Addicted to accessories

Since all the accessories will be safety oriented, I was much more will to part with my cash to get a hold of these new toys. It's also much cheaper than modifying a car. These parts average about $8/each. There aren't that many cosmetic modifications to be made to trikes available on the market and the trike looks pretty decent as it is.

ACCESSORY 1: Magnetic Reflectors $1.50 + tax @ Daiso
While at the store, I wasn't really sure if the paint on the Tornado would mask the metalic characteristic of the frame. For the price, I took the chance and it ended up working fairly well. I didn't want anything permanent that would be too difficult to remove if I ever changed my mind about the look, so this worked out perfectly and for the price, it can't be beat.

These came in a 10" strip that I cut up to fit the trike in strategic areas. I figure most of my riding will be done on weekday evenings sometimes after dark. I can use all the visibility I can get.

ACCESSORY 2: Bell $1.50 + tax @ Daiso

I mounted it straight onto the left side handlebar. There's more room there since the right side one is taken up by the gear shifter. I also avoided the right side for practical reasons since the right side controls the two front primary brakes. I wanted to be able to use the bell while changing gears and braking.

ACCESSORY 3: Rear light $5 @ Ebay
I bought this awhile ago and it came with a headlight that I used for my electric bike. After buying another two on Ebay for $6 total shipped, I found my old one! And here it is mounted.

It has about 7 settings of various blinking patterns. I typically use the strobe or the regular blinking. At dusk, I use solid red.

ACCESSORY 4: Headlight $0.50 (came in a set of 10) @ Home Depot
My original light was a Cateye, but it fell during a trip and I ran over it with the Tornado, so this will have to do for now.


ACCESSORY 5: Alarm $8 @ Ebay
During my first weekend trek, I came across a cafe that I wanted to stop at. Concerned that someone my try to swipe my new trike, I left it anyway with one eye on it. After getting home safe and sound, I looked up some options for for the price, it was very reasonable.

You press one of the buttons to arm it and follow it by a sequence of numbers to disarm. If someone tries to move the trike while I'm away, a piercing 80db alarm will sound. Will it work? Not sure but it's worth the peace of mind and it looks sorta cool.






ACCESSORY 6: Water bottle mount and cage $16 @ REI
I went to three sporting goods stores before I finally ended up at REI. Their prices are actually very competitive. Luckily b/c they're the only ones that carried a particular part that I needed....a water bottle bracket! It's a bit tough to find one b/c recumbents don't have the same mounting screws as bikes. I ended up with the Minoura Bottle Cage Holder BH-95x.

It was $8, fairly pricey for what it is, but there weren't many other options available. KMX sells their version for $10 plus tax and shipping and I would've had to wait. So the local REI was the way to go.

I chose the Topeak Adjustable cage so I can hold bicycle water bottles as well as the regular plastic ones we get in bulk at Costco.

The water bottle cage mount was a pain in the butt to install! I read about how difficult it was for people and I figured they just didn't know what they were doing. On the contrary. It's an easy mechanism to figure out. It's the actual installation that's difficult. You're basically required to screw in to a nut that's hidden behind a black shell so you can't see it. At the same time, you have to hold back a metal ribbon that the nut is permanently attached to. After 30 minutes, I finally got it on and here it is!

I got really addicted to buying accessories for this trike, so there's definitely more to come. It's all in the mail. Until next time....