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Adjust the derailleurs.
• Your Catrike should have shipped with information sheets for both the front and rear derailleurs that describe this process. It will also
be described in any bicycle maintenance book.
Air the tires.
• Fill the tires to the recommended pressure (you can find this on the sidewall of the tire).
Adjust the toe.
•Any vehicle with left and right wheels has a setting called "toe." This refers to the extent to which the front wheels point towards one
another. Toe in means that the front edges of the wheels point inward slightly. Toe out means they point outward slightly.
The purpose of toe is to keep the steering nice and tight. All bearings have a little slop in them. By applying a bit of force to the entire
system, it's possible to remove that slop. Too much toe and you cause the tires to scrub. This causes premature tire wear and increased
rolling resistance. What you're looking for is just a little bit of toe.
Toe is checked by measuring the distance between the front wheels at axle height ahead of the axles, then comparing it to the distance
between the wheels at axle height behind the axles. The difference should be only 1/16". It can be measured with a tape measure. Be
sure to measure between the same points (e.g. inner surfaces of the front tires, centerline of tires, etc.) on both front and back.
Take a locking steel tape measure, hold the tape just above the boom, place the tape measure housing firmly against the wheel rim and
extend the tape until the end is firmly against the opposite rim. Take careful note of the measurement.
Now do the same for the back of the wheel, running the tape just above the seat. The rear measurement should be no more than 1/16"
greater than the front measurement. It's very important to get this right...if you have a quarter inch of toe your tires will wear out VERY
quickly and your trike will handle oddly.
Sharp-eyed readers will note that if you use this method you won't actually be measuring points on the wheel that are 180 degrees apart.
This is true...the boom and seat tubes get in the way of taking measurements that are actually at axle height. However, the difference
between the measurement you get and the true measurement is very small.
Now all tie rods come with two right hand thread tie rod ends. Simply assemble the trike, and adjust the toe.
To adjust the toe, unbolt one end of the tie rod, loosen the jam nut and give it a half turn to lengthen or shorten the rod.
Once it's adjusted, it will not run out of alignment.
TIE RODS
The washer included on the tie rod assembly goes between the tie rod end and the mounting plate on the
spindle.
owner's manual - page 19
TM
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