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Homepage | Trice Micro | Slipstream Demon | Ride to Monnickendam | Links | File Sharing
About the Demon | History | Description | Dimensions
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The Slipstream Demon was designed and made by CSS Packaging Machinery. They are based on an industrial estate in Rackheath, a village near Norwich, England.
CSS used to make the Mike Burrows designed, Windcheetah tricycle when Mike was a partner in the company. When he left the company, Mike took the design with him and later licensed the manufacturing rights to AVD, the company in the North-West of England which makes it nowadays.
CSS kept receiving requests to build trikes so they designed the Slipstream Demon. Paul Watering, who still works for the company, was part of the design team together with Kelvin Woodard.
Only about thirty of the machines were ever made. My Demon was built up by Paul, in Summer 2000, from parts that had been laying around in the factory for a number of years together with some new parts. So that means that my Demon was the last one ever assembled. Its frame number was 108. The frame number format is based on the order in which the frames were made, with a zero inserted between the two digits. So my machine was built up, using the 18th frame.
The middle part of the frame (cruciform) is made of aluminium alloy tubing. The cross arm tubes are welded onto the main, longitudenal tube. The complete cruciform was then anodised in a blue colour and varnished with clear lacquer. The rear chain stays are carbon fibre mouldings bolted onto the cruciform. The front boom is adjustable in length and is made of chrome-plated steel. The other frame parts are made in red coloured, anodised aluminium alloy. The seat is a padded carbon fibre shell.
Some Demons were custom made to size to save weight. The main tube was extended forward and an aluminium bottom bracket shell was welded onto the end. These machines had red cruciforms and the other frame parts were blue.
My local bike shop in Amsterdam fitted the black painted aluminium alloy pannier rack together with a pair of AGU panniers. A plastic rear mudguard was fitted at the same time. I fitted the bright orange coloured bell that can be clearly seen in the photos.
Steering is via a chrome-plated steel tubing joystick with a universal joint at one end with a U-shaped handlebar at the other, rider end. Gear change twistgrips are fitted on the ends of the "U".
The linked brakes are Hope hydraulically operated disks operated by a single lever on the handlebar. They are extremely powerful and more controllable than drum brakes. A rear brake was never fitted to any of the Demons. To prevent the machine rolling away, I used a velcro strap wrapped around the front brake lever and handlebar to hold on the disk brakes.
The two front wheels have 406 - 20 inch tyres and the back wheel is a larger size, 559 - 26 inch.
All gears and sprockets are Sachs. The gearing system is 3x7. That is a combination 3 speed hub gear and 7 speed derailleur. The hub gears are set up as wide ratios so they have the same effect as a triple front chainring set but you have the advantage that you can change gear when stopped. This a very useful feature. There is no front changer. The chainwheel has 38 teeth. The rear cluster (7 speed) goes from 14 teeth to 32 teeth. Rear wheel is 26 inch (559).
Using a gear calculator, we get these results :-
| Hub gear ratio | Gear inches | Development (metres) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low | (x0.73) | 20.8 to 47.5 | |
| Mid | (x1) | 28.5 to 65.1 | |
| High | (x1.36) | 38.7 to 88.5 | |
In my opinion, top gear was too low. I often found myself spinning the pedals as fast as I could, knowing that I could go faster if a higher gear had been available.
The machine's overall length is variable because of the adjustable front boom. The length was 205 cm when the machine was adjusted for my height, which is 168 cm. Height, to top of pannier rack, 73 cm. Width 80 cm. Track 66 cm.
The front boom comes out and the seat unbolts. The disc brake calipers can be unbolted whilst leaving the hoses still connected and the front wheels removed. The carbon fibre rear forks are attached to the frame cruciform by three large bolts. Once these are removed, the frame itself measures 54 cm across the cruciform by 110 cm in length.
The Demon weighs about 17 kg. Unscientifically measured, by taking the difference between myself, firstly standing on the bathroom scales alone, then picking up the trike and holding it up in the air. When I weighed the machine it was fitted with the pannier rack but not the panniers. The result was 18kg. I guess that the rack weighs about a kilogram.
Homepage | Trice Micro | Slipstream Demon | Ride to Monnickendam | Links | File Sharing