We are going to be riding almost 600 miles. You do NOT want you trike to have a serious breakdown during the ride. It is best to bring a trike that has been manufactured in the last couple of years. All of the basic structural parts will still be in excellent shape.

Parts of the ride will probably be on rough trails that are dirt or crushed granite. Your wheels should be high quality touring wheels. DO NOT bring a trike with light weight racing wheels and tires. For durability and the smoothest ride on rough surfaces, it is a good idea to use the widest tire that your frame will accommodate. Your tires should be at least 40mm wide.

The HP Scorpions come stock with 50-406 front wheels and 50-559 rear wheels. These are excellent for touring.

Have your trike overhauled and ride it at least 50 miles before the Canada Adventure.

During the overhaul:

• Make sure both hubs are serviced (if your trike is old)
• Have all brake and shift wires replaced.
• Have your brake pads replaced.
• Put brand new tires on the trike and bring one extra tire for the front and rear as a spare for the ride.

Brand new tires are the best protection against flats. You may want to consider tires with “flat protection”, and we strongly suggest thorn-resistant tubes.

If you installed “Mr Tuffy’s” or other tire liners last year then you will need to replace the inner tubes in your tires now. While they do protect against flats, they eventually cause a flat from the ends of the liner rubbing on the inner tube.

Put a new chain and freewheel or cassette on the bike. This will make your bike ride much more smoothly and will improve shifting.

BIKE PARTS TO BRING

Here are some basic trike parts you should bring. There will be bike shops along the route, but they probably will not have spares for trikes.

These basics may come in handy in the middle of nowhere:

• 2 spokes for your front wheel
• 3 spokes for your rear wheel
• spare cleat bolts for clip-less pedals or (better) a spare set of cleats, which will include cleat bolts
• 5 spare inner tubes
• a “boot”, Park Bike Tools makes a good one. Your local bike shop has them.
• a quick link for your chain
• a spare tire for the front
• a spare tire for the rear

You should carry these items with you on your tike:

• 2 spare inner tubes for the front
• 1 spare inner tubes for the rear
• tire levers
• a tire pump or C02 cartridges
• a “boot”
• a quick link for your chain
• spare cleat bolts for clip-less pedals

You should also learn how to change both the front and rear tires of your bicycle.

All riders must have the knowledge, proper tools, and willingness to change a flat tire along the way.

Please label all your spare parts (tires, tubes, cleats, spokes etc.) with your name to prevent confusion.