No music. No jump cuts. Just an unedited close up of the front suspension on the all suspension Catrike Dumont as we drop through 450 vertical feet of twisty winding pavement at speeds up to 35 mph. The combination of front and rear suspension smooths any pavement riding without sacrificing Catrike’s sporty responsive feel

Catrike Co-owner and GM Mark Egeland give us our first look at the Dumont at InterBike Las Vegas in 2016

First things first. First, we get our first Dumont. Then, we build our first Dumont. Then, we test ride our first Dumont. Did we go easy on this sweet new beauty? Of course not! We subjected her to the worst rutted and potholed roads our Southeast Portland neighborhood can offer.

First impressions of our first Dumont? Smooth as a magic carpet ride

Our Magic Carpet Ride got a nice musical lift from Formula Five

There’s absolutely nothing we can add to this title. A twisty high-speed 450 foot descent featuring tightly-linked s-curves, sweeps and 25 mph hairpins. The Dumont’s direct steering allows turns that no other trike can match (how do we know? We tried. The results were comical and -by the shop owner’s edict- unavailable for viewing).

Trio Shalva provides its own twist to the Dick Dale classic Misirlou

We mounted multiple synchronized cameras to show the Dumont’s suspension action on both smooth and pot-holed pavement at high speeds. The front and rear suspension do all the work -making for a smooth controlled ride!

Speed and stability through both smooth and potholed pavement show why the Catrike 700 is Mel’s favorite! It holds the road like no other trike -offering fantastic control at all speeds and road conditions with a definite “sporty” ride (read: you’ll feel every bump!).

Danny Sanderson and Friends plays us through

Washington Park -just a short climb from downtown- is one of Portland’s most beautiful rides. The ride down is fun at any speed -but it’s a riot on a Catrike 700! Smooth pavement and hairpin curves at 30 MPH make this one of the best ways to show off the 700’s capabilities. The late great New York musician Walt Harper and his Quintet rock Herbie Hancock’s Watermelon Man

Boy! Are we having fun now! We have some new cameras, so we shot some test footage -a 95 second 300 foot elevation drop taking curves at 39 mph! No trike (NO TRIKE) has the high speed stability of a Catrike 700.

Mechanic Paul and Mel enjoy a 460 foot descent on Portland’s finest windy downhill! We start where Skyline Road meets Fairview (45.514934, -122.727020, if you want to put into your map) and meander down to Kingston Road near the Zoo tennis courts (45.51985, -122.70648). Argentina’s Alma Negro provides the soundtrack.

Friend of the shop and TerraCyle, Inc owner Pat Franz shows off the super-comfy upright-seating and nimble ride of the Catrike Villager. There’s a reason Boss Lady Janet calls this The Crowd Pleaser

For the those who ask, we shot this with our gimbal-equipped camera trike. It’s cool, but too much work to duplicate! Oh, and the music was Tremé Brass Band’s version of the Philemon Hou classic Grazing in the Grass

A cruise through Tabor with a Rohloff-equipped Catrike Expedition. Lightweight and comfortably laid back, the Expedition is the perfect touring trike