Catrike Dumont Review

Catrike Dumont

Catrike Dumont Review on December 14, 2020

Finally, is the first word that pops into my head when I got my first chance to ride one of the prototype Dumont trikes from Catrike.  I saw one of the first nonrideable prototypes in 2015 and I know Catrike has been working on the Dumont for even longer than that. Catrike did listen to consumers and dealers. Consumers want 26 inch rear wheel trikes that fold and have suspension. Catrike delivered with the Dumont. The Dumont is a totally new design from the ground up.  Catrike calls the Dumont a “performance trike” which seems about right to me.  The seat is 10” high, where the 5.5.9 is 11” but not like the Catrike 700 which is the “race trike” at 8.5”. One of my favorite features is the two transportation wheels. The Dumont can easily be rolled around the house or garage folded, and then stood on end for storage.

Frame: The frame on the Dumont is TIG welded aluminum. Catrike does it all, cuts, bends, welds, heat treats, paints and assembles every trike in their Florida factory. I would have to say the welds are beautiful and of the highest quality in the industry.  The frame is constructed out of oversized, shaped and manipulated 6161 aircraft grade aluminum tubing.

Paint: Catrikes paint jobs are a work of art. There is no one in the bike industry that is better, maybe just equal to Catrike’s paint jobs.  Their standard paint jobs are everything you want; clean, consistent and durable, along with seven colors to choose from.  Catrike does all their own paint work, and I will have to say I have never seen a bad paint job from Catrike. If you buy your Catrike in the winter, when Catrike sales are a bit slower, sometimes Catrike will have special color options or discounts on some models.

Drive Train:  The shifting is superb on the Dumont. Catrike chose a premium SRAM drivetrain combination with wide ratio 11-36 cassette and ten cogs in the rear and three in the front, for a total of thirty gears to choose from. The new SRAM GX rear derailleur performed flawlessly, mating the GX rear derailleur with the SRAM 500 TT Bar End Shifter and Microshift front derailleur. Catrike uses this setup quite often on their trikes. Bar end shifters are Catrikes shifter of choice and mine as well. Bar end shifters just make sense for me. I feel they are easier to use than the grip type shifters you see on some other brands of trikes. Grip type shifters work fine. If God knew I wanted to ride a trike with grip type shifters, he might have put my thumbs on the other side of my hands. I feel I do not have as much control of my shifting with the grip type shifters, so I applaud Catrike for choosing the Bar End Shifters.

Brakes: Catrike chose my favorite mechanical disc brake system, the Avid BB7 brakes with the Avid Speed Dial brake levers. This combination stopped the trike consistently and had no brake rub. I have no issue with the mechanical brakes that Avid offers. They are simple, reliable, and easy to adjust. Super convenient features of the Avid mechanical brakes are that each brake pad can be adjusted independently so you can really dial in your brake adjustment. Catrike chose a simple Velcro strap that you wrap around one of the brake levers for your parking brake. I really like this because it is simple and adds no weight to the trike. This also allowed Catrike to be able to use a premium brake lever. ICE and Hp Velotechnik both chose to add a brake to the rear wheel and a remote shifter to control the brake. This works well but added almost a pound to the ICE and Hp Velotechnik trikes.

Seat: Catrikes are all now coming with the new padded seat. The new padded seat has been well received by customers and people think it is a premium feature from Catrike.  The padded seat fabric is of very good quality and is filled with a somewhat breathable foam.  The foam does seem to hold some heat but it adds a layer of extra comfort. The seat height of the Dumont at 10 inches where as the 5.5.9 is 11 inches and the Villager 12 ½ inches. The seat angle on the Dumont can be adjusted from 42 to 49 degrees. I found the seat angle on the Dumont to be quite comfortable.

Ride: So I am going to say this is my favorite Catrike and it is Catrikes best riding trike. The ride reminded me of my daughter’s Mini Cooper S car.  I love driving her car on occasion because it kind of feels like a mini race car and feels just glued to the road.  The Dumont kind of feels the same to me as her Mini.  Quick handling, light and nimble is what first comes to mind. Most of the ride characteristics can be attributed to the suspension and the steering. 

The Dumont front suspension comes with two different elastomers.  Installed is the very firm elastomer for people 160Lbs and heavier.  Catrike also supplies a softer elastomer for people under 160Lbs. The front suspension travel is 12mm which is not much when you compare to ICE which has 40mm and Hp Velotechink which has 60mm.  The Dumont rear suspension travel is 50mm where as ICE rear suspension travel is 100mm and Hp Velotechink rear suspension travel is 100-120mm.  The Dumont comes stock with a Rockshox rear shock which is a $200.00 upgrade on the Hp Velotechnik trike.

The Dumont stayed with the same direct steering as all their other models as apposed to the indirect steering on the ICE, Hp Velotechnik and Greenspeed, trikes.  Direct steering is a simpler design and seems to have a bit quicker handling feel.  Even thought direct steer is not my personal favorite, I found the Dumont to handle just fine, the same as the other Catrike trikes.  Not that I wanted to make the Dumont trike review a shout out between the three brands (Catrike, ICE and Hp Velotechnik), but I found it is probably just the easiest way to describe the new Dumont ride.  So looking at the suspension travel numbers you should easily be able to tell quite a lot about how the new Dumont will ride over bumps.  If you are looking for the plushest ride, then hands down the Hp Velotechnik Scorpion FS 26.  If you are looking for more of that quick handling and tight more aggressive ride and feel, then the Dumont and the ICE trikes fall somewhere in-between.

In conclusion: I think Catrike will be very successful with the Dumont.  Every year the stakes get higher in the trike business. Catrike has been left behind in the trike business with no good suspension trike, up until now.  Yeah, they have the Road, but we do not want to mention that trike. The Dumont is Catrike’s new flag ship trike and will steal some sales from the 5.5.9.

 

Pros:

  • Fast
  • Light Weight
  • OMG paint

Cons:

  • Not practical for most riders.

Best Place to Buy:

Trike Detailed Specifics

Catrike Dumont Front Suspension
Ctrike Dumont Rear Suspension

Seat

  • Seat height: 254 mm (10″)
  • Seat angle: 42–49° adjustable
Wheels and Tires
  • Wheel size (front wheel): 20″ (ISO 406)
  • Wheel size (rear wheel): 26″ (ISO 559)
  • Max. tire width: 5 cm (2″)

Measurements

  • Bottom bracket height: 419 mm (16.5″)
  • Ground clearance: 102 mm (4″, statically compressed)
  • Wheelbase: 1156 mm (45.5″)
  • Track width: 749 mm (29.5″)
  • Total width: 826 mm (32.5″)
  • Total length: 2083 mm (82″)
  • Total height: 711 mm (28″)
  • Turning circle: 5.49 m (18′) outward
  • Folded size: 1149 × 825 × 635 mm (45.25 x 32.5 x 25″)

Specifications

  • Bottom bracket standard: FSA Road MegaExo
  • Suspension travel: front 12.7 mm (0.5″)/ rear 50 mm (2″)
  • Weight: from 19.5 kg (43 lbs) incl. pedals
  • Payload: max. 125 kg (275 lbs)
  • Frame material: Aluminum 7005 T6 heat treated
  • Rider height: ca. 1.62 – 2.00 m (5’4″ – 6’7″)