Some ask, "Why a trike?"
 

Some ask why a trike? Unless you have ridden one you really dont understand. Of course if you value your self as some kind of a racer boy you dont care. However for those of us that ride for fun and exercise will find that riding a trike is the most relaxed way of cycling.

Of course you dont have to worry about tipping over. You dont wobble all over trying to get going and clipped in. You can clip in and ride for hours until you want to stop and get off. You set laid back and have full view of where you are riding. Your lungs are not compress from being hunch over. You simply get all the pluses of cycling without any of the negatives.

I wish I had one. On my last commute to work, I hit some snow and wiped out. Now I’m sitting here with pulled muscles and large bruises. Never would have happened if I had ridden a trike. They look like a lot of fun!

Riding for fun and exercise? What a novel idea, I'll have to try it! Timely post for the New Year, we are all older and closer to the age when, like OP, our mental and physical abilities will have declined to the extent we can no longer ride bikes. Good to know trikes will be an option!

Or studded tires.

Note however on the side bar I still have and ride a recumbent bike. I am one of the very fortunate persons that have had very little decline in either physical or mental abilities, even tho I am 81. I ride anywhere from 20 to 35 mile every other day.

I do like the advantages the trike has, the ease of riding it in town. OTOH the bike goes out of town where there are few stops.

Good to hear:thumb:

I ride my upright bike around the 5th most populous city in the U.S. with ease.

In just a mid-size city here, but with awful roads and traffic, and at 68 -- with some on-going health issues -- I have no trouble riding my upright bike in town or out of town -- or my upright mtb on singletrack, for that matter.

I don't worry about falling over. I use clipless pedals, but don't wobble trying to clip in. I can clip in and ride for as long as I want before stopping. I am not hunched over, my lungs aren't compressed, and I have a great view of my surroundings. What am I doing wrong?

Pic of the trike pretty please. :)

But do you use clipless pedals? Do you wobble around some getting started. With a trike you have none of that nuisance. When riding do you sometimes just stare at your front wheel?

But surely you aren't riding for fun and exercise. Racer boy....:50:

Just how much does that trike weigh? I assume you have a cart or basket set up for utility? How many smiles per mile? :thumb:

I would worry about being visible on the street since I mostly commute. I know they have masts and streamers for added visible height, and as you can see from my avatar, I'm big into lights and reflectors but still, I'd worrry more.

I've tried a couple of recumbent trikes. Very comfortable. They feel more like co-carts than bikes, which isn't necessarily bad. I especially liked the one with the 26" rear wheel...something about it felt familiar.

One issue is climbing hills. You can't really stand on the pedals, so sitting and spinning in an extra low gear is the way to do it. But at 58, I do more sitting and spinning than standing and mashing now anyways, so I guess that's not an issue. Also, my hands have been growing more "crampy" since my mid 40s and taking all weight off my hands may be necessary in the future. Plus, while I have no kneck problems at the present time, x-rays seem to indicate that may be on the horizon as well.

One of my older buddies has been off diamond frames for many years now. First a Bike-E which is technically crank-forward, and then some sort of cat-trike folder.

So while I would prefer a conventional bicycle, I would still be happy if a recumbent trike is the only option to allow me to go kicking and screaming into that good night.

I just can't imagine doing a long distance gravel ride, or a 100 mile century on a trike...or how are you supposed you ride a trike on technical simgletrack trails ??….a trike would be impossible to ride at some of the places that I go riding... Trikes are impractical for commuting or recreational riding.

I would not be comfortable on a trike where I live. Virtually all the roads I ride have no bike lane and less than one foot of shoulder and mostly none. I just would not feel safe taking up that much of the lane. Besides that, I love leaning into a curve and I don't have problems wobbling.

Perhaps there will come a day when I am no longer comfortable on two wheels and may feel differently but for now, I'm happy.

Yes to the former, no to the latter.

how is it transporting trikes and bents?

I don’t, and I’m generally considered a low-skill rider. Clip in right pedal, strong pedal stroke, clip in left while coasting, and I’m good. And I’m always looking ahead or around, unless checking my front wheel after hitting something. The road bicycle is a wonderful piece of equipment for those who can ride it properly.

I’m glad you’re happy with your trike though!

My wife has a terra trike. She never (or hardly ever ) rode her diamond frame bike. She got on the trike at the dealer and riding around the parking lot had a great big smile on her face. It hasn't left it yet as she rides her trike. She had a problem falling over when she stopped as her knee kept giving out on her. Now she does not have to worry about that. She is almost as fast on her trike as the other bike, as she is not into doing speed.

Her trike weighs 41 #. it is slow going up hill, but will make up for it going down when she lets it roll. I am glad she has disc brakes on it or she would have already worn out the pads. No speed demon on her side of the path.

Takes some thought and planning. If you've already decided a trike is what you want, you'll find a way. If you've already decided that you don't want one, it's an insurmountable problem.

Before we bought our first trike for my wife, we drove her Saturn sedan to the bike shop and said: "If you can show my wife how she can load the trike by herself, we'll buy it." My wife happened to be in her late 60's at the time. They showed her how to do it, she practiced one time in the bike shop parking lot and we drove home with it.

You couldn’t ride a trike on tight back roads where I live. You would risk getting run over.

From what I've seen, riders of two-wheel recumbents, with or without clipless pedals, wobble around getting started far more than riders of diamond frame bikes. Surprised to see rydabent aligning himself against two-wheel bents here.

I bought my trike because I knew I wouldn't be able to ride a regular bicycle for a while. That's why, and it’s a good reason. But I was glad when it was over.

I got nuthin' against trike riders. It's their choice to ride what they want. :thumb:

I'm no "racer boy", but I prefer two wheels. Because I like to lean into a turn, because I like a single track to fit through tight spots, because I'm not forced to ride on the street, because of off camber roads/trails, because it's lighter and easier to hang from ceiling hooks, because it takes up less space in my garage that actually contains cars, because I only have to replace two tires, because I only have to true two wheels, because . . .

:50:

snip
Someone demolished the visibility argument by pointing out that motorists have no trouble spotting small animals or potentially hazardous trash along the side of the road. Our vision fixes on things that are unexpected or out of place, provided we're looking at the road and not a phone.