Last Friday I drove down to ICE in Cornwall to pick up the second prototype of the Trice Micro for testing. Last Saturday, in the teeth of forecast storm-force winds and torrential rain and against what remains of my better judgment, I rode it on Ian Hennessey's 105km "Coast Roads and Coach Roads" event from Honiton in Devon, which boasts (maybe threatens would be more apt) 1850m of climbing. Hell, if you're going to test something you might as well *really* test it: Your own sanity, plus a new trike--two for the price of one...

Micro Mark II is a prototype, but doesn't look it: There's nothing crude or semi-finished about the machine, which is built to the usual extremely high ICE standards with fancy lugs, fine brazing plus a couple of supernaturally smooth TIG welds, and plenty of practical but aesthetically pleasing details (I'm particularly impressed by the dynamo mount incorporated in the left front mudguard stay; unobtrusive, but within easy reach). The frame is built from T45, a grade of steel tubing similar to the renowned Reynolds 531 and more usually found in racing car roll cages, space frames, and suspension components. Mark II's frame is finished in metallic blue, with silver around the cruciform, and has a rigid rear triangle, rather than the suspension rear end on the original prototype. It looks stunning, to these eyes and to every other pair that has yet seen it. The frame can be separated into parts in the traditional Trice way (you can replace the hardtail with a suspension rear end if you want to. But you won't want to once you've ridden the rigid trike. Of course, the suspended trike will be more foldable). In a departure from Trice tradition, the seat is a hardshell, with a height-adjustable neck rest. The seat angle is adjustable from ooh yes this is really rather reclined to ooh er I'm flat on my back waving my legs in the air. I think it's currently set at a bit under 30 degrees, which seems pretty comfortable (I'll try more recline in due course). Bottom bracket is low. All three wheels are 349 (Brompton size). The prototype has Hope front hubs with XC hydraulic discs (left lever controls left brake, right lever controls right brake; no significant brake steer under single-sided braking), a type 2 Schlumpf Mountain Drive (1.65 overdrive) with 46 and 34 chainrings, Gripshift changers, a 12-25 9-speed block, Ultegra mechs, and an XT rear hub. The steering setup is traditional Trice, but greatly lightened. The turning circle is maybe a foot or so wider than the XL's, unless your thighs are beefy. Ground clearance is comparable with the XL, though the low point of the frame extends further back, so speed humps (but not speed cushions) require a degree of prudence. The whole prototype trike, equipped as above, with mudguards all round, dynamo front light, two LED front lights with batteries, Lightspin dynamo, three bottle cages, full chain tubes, computer, rear-view mirror, rear rack to take two small panniers, kitchen sink, and two LED rear lights with batteries, weighs 37lb. Oh all right, there's no kitchen sink. But I witnessed the readout on the scales with my own eyes...

The Micro is tiny. You don't so much ride it as wear it (it's not a machine for the amply-buttocked and broad of beam, unless straight-line riding is all you do). Getting on board is an act of faith--you basically have to topple backwards into the seat, which holds you snugly. The bars fall naturally to hand, either side of your thighs, and the front wheels are just outboard of the bars. The whole machine is barely wider than an upright bike. But a whole lot lower, heh heh.

How does it ride? The handling is very sharp and responsive, with a mild degree of oversteer and excellent swerveability. It seems to climb very well, though I'm not entirely convinced that the Mountain Drive is appropriate on a performance machine. It's extremely convenient, though. Going downhill is about as close to the Cresta Run as you can get without benefit of ice (but with benefit of ICE, of course). The real surprise is the extremely comfortable ride: Small wheels + No suspension + Hardshell seat = Lost fillings + Voice like Dalek? No--the ride is far more compliant than my old 97 Trice or the 99 XL. It's a strange experience to waft serenely on the Micro down a local road that jars the kidneys severely on every other machine I've ridden, whether upright or recumbent.

How fast is it? Very, I think, but after Saturday's ride I can't really say for sure, because conditions were so atrocious that mere survival soon became the primary objective. The rain lashed down, the lanes were slick with mud and wet leaves and strewn with twigs, branches, and rocks washed from the roadside, only rarely was even one wheel track clear of debris, a good (?) couple of km of road did a very convincing impression of a riverbed, and I encountered standing water centimetres deep more often than I can bring myself to recall. Of course, lying low on the Micro I wasn't conscious of the gale-force wind. Until I had to stand up to fix a puncture, that is. Still, that only happened the seven times...

I can say for sure that the Micro's braking is superb and that the trike's handling didn't give me a moment's concern. The Micro went where I pointed it. I'd expected to have to do a good deal of leaning because of the narrow track, but stability seemed excellent. Admittedly, I was seeking to, um, gently test the envelope rather than airily tear it up in a sort of Steve Beck-ish way ;-)

This was my first extended ride on a hardshell seat. I found the seat had a split personality: It was definitely less comfortable for lounging around on than the traditional Trice seat, but once I was under way I simply forgot the seat was there. This could be a sign that my short-term memory is on the way out, but I reckon it's more of a tribute to the seat design. Spookily, the pronounced lumbar hump that I was greatly aware of when lying around simply "vanished" once I started pedalling. The seat made it easy to put the power on--when I wanted to give it some welly I could brace myself against the backrest and rise from the cushion. It'll be interesting to try this seat on longer rides. I think the omens are good (but I wonder about the comfort of the hardshell in hot weather. If we ever get any in the UK).

The only real problem I encountered on Saturday's ride, apart from the p*nct*res, was a lack of traction on the steepest climbs. Admittedly, this was under extreme adverse conditions: Heavy rain, wet leaves all over the road, gradients of 1 in 6 or worse. I'm not sure I've dealt with that combination of circumstances on other trikes, but... The Micro was shod with non-Kevlar Brompton tyres, which seemed to lack a certain amount of wet-weather grip and to be somewhat susceptible to thorns and flints. I've swapped the tyres for a set of kevlar-belted Schwalbe Marathons, in the hope of improved wet-weather traction and p*nct*re resistance.

I'd wondered how a trike as radically low as the Micro would be in urban traffic. It was OK, even without a flag, though, in the interests of self-preservation, I didn't do anything silly like sneak up on the inside of queuing cars. The "Whoa! Cool bike" factor was so high as to be off the scale. I hadn't had time to festoon the Micro with bits of reflective material, but, notwithstanding, I found that cars gave me a wide berth even after dark. A couple of times I encountered oncoming cars on single-track lanes--the Micro was narrow enough to squeeze by easily, though a wider machine would have had problems...

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