Catrike in 2021 is still producing the high-quality, American-made trikes you love but with a highly anticipated addition – The Bosch Active Line Plus electric-assist motor. If you haven’t had the chance to ride a Catrike eCat, now is the time!
Here’s a brief overview of each trike in the lineup including information on the eCat and Catrike standard features at the end:
The pocket sounds like it is – it fits in your pocket! Well not really, but it certainly is smaller than the average trike. The reason being: it’s made for a smaller, more compact frame/body/person. It’s for riders that are below 5’4” and fits riders anywhere from about 4’9” to about 5’4”. Someone in that range would fit great on this trike. The pocket is going to be great for the person that is shorter but wants the great ride of a Catrike. It has the same components as the rest of the Catrike’s – running a triple on the front as well as running 10 speed on the back. The cool thing is, on all the cat trikes including the Pocket, you can get the new Bosch eCat motor system on it to make riding easier. So if you’re wanting a more compact trike the Pocket is the trike for you.
The Catrike Villager is an amazing trike for the everyday rider. The nice thing about the Villager is that it’s easy to get in and out of because of the height. The seat height is a little higher than most of the other trikes. Although it’s not a folding track like the Trail, 5.5.9, or Dumont, it is small, compact, and can fit in most cars with a hatchback or an SUV very easily. The Villager comes with the classic drivetrain as well as the eCat version. If you’re looking for an easy trike to get in and out of, you might be looking for the Villager.
The awesome thing about the Catrike Expedition is that the trike is made for going fast, touring, and just enjoying the ride.If you want the air to flow over you but be in a comfortable position, the Expedition is probably the one for you. It can go fast, it’s comfortable, and it handles extremely well. The Expedition comes in two versions: the regular drivetrain version with the 30 speed and also the eCat version with the Bosch powered motor on the front. It makes it a smooth ride, it helps you go further, faster, and climb more hills if you need to. The bosch option is a great option, so check it out.
One of our hottest selling trikes this year is the Catrike Trail. Just like the others, it comes with an eCat option. The reason why to go with the trail is because it is low to the ground which gives you nice handling and it’s short wheelbase makes it easy to transport in your car. It’s also a folding trike so it can fold up – the rear wheel over on top of the front wheels – and roll away back into your vehicle or just roll it into your garage. The Catrike Trail is a great trike for somebody on the go.
The 5.5.9 is fast AND it’s a little higher to the ground AND it’s adjustable on the seat AND it’s foldable – what more do you want? It’s an amazing trike. If you want something that’s easy to take, a little higher to get in and out of, and you want the adjustability of the seat, the Catrike 5.5.9 is a great choice. It’s comfortable, it’s laid back, you gotta check it out and ride one. It comes in both the standard and eCat configurations so if you want to go a little further, faster, and go up the hills easier, check out the eCat. Otherwise, the 30 speed works great.
Do you have a need for speed? Then you’re looking for the Catrike 700. It is their speed machine, their fast trike – the trike that if you like your hair getting blown back, then you want the 700. The 700 is the only Catrike in the lineup that doesn’t have an eCat option but with your legs and the low aerodynamics of the trike, you will be going at a high speed.
The Catrike Dumont is a full suspension, folding trike which is easy to transport and super comfortable on the road. You can get a Dumont in the eCat series which makes riding such a pleasure. You could also get this trike in the standard version with the triple and the 10 on the back – which makes it a 30 speed. The Dumont is super comfortable and easy to ride.
eCat
So this year, 2021, the big topic that everybody’s talking about is the Bosch eCat motor kit on Catrike. It is amazing! It makes you go faster, further, climb more hills – it really increases your workout. A lot of people go “well if I get a motor, is that going to be like cheating?” No! It actually helps you to ride further because it’s there to help you. It’s a true power assist motor and it helps you go up more hills, it’s going to help you go on different terrains. Maybe you would say “I’m not going to take that hill” but the Bosch motor is going to help you enjoy climbing those steeper hills. They have four main modes: ECO – which is a little bit of power, TOUR for cruising, SPORT if you want to keep up with a friend that’s going faster, and TURBO for those steeper hills. The eCat is going to help you to get better exercise, to get healthier, and to be more fit. It’s counterintuitive – Motor? Fit? What? Yes! That’s what the Bosch motor does and it’s really simple to add on to either your current Catrike or it comes with any of the Catrike eCats. The eCat has a single chainring up front and an 11 speed in the back so you only have one shifter that you have to work with. It’s super simple to shift – you don’t have to worry about it. The display is the Purion display. It’s a big display with big numbers and it’s easy to read. It’s simple, it tells you exactly what you want – how far you’re going, how fast you’re going, what mode you’re in, and how much battery strength you have. The battery with ECO mode can get you up to 60 miles in distance.
Standard Features
The standard features on pretty much all Catrike’s, unless they’re an eCat, are a 30-speed drivetrain. What that means is on the front you got low, medium, and high. Low is going to help you get up the hills, medium is what you ride in most of the time, and then the high gear or the high-speed gear is going to help you go faster, keep up with those road warriors on their road bikes. You have pretty much all the gearing you need. In the back, you’re running an 11-36 and what that means is it has a gear for fast, medium, and for climbing those steep hills. The drivetrain is awesome! We’re running FSA for your crankset, Sram for the rest of your drivetrain – shifters, and derailleurs. Catrike uses very high-quality components. The brakes are all locking brake mechanisms so you can lock them so when you get in and out of the trike so that it won’t move around. The handlebars are adjustable as well. You can adjust them further forward, back, or side to side so they’re very adjustable trikes. The trike handles great because they have Ackermann steering – which means that it doesn’t skid on the turns because it cuts tighter on one side versus the other side. For comfort, they’re going to have some sort of padding. The Pocket, 700, and Expedition, have padding on the sides and top but the Villager, 5.5.9, Trail, and Dumont have even thicker padding for even more comfort. Some of the padding is made for speed and precision to give that power transfer and some are just made for pure comfort. You get a headrest on all of the Catrike’s but the faster trikes like the Expedition and 700 come standard with a headrest. All the trikes except for the 700 have rear fenders and you can get front fenders if you want – that’s an option on all of them. Each Catrike comes with a left side mirror so you can see who’s coming behind you. Most people will add the right side mirror as well so that you can look like you do in a car to see who’s coming up on you. Flag mounts are standard – everybody should have a flag when you’re riding around on your trike – it makes you more visible. I would recommend getting at least a rear light too but they do come standard with reflectors. They come with clipless pedals which is great because we always recommend some type of way to secure your feet to the pedals.
