Azub is a European recumbent manufacturer, and is one of the few recumbent companies that offer a full lineup of bikes and trikes. Hailing from the Czech Republic, they are best described as a builder of premium custom recumbents. They presently have no less than 17 individual models in their catalogue, from 700c Highracers to Fat tyre trikes.
The Ti-Fly X is their full suspension trike with 26” wheels all round, titanium leaf spring front suspension and air/oil rear suspension. It is suited to riders from 150-205cm tall. It is one of the few trikes on offer with 26” wheels and full suspension.
Ordering the Ti-Fly X
Ordering the Ti-Fly X was straight forward. The configurator steps you through the available options and presents a price in Euro at the end. Email communication was clear and brisk, and the trike shipped just before the forecast date. Allow €800 for freight, and once it is in transit expect the freight company to collect GST, duty (5% on recumbent trikes), plus a handful of fees and charges. And then a big (I mean really big) box arrives at your door. Outstandingly packed, our trike survived the rigors of international freight unscathed.
Assembly
Although the Ti-Fly X appears like a conventional tadpole trike, assembling it reveals the first of several apparent contradictions… The manufacture quality is truly excellent – if you are the sort of person who loves precisely made and fitted parts, this trike provides a feast for the eyes and tactile senses. For everybody else, just accept that it is very well made. The less good aspect of this, is that as the clearances are so small, the assembly needs to be done with a bit of care – any misalignment leads to things catching and jamming.
It’s evident that a lot of thought has gone into the development, from discrete threaded mounts for cable routing, through suspension design, down to axle size.
Axle size? Sure, the big 26” wheels are capable of feeding large forces through the hubs and frame, especially if the trike is ridden enthusiastically… The front axles are impressively robust. Travel stops are fitted to the steering to limit the maximum turn angle, something I have not seen in a trike before, and handy with linkage steering to ensure things don’t “over centre” and jam.
Assembly was straight forward, a large portion of the work has been done by the Azub crew. For the first time ever I did not have to adjust brake mounts, cables, or gear shift! The only operational adjustment was the brake pad clearance knobs on the BB7 calipers to get the brake lever feel I like.
The Ti-Fly X Assembled
Finally assembled, the Ti-Fly X trike is imposing and has great “presence”. And here we come to another apparent contradiction. Climbing on board and settling into the seat, suddenly the trike didn’t feel that big. Climbing off again and racing around with a tape measure, we find that the track width is slightly narrower than a Greenspeed Magnum, and a little wider than the ICE Adventure HD. Reviewing the published specifications, the Ti-Fly X is the same maximum length as a GreenSpeed Magnum BW, slightly longer in wheelbase than the Magnum BW and ICE Adventure 26 models, yet in spite of the 26” wheels the seat is only 5cm higher than the Adventure and 3cm higher than the Magnum. Interesting.
Climbing on board again – yes, that word again as even though the seat is not that high relative to other trikes, the bottom bracket is, such that it’s easier to step over the boom than shuffle backwards around the crankset – I was again struck how compact the cockpit feels. Azub sizes the trike when they build it to be as close as practical to the right fit for the owner and this example was a little on the short side for me. Even so, I was able to slide the seat back and extend the boom enough to ride comfortably.
The ride position is definitely towards the sporty end of the spectrum, with the bottom bracket a not insignificant 13cm above the seat base. I had the seat back reclined to 43 degrees, and that made the ride position amazingly close to the venerable GreenSpeed GT3’s 40 degrees and 12cm bottom bracket difference!
Riding it
Shod with Continental’s “Double Fighter” tyres all round, the Ti-Fly X is capable of traversing almost any surface short of soft sand/mud/snow, …. but being terrified of putting the first scratch on someone else’s trike I was very restrained! (Yes, I had permission to test ride…)
The steering is light and positive, the suspension worked unobtrusively front and rear, and the rear showed no sign of the dreaded “pedal bob” that afflicts many rear suspension cycles when pedaled with enthusiasm.
The Avid BB7 brakes could be used independently with barely discernible brake steer even under quite firm braking, and of course the rear park brake is there to stop the trike rolling away on its own.
Turning circle is excellent, quite amazing really considering the trike’s long wheelbase of 133cm. The Azub Ti-Fly X webpage indicates that the trike responds well to riders learning to “lean well to a side when riding quickly through a curve”, and I can well believe it!
Inevitably there will be comparisons between the Ti-Fly X and the various 26” fat tyre trikes, but this is unfair to both genres. A fat tyre trike isn’t aimed at speedy on road travel and a Ti-Fly X is not aimed at slogging through soft sand and mud!
Perhaps I’ll leave the closing words to the new owner:
“Well I have finally got the pink trike tweaked to my fit and now very comfortable in all ways. Took her out yesterday on some very familiar to me gravel hills and roads where I know what gears and power I normally use on the (other trike) so it was a really good track to make some fair comparisons.”
“Ride comfort on this track … I (usually) feel all corrugations etc and get thrown about a bit…Azub kind of very low key with no fanfare just sort of glides over all of it!”
“So my thoughts are AZUB pink trike for the win by a country mile due to climbing hills like a rabbit, rolling down hills like a nascar (50 klms speed and steady as a rock) and rolling over bumps…”
“This trike really shines off road (I will in time change the tyres for a bit more gravel grip)….thrilled to bits with it… I am surprised that there are not more of this model trike getting about here. It’s a cracker.”
I rest my case.
how much does it cost?
Azub have many options for their trikes, the best way to price one is to use their configurator to build your trike, then adjust the shown price for your country’s exchange rate and various taxes. That will put you in the ball park!