The instructions tell how to get them working.

That said, I did my best, and it was good, but I still went out and paid $15 to a local bike shop to really tweak the system while I stood there watching very closely, and yep, I had made a few "mistakes" and the whole brake system was finessed by the guy very nicely.

Also, I put the pressure up in my tires to 85PSI. I'll let you know if I blow out a tire. They're still cushy as marshmallows.

I initially put my handlebars at the lowest setting, but now it's at the highest setting.....MUCH easier. I'll use the lower setting if I ever want to have an extra tough workout.

This is a whole new beast. ALL my Trikke 8 tricks are being learned anew. The disk brakes especially take a whole lot of getting used to if you're trikking backwards.

And muscles. Ya gotta have muscles for this puppy or that front wheel will have its way with you....what with its extra traction, weight, width, and centripetal-gyroscopic effects.

The sheer size of it makes for whole new "architectures" of how your muscles work as a system. With the Roadster, you're going to be using some muscles a WHOLE LOT MORE, and some a bit less. For instance, you'll be using your arms with a wider distance between your hands, and this, and other things like this, is making my body sore again since I'm pushing hard in new ways for these groups to synergise, and some muscles are saying, "Ooooo whoa!"

The Trikke 8'll slip out from under you if you put too much weight on the back footpads, but the 12 will slip in the same way in situations that you'd never get your 8 into. Hard to explain, but on the 12, it is my opinion that ALL things are new and "caution" is the word of the day. The Bronkk will toss you off in quick little ways that the 8 just can't do because it would skid first instead, but the 12's tires hold so powerfully that, well, you lose, and off the Trikke you fly, because you couldn't hold onto the Trikke -- not because it was pushed past its design limits.

I have changed my mind about the 12 being a beginner's vehicle. Yeah, anything is possible, but the 12 takes far less non-sense from you, and that extra 4 inches in height can really add to the harm of a fall. I've fallen off the 12 about 50 times already, but only in that controlled sense for most of them -- meaning, I have to step off the 12 to avoid going down hard. To a naive observer, it would NOT seem that I had not fallen, but I knew I was going to fall and just stopped it in time with enough control to make it look like I "voluntarily got off the Trikke," But I know that I would have fallen hard if I had not the sensibility that I learned on the 8. Bottom line: if you're going to learn to trikke, do it on an 8 and have your falls be less harsh.

Water traction. I took it out in the rain today, and boy can you spritz! And the traction was still there! Yes, I was able to find a skidding point, but I was hard pressed to make it happen. I went down a 20 degree hill in the rain with it, and I did not care about the corners much.

I am so pumped.

And don't be disappointed with the 12 until you've given it a few hours riding. Once you begin to get the hang of it, it just gets better and better.

Edg