1996 Challenge

Canberra, Australia November 16^th and 17^th 1996

1996 was the second year I have attended the Challenge, and this year the numbers and variety of HPVs were greater than last year, with more than 40 entries and many others on display. There were a few Greenspeed sports tourer trikes racing and a few other GS demos but every other vehicle seemed to be one of a kind! There were many custom machines and many more home builts. A couple of the machines were only completed in the previous week and of course there were one or two more on display that weren't quite operational. HPV diversity is alive and well in Australia!

This year the events were held under patchy and cloudy skies and the rain-storms that moved in on Saturday night and occasionally on Sunday left the race track often soaked and slippery. The stablity of the trikes gave them an enormous advantage in the wet. Of course the fitter and more skilled trike riders were also doing exceptionally well in the dry too! I'll leave the official results (xls 21kb) to someone else but there were some standouts (performace and design wise) from the crowd (all recumbent except where noted) including a triplet upright, a new fully faired carbon fibre trike which although seemingly well overbuilt went almost 70km/hr (about 5-10km/h faster than everyone else) in the sprint but had mechanical and fogging problems at other times, a sub 11kg Greenspeed race trike, a new Holloway SWB model, a Kotzur low rider SWB, a long home-built trike with integral behind the seat child carrier, a very good Moulton to 'bent conversion, a home built Aluminium suspended SWB which was built without any welding, a lightweight Greenspeed race SWB, a low rear faired 'Rotator-style' LWB, a still evolving but excellent home-built FWD, a human/solar(electric) powered hybrid faired trike, a FWD lean and rear steer trike, a LWB built from plywood and many more.

I rode a CLWB (a BikeE) for the first time too, and I have to say I was surprised at how 'weird' it felt! Very surprising! I guess it might not feel so weird to someone who has only ridden uprights before but as I've ridden mostly only SWB's and a few trikes, the BikeE felt totally different. I must say very subjectively that it didn't feel very fast, with such an upright seating position and a large frontal area but it would be much more comfortable than an upright wedgie.

I guess the most useful information I have is an evaluation of the Greenspeed race-bred SWB that I rode throughout the Challenge. This is a bike built by Ian Sims' son Paul and Paul describes it as the fastest 'bike' he's built, and at the time he said this I assumed he also was referring to the trikes he's built too. I guess it depends on the conditions though as during this weekend, with wet road/track providing compromised traction, the two wheelers were being out manoeuvred by the trikes. Trike riders always seem to be enjoying themselves and it seems that a wet slippery road is just another opportunity to have fun, by doing some three wheel slides and skids - all in perfect safety of course.

In comparison on the SWB I found the wet conditions very tricky and actually lost it and crashed in two events, though I didn't have far to fall and was unscathed. The GS SWB 'Grasshopper' is a fast and light (approx10kg) machine, very much designed for racing. Perhaps however it is only suited for racing as I found that it had to be ridden very cautiously on anything but smooth, debris free, dry bitumen. It is a SWB, 16 x 1' front wheel, 20' x 1' rear, approx 20 degree seat angle, USS connected directly to the aero fork blades, 8 speeds controlled by a single bar-end lever, with a gear range from 45 to 115'. It is stopped by two V-brake callipers. It has a fixed boom and fixed full mesh/hammock type seat (I'm almost the same size as Paul). It's cranks I guess are at least 350mm above the seat height. The seat is low enough that my finger tips could reach the ground. The frame I was told is a 1 1/2' Reynolds 531 tube with 0.9mm wall thickness. The single chain ring was something like a 64! Its a racing bike, though it still went very well with my single wheel trailer behind it in the shopping race (!) so you could tour on it if you really wanted too.......It needs some practice and a dry smooth road to properly explore its limits. I don't think I even got close as in a few events I was more concerned with keeping the rubber on the road. I can even safely say that at times I wasn't working very hard, but still going pretty fast - with such a fast machine its too easy to reach the limits of tyre adhesion! I was impressed with its design and I think it fulfilled its design criteria.

Many thanks to Ian and Paul Sims for allowing me to ride the 'Grasshopper'. A run down on how the bike and I performed in each of the events: (placings are from memory and are approximate)

1 SLALOM : After only about 5minutes on the bike I had two runs on the slalom course which consisted of about 8 traffic cones in a line, with cone number 7 offset to the left by about 2 metres. My second run was faster and I placed about 5th overall. The bike's lightweight allowed good acceleration which was the key here, and the reason I did reasonably well even though my bike handling (due to lack of familiarity) was below average. I guess the bike was easier to ride than I expected though. Who the winner of this event was I don't know but SWBs ruled here!

2 200m DRAG : I made it through the early heats only to be eliminated by the eventual winner (Scott on a Greenspeed race trike) in a semi. The trikes obviously have an advantage in standing starts, even though I was clipped in and balancing on the last few mm of my finger tips I was still quite shaky at the starts. Winner Scott on the GS race trike.

3 HILL CLIMB : I can certainly say that this bike climbs! I was very shaky at the start of this one and had to stop to regain my balance a metre after the start but still managed, once I was going, to pass everyone except Scott to finish second. Winner : Scott on the GS race trike.

4 ENDURO : The course was over a rough paddock/field on the inside of the main raceway and included some steep rough bits. I finished last as I had to wheel the bike most of the way because the chain kept jumping off and I didn't have nearly enough traction nor low enough gears. The frame and seat was quite shock absorbing though and given much wider tyres and lower and more than 8 gears the bike would cope with minor dirt/off road excursions I think. No MTBs entered this year leaving the way open for a win for Paul on the GS touring trike, though he had to run with it on some of the uphills.

5 CRITERIUM: My first crash was in heat one of the crit as I tried to out manoeuvre another racer. I also dropped my chain and was allowed to restart in heat 4. Of course, I had completely lost confidence in the tyres' grip consequently, and although I made it through to the final, missed the start again and finished about 8th.Winner : Harry on his home built FWD bike.

6 TIMETRIAL : I rode the Grasshopper quite hard in this one and expected a really fast time, but I think a timing error somewhere gave me only a 36km/hr average for the one lap hilly 2.6km circuit. Racing isn't fair but this is a social meet and the volunteer time keepers were doing a difficult job. I estimate that my average was well over 40km/hr in this event (with a dry road) as I later rode the road race very very conservatively (the track was wet and very slippery then) and managed to average almost 35km/hr for 10 laps!Winner : Scott on the GS race trike or was it the triplet?.

7 SPRINT : The run up to the 200m was downhill and around a corner and the road was very wet so I (was being very cautious and ) was still only in about 4th gear and accelerating at the first timing mark as the road straightened out, so this was definitely not an all out effort, but I still managed a 55km/hr average. I didn't do the bike justice.Winner: The carbon fibre faired trike.

8 ROAD RACE : My starts continually improved throughout the meet and this one wasn't so bad. The road was again wet and slippery though and caution again reigned. Scott on the GS race trike again led the group away and although he was within sight for the first half of the race there is only so much ground I could make up going up the hills as my cornering was pathetically slow but safe. I was even too scared to pedal the down hills! I finished third as the upright triplet sped past me (downhill) on about lap 5 of the ten. Winner : Scott on the GS race trike.

9 LAST MAN OUT : I got one of my better starts again and was third into the first corner, was passed by two mad crazy guys with better grip than I during the race and maintained 4th position until eliminated. Winner Scott on the GS race trike.

10 SHOPPING : With the addition of my single wheel trailer and a 46 tooth chainring instead of the 64 I thought I would be quite competitive in this event until it rained again just before I was due to start my heat. I was being very cautious but still managed to crash and also lose my chain twice. I completed the course however (albeit a little slower than I could have) and because I could carry the whole of the designated shopping load still finished in the placings here I think.

Winner : Paul on the GS touring trike, equipped with panniers.Contrary to the way it looks (with the GS trikes seemingly dominating) I consider that the competition was very good this year, all the wins were narrow and there were many strong riders in attendance. Scott(on the GS race trike) was way ahead on the accumulated points tally with Paul Sims (on the lightweight GS sports tourer) the only one reasonably close. I was third placed overall on the GS 'Grasshopper' race SWB, narrowly ahead of the upright triplet and Harry on his homebuilt FWD and a host of others.

So thats my report, feel free to ask me any questions. Unfortunately I didn't get to do all the comparisons I would have liked, I had intended to borrow a few of the faster HPVs and do a one lap time trial on each of them, but with the rain and other things this didn't eventuate. Maybe next year!

I wanted to test a fully race bred machine and after a weekend of racing (and a few months of touring and commuting on my own SWB and test-riding about 15 other 'bents) I'm formulating the ideas of what I want in my next (perfect!) machine. I'd still like to try a FWD that is large enough for me to actually pedal (Harry's is too small), and I like the look of the FWD Kingcycle Wasp - very neat, I wish there was someway I could test ride one of those!

Postscript: (time warp back to Nov. 1996) I was asked by someone: "Other than the (wet) track conditions you don't explain the superiority of the trikes. Can I assume that on a dry track a bike would have been best or was the GS race trike pilot the most important factor ? I am surprised that the trike won the drag and hill climb but as it did I am surprised that it didn't win the crit."The GS race trike was 2nd in the crit. Placings were almost determined at the first corner as the course was small and very convoluted, with minimal passing opportunities.

It was more evident to me this year that being able to start quickly is a big advantage, as if you got a fast starting trike, or anything for that matter, in front of you in something like the crit you were hard pressed to overtake as the course was narrow. The GS pilots were strong but I think some of it lays in the fact that the GS race trike is, I think, a quantum leap faster than a unfaired Windcheetah Speedy or a Standard GS, after all it is almost 5kg lighter and much more laid back and aero.

The GS race is a very lightweight trike and the seat is very reclined - about 20 degrees, with 1inch high pressure tyres. There isn't the weight penalty (against other 'bents) with 3 wheels when the complete trike weighs under 11kg, but you still get all the advantages of stability at the starts etc and good acceleration and hill climbing.

The race trike only has one (rear) brake and 8 speeds though and would be I guess less durable than a standard GS trike. Scott and Paul use 180plus cranks and their starts are quick! A picture of a GS race trike is on Oliver Zechlin's 1996 HPV CD ROM under pictures\act\greensp.gif

There is of course also definitely a rider component. Both Paul and Scott can handle these trikes superbly, the equivalent almost of a bmx or mtb trials rider in skill. High speed cornering on 2 wheels is nothing to them, in fact Scott scraped his elbow as he leaned to stablise through the corners and Paul cooled down after one race by riding around for a few minutes on just two wheels. In the crit Scott would speed into the hairpin corner, flick the steering, lock the rear wheel to slide the back around and accelerate out! Very difficult to pass even if you are faster, which most people weren't, and of course very exciting to watch (I guess Scott found it enjoyable too)!

Peace and Love and HPVs ("Vehicles of the Revolution!")

Ian Humphries