Research and Design
Pete Hall , Head of R & D , Talks Shop
Hello , and welcome to the TerraTrike R & D department . We are responsible for all the trikes and accessories that make sure you have an extraordinary ride . Our goal is to get everyone out and enjoying trikes , and we strive to design fantastic products that our users connect with and form a strong bond with . We take designing a new product seriously ; whether it is a brand new trike or a new seat bag , the product matters to you and your ride and that matters to our team .
We take our inspiration for new products from many avenues , but our most fruitful direction often comes from you , the customer . We strive to design eminently useable products that perform in a wide range of environments , but you are all a very creative bunch and find new and exciting ways to use your TerraTrike . Your experimentation with how to use your trike motivates us to do something different , see if crazy ideas work , and try what sounds fun .
We thought we might give you a little peak into what happens when we design a new product . It almost always starts the same way , someone on our team notices a problem , an opportunity to do something new or different . This often can be the most challenging part of the design process , identifying a quality problem to solve . We could design any old thing , but we want to spend our time coming up with elegant solutions for worthwhile problems . We then move to fleshing out solutions using a combination of digital and paper sketching , CAD models and testing , and ultimately physical prototypes , usually making several prototypes to test our ideas out . We have an in-house prototype lab for trying our ideas out and riding them as soon as we can . Prototype testing is always a good excuse for a ride during work and the other departments here at TerraTrike always seem to be eager test subjects .
We are very proud of all our designs we produce from the Tour II , which traces it ' s roots directly back to the first trike our co-founder Jack made in his garage 16 years ago , to our supremely popular Rover , the gateway trike for so many to the three wheeled world . Personally as R & D manager , I ' m extremely proud of our Sportster model . We felt there was a void in the high end , speedoriented trike spectrum . Most other models were dedicated to going fast and compromised the comfort and visibility for the average rider . The Sportster from the beginning was designed to fill that space . Designing and nailing a performance trike with an easy riding , widely adjustable , high seating position was no easy task . We focused on making it stable in corners despite the high center of gravity , fast in a straight line and capable in the turn on a dime category . Much time was spent riding prototypes , fussing over angles and millimeters , and nailing the details . We ' re quite happy with the result . If you haven ' t had the chance to try one , I highly recommend a test ride - you owe it to yourself .
Where are we going in the future ? While of course I can ' t tell you everything , it ' s going to be exciting . Our R & D team is always looking at the “ out there ” possibilities , whether it be a new material , manufacturing technique , steering geometry or wheel size ( big wheels anyone ?). We will never stray from our goal of getting more people on trikes and will always strive to bring you the best possible experience on a trike . Happy riding !