Hi 3 Wheel Granny; I like that username. My basic backstory; a couple decades since my last motorcycle accident, I started riding a trike. In 2016, I was 48 and my first adult tricycle was an iGlobalBuy 24" 7 speed. Rode it 1,800 miles in Long Beach, CA; including some hilly areas with crowns. May 2017, I broke my hip in a mountain bike crash, and had total hip replacement surgery. I did not ride for 6 months while recovering from surgery.
However, on Black Friday 2017, I purchased a Velor 24” 6 speed adult tricycle. Because I was living in Orange County and attending college in Los Angeles County, I’d ride 32 miles a day several times a week in addition to shorter rides throughout the week. I put 2,800 miles on that trike and now use it as a spare in emergencies.
In June, last year, I purchased and assembled a Schwinn Meridian 26” single-speed trike. Today, I have logged 3,762 miles on it, and it is still rolling smooth. I’m also 51 now; the years pass by and I gain experiences as they do. Releasing air from the tires is not a good idea on street bikes; in fact, keeping them inflated will allow for smoother rolling. Check them daily by touch, and with a gauge once a week – mine lose ~10 PSI/week, so I put it back in because it makes riding in the wind and on hills easier to peddle. Road crowns are a challenge to avoid but I ride them as slowly as needed and always look for leveler road surfaces; but only ride on them if it is safe. With practice, it gets better.
Congratulations on riding, and I hope you find a solution to riding road crowns.
June 28, 2018; Surf City beach bike path riding Schwinn Meridian (Olivia)
Originally Posted by
DiabloScott
Well - that's a unique and interesting problem!
I don't think letting air out of your tires is going to help. And nothing you do is going to help with your vertical position on the trike - you're going to have to lean to the left to counteract the effect of the crown of the road.
But you could sort of maybe put your heaviest loads on the left side of your basket (maybe even hang something on the outside) to help with the handling some. And look for more horizontal surfaces.
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Originally Posted by
3wheelgranny
I'm just a fat old lady.
I've been using a recumbent EXERCYCLE regularly enough to feel that I could start biking to work (I'm a nanny). BUT we have very hilly, narrow roads in downtown Atlanta, and I have to bring a big old suitcase full of non-stop entertainment to work every day, so I decided that an adult tricycle (upright, single-speed 26" Schwinn Meridian with a large basket) would be the way to go. I can carry my gear, AND I'm planning to add an e-bike kit to it to help with those hills. Bike arrived yesterday, finished assembly today, took it for a spin around the block.
WHOA! I had NOT anticipated the high-crowned center of the road to be so destabilizing! These are old neighborhoods, and cars are parked on both sides of the narrow streets. Even staying in the center of one lane, I'm tipped pretty far to my right, and steering is very difficult. I had to brake and pull over numerous times to avoid hitting a parked car or swerving into traffic.
I had decided against a recumbent because of visibility, but now I understand the appeal. I went crazy trying to find a place where I could try out, rent or borrow an adult trike before I ordered one cold, but I couldn't find anything in the entire state of Georgia. So I went with cheap, and I'm pretty much stuck with it now.
I'm going to let some of the air out of my tires, and see if that helps (they are pumped up to 60#), but, any other advice?
I'm not interested in attaining great speed; I just want to be able to cruise to work and the grocery store (each about a mile away) and maybe open her up if I can find a bike trail that isn't populated by "serious" riders who sneer at the tubby girl on the wobbly trike.
