3: Making a Decision, Placing an Order

I looked at almost every page on the ICE website. I read the reviews. I checked out the options and accessories. Everything I found was to my liking, some things were surprising. First of all, the QNT (Q standing for quick and NT for Narrow Track) had all of the things on my list as standard. Second, it was at a price that, although not cheap, after all it is a recumbent trike, was very competitive. Every review I read praised this trike and the company as a whole. The only real issue I had was that ICE is in Cornwall, UK. I assumed that shipping was going to kill me. Alas, my fears were groundless. The price listed included shipping, import taxes, everything!

Alright, it had taken me less than a week to find the trike of my dreams but my birthday was still a few months off. Waiting... not my strong point.

My wife's a doll. She saw the excitement in me. She recognized that we were just coming into perfect riding weather. She suggested we put in an order right away. "Why wait 'til your birthday, right?"

Right!

So I traded a few emails back and forth with the excellent ICE staff. Got my final questions answered and chose a custom color along with a couple options.

Here's what I ordered:

• ICE QNT in a deep royal blue (my mom always loved blue and so do I)
• Optional bar end shifters with XT rear derailleur
• Optional head rest

Here's the best part, even with the custom color, the estimated time to ship was only 2 weeks. Remember, each of these trikes is basically custom built. This was fast. Then, as if by magic, they did something that so very rarely happens today. They stuck to the schedule, shipped on time and UPS delivered on the exact day that was estimated. My trike came half way around the world in 6 days. Nice.