T-Newsletter #20, 2017
To anyone who reads this, we want to say THANK YOU! Every time we sit down to write a newsletter, it's a more difficult task: there's always so much more to say than we have time to cover! Since the spring of 2016, we've nearly doubled our staff in an effort to keep up with demand. Welcome to Aaron, Rowan, Edna and Rachel! (And welcome/goodbye to Silas as he helped us between stints in the Americorps!) We've also introduced a whole bunch of new flags, two battery mounts (including a complete overhaul of our Full Configurable Battery Mount), two new accessory mounts, two kickstand mounts, a new product line of Assist Arms, a new idler kit, a new SeatSide Mount configuration, and the T-Cycle Flag Mount. And that's just the stuff we've had time to put up on the website! Like I said: we've been doing a lot. The only reason this post exists that two of our workers sustained injuries over the weekend (four stitches in a toe for one of them, and a grapefruit-sized rolled ankle for the other) and so we've got some extra power in the chairbound department. Alright, let's get to it!
Oh oh oh! Also! If you're going to be in Philadelphia on the 6th-8th of October, so will we! We'll be at Recumbent Cycle Con, so come by and say hi!
PURPLE SKY IS ALIVE
It's not a controversial stance to declare an undying love for Purple Sky Flags, and our only goal is to fan those flames. Though we haven't quite cemented a plan for handling individual custom flag orders, we have opened the doors to dealers and causes who want custom flags. Rose City Recumbents, Recumbent PDX, and Easy Street Recumbents were the first to come knocking, but the catalog has only been growing from there. Shops like Splendid Cycles, professional riders like Ja Yoe, and rides like the Recumbent Retreat have all had flags made! If you have a local bike shop, a ride, or a cause that you'd like to rep with a chic, reflective and aerodynamic flag, then contact us for more information! We're also open to promoting good causes. For the Tater ToT Rally flag we made, 10% of the price of each ToT flag sold is donated to trail maintenance in the Trail of the Coeur D'Alenes.
THE MOST VERSATILE HEAVY-DUTY MOUNT IN THE WORLD
I'm proud of a lot of the design choices we make around here, but the newly revamped Fully Configurable Battery Mount is maybe my favorite. It's one of the most forward-thinking designs we've created, and it's the easiest, most rearrangeable product we have. We listened to the feedback from dealers and users, and from our own experiences with mounting batteries to trikes, and then we started from scratch to build the best mount we could. In the end, we're offering a system that needs as few as three elements: clamp, vertical plate, and shelf. The new mount utilizes a single 5/8in-wide clamp that's strong enough to carry as much load as our old double-clamped mount could. As of this writing, the clamp is available in 13 sizes, including square clamps for current model Greenspeeds. The vertical plate is double-sided, which means it can go on the left or the right of the trike, and it can go upside down or backwards―there's no wrong way to use it! Its hole patterning means strong, fixed positions, without sacrificing adaptability. The shelf, too, has become symmetrical, able to easily fit on the left or the right of the trike, and upside and backwards (seriously!).
The best news of of all is that by thoroughly optimizing the physical machining of these parts (a process done 100% in our shop in Portland, OR, USA), we're able to do all of the above without raising the price. Like I said: this is quite possibly my favorite T-Cycle product to date.Combining the ease of the clamp with the ultra-adjustability of the vertical plate and shelf means that this mount fits on more trikes in more places with easier installation than ever before. But wait! There's more! We also have an incredibly easy to use extender block to kick out the mount if you need to avoid chain or tubing. ALLLLSO: we have an ultra gigantic super mega awesome adapter shelf that bolts directly into the standard shelf and nearly quadruples the mounting coverage! AND FINALLLLLY: we've made a special mounting rail that affixes to our standard shelf and allows for a Shimano STePS battery to latch on directly.
THE CONTINUING SAGA OF BATTERY MOUNTS
"But T-Cycle," you may say aloud to your computer, "I have a garage full of RANS Screamers and Easy Racers Tour Easys!" Well, I have news for you, friend, and it's not just that you should stop talking your computer: we make a battery mount for twin-tube bikes! Utilizing the power of Cateye clamps and chic T-Cycle engineering, this new battery mounting plate is a lightweight, versatile solution to energizing your twin-tube upright recumbent.
HANDY ACCESSORIES MOUNTED HANDILY
Newest in the ever-expanding TerraCycle Accessory Mounting Universe are two small mounts that can provide big boons. The Handlebar Accessory Mount is an incredibly adaptable mount. Utlitizing a simple two-bolt arch and an easy-to-use wedging clamp, the Handlebar Accessory Mount was designed to go on a handlebar, but can be put to use anywhere on the bike that you have straight 7/8in tubing. Coming with either a 4in straight tube or a 1.75in elbow tube, the Handlebar Accessory Mount makes smooth work of clamping that one computer, or controller, or mirror, or whatever right next to your hands.
And while that's all fine and dandy, there're are plenty of folks with bar end shifters who don't have the free tubing to sacrifice in the name of an accessory mount. Well, worry no longer, for we've created a clamp specifically designed to fit over the cables of a bar end shifter. We used up all our cleverness on the product design and our juices were dry when it came time to name it, so we've decided to call it the Bar End Shifter Mount! [cue fanfare] Don't let the plain name lull you into a sense of underestimation, this painstakingly designed clamp works for front-facing and rear-facing cables on bar end shifters, and it does so without impeding the ergonomic flow of your hands up and down the handle. This is one of those products that we made, installed, used, remade, reinstalled, reused and so on until we came up with the perfect iteration: a clamp that doesn't pinch cables, doesn't bump hands, doesn't bend, doesn't give you a hard time for having too many bikes. What it does do is hold a 4.5in x 4.5in L right by your hand, allowing you to mount your computer, or controller, or mirror, or whatever right next to your hands.
KICKSTAND MOUNTS FOR A MODERN ERA
In keeping with T-Cycle's unspoken motto, "We Clamp Everything," we've made a couple of crafty devices for properly mounting a kickstand to your bike. For Easy Racers bikes, we've created a mount that clamps to the large bottom tube. The Easy Racers Kickstand Mount includes tunnels to allow cabling to run through the mount. Its design should fit any standard kickstand.
Additionally, Jerrell Nichols at RANS asked that we manufacture a kickstand for the Screamer. The RANS Screamer Kickstand Mount is made using drawings from RANS HQ to create an exceptional fit. Made with the Esge Double Legged Kickstand in mind, this upgrade mates precisely to the lower frame tubes and into the kickstand.
ASSIST ARMS
In keeping with T-Cycle's printed motto, "We Make Everything," we've gotten into the exit/entry assist game. We currently offer two models of varying aid. Our Catrike Assist Arms are unobtrusive arms that provide a limited, but stable and comfortable place to grip and to hold. With over 8in of padding to allow you to use more than just sheer finger strength for lifting, our assist arms take the pain out of getting in and out of the cockpit. The Extra Long Catrike Assist Arms model features long, curving arms with plenty of room for gripping and resting. The shape, length, and position are specifically designed to give you a range of places to grip depending on what you need at different points in the getting on and getting off process. When you're getting on, the forward part of the grip is easy to find, even without looking behind you. You just reach down naturally with your hands, and the grip is right there. As you transition to being seated, you can reposition your hands as you need to. The downward curving part at the back makes it easy to get started getting out, and the long, cushioned grip allows you to push with your arms if you don't have good hand or wrist strength. These arms were designed after extensive work with physical therapists and real users to be the safest, most comfortable Assist Arms available. Both models are made in house, use our CNC made 1"-1" block clamps, and boast enough strength to get you into and out of your cockpit.
FLAG MOUNTS IN QUARTER-INCH AND SIX MILLIMETER
Inner diameter, that is. The T-Cycle Flag Mount can clamp to any trike on the market. With carefully spaced slotted arcs holding a host of ready-to-use clamps, the adaptability is unmatched and the ability to dial in for the perfect angle is unparalleled. It can go on the leftside, the rightside, the underside, the... upperside? You get the point. We made it to fit anywhere, and we made it to accept two different sizes of poles, 6mm and 1/4in, so that it can fit the vast majority of poles on the market. Machined from a solid block of aluminum, these mounts are super strong. And with an adjustable rubber gripper ring, the flag is sure to stay put. By tightening or loosening a single bolt, the rubber gripper can make the flag an easy on/off, or so tight that you can lift your trike by it (which we totally do not recommend you do).
GREENSPEED CLAMPS
I want to drill something home to everyone right now: T-CYCLE CAN CLAMP ANYTHING. Always excited by a new challenge, we took the new line of Greenspeed trikes and made a host of clamps for them. The consequence? The aforementioned crazy new battery mount now fits the newest models of Greenspeed Magnum, Anura, and GT20. Additionally, our Super Amazing Chain Tensioner now fits on the newest models of Greenspeed Magnum, Anura, and GT20. The incorporation of rectangular clamps for Greenspeed trikes puts us at 18 unique sizes of clamps for the chain tensioner.
