50 gallon plastic syrup drum. I've wanted to catch water for a long time so we can use it to water our vegetable garden. The barrel's about 30" off the ground and I've installed a spigot near the bottom that's connected to a hose. The beautiful weather held until last night, then the rain started. It rained and drizzled all night. And today when Penni went out to pick some greens for breakfast, she returned saying the rain barrel was full! I thought for sure she was wrong, but she wasn't. In just a few short hours off a relatively short run of roof we collected more than 50 gallons of water. Amazing.

2010-06-01T22:09:00.000-07:00

More life on a sine wave. Zubin broke the news yesterday that she's leaving the island at the end of the month and moving back to San Francisco to be closer to her family. That means 1/3 of this cottage industry is leaving...the third that makes the neck rest covers. She has been a great friend, and while I absolutely wish her well, in addition to the beautiful covers she makes I'm sure gonna miss the long conversations at her front door about Buddhism and Sufis, the meaning of life, the gifts of kids and stupidity of adults, and a myriad of other things having nothing to do with sewing. She's irreplaceable. And I'm thinking I'd better learn to sew.

Today I picked up my first 3' X 7' slab of 2" memory foam. It's such a totally different feel from the latex...I think users are gonna love it. That it costs 3X as much is definitely going to have an effect, but I'm committed to filling the current orders at the current price even using the new foam.

And there's another change in the shop. Trying to muscle a sagging, twisting, squishy slab so large I can barely hold it through my band saw has been an adventure...at times a risky one. I can't cut a straight line, the saw sucks the foam down into its innards, the blade binds and then snaps, the damn foam simply can't be cut because it's too big to fit between the blade and the neck of the bandsaw...it just goes on. So...today I bit the bullet and bought this. I'm hoping it's gonna change my life...or at least save me a ton on eliminating a lot of waste when I cut. I sure hope this works because who's kidding who. I have absolutely no nostalgic feelings recalling that horrible sucking sound the bandsaw makes when it shags a piece of foam and quickly sucks it down into the lower wheel, binding the blade. And then there's that "Twoing!!!" when the blade snaps. I think I'm gonna love this cutter.

The pvc should be at the supplier's tomorrow so I can pick that up on the way home and start cutting CURVEs. I truly appreciate the gift of having consulting work right now, but at the same time it tests customers' patience as they wait for products. Next step, a fabricator.

2010-05-31T12:05:00.000-07:00

I'm at nearly full "stuck" for filling neck rest orders.

The PVC I use for the CURVE neck rests has been back-ordered, and the latex fill is no longer available except in mattress-sizes the wholesaler will no longer cut. In a way the latex really isn't a loss since the manufacturer couldn't control its density and the variations were definitely noticeable.

So last week I picked out some really nice medical grade memory foam that'll definitely be a great upgrade. The down side is it's three times as expensive as the latex. They didn't have samples of a large enough size to be able to choose the right density so I came home for the long weekend without fill material...another delay.

I'm going back to Tacoma mid-week to check out the different foam densities, choose one and get some foam cut, and then to pick up the PVC material.

Clearly this is venting and a not-so-subtle hope for customer patience while I sort this out. All materials should be in my shop by mid-week and I'll be back in production. Then it's off to visit fabricators to see about automating production of the brackets and bases. THAT will change my life.

2010-05-25T23:12:00.000-07:00

It's definitely springtime. The garden, re-making the pond with new plumbing and bentonite, laying down a patio, rewiring and remodeling the laundry room, re-wiring my shop, finishing fabricating two steel gates, building some stone walls and a myriad of other projects all compete for my time. Plus for the moment I blessedly have an abundant amount of consulting work taking the bulk of my day time. And then there's trying to squeeze in a weekend trike ride with Pen and filling Finer recliner orders. There just isn't enough time in the day.

Then in every spare nanosecond Travis is always up to a game of fetch (he's even willing to play in the dark.) He's always got a ball in his mouth, and no matter what I'm doing he'll push the ball under my feet with his nose and then sit patiently staring at the ball...for hours...until I pick it up and toss it.

So I'm having a tough time making shop time for the neck rests, and I'm finding myself out there in the middle of the night. Getting bids from fabricators is momentarily stalled...I just need the time to meet with them, and I just found out the latex I've been using for fill is no longer available. I complained about the lack of consistency in the latex density from batch to batch, and it turns out I wasn't the only one. Plus the supplier said cutting it was a nightmare. So I've got to work with them to find a suitable replacement which will probably be a medical grade closed cell and unfortunately more expensive.

Even though all this juggling is making me nuts it's clear that all the competing projects and the fabricating challenges are a learning opportunity. Learning more about manufacturing is really exciting.

The good news is that neck rests continue to leave the shop. Here are a couple of the latest...a ROLL and a CURVE for Jim Artis and his new quad, and a very cool tiger CURVE for Tony Geraci.

And people continue to say nice things about their neck rests. " I wanted to let you know I got your neck rest and just love it. I have ridden with it today on a 50 mile ride and absolutely love it." "Neck-rest received, installed and test-ridden today on a 26 mile ride. Your design is like night and day compared with Catrike's stock component - well done." Now if I can just do them faster.

2010-04-29T10:45:00.000-07:00

It must have been new moon-itis. The truck clutch went out, the mower lost its blade, the tractor threw a belt, my not-well-backed up hard drive crashed, the dryer melted a part, the water district informed me there was a leak somewhere on our land, Gomez (our cat) got chewed by some animal or other, and then the band saw blade snapped trimming neck rest foam...it was the glue. All of this in about 3 days.

Good news? There's plenty. Penni and I have been out riding the past few weekends, and Travis has really taken to his new trailer.

Last Sunday we rode about 35 miles. Travis will run 4 or 5 miles hard, then he seems fine with climbing in for a rest, sitting with his head out the sun roof watching and sniffing as things go by. He's also a good watch dog, willingly keeping an eye on the trikes during a coffee stop.

The days of just quickly taking off for a ride seem to be over. Now it's load up both trikes, Travis in the back and his trailer folded in the back seat, snacks for all, leash, toys and treats...and Ms. Penni in the front of course. We're kinda like a traveling carnival. And the car's really cozy.

More folks are ordering Finer recliner and TOT2010 gear, and maybe because it's Spring we're seeing people choose some especially beautiful colors.

Really nice riding jerseys for women

And more neat news. The complete neck rest kit for Catrikes is now finished and the first one is about to be shipped. This one is made with a CURVE neck rest, but it's also available with the ROLL. Both can be embroidered, and the kit comes with the neck rest, tower, stem and shim. The tower is 6061 aluminum thin wall tube so it's light and strong. The kit is $80.

2010-04-10T11:44:00.000-07:00

There's been a lot of activity in the neck rest factory. Of course with my good fortune the orders arrived at about the same time as some beautifully sunny weather.

A bunch of new neck rests were made, embroidered, covered and shipped. They including some new fonts and a neat piece of art for Dr Duk. What's so neat is that the embroidered duck matches Terry's tattoo perfectly.

We even embroidered the duck on a Dr Duk tee shirt so it looks like we may be starting a whole line of Dr Duk apparel. I can just see it - leggings, sandals, hats with bills...maybe even the DA hairstyle will return.

Just before mailing out the neck rests I realized I had both mounting options and three of the four possible models right in front of me. The fourth model is pictured below without its cover.

I can make both the ROLL and the CURVE with round brackets, so either can fit on a horizontal tube. And with brackets fitting bars from 1/2" to 1 1/4" diameter tubing there really are loads of options for mounting the neck rests.

The next step is an entire kit - neck rest, stem, L tube and shim. I just picked up 1" 6061 aluminum tube for the mounting tube so I've got everything ready to go. Next...fillet and weld the aluminum tube and the kits are ready to go.

Until now I've done just about everything by hand. What's especially exciting is that next week I'm talking with some local fabricators about making all the base and mounting hardware in aluminum...boy will this make my life simpler.

So what are the customers saying?
"Steve, Neck-rest received, installed and test-ridden today on a 26 mile ride. Your design is like night and day compared with Catrike's stock component - well done. The check is in the mail." Yoyospin.

"Received my new custom tee shirt and curved neckrest with the above mentioned covers today. They are truly a work of art. Can not wait to attach the new neckrest on my Speed. Thanks again Steve and my best to Cara." Dr Duk.

2010-03-19T00:28:00.000-07:00

Gosh...it's hard to believe I haven't made an entry in 6 weeks. But then lots has happened.

We had an arrival who's caused us to pretty much re-order everything in our lives. Travis was described on Petfinder.com as "Urgent!" Turns out he was in a high-kill animal shelter in eastern Washington. Now he's home safe with us. He's about 16 months old, half German Shepherd, half Australian Cattle Dog, the most incredibly loving dog, eager to please, always ready to play, constantly in search of something or someone to herd or a ball to fetch, and totally unwilling to believe that Gomez, our large black Maine Coon cat, might think of anything better to do than play with him. Unfortunately what's tops on Travis' list is bottom on Gomez'.

Of course we can't leave Travis home on the days we're out riding, so now we this residing in our kitchen...without its wheels and tow bar. We're hoping he'll just take to it like one more part of his domain, will be comfortable climbing in and out, and so putting the wheels on and towing it won't be any big deal for him. So far so good. We've fed him in it a couple of times and he's happy in it searching for the treats we've hidden inside. Maybe this weekend I'll put the wheels on it, and in a couple of days then it'll go outside and I'll hook it to the trike. I've got a funny feeling he'll ride in it just fine, but only after he's run along with the trikes until he's totally exhausted.

And then there's Penni's birthday present. What do you do when work's slow-to-non-existent and money's tight? Well I briefly subscribed to the theory that if I gave a chunk away of the little I have then I'd simply make room for more. So when this brand new Greenspeed GT3 II showed up on BROL at a great price...and only about 20 miles away, I grabbed it. It folds, has the perfect seat angle for her, has neat little 16" wheels, and best of all according to Penni, it's purple. So most likely she'll get to tow the BOB and I get to tow you-know-who.

The really sad news is that shortly after Travis arrived, Penni put Frankie down. He was our 20 old orange tabby retired barn cat. The past year he'd settled into a life of mostly sleeping days away. But finally he was in so much pain it became really awful just watching him trying to get around. Neither Pen nor I can feel his presence so we figure his spirit has gone back to his cozy spot in that barn south of here where he spent so much of his life.

Then there's been a brief thaw in the governor's freeze on state personal service contracts. So all of a sudden I got five really interesting consulting contracts...real work after I was thinking I was retired. It feels great to be wanted and even better to be earning a living, but of course everyone has wanted everything done right away. Its gone from famine to feast. And that's meant that I've had to let The finer recliner gear, TOT gear and the neck rests just sit in idle for a bit. With Zubin laid up after knee surgery and Cara from embroidery central command traveling for a while, my work distractions weren't the only things putting sand into our production gears.

So...some good news. Zubin has done a great job with the covers for the new CURVE model neck rests and they're starting to sell. Same cover material, latex fill, but with a velco closure instead of the poly cord on the ROLL model. It makes for a nice tailored finish. So I'll be using it on Msafiri for a while, but first impressions are that I like it a lot. Is it better than the ROLL model? In the end I honestly think it's a matter of personal preference. The ROLL easily conforms to the shape of our necks. And the choice of open pore foam or latex fill should satisfy anyone. The CURVE, filled with latex, also conforms nicely, and it offers some side to side support as well. In truth I really like them both.
Isn't it nice to have a choice?

Something else exciting is this neck rest, shown without the cover. It'll fit on a horizontal tube like the older Catrike model. I have different diameter brackets to accommodate different size horizontal tubes.

Here's an inexpensive neck rest assembly for any Catrikes without the towers or any other trike with a horizontal seat top tube.

Can I make any one of these for you?

2010-01-12T21:28:00.000-08:00

Gear for us non-lycra bikers, Part 2. Return to "The finer recliner."

This blog isn't a good place for lots of pictures...the columns are just too narrow. So for anyone wanting to check out "Finer recliner" gear, this site is really impossible. The long term solution is to create a website. Because I'm really excited about the gear (it looks even better in person than in pictures!) and I'm a web design cretin I've come up with an interim plan by posting everything in a Picasa album. http://picasaweb.google.com/shag1941/TheFinerReclinerRecumbentGear# Everything's there - all the gear, sizes, colors, prices, and how to order.

What is "The finer recliner" gear? It's a growing collection of personalizable wickable riding jerseys, tee shirts, caps and other cool gear for us non-lycra recumbent cyclists who like comfortable clothes for riding or just hanging out with friends, and who like to share our enthusiasm with others for our own rides and recumbent trikes in general.

How's it special? For starters, everything is personalized. It's gear that's uniquely yours, or it makes a very special gift. Choose your gear from a rainbow of colors. Then choose your logo - tadpole or delta trike. We'll embroider the logo in the frame color of your choice so you can match your trike. I think the embroidered logos look terrific. Then add the name or nickname you want to create a comfortable garment you'll love to wear or give to someone special.

These clothes look great, perform well, are comfortable, AND they're not skin tight. And we're offering unique clothing for women including a cap sleeve riding jersey that Penni loves. Even the ball caps are cut differently for men and women. It's a growing

2010-01-07T00:08:00.000-08:00

It was a great holiday season and I'm excited about the new year. One of the best and most unexpected gifts from this little enterprise has been the way its brought so many nice folks into my life from all over the US, Canada and even overseas. Email exchanges that began about neck rests evolved into much more, and I feel so enriched by the many delightful people I've met because of this small item. Thanks.

I posted Kirk's feedback about the new curved prototype neck rest on BROL and the Catrike forum so I won't repeat it here. He said he's not gonna return it, and that's endorsement enough so I'm tooling up to offer this curved version along with the current model. I've heard from Dave about the "half-wrap" neck rest we made him that will hopefully help with his arthritis. He said he hasn't tried it out on the road yet because of 12 degree weather and snow...a cheesy excuse, but according to Dave, the "Garage test is dreamy comfortable." If nothing else it should make a comfy recliner in front of the fire.

I got an email from Paul saying he'd noticed that the glue binding the latex to the base hadn't held in several places around the edges on his new neck rest, wondered whether the extreme cold in my shop had played havoc with the binding, and asked about a fix. The hallucinations from the fumes alone should have been enough to get me to switch adhesives. Paul's feedback was the clincher. I bag each neck rest in plastic and bind it tightly with tape for at least 12 hours after gluing the fill to the base, so the binding should be secure. So I've switched adhesives to one recommended by my foam supplier and it seems to working just fine. I'm kinda missing the visions though.

As for Paul's neck rest, I offered to replace it immediately. He decided to try his own fix first. And here's what else he had to say. "That being said, I mounted it and took it for a spin to see if it was worth considering some sort of remedy, and must say it is light years more comfortable than the catrike version! I love it and hope you can offer some suggestions on what to do about the glue situation." Anyone else with this or any other issue, please let me know so I can make it right. The world's a complicated place, and in most instances there's little over which any of us has total control. Making you happy with your neck rest is about as close to total control as I can ever have. We just began making these toward the end of last summer, so each new batch has been an opportunity to learn, and to find ways to make what we think is a good product even better.

Things in the works for the coming months include the new curved neck rests, and new brackets so our neck rests will fit on older Catrike models and other models with horizontal bars. And since Msafiri (my Expedition) is still fitted with prototype #1, I think it's time I made myself a new neck rest.

Have a wonderful new year, and stay tuned.

2009-12-23T17:45:00.000-08:00

This one's really exciting. Sure the jury's still out because this won't be shipped until tomorrow, but still this is the neck rest I'm most proud of so far. A few months ago someone who'd bought one of my standard neck rests asked if I could make him a special one. Because of arthritis in his neck he needs a rest that stabilizes his neck side-to-side as well as fore and aft. Once I had the measurements from his chiropractor the real challenge was finding something to use as a curved base. That 8" PVC high pressure coupling I showed in an earlier post turned out to be the perfect dimension and it's rigid enough not to flex.

The inside diameter of the base is 8", and it's lined with 2" latex. The support brackets have 5 mounting adjustments so it can be tilted up and down, and then secured. Zubin did a great job of tailoring a cover for this uniquely shaped neck rest. We are both really proud of our product and hope it exceeds our patient customer's expectations.

2009-12-21T00:06:00.000-08:00

Last post of the day. It seems like this has become a clothing store lately. It's true I'm really excited about the gear and logos, and I'm hoping people will like it enough so we can add more choices when we come across something interesting. But this began as a neck rest blog, or at least a trike parts blog, and there's a bunch of interesting stuff happening with these as well.

Tomorrow the new curved neck rest prototype goes off to Kirk. I mounted it on Msafiri this morning intending to go for a ride and try it before mailing it off. The sun was out and it was in the 50's...until I was ready to leave. Then the temperature dropped and it rained the rest of the day. So I'm sending the neck rest to Kirk completely untried. Frankly I have no idea how this will turn out. Will he like it? Will it be better or worse...a toss-up? I guess I'll see. I think I may make another one for me to try as well. After all, I'm still riding with the first prototype on Msafiri. I ought to at least try one made with latex.

Last week, totally by surprise, I got an email, a gift, from Pat Franz, the owner of TerraCycle. He packed it so full of helpful suggestions and resources I felt like a kid turned loose in a candy store. His kindness epitomizes my experience with recumbent folks. My very first experience with incredibly generous and knowledgeable recumbent people was more than 20 years ago. I'd bought Gardner Martin's how-to book on how to build an Easy Racer and before long I had a bunch of first-timer questions that had me totally stuck. So I called him. I wasn't buying an Easy Racer. Maybe he'd made a buck or two from the sale of the book I'd bought. And yet he stayed on the phone with me until he was sure I had all my questions answered. He even answered questions I wasn't smart enough to have asked. I built that bike, named it the Load Warrior, and rode it first from Minneapolis to Seattle, the next summer from Minneapolis to Maine via Ottawa, and a couple of years later spent a month on it touring New Zealand. I doubt I could have finished it without his help, and I've never forgotten his kindness.

I had the same experience with Pat last week. I've never met him, either in person or through the web, and his friendly email was totally out of the blue. I know him just by the quality of what he makes. Our Screamer has one of his stems and under-seat racks. And Msafiri has a Terracycle idler.

His taking the time to share some of his manufacturing knowledge and experience so perhaps I might move out of the production dark ages couldn't have come at a more perfect time for me. No wonder TerraCycle makes such high quality goods. Consider the source. Thanks, Pat.

2009-12-20T22:44:00.000-08:00

More nice "Finer recliner" wickable gear to ride in, or to wear just about anytime. I found these two shirts doing some research for a special request. Both the Polo and the Henley have "The finer recliner" embroidered logos, your choice of the tadpole or delta trike color-matched to your trike, and your name or nickname embroidered on the sleeve. They both look great.

The price for the Polo is $38 with the logo of your choice. Add $3 if you'd like your name or nickname added. The Henley is $36, also with the logo of your choice. Add $3 for your name or nickname.

Now if I can just find a nice pair of riding knickers.

2009-12-20T12:45:00.000-08:00

Gear for us non-lycra bikers.

In October, Penni and I spent two weeks in Germany and Prague visiting my son, daughter-in-law and new granddaughter. Every day we saw hundreds of people on bicycles going to and from work, running errands and some just getting exercise. Everyone person we saw was in street clothes. We didn’t see anyone in lycra, and it got me thinking.

Oh I like the jerseys with the brilliant colors and designs, but I feel kind of foolish dressing up like a peacock to run errands with my bike. And frankly, being pretty snug, they reveal a bit more about my upper body shape than I’m interested in sharing. And I’m always on the lookout for a t-shirt or jersey that lets me share my excitement for recumbents. I’m guessing I may not be the only one.

So this was our thinking when we were picking gear to offer to folks coming to TOT next June – choose a comfortable wickable short or long sleeve jersey to ride in, a good quality t-shirt to wear for fun, a nice cap to cover hat hair (or hat scalp in my case), and gear in womens’ as well as mens’ styles and colors.

Since not everyone will be coming to TOT we decided to offer similar gear for everyone else, but with some really neat differences. The gear’s called “The finer recliner.” Andie has designed some great logos…with a velo on the way. If folks like this gear we'll try to add to the selection over time.

Just like the TOT gear, the logos are embroidered, not screened, by Cara at embroidery central command. And here’s what’s especially neat.

No minimum order.
Your choice of tadpole or delta logo.
The tees, jerseys and caps all come in a rainbow of colors.
Your name or nickname embroidered on the sleeve or back of your cap.
You can match the trike logo with the color of your trike.

Here are the color choices, and the prices are at the bottom. If you'd like to order something just email your choices to me at stevesussman@earthlink.net. Don't forget to include:
Your size,
Color choice (and a 2nd just in case),
Whether you want the delta or tadpole logo,
The color of your trike,
And your name or nickname if you want that embroidered.

2009-12-18T14:06:00.000-08:00

A great day. The sun's out, it has warmed up a bit, and on the island it's the first day in a while I didn't think about the moss growing under my arms...and people are out walking, and smiling!

Finally, almost all the back ordered neck rests got boxed, stamped and sent on their way, most to towns all over the US but also one to Ottawa and one to Singapore. While I haven't yet started shopping for a sandy beach on a tropical island, this small venture has really turned out to be fun. It's been a a great way to meet people all around the country and the world on line, and its been especially nice getting to work on the island with friends who own their own small businesses.

The large wrap-around rest for Dr Dave is just getting its cover finished and then it'll be off as well. This one's been an especially interesting challenge because if it works, it should be a neck stabilizer as well as a rest. Its taken much longer than I'd originally planned, and I'm really hoping he'll be pleased.

The new vertical curved prototype has had the latex pad installed and it's at Zubin's for a cover. I honestly don't know whether it'll be as good as, better than or just different from the horizontally curved ones I'm making now. Kirk Jones (Kirk511) in his benevolence has graciously agreed to serve as prototype tester, trying it on his new 700. So I'm shipping it off to him as soon as the cover's done and will see what he says. If he likes I'm thinking it'll be great to be able to offer folks a choice. I just think it looks neat.

Along with the TOT shirts and caps we're also got some other gear for the non-lycra bika crowd like Pen and me. They're called, "The finer recliner." They're the same style T-shirts, long and short sleeve wickable riding jerseys and caps as the TOT stuff, and like the TOT items they're all embroidered.

I love the logos that Andie has done. What's especially nice about them is that there's no minimum order, the tees, jerseys and caps all come in a rainbow of colors, there's NO minimum order, you can put your name or nickname on the sleeve and you can order the trike logo to match the color of your trike.

The prices for this gear are the same as for the TOT...no extra charge for coloring the trikes. I'll post colors and prices.

Have a great weekend.

2009-12-12T23:36:00.000-08:00

I've been dreaming of a warm shop, a tig welder and a CNC machine. Well my birthday's coming up in the next two weeks, and after all, SOMEONE wins the Lotto Mega. It's still not warm enough in the 'neck rest factory' to work without seeing my breath. But the temperature was up in the balmy high 20's so I spent most of the day working to get these orders filled. The brackets and bases for 14 are all finished, and 4 more have fill glued on.

I'll take them over to Zubin the sewer (sounds like Omar the tent maker) tomorrow to make sure they all fit the "standard" size, which is sometimes a problem when every bracket is hand-made. Then she can cut the fabric for each neck rest and I can take them over to the embroiderer to get monogrammed while I paint the brackets and glue on the latex. Then back for sewing and final assembly. It's just been too cold to paint or glue and at the same time I fear I'm testing people's patience. But the forecast is for the temp to rise so I'm hopeful we're only days away from getting these finished.

Speaking of the embroiderer, here's Cara on the bridge at embroidery command central. Notice how her watch dog strikes the praying hamster position in a salute to recumbent riders.

Cara, Andie and I have been working on getting the TOT gear chosen and the art work done so we can get it posted. Andie's the Photoshop master and she's been working on the TOT graphics while getting ready for her own art show and running her studio gallery.

So here's the TOT stuff that'll be available. What's really special about this gear is that it's embroidered, NOT silk screened. And everyone can customize their TOT gear by having their names or screen names embroidered on the back of their hats, and on the sleeves of any shirts they choose.

The mens' and womens' cotton t-shirts are first, and they'll be great for dinners and just hanging out. For riding, the long and short sleeve poly wickable shirts for men and women are at the bottom. The caps come in mens' and womens' styles.

T-shirts are heavy-weight 6.1 ounce cotton with shoulder to shoulder taping and a double needle hem.

2009-12-10T00:21:00.000-08:00

I'm thinking it's even colder inside the shop than it is outside. The thermometer said 18 but I'm so bundled up for the most part I feel fine. I got about 15 pairs of brackets finished and ready to mount on the bases. Gluing the latex is gonna be a challenge. Ms. Penni won't let me glue in the house - she says one person hallucinating at a time is enough, so this definitely puts a kink in my production schedule. I'm hoping the freeze breaks in the next day or two and I can finish the orders in time for the holidays.

Jim (jimali) made a first neck rest prototype to mount on the original Catrike neck rest horizontal tube. It's similar in design to the POC mount. Jim started with my base and latex, then took the original Cat design one brilliant step further by using rigid PVC pipe and a PVC elbow instead of the aluminum. To mount the neck rest to the tube we used two stainless U bolts. It seems to work fine, but it wasn't adjustable enough for the tight tolerances on his 700. And my guess is that with the U bolts it didn't look finished enough for Jim's beautiful mango machine. So he passed it along to Robin (dragonfly) who further refined the design and mounted it on her Speed.

As you can see, Robin's a master with spray paint so the whole apparatus looks totally prime time...except for the old sock cover. I have to get this back and finish it right with a nice cover and an embroidered dragonfly! Even though they seem to work well I'm not a fan of the U bolts. I think we can mount the neck rest on the tube with simpler, lighter and more elegant hardware. When it'd done I think this will make a neat kit for folks wanting to mount one of my neck rests on an older Catrike tower or a POC tower. And if anyone bought a Villager, Pocket or Trail without a neck rest, this would be a great and inexpensive solution.

I'm sorry the pictures of the TOT gear are delayed. The cutting and pasting (of the pictures not the gear) is taking a bit longer than we planned, but we're still hoping to get them posted here and on BROL before the end of the weekend.

Here's something that DID get finished today...a prototype for a different neck rest design, ready to be fitted with latex and a cover. It'll still fit the stock Catrike towers and is just about the same dimensions as the current neck rest. But it's a very different shape. I love the original, and I'm curious to see how this one feels.

2009-12-07T18:10:00.000-08:00

It was a short day in the shop. After a couple of hours of using a heat gun to keep my hands warm I decided to pack it in. The good news is that all the brackets are done and read for paint, but I figured that 18 degrees isn't really great paint weather. And it certainly won't work for gluing latex to the bases, although the cold keeps down the glue fumes so at least I can work without halucinating...if that's a gift.

Another piece of exciting news is that the TOT logo is done and set up on Cara's computer-driven monster embroidery machine. I think it looks great. Hopefully the rest of the folks going to TOT this year will agree. We've picked out some great tee shirts and caps, and also some especially nice wickable shirts for both men and ladies. Penni picked the ladies' shirt, and of course she has impeccable taste in clothes (if not in men.)

Hopefully tomorrow I can post pictures and prices for all the gear. What's especially nice is that everything anyone orders can be customized with his or her name, avatar or handle.

Well that's it for today. I'm heading for the woodstove.

2009-12-06T21:52:00.000-08:00

Life in the neck rest factory. Okay, I admit it. I cover the Catrike factory. Actually I covet insulation and indoor heating. And the thought of tropical weather makes me giddy. My shop's a roomy metal building. Unfortunately it's uninsulated and unheated, and the floor's concrete. Today the temperature peaked at 30 and went downhill from there. But now that Noah, Jana and Maya have gone it's time to get back to work and fill orders.

So dressed like the Michelin man in camo, out I went.

It turned out to be a really productive day. I got 15 pairs of brackets made and about 20 bases. Each bracket and base are fabricated by hand, one at a time. Each new batch of brackets has been slightly different from the ones before as I try to make them simpler and quicker to manufacture without sacrificing strength. Next I'll bend the two tabs, paint the brackets, mount them on the bases, cut and glue the latex to the bases and then off to the sewer and embroiderer. I’ll have a few extra neck rests after all orders are filled so if anyone’s thinking about one this is a good time to order.

In addition to the regular neck rests I’ve been working on one for someone with arthritis who needs support side-to-side as well as a rear rest for his neck. It’s made from 8” diameter PVC, mounts on the existing Catrike tower, and is the same height as the current regular neck rests. Next steps are to paint and mount the brackets, cut and glue the 2" latex liner to the full inside diameter of the base. And finally it’ll be off to have a cover made. I sure hope it does the job.

Making this special rest has gotten me interested in trying a similar curve for a regular neck rest. It will be the same height as the current neck rests and about 6” wide, and I'll line it with 2" latex. I’m excited to see how compares to the current rests. I think it'll look neat, and might make a great mount for mini-speakers.

2009-12-01T10:02:00.000-08:00

Life at the neck rest factory has slowed a bit because my 5 month old grand daughter Maya and her entourage (my son Noah and daughter-in-law Jana) are visiting from Germany. It's really tough to spend time in my shop while they're around. Maya got her first solid food (pureed baked fresh pumpkin loving prepared by yours truly) and the event was duly recorded with about 2000 photographs and the entire family in attendance.

Then she proved she clearly looks better in my cycle skullcap than I do.

Something new I'm working on is a neck rest for someone with arthritis who needs lateral stability as well as fore and aft cushioning. I'm starting with an 8" PVC water pipe coupling,

will be cutting it in half length-wise and then across the diameter before hanging some brackets and lining it with latex. I'm hopeful this will work even better than we expect, and its given me some ideas for trying a different shape for the other neck rests as well.

2009-11-29T11:50:00.000-08:00

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.