I once asked a friend why he thought horses were so spooked by mountain bikes and he said it was because mountain bikers look like predatory jungle cats running through the woods. That image has always stuck with me, particularly when riding tight, twisting singletrack that requires cat-like reflexes. Now a designer in Argentina has taken that idea to the next level, designing a mountain trike called the Pardo from the Spanish word for cheetah.
The rider lies on the Pardo face forward and pumps his legs to propel the thing down the trail (see the diagram below). Aside from the sensation of speed from having your face just inches from the trail, the Pardo allows the rider to pump both legs at the same time which probably feels more like a hop than a jog.
Steering seems to be accomplished through leaning and the prototype doesn’t appear to have a braking system. The front wheels look like standard 26″ mountain bike wheels and tires while the rear wheel is a smaller knobby wheel. While there isn’t a traditional suspension system in place, the curved plywood (?) looks like it should flex and soak up some of the inevitable chest hits. The Pardo is also foldable so it doesn’t take up too much space in the trunk on your way out to the trail. Even without brakes or gears this thing looks pretty awesome – sign me up for one when (if) they go into production!
Images and info via treehugger.com. Check out the link for more pics.
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For some reason I am a bit afraid of that…Having my face close to the ground as it is wizzing by things like ohhh rocks, boulders and branches is something that I can’t say I look forward too.
I hear ya. I think I’d like to have a full face helmet to ride one of these. Still, even at slow speeds I think you’d get a pretty good rush on this thing!
Yikes. Coupla problems for mountain biking from what I can see, most related to weight transfer. If you want to climb hard you have to pedal all the time. You’d lose too much momentum cycling the pedal action forward here and you wouldn’t be able to put your weight on the single back tire enough to get traction. Downhill is the same problem in reverse. Also, how do you maneuver in the twisty stuff when you need to be turning right and leaning left around a bunch of trees when you’re haulin’ after a long downhill? Thump! Finally, two words: Deep Mud. I’ll stick to my puttering old hard tail. In terms of new ideas though, it’s a start.
This would be hell on your chest. You cant have your weight resting on your upper body while breathing heavy. I give someone 1/2 hour before their neck is sore from looking up the trail.
But if the design were altered a bit to sit slightly more upright, closer to the stance on a crotch rocket, then it could be good at least for road riding.