#8 - A great talk and tech support
I’d been wanting to visit the Trike Shop in Zonhoven for a while now. People kept telling me what a great guy Yvo is, and how happy he is to share the tons of experience he has.
Within minutes after arriving, he noticed some errors I made when assembling the trike. Apparently, I managed to install the chain extender incorrect. The same goes for the multi mounts. I had those on backwards. Not a big issue, but I believe it may have played a role in me actually breaking one mount before. I had my Insta 360 on there. Now that’s a rather heavy piece of equipment. With the mount backwards, it actually is leaning a bit. In combination with some heavy corrugated roads I took at the time, and me not really slowing down for that, it seems the vibrations may have been a little too much. So, most likely, that was my bad.
The chain extender should apparently be installed with the mounts crossing each other. I had the chain jump of the guiding wheels a couple of times, but I accounted that to the quick back shifting I did at those times. This also wasn’t a big issue, since it’s real easy to just put the chain back on and carry on.
That immediately prompted Yvo to bring up the next issue. My chain was black. A sight I was used to from riding bikes in the past. Dust get’s mixed with the oil or grease, and that very quickly produces a black covering all over the chain. In comes Yvo with a bottle of Boeshield T9 and a little board with 3 pieces of chain. They’d all been in water for 4 months over 8 years ago. One without any protection, was all brown and crusty. The middle one with regular chain oil, was still corroded, but was much more flexible. And the final one had the Boeshield T9 on it. The only thing on it, was this matte shine of dried up wax. All flexible and shiny underneath. The bottle immediately went in my shopping basket.
We put the trike on the lift to give it a support for easy access. I’m not actually going to use it for that. In stead, it’s just a great way to attach more stuff to the trike. While working on it, Yvo started asking questions about HOW I ride the trike. How I use my muscles. Do I push from the legs, or do I ride from the hips?
Apparently there’s a technique that helps extend your range, without putting more stress on your legs. While I believe I understand what Yvo tried to explain, I couldn’t really replicate it on the short test ride I did at home. But it’s going to be one of those things that will need some experience I believe.
Overall, it was a visit that was long overdue. I left with so many things to think about. So much advice to put in practice. And I’m already looking forward to my next visit. If only to stand in front of those amazing trikes in the shop, and start dreaming of riding one of them in to the distance… One day… Maybe.
