Originally Posted by
esther-L
Depending on the source of your balance issues, 3 wheels is likely the way to go. There are upright and recumbent trikes. Recumbent is going to get better use of your gluteus muscles and get you more distance with same effort. Recumbent trikes can be taller than you think, and are visible in traffic.
I think the main advantage to the recumbent trike is that even the tallest of them get you way lower than the typical "adult trike" and are thus more aerodynamic. Faster. Or, as you put it, more distance with the same effort. The center of gravity is also much lower and the chance of tip over during cornering is reduced. I am riding a rather tall recumbent highracer bike and I am sure I am very visible in traffic. However, after years... decades of riding exclusively upright bicycles the limited experience I have had in street situations have been pretty scary.
I feel invisible, and every intersection and driveway I encounter in the scant 1/4 mile between my house and the place I practice riding the recumbent is blood pressure spiking.