donald_s

Back in the day I did a lot of cycle touring. I've not ridden regularly for some years. Being much older (over 60 now) I was thinking though it might be cool to have a trike to take to the store to do shopping, etc. But looking online I'm seeing basically the granny Schwinn 3 wheeler and many clones that look just like it. All the decent looking trikes are electric. So I'd love some suggestions of a trike that can take a basket that has a reasonable set of gears, is fairly light (yeah I know we're talking a trike here), is actually human powered and that wouldn't be grandma's tricycle.

Thanks a bunch!

Donald

fietsbob

British have produced some really nice lightweight hand made tricycles, and of course, race rhem..
quick search finds : https://www.trykit.com/

CliffordK

The "High Performance" trikes are often the recumbents.

Delta & Tadpole.

Most of them aren't designed for cargo, although some may have a pannier rack (which is a good idea as it is difficult to carry something like a backpack or satchel).

https://www.icetrikes.co/

However, you could snag a trailer for those moments when you need to carry extra cargo.

Keep in mind, many 60+, and even 70+ riders are still on 2-wheel bikes.

fietsbob

FWIW From the mentioned site



and .. a conversion axle part..

tcs

3-wheelers for fast grannies:

tcs

I dunno - I don't see any reason a Wald basket wouldn't fit onto one of these:

Darth Lefty 

I bought a recumbent tadpole trike for my heart surgery recovery, until my chest can manage handlebars again. Mine is a Terra Trike Rambler GT, but there are a ton of options. Some of these trikes are really low but this one is no worse than sitting down in a lawn chair. The front is pretty hopeless for storage but the rear has a ton of real estate. A standard rack is the simplest way to go but not the only. You could put big paper-boy baskets on the back, no problem.

Baldy1953

Just bought a Terra Trike Rover for my wife. She loves the thing. She has a problem with 2 wheel bikes falling over when she stops. That has been solved with her recumbent. Smiles the whole time while riding.

BlazingPedals

I just picked up this little number for my wife; but it looks like it'll be mine since it's pretty low and she has flexibility issues. It's got a rack for the rear, I just don't have it installed. As shown, 29 pounds, which is fairly light for a trike. To get much lighter you'd need to get the Bacchetta for $6000.

GlennR

They also race lawn mowers.

BobbyG

On almost any recumbent trike that can fit a rear rack you can also fit rear rack mounted baskets, like the Wald folding baskets I have on my MTB based commuter.

TiHabanero

Getting in and out of the recumbent trikes is a little difficult as they are so low to the ground. They are not for everyone.

Darth Lefty 

The people who make these things are aware of their reputation. If you look at the low and mid range offerings (Terra Trike Rover, Catrike Villager, Greenspeed Magnum) you will see that they now have seats that are more upright, adjustable recline, and bolted to the top of the frame rather than being deeply reclined and built into the frame. The expensive/fast ones are still lowriders.

tcs

All are not like most. If you can sit in a chair, you can get onboard a Hase Trigo or Sun Seeker Ez-Tri. It's hard to imagine an easier pedal cycle to mount:

VegasTriker

The two listed above do quality for being easy to mount and dismount but I would not consider either of them "easy to pedal" due to their weights. They are both heavy trikes.

Sun trike - MSRP $1,100 21 speed mountain bike gearing. Seat height 22" Weight 56 pounds. That's about 20 pounds more than many of the regular tadpole trikes with 20" wheels all around.
Hase Trigo Retail prices $2,149 with overseat steering and $2,250 with USS Seat heights 23"
Hase Trigo OSS has 8-speed internal hub and single 36 tooth crankset. Both come with short cranks (155 mm)
Hase Trigo USS has 24 speed drive train halfway between usual road and MTB setup Listed weight 21.5kg or 47.4 pounds

The Catrike villager with a seat height of 12.5" is still supposed to be far easier to get up and out of. Weight is 34 pounds. Price at Utah Trikes is $2,550. I'd much rather pedal a trike weighing 34 pounds than one weighing 47.

tcs

Aaaand that Sun Seaker EZ Tri goes for $1200 @ Utah Trikes. I bet we'd agree we'd rather pedal a 34# trike than a 56# one, and we'd rather pay for a $1200 trike than a $2550 one.

rydabent

A tadpole with a trunk pack.

Slightspeed

A guy in our bike club has this 3 wheel Scorpion, made in Germany, full suspension, disc brakes, e-assust. He calls it his go-kart. He has some neck issues and can't ride a conventional bike any more. Its cool looking, but I don't think I'd like riding in traffic at hubcap level.

VegasTriker

Scorpion FS costs about $5K (and up) with shipping. Not something most people would buy to carry groceries home on. It certainly is one of the best trikes available.

I still will never understand why non-trike riders assume that trikes are unsafe on ordinary roads. If a driver can see a dead skunk in the road, is there a reason why a 7 foot long trike with the riders head a yard above the pavement, flying a large flag, should suddenly be invisible? That's my Catrike 700 which is the lowest, most laid-back trike Catrike makes. Any long-time trike rider will tell you that they get a lot more room from most drivers than they do riding a DF bike.

donald_s

Vegas, how did that skunk get dead? It's called road kill. I have had accidents on my bicycle involving a car 5 times. I have had my car hit by another car 6 times. My sister was killed by being run over by an inattentive driver. I don't trust drivers, especially in this distracted cell phone era. And if I am low to the ground I have less visibility. I do not trust people to see me. I want to see them. It looks like you've done a great job of making sure you're visible, you're a smart man. But my trust for drivers is low, so I want to be up high.

donald_s

I also want to say thank you to everyone who has responded and especially those who sent me personal messages. The moderators won't let me post pictures or respond to personal mail until I do a certain number of posts here. So I want to say I'm not ignoring you, just that I can't fully respond. Thanks for understanding.

bakerjw

Why not get a trailer? There are some inexpensive 2 wheel ones available.
My wife and I got a BOB to use with our tandem for grocery shopping. The store thinks that it is cool that we ride our bike there to do our shopping.

rydabent

I would also advise a tadpole with indirect steering.

BlazingPedals

Skunks get dead by running out in front of a car before the driver can react, usually unlit at night.

If we're throwing anecdotes around, I've been hit 4 times on my uprights and once on a recumbent. Therefore, uprights are 4 times more accident prone? And another anecdote, a friend's wife pulled out into a semi - in a 25 mph zone. She didn't see it. In my experience, height has very little to do with visibility; it's more about being where drivers are looking for you to be - and them not being distracted. Because if they're distracted you might as well be driving a semi.