Pedal Prix trikes to be at Michigan HPV Rally

The start of a Pedal Prix race in Australla.  Notice the large number of trikes / riders participating.  (Trisled photo)

MICHIGAN HPV RALLY INFORMATION IS THE FOURTH ENTRY DOWN.

By Ray Mickevicius

Mike Eliasohn asked me to share a bit of history and information about Pedal Prix racing and the efforts we're making to get a series started in Ontario, Canada.

When I first stumbled across the Australian Pedal Prix races about seven years ago, I was immediately hooked.

It's a series that dates its first race to 1985, in a parking lot at the University of Australia with approximately a dozen participants. 

It has since grown to include races with hundreds of teams participating on closed circuit courses across Australia. The format is a bit different from our own North American HPV races. It is a team relay event, where multiple riders take shifts in adjustable fully faired trikes (and an occasional quad) over a number of hours, capping out at 24 hours for the annual Murray Bridge race. 

While Pedal Prix racing took some time to gain traction in Australia, participation has grown significantly over the past 10 years, including an impressive bounce back following the COVID break.

The series now draws participants from a broad age demographic, including elementary schools, high schools, universities and community teams. 

Parents support school teams with fund-raising to buy trikes and they've reached the enviable point where, rather than facing challenges recruiting riders, organizers and participants debate whether it's time to split races into different age groups to reflect the range of speeds and number of riders on a course.

It's a true success story in the HPV world. They've managed to achieve an amazing blend of sport and community and it's contagious to watch. We wanted to be a part of that experience, but we live on the other side of the globe...

An interior view.  The seat-to-pedals distance is easily adjustable to accommodate different-sized riders.

So obviously we needed to bring Pedal Prix trikes and racing to North America. We also decided that we would take a slightly different approach to introducing a series in Canada, 

By funding a core fleet of trikes for use by the Canadian Pedal Prix Club, we aimed to address what we considered two of the main barriers to participation – the up-front cost of securing a ride, and having enough trikes available in the early days to make it fun out there on the track.

Working together with a few amazing individuals from Down Under, including Jason Nottle (Trump Trikes) and Ben Goodall and Rebecca Lardner (Trisled) we've now accumulated six Pedal Prix trikes just north of Toronto, with two more currently on a freighter somewhere on the Pacific. 

Half our current trikes have composite fairings, and the others sport the rotomoulded Skyhawk fairing developed by Trisled last year. All are quick.  

The bottom bracket position on each of our trikes can be adjusted with the simple pull of a lever, so that a significant range of rider heights can be accommodated by a single trike without adjusting chain length.

 We also have moulds to produce additional composite fairings as needed because, well, sometimes stuff happens out there when you’re pushing the limits.

Our goal is to have 10 trikes available for club use by the summer of 2027 and, with an established base of riders, encourage other teams to add additional trikes from there. 

Lining up the starting grid for a race at Waterford Hills.  Ray's Pedal Prix trike is at left.

With the numbers we need for some club racing, (4-6 members per trike team), we are now experimenting with different race formats and venues. 

I was very fortunate to join the amazing Michigan HPV crowd at Waterford Hills last year. It’s a fantastic race venue and top notch event. 

Greg and I will be bringing four trikes with us this year and inviting participants to join in some friendly relay racing on the shorter course Saturday evening. 

We're looking forward to mixing our trikes with your HPV racing experience, and perhaps convince someone that a US-based Pedal Prix club would be the logical next step :)

Looking forward to seeing you all in Waterford Hills in June! 

Monroe bicycle swap meet and show – April 26, 2026

By Mike Eliasohn (mikethebike2325@comcast.net)

It was the 44th annual Monroe Classic Bicycle and Minibike Show, Swap Meet and Auction, on Sunday, April 26, and like the first 43, there's always interesting bikes (and other things) to look at.

This was the fifth event at the Monroe County fairgrounds, just west of Monroe. 

Before then, the event, under different operators, was held at the Washtenaw County fairgrounds between Ann Arbor and Saline.

Most bicycles sold at the show are in the collectible category, though no doubt there were some great bargains there for people looking simply for something to ride. 

I only saw two recumbents.  One was Jody Peterson's Ground Hugger, reported about on this blog on Aug. 25, 2025.  It finally has a new owner, because of the "free to a good home," sign on it.  Neither Jody or I know who took it, so if the new owner or anyhow reading this knows the new owner, please let me.(Mike E.) know. Hopefully the new owner will restore it, which would be worthy of an article.

The other recumbent I saw was a later model BikeE compact long wheelbase.  The buyer wheeled it past me. It was missing the back rest support, which I mentioned. Until then, he didn't know BikeE's had back rests.  Hopefully he can find one.

These nine Schwinn Krate bikes ranged in price from $750 for a slightly tarnished 1968 to $6,500 ! for a mint 1971 Gray Ghost.

Unfortunately, I neglected to write any information about these vintage Schwinn banana seat bikes. But I think the prices were lower than for the Krate bikes.

 This was the third year that I got free space to try to sell my bicycle books and magazines and stuff, thanks to Brian Pikielek, owner of BikeTech bicycle shop in Detroit (biketechdetroit.com), who had indoor and outdoor vendor spaces and lots of bikes and parts to sell. So I stayed outside, and if anyone was interested in any of Brian's bikes, I found Brian.

Unfortunately, unlike like last year, this was not a good year for getting rid of stuff. My total proceeds were $12, for a bicycle U-lock, a T-shirt and a $1 donation for some of the small bicycle odds and ends I was giving away. All my bicycle bicycle and car books and magazines went unsold.

In contrast, last year I sold $57 worth of stuff.

This creation won the "Best Custom" award at the bike show part of the event. The frame is a 1969 AMF.  I had a brief moment to ask the builder / winner, Mark Stephens, if he had machined the wheels from aluminum plate. "Yes," was his answer.

This beautiful Mongoose tandem was judged "Best BMX."  It was created by joining two solo Mongoose frames together.  If I recall my conversation with the owner, Brandon Pratt, correctly, someone else created the bike and he (Brandon) restored it.

Inside the fairgrounds Expo Building, this Sterling tandem frame from the 1890s was priced at $450.  Sterling Cycle Works / Sterling Bicycle Co. / Sterling Cycle Co. manufactured bikes in Chicago from 1894-98, was in Milwaukee in 1899, then went out of business.

Not everything for sale was pedal-powered or motorized. (There also was a mini-bike show and sale.)  I'm guessing these metal toys were from the 1930s-1950s.

And then there was this one, neither pedal-powered or motorized.  It's a cart used by dog sled racers to train their dogs when there's no snow. In other words, dogs pull the cart and the musher stands on the cart. From my quick research, a team can be as much as 12-16 dogs.  I strongly suspect whomever brought it took it home.

This interesting tricycle was built from a Shelby Flying Cloud front frame and rear triangles from two other frames.  Three drive chains are used. No doubt a very heavy tricycle.  The Shelby Cycle Co. manufactured bicycles in Shelby, Ohio, from 1925-1953, for sale under its own name and for retail store chains under their name.

In contrast to the heavy homebuilt Shelby tricycle above was this  very lightweight Joachim 12-speed tricycle, being sold by Mike Self (in photo).  As I recall our conversation, it was built for time trials, not for touring.  Rear wheels are 700c; front is 25-520 / 24x1/4. It's a small frame, perfect for shorter riders. The rear axle is typical of a British tricycle, but I could not find online where Joachim bicycles / tricycles are or were made. Asking price was $450.  Mike took it home unsold to Waynesville, Ohio. As of May 3, I still found it listed online for sale at a lower price. (Do a search for "Joachim 12-speed road tricycle.) If interested and you can't find the online listing, contact Mike E.  I have Wayne's contact information.

In contrast to the short-frame Joachim tricycle was this 1974 Schwinn Paramount, priced at $1,250.  (For the unknowing, Paramounts were the TOP of the Schwinn line.) It's a 26-inch frame.  The seller, Tim Schmidt, lives in Maryland. I don't know if he sold it. If anyone is interested, I have Tim's contact information.