Cog - International Trike Of Mystery

Tri-Sled founder Ben Goodall gives an up-front account of the conception of Tri-Sled’s first commercially successful recumbent.

A few years before I founded Tri-Sled, I was going through a difficult time. The death of a friend, a failed relationship, and loss of direction left me in the loneliest and most downhearted period of my life.

Surrounded by a few early racing prototypes, I found myself doing endless road miles a week. At one point I was literally eating, sleeping, and riding. Riding was a soothing activity which enabled me to think though a lot of issues. After a while, two things became apparent to me. The first was my need to ‘hit the road’ and leave the daily grind for a while, and the second was how inappropriate my speed machines were for long distance riding with gear. I began designing a touring recumbent trike that was comfortable, accommodated large amounts of gear, and traversed less than perfect surfaces.

After some prototyping and tinkering, the trike affectionately known as Cog was born. She was as simple and robust as I could make her and resolved all the limitations of my racers.

My transport and companion, Cog gave me the direction I was looking for. We wandered county lanes, floated with sea breezes and glided down mountain descents. Finally I had found the internal peace I needed.

I returned to the world with a new outlook on life and a new approach to my trike designs. Cog became my transport from A to B – a dependable friend when I was running late; a way of getting the shopping home; and a way to get rid of tension at the end of a tough day. Suddenly chasing speed records and shaving a few grams of that wheel became a little less important. The interest of both pears and strangers alike led me to realise the value of creating cycles for every day cyclists.

Until very recently, Cog was part of the furniture around the Tri- Sled workshop. She became a datum, a yardstick to benchmark from, and a comforting friend. The gleaming ‘trike grin’ of a stranger aboard Cog was a common and welcome sight on the street outside the old workshop.

However, Cog was known to spontaneous malfunction, particularly when ridden by less than welcome individuals, which led me to believe that she had a personality of her own. She would miss a gearshift, throw her chain, or if she was really cranky, she would blow a tire.

Like any true lady, Cog stuck with me though thick and thin. I depended on her to get me home when it really mattered. However, the coming of the new millennium saw some big changes. A massive increase in orders saw Tri-Sled move to a bigger premises – a concrete wonder land – a factory! Cog and I had come to the end of our journey together. It was time to go our separate ways. And as if by fate, a well-travelled Belgian stopped by looking for a trike to see Australia on. They where perfect together!

We changed her bearings, fixed her chain and polished her paint. After the exchange of seemingly meaningless currency, Cog and her new owner disappeared into the distance. The last I heard of them, they had just crossed the Pyrenees…

Cog Update

Brecht Vandeputte, current owner of Cog, rode up the east cost of Australia before returning to Europe and touring Spain, France and Switzerland. Breacht integrated the trip into his study and after many kilometres of riding we have lost track of him. Where are you now Breacht? And how’s Cog?