irclean

I apologize if the thread title is misleading; I do not own a trike. I am, however, seriously considering the purchase of one. What I am hoping to accomplish with this thread is to hear some testimonials. I would like to know what brand/model of trike you own. Why did you buy it? What do you love/hate about it? Do you use it for all-weather commuting (including winter)? How much did you pay for it, and how much have you spent in upgrades/accessories? If you had your druthers, what brand/model would you buy today?

I would also like some buyer's advice: What features should I look for? Suspended or rigid? How extensive a test ride should I take? What accessories should I be prepared to budget for? Would you consider buying a trike online without a test ride?

I'm a mid-forties, Clydesdale-framed, 6-foot-tall man. I suffered a spinal fracture in 2006 and I took up cycling about 2.5 years ago after a 20-year hiatus as a means of physical therapy. I've been commuting to and from school and work on a semi-regular basis and I probably rack up about 3000 km (>1800 miles) per year upon my 3 DF bikes. My primary ride is a belt-driven, IGH-equipped "performance hybrid" that I bought in response to experiences gained through winter commuting. I live in London, Ontario and will likely have to go to Toronto to find my trike, since there are no dealers locally who carry trikes. Failing that I would need to order one online.

I don't personally know any trike (or 'bent, for that matter) owners, so my only resource for information is this forum, therefore I thank you in advance for any and all replies.

Cheers, and ride safe!

Edit: Since I live about 2 hours from Detroit & Port Huron, and about 3 hours from Niagara Falls, I would be willing to travel to the States to test ride some trikes if anyone knows of some good shops.

aenlaasu

I bought my trike (Trice QNT model which is now out of production) in 2004. It was a desperate bid to reclaim some form of cycling after oveer 5 years of being pedal-less. I got the idea when I was passed by a recumbent bicycle while walking around Stockholm. As soon as I got home, I flung myself into research and decided I needed a trike. I wanted a narrow track so I could get it in and out of the apartment more easily. Something that could fold would be even better. It lead me to the Trice QNT.

I love it because while a DF bike could leave me barely able to get out of bed for a week or more, I can ride for hours with no discomfort. Often, my back even feels better after climbing out the seat. No aching neck, shoulders or rump. No numb hands. Better still, I can drop into insanely low gears and creep up hills without toppling over since I also have bad knees which don't allow me to put a lot of power into the pedals. With a DF, I was constantly walking up hills. I probably set records for slowest climbs, but I do get up those hills without walking.

I also love it because my dog can't pull me around even when I'm stopped. Even lacking the condition I had when I was in my 20's I've ridden my trike for longer distances than I ever managed with DF and I never would have dreamed of cycle touring before I got my trike.

If there were anything I would change about my trike, it would be to replace my 20" rear wheel with a 26" to give my rear derailleur arm greater clearance from the ground when in certain gears. At times, I have less than 1.5 inch clearance which means in snow, sand, gravel, mud or rocky conditions my derailleur takes abuse or acts as a scoop which can foul the chain.

Peter_C

To the OP - before replying, I must ask, as this will change what trike you might be able to buy? Unlike most DF-style bikes, the weight limit on a trike may be of greater importance~! Are you above or below 275lbs?

Also, do you have a price range in mind? And, how hilly, or how flat is the area that you might be riding in?

eay

First off: what Peter_C said. Everything he said.
Second, the advice I have for you is to test ride as many different trikes as you can before making your decision. I had a list in my mind of trikes to try and ended up buying one that was not on my list. Some of the others were OK, but the one I tried on a lark was the best!
You might have to take a day off or use up a weekend to do this, but it is well worth the effort. I believe there are a number of recumbent dealers in southeastern MI but since I don't live there anymore I can't say for sure.

irclean

I am (for now) hovering around 300 lbs. I say hovering because for the past year I've ranged from about 295-310. It varies depending on my diet and activity level. Go figure. Two years ago I weighed about 325, so I like to think I'm heading in the right direction.

London, Ontario is not flat; I would describe the terrain as "rolling". There are a few steep hills to be found, but they are relatively short. So far my cycling ability and fitness has improved to the point where I no longer have to dismount and push my bike up said hills. They still, however, leave me breathless.

My price range is upward of $2500 CAD.

Peter_C

I own a TerraTrike Rover 8

Primary reasons for buying it were;
Weight Limit - Rover's is 400lbs, most other trikes is 275lbs or less. (GreenSpeed at over 3K bucks is an exception)
Seat height - due to bad knee - Rover's is 18.5", most other trikes are much lower - harder to sit down, and stand up.
Price - Wanted to keep the cost down - Rover is $999 for the 8 speed (base price)

I *like* the internal hub - looks much cleaner to me, and you can shift it while sitting still~! Lifetime warrenty is a plus.

I do not commute, but will ride on any dry day oveer freezing.

Bling - Fenders, up-graded tires, bell, 'puter, rear rack, tail-light, headlight, rack bag, better pedals (I went clipless - leg suck is bad), water bottle mount, flag.

You ought to consider 'bentRiders Online as they have a Trike only section to their forum - much more traffic too - FYI

Peter_C

Because of all the differences, the best way to measure 'gears' when comparing bikes and trikes is to use "Gear Inches". The lower the 'GI' the lower the gear.

The Rover8 has a GI of 24-80 - I wish the 24 was a '20' instead (I am not a strong rider) The 'ideal' trike with have a GI of at least 18-90 (or higher, if you pedal going downhill). 24 gear inches is OK if you aren't doing *big* hills...

I *would* buy the Rover again.

BlazingPedals

I've been through London Ontario, and for the most part it's as flat as anything you can find in N. Ohio or N. Indiana. Which is to say, pretty flat. I bet you could easily map out a century that has less than 1000 feet of climbing. Centuries in S. central Michigan might have ~1500 feet of climbing, still pretty flat. That's not to say there's NO hills, but you've actually got it pretty easy. Usually when rides get the "hilly" descriptor, they're over 5000 feet/century. And when folks start bragging about hilly rides, the standard is a 10,000-foot century.

irclean

Point taken. My description of "rolling terrain" is based on my experience, and I have little to compare it to. I grew up in Calgary, Alberta, and being nestled in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains I guess you could call that rolling terrain, although much of Calgary is flat. Hills around London are pitiful in comparison, but I've also traveled through the Canadian Prairies between Calgary and Winnipeg and IMHO that is flat, baby! So... if planning a local century with <1000 feet of climbing qualifies as flat, then flat it is. In any case I would still like to be able to climb the local hills. FWIW I can now climb any of the local hills I've encountered so far on any of my DF bikes, and one of them is equipped with an Alfine IGH.

Mr Gnome

Aenlaasu,

I've had surgery on both shoulders, both elbows, reatach the left bicep and should have discs replaced in my neck and low back. This is all due to the job I had for over 26 years. I tried a DF bike and couldn't do it without pain! On my recumbent delta trike there are no problems. After a good ride with my wife and brother-in-law I'm in fine shape and they are ready to give up! BTW, my brother-in-law is 50 years old, has a good light Raleigh road bike and has ridden since he was a kid.

I also run my 90lb lab with me on the trike. Depending on the weather in Florida (GETS HOT) we will go anywhere from a couple of miles a day to over 12. On the DF I got pulled over twice from him taking off after squirrels, etc. On the trike there is next to no chance of that. After over a year of this that dog is like a rock!!! No kidding, just feeling him it's hard to tell what is muscle or bone he's that solid!!!

BTW, running my dog is the main reason I bought the trike.

Mr Gnome

Peter_C

How do you run your dog? Just a leash, or a "walky dog" or what do you use please?

VegasTriker

One of the largest recumbent stores in the US is located in the small town of Stevens Point, WI, It is about the middle of the state on US HY 51, southeast of Winnipeg. They are the sponsor of the hugely successful Midwest Recumbent Rally in mid-August. You can request a paper copy of their catalog or go online and salivate over their selection of trikes in all price ranges. www.hostelshoppe.com They also have a "for sale" section on their website where private individuals can list used trikes. Many of the recumbent sites and even some of the online stores have similar for sale listings on their websites. The rally is a great place to try out many different brands of trikes as it is attended by many manufacturer's representatives with samples to try.

irclean

According to Google Maps that's about an 11 hour drive for me. Hmm... road trip in August? Probably worth the trip if I want to make an educated choice.

Mr Gnome

Peter_C,

It's on a Sun trike with the kool back seat using a leash and budgie cord.

I run him on the right side next to the curb. On the back left side middle of the seat bracing I hook the leash, run it around to the other side then wrap it around one loop of the seat bracing. (This gives the whole seat as leverage.) About 3/4 of the way down the leash I hook a budgie cord to it to use as control and so it doesn't get caught in the rear tire. (It's one of those leashes with the second loop close to the end to control your dog, so it makes it easy/secure to hook the budgie cord to.) On my end of the budgie I have a loop in it to go around my wrist.

I hope I explained it good enough you get the idea.

Mr Gnome

LWB_guy

Thank you, Peter_C, for the details on your trike. It is good to know your thinking as well as its technical specifications, and to discover that the trike you chose lived up to your expectations.

toolbear

1. What Peter said.

2. The Utah Trikes Rover x5 (WITHOUT THE 26" WHEEL) and with the 27 speed option would be a capable hill climber. While the Rover x5, 26" rear wheel, has a gear inch range of 24-72 GI, the same machine with 20" all around would have 16.5 - 88.3 GI.

I have the x5 with big wheel and I can tell you that 24 is too high for around here. There are slopes where I am in 1x1 and looking for something lower.

My retrofit, suggested by UT, was to mount the Lasco 152 mm crank set with 22/32/44t chain rings. It should produce 16.8 - 104 gi. Stay tuned. I am going to test it this weekend.

Meanwhile - for some Rover Bike Bling, check out the pix...


<https://s1222.photobucket.com/albums/dd500/trailbear/>

Peter_C

One point I forgot. If $$$ is no issue, a custom-made GreenSpeed would be my Trike of choice - can anyone say "mountain drive"?

Haff

I have a terratrike cruiser with the schlumph high speed drive. reasons I picked it: I needed the 300lb weight limit. it had great reviews. I didnt have the time to go test ride any trikes (all long drives) so the terratrike 30 day moneyback deal was nice.

The schlumph is nice for two reasons. 1: there is no front derailer or tripple ring to get all gummed up or take up space. Its all internal. and 2: it nicely expanded my gear inch range. My range is 16-116 gear inches, which gives me a nice low for the steep hills, and the high is pretty decent for the downhills.

Other reasons I like the trike: Its comfortable. I dont get pain other then the muscles I'm working. Its convenient when riding, and what I mean by this is when I need to stop for whatever reason (catch my breath, check the map, just take in some scenery) I'm allready in a lawn chair to relax in. and most importantly.... its fun! It might be the novelty and it might wear off, but for now anyway the trike is a lot more smile-inducing then my DF.

What I dont like (you should be aware of these things too):
wheel alignment. something that is non-existent with a DF can me a major handling issue with a trike. You need to trim the toe-in just right, take a little practice to get right, especially if you are heavier.
rear visibility: you NEED mirrors to see behind you. You cant just twist your neck and body and take a look. This was not intuitive until I tried it, but trust me, you will need mirrors.
further into the road: since a trike has wheels at the far left and right extremes or the frame you cant pull as far over on a road when a car comes, (for a DF you can put your center at the road edge, for a trike you can only put your right wheel to the road edge). This only concerns me because i ride on narrow twisty roads around me, may not be a concern where you ride.

Overall I am immensely happy with my trike and if it got destroyed somehow I would buy another.

mchell

To irclean, the OP. I live north of Peterborough, Ontario, and when I was ready to test ride and check out trikes, I went to the Urbane Cyclist on John St. in Toronto. I spent the morning there and test rode 3 or 4 trikes that interested me. The Scorpion was sweet, but too expensive; the Catrike Speed was too reclined and other models just seemed "not right" for me. At home, I searched the Catrike Website for other dealers in Ontario and found recumbenttrikes.ca in Orillia. They had what I wanted to try out and I spent the day there triking around the Lightfoot Trail. The Catrike Road was perfect for me, and I bought it from recumbenttrikes.ca
That was 6 years ago. I've never had so much fun on wheels under my own power. My wife and I do most of our riding on a Rans Screamer so I only manage 1,000 to 1,500 km each season on the trike. Best addition I made to it was a very visible flag from beseenwear.com
With an 11x32 cassette and a 52//42/30 chainring, the ratios are good for me. When it comes time to move on, I will likely invest in a Catrike Expedition for the 26" rear. But I will then likely change the gears to an 11x34 with a 48/36/24 as I do most of my riding in Haliburton. At 66 years young, I need the "low end".
There's a good article at Bentrideronline at the moment about the Rover. It will handle your weight and I'm sure you could tweek it to give you the gears you want. Good Luck! Mike

irclean

Thanks for the replies... especially you, mchell; Toronto and Orillia are certainly closer to me than Stevens Point, Wisconsin. Also, to be truthful, I'd much rather deal with a Canadian distributor. I've heard both good and bad things about the Rover, but obviously I need to test ride a bunch of trikes to make an educated decision. Since the holidays I've tried to get back on track, diet-wise, and upped my mileage, so hopefully by the time I'm ready to test ride I'll be under the 275 lb. weight limit set by many manufacturers.

Keep the testimonials coming; it's very helpful.

toolbear

The 22/32/44 chain rings work.

Back from a test ride with assorted underpasses and a final mile that had ever increasing grade. The new cranks gave me the range I needed. It seemed that I was working two gears above the previous cranks - so there was some reserve if I needed it.

Thread is over on BentRiderOnLine - Trikes.