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Restored Motobecane

I am declaring the 1973 Motobecane restoration done!  I have not been riding it lately because the Catrike Speed is so much fun.  I got a Motobecane headbadge, decals, a Cinelli stem, and Campy seatpost.  The saddle is the original Brooks Professional, and was always pretty comfortable.  The aero brake hoods are an upgrade from the original centerpulls. 

Catrike Speed

I have been enjoying my newest ride, a Catrike recumbent trike, the Speed model, since the spring of  '08.  I have been riding it to work about everyday, and building up my trike muscles.  Pedaling a recumbent trike uses different muscles from riding a DF (diamond frame), and it takes several months to build them up.  My ride from home starts with a fun little hill that gets the heart racing.  I have hit 38 on this hill, then on flat sections of my route I have hit 26 mph for short bursts. This video was shot after I had the trike for a week, and shows the fun part of my ride to work.

I have found that riding a trike is a lot of fun, but no way is it as fast as a road bike.  However, it is fun and comfortable.  There is back support, no need for padded crotch pants, nor padded gloves.  You also can't fall over, and can crank up a steep hill as slow as you want. 



To the stock trike I have added a chain guard, locking handgrips for the brakes, a rack, an air horn, and a speedometer.  The speedometer mount is a triangle of foam that is strapped to the telescoping boom.





I am using a powerful tactical flashlight for a headlight, and it puts out 240 lumens.  Its a Surefire flashlight with a replacement lamp that really boosts the light output from the stock output of 80 lumens.  A special rechargeable battery lasts for 8 hours on a charge.  I have no idea who the old guy on my trike is in the picture below.