I'm glad to see a thread on the Worksman Trikes here, thanks for the discussion. I've got a couple of them and a couple of Camping World Adventurer trikes - will post some pix here eventually.
One of them is the older style single speed with no bracket for a hub, black with Trifecta markings. This one is pretty ratty - rust in all the usual places, particularly the rims and hubs. Somebody painted the wheels (and tires) black and painted the handlebars with aluminum paint to try to hide and/or inhibit the rust. The frame appears to be lugged at the head tube, not reinforced like the newer models.
Despite looking really ratty, that old trike runs pretty nicely. Had both the caliper and drum brakes, neither of which worked very well. I removed the drum brake wheel and installed a Bionx kit taken from another Ebay bike, and replaced the brake pads, tuned it up, and it's a blast to ride. Did 20 mph with the Bionx, but that blew out and it's in the shop to see if it can be fixed.
The other Worksman is a maroon metallic one speed, newer model with reinforced frame at head tube. I've installed a three speed sourced other than from Worksman, and that's complete except for installing the fixed drive cog to make the coaster brake work.
Comparing the two Worksmans, the axle thicknesses are different as are the means of securing the drive wheels. The old one uses the three pronged axle end that mates with holes in the hub. The newer one uses a keyed shaft. I believe the older one has a 5/8" axle and the newer one has a 3/4" axle - so parts are not necessarily interchangeable if you gather a few up of these and try to rebuild from scrounged parts.
Does anybody know how to look up serial numbers to see how old they are? I've been searching for that info for a while and found nothing promising except to contact Worksman directly. I'd love to find a history of these that accounts for model and parts changes.
The Adventurers seem at first glance to be better appointed trikes, but as you work on them a little, it seems they are a crappy knock-off of the Worksman. The ones I picked up were poorly assembled, or else the parts just didn't fit together well.
One of them runs pretty well but the other one seems to have maybe been bent - like maybe the rear end, the tubes through which the axle runs - is out of alignment so the rear axle bearings bind a little bit. If you block the trike up off the floor so the wheels are off the ground, and give the drive wheel a spin, it will barely do a complete revolution. The other one will spin a little, but also seems a bit resistant. These bikes were very clean, garage kept, and obviously barely used at all. I can't imagine that this problem is due to lube or dirty/worn bearings.
I took the rear end of the resistant one apart, except for removing the axle from the frame. I loosened and re-tightened nuts on the bearings, took the chain off the hub, etc, trying to determine where the resistance was coming from, and got nowhere. My only guess is a slightly bent frame, putting the rear axle bearing out of alignment.
The Worksmans seem significantly beefier, and both roll very well, despite the rather ratty condition of the older one.
What I really like about the Worksman and Adventurer trikes is the fact that the seat post does not require an additional support like the Sun and Desoto trikes. This allows the seat to be set high enough for me, at 6 feet, to ride these very upright with good leg extension, and makes it easy to stand on the pedals. A lot of other trikes have a tractor seat with a sort of sissy bar, so the rider sits back solid on the seat and you can't get the seat high.
If more people tried trikes that lend themselves to setting the seat high and being able to easily rise in to the pedals, I think more people would like riding them. The thing that really seems to creep people out when they first try a trike is the side-to-side wobble going over irregular surfaces, and the abuse they give your butt. The thing that aggravates trike-butt-abuse is the tendency for the rider to remain solidly seated, and not to support themselves with their feet.
I've found I can ride pretty fast on pretty rough surfaces if I just lift myself out of the saddle a little bit over the rough parts and let the trike wobble beneath me. It would beat the hell out of you if you remained planted solidly.
