HI everyone. My name is Daniel, and I am a wandering hobbyist; known for diving into a new hobby, and exiting with a half dozen non-completed projects and a closet full of parts.
My new hobby has been trikes. picked up my first one, an older Trailmate Desoto Classic, as payment for a side job. I've been a fan of trikes from way back, having ridden them at an air filter factory while we were doing electrical work around the building. There they used Schwinn Meridians.
Knowing that my lovely wife would have a problem bringing home another project, I talked my way into convincing her that WE liked at needed it; and although it worked, somewhere in translation it became HER trike.
Fair enough. There are others to pursue.
This led me to purchasing a used 24"Meridian off of Letgo for $90. I'm no wheeler dealer, and for what the landscape was pricing used trikes at in my area, it was a great deal to me.
Alas, it was a bit small for my intentions. Visions of a low rider wouldn't fly here, as the seat post is over the pedals like a bicycle, and the seat had to be raised rather high to pedal comfortably.
Trike #2: the early birthday present for my youngest son.
My son is 5'8", I am 5'9", so he was having the same problem as I was having. The higher seat wasn't a big deal to him; but reaching the bars and all around comfort was a bit of a pain for him. By this time, I have done some research on my next trike, and happened upon a picture of a red Meridian with an old Western Flyer banana seat. BAM! ordered a seat off of eBay, and now my son's woes are gone. He is enjoying riding his trike now!
The pic of that maroon Meridian stuck with me, and I began to search for a 26" Meridian to build a similar style trike; mainly the banana seat, and 20" wheels in the back. It looks like a grown man's big wheel to me, and I dig it.
I purchased what appeared to be a returned Meridian, out of town for $200. It was touted as new in the add, but upon further inspection at home, I found a few blemishes in the paint, some spots with bare aluminum showing. Everything is straight, but something definitely had a run-in with the trike. Still better than the near-retail prices people were asking for theirs in the area.
I have some kooky plans for the trike. Husky Bicycles will be supplying the rear end parts (17mm axle and 20" rear wheels), I ordered some parts from McMaster Carr that I hope will work as an axle extension to fit a 3/5 speed Sturmey hub, and I am mentally fabbing up the parts I will need for the laid back seat extension to pull the Troxel banana seat back about 5".
I'll lay seat extension idea on you guys after work. Lunch is about over. Thanks for your time!
Daniel
My new hobby has been trikes. picked up my first one, an older Trailmate Desoto Classic, as payment for a side job. I've been a fan of trikes from way back, having ridden them at an air filter factory while we were doing electrical work around the building. There they used Schwinn Meridians.
Knowing that my lovely wife would have a problem bringing home another project, I talked my way into convincing her that WE liked at needed it; and although it worked, somewhere in translation it became HER trike.
Fair enough. There are others to pursue.
This led me to purchasing a used 24"Meridian off of Letgo for $90. I'm no wheeler dealer, and for what the landscape was pricing used trikes at in my area, it was a great deal to me.
Alas, it was a bit small for my intentions. Visions of a low rider wouldn't fly here, as the seat post is over the pedals like a bicycle, and the seat had to be raised rather high to pedal comfortably.
Trike #2: the early birthday present for my youngest son.
My son is 5'8", I am 5'9", so he was having the same problem as I was having. The higher seat wasn't a big deal to him; but reaching the bars and all around comfort was a bit of a pain for him. By this time, I have done some research on my next trike, and happened upon a picture of a red Meridian with an old Western Flyer banana seat. BAM! ordered a seat off of eBay, and now my son's woes are gone. He is enjoying riding his trike now!
The pic of that maroon Meridian stuck with me, and I began to search for a 26" Meridian to build a similar style trike; mainly the banana seat, and 20" wheels in the back. It looks like a grown man's big wheel to me, and I dig it.
I purchased what appeared to be a returned Meridian, out of town for $200. It was touted as new in the add, but upon further inspection at home, I found a few blemishes in the paint, some spots with bare aluminum showing. Everything is straight, but something definitely had a run-in with the trike. Still better than the near-retail prices people were asking for theirs in the area.
I have some kooky plans for the trike. Husky Bicycles will be supplying the rear end parts (17mm axle and 20" rear wheels), I ordered some parts from McMaster Carr that I hope will work as an axle extension to fit a 3/5 speed Sturmey hub, and I am mentally fabbing up the parts I will need for the laid back seat extension to pull the Troxel banana seat back about 5".
I'll lay seat extension idea on you guys after work. Lunch is about over. Thanks for your time!
Daniel
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