In 1974 MASA (Multi-Advanced Sports Action) (of Japan) created a new class of closed-course track racing. They set up the rules so tight that only one trike would qualify,……their’s! Japanese companies could do that in those days.
MASA was a Japanese company, but targeted the US with this form of racing. In 1975 they finally brought a few of these over here and did some exhibition races between their own staff. It never really caught on, but they still imported about 1500 of these into the US over a three year period.
There were some very minor changes made to the trikes over the three years they were produced, like the rear dropouts, the chain tensioners, seat materials, colors, elimination of a lot of the original chrome parts, and the elimination of the use of a mid-drive that followed the rear der’s movements (called a reciprocal-gearing system).
Since these trikes were focused on track racing only against like trikes, the lack of braking and their size was not a problem. Their wide, long front end was thought to be better protection for the rider.
Two major problems that kept them from becoming popular was the single, minimally effective rear brake and their humongous size (56+lbs). The Slingshot really was intended solely for track racing where braking was only used to adjust speed entering the corners. Even the disc brake on the rear of earlier models was way less than effective for street use. Later models tried the Bendix drum brake on the rear wheel, but still fell short of being able to lock up the wheel. The trike’s 56-65lb weight didn’t help with it’s stopping problems either.
Earlier models came with an aluminum ‘wing” over the front axle, probably more for looks than anything, and a bullet-shaped, sports car-styled rear mirror on the left side. The chain and front sprocket was also completely enclosed in an aluminum guard. They were very high tech looking machines, but too heavy to compete with any other HPV around.
The first year only came in red or yellow, with lots of chrome on the front end. The second and third years offered the orange and black colors, with the loss of all chrome on them, except the rims. The one you have there now is a very late first year model, with a tan seat and simpler, single cog rear jack-shaft on the driveline. It still has some of the chrome on the steering components, but not all. It is a transition model. The seller claims it to be original paint, but that’s not true. Orange wasn’t introduced until all chrome was eliminated. Black also came out first, with all parts painted black, then the orange was added to the frame only.
One last feature that also killed it was it’s tendency to flip over in high speed corners! The rider’s center of mass was closer to the rear wheel than the fronts so it wanted to tip that rear wheel over, and the front wheels couldn’t stop it with so little weight on them. It as about a 30/70% weight distribution on them, front to back, whereas our current generation of tadpole trikes average about 60/40% front to back.
This has got to be the Ferrari of trikes, but at $11,000 it should look sexy. I don’t know if it is a trike or a work of art, or both. Check it out at Innesenti trikes.
Not to leave the 2 wheelers out of the collection, here are some chain lines of two wheel recumbents.
Says Bruce: Stephen (tennbent) and I wanted to eliminate the inherent problems on his Optima Baron that also exist with the chainlines on a lot of mid and low racers. The picture above shows the chain crossover between idlers.
The picture above shows the revised chainline, with crossover issue resolved. First, we wanted to clear the front tire/fork, and also to eliminate any chain cross-overs. We also did some other minor chainline mods to clean up the line. I won’t go into all of the details of HOW we did this, but the pics show the results. And, it works quite well. Stephen says it quieted the whole chainline a lot.
Admittedly, the change added another small bend in the power chain line, which technically adds pedal effort, but Stephen says he can’t feel any extra effort, and most folks won’t either. Maybe Lance Armstrong could feel it. The extra bend is about what most trikes experience in chain line bend. Bruce
The picture above shows one wheelbase-version of the Musashi, with chain crossover problems.
Another version of the Musashi, with chain crossover issues.
Chain lines on trikes seem to generate a lot of experimenting and novel approaches. The pictures below show a bunch of different approaches to making a chainline quiet and efficient, on all Catrikes I believe.
Hopefully the creators of these setups or those who have tried similar ones will comment on the likely quietness and efficiency of each of these setups. Send additional pics of chainlines of any type of bent, and I’ll post them.
Above: Bruce’s Speed. Bruce says this is the cleanest, quietest, most efficient setup he has used.
Above: Dr. Duk’s version of chain tubes. Says Bruce: “…shows the easiest, and best way to give the tubes the loosest float possible, and this is a good thing.”
Above: Flying Tiger’s version
Bruce’s orange Catrike. “This is the overly complex, and expensive, chainline that I tried on two of my Speeds. I had four goals for it: lift the return chain higher off the ground, push the power chain under the front axle, raise everything above the bottom of the main frame tube, and eliminate all tubes. It did all four quite well, but at the expense of expense and more noise. Both trikes are back to a single tube on the return chain, with just some tape on top of the axle to protect against the power chain slap. ”
another trike set up, by Jerry Mckee.
Bruce: “Jerry McKee’s is close, but the idlers should have been placed behind the front axle. Also, by pushing the power chain under the front axle, you alter the angle of the power chain to the der post and der. This can hurt the shifting, and at the least, it limits how small you can go on the small ring. I know this because on my Tony Trike, I couldn’t go smaller than a 30 tooth ring when I did this arrangement.”
Above: John Rooker’s Expedition. Says John: “I have the same setup on my present Trail. This is simple, effective, quiet and costs almost nothing once you’ve purchased the return side idler.”
Utah Trikes photo, on an Expedition. “…just insanely wrong! All of the Expo’s cherished ground clearance is lost with that arrangement. That idler should have been placed in front of the axle, as Pat Franz has designed those clamp-ons to be placed.”
photofinish
photofinish 2
photofinish 3
Bruce’s opinion – “Photofinish’s setup is a good example of a common myth about chainlines, that running the return chain in a straight line gives less drag. Wrong! It increases the drag compared to a slightly curved tube run underneath. If you let the chain hang naturaly with no tube, it has no frictional drag, so what better way to “tube” it than to run it through a tube that follows it’s natural curve as much as possible. Ideally, if the tube’s curve matches the chain’s curve, the tube will not be supporting the chain at all, and therefore will not induce any drag. But, if you lift the chain up and run it through a straight tube above where it wants to hang naturally, the tube is then carrying all of the chain’s weight, and that creates a LOT of drag, not to mention more noise. It may look cool, but it will cost you in pedal effort and extra noise. If you look at the first pic of my Holey Spokes, the tube has been curved to match the natural droop of the return chain as close as possible. With generous flares, it is almost silent all the time.”
rexpedition
Bruce’s Opinion – “pretty close to stock and about the best you can get. Quiet and efficient!”
Chain tube attachment by HP – Velotechnik, sold at Hostel Shoppe. A long spoke held under the idler bolt and tied to the tube as far along the tube as possible will allow the tube to move around as much as it needs to in reaction to chain movement, with very little restriction. The longer the spoke, the more flex is would have.
Terracycle floating tube holder. They also sell flared sections of chain tube. Although the floating tube holder is cool, the bike has chain routing and crossover issues. Without tubes the chain would rub itself, causing it to “snag” on itself as the pin ends catch each other. Also, the chain runs along the side of the fork, rubbing it almost constantly. Even with a tube, the tube rubs the fork. It also limits the turn radius, because the tire will rub the chain with very little turn input. Bruce
PhattKat’s setup, from his blog. Note the attachment of both the power side tube and the return side tube to the idler. These attachments look solid. Also full coverage of the chains, as shown below. How does one keep a chain so clean!!?? My trike is a mess by comparison.
I’m guessing this cool little tadpole trike is from the 1950s, judging by the stylin’ hairdo. This photo from the site “Modern Mechanix, where “yesterday’s tomorrow is today.”
Here is an interesting tadpole (two wheels in the front) tricycle, from 1942, which was used to deliver aircraft parts from one part of the North American Aviation factory to another part of the factory.
Specifically, Joules is a robotic stoker for your tandem bike, when you are riding solo on a tandem.
This project definitely has a steam punk flair, and combines some art, whimsy, and a good deal of engineering. Joules was built by engineer Carl Morgan with his son, a former pro cycling racer. The web page with more information on Joules is here.
Bruce’s orange Catrike. “This is the overly complex, and expensive, chainline that I tried on two of my Speeds. I had four goals for it: lift the return chain higher off the ground, push the power chain under the front axle, raise everything above the bottom of the main frame tube, and eliminate all tubes. It did all four quite well, but at the expense of expense and more noise. Both trikes are back to a single tube on the return chain, with just some tape on top of the axle to protect against the power chain slap. ”
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