Yoshibiker

Who has experience with this make/model?

Balancing has never been my strongest point, but I am capable enough to ride a two wheel, but I get a little nervous when trying to do hand signals, and I find having to put my foot down when stopping to be a tad inconvenient. I've looked at upright trikes, but none of them seemed fast or lightweight, and I heard they were terrible at climbing hills.

I currently ride an upright tandem. the long wheelbase provides stability. It's 57 pounds, but with everything I've got on it, it's likely more around 60 pounds. I used to average between 12 and sometimes up to 14 MPH, but I recently got flatter tires and I now have little trouble maintaining a 14+ average.

I have ridden recumbent many times. Me and a friend ride a Counterpoint tandem at least once a week. He rides the upright/captain position, I ride the recumbent/stoker seat. We conquer lots of hills. I've ridden a single recumbent bike once before. I didn't notice going uphill being as bad as some have claimed.

I love my upright tandem (even the "you lost somebody!" comments), but I wouldn't mind having a three wheel vehicle so I wouldn't have to worry so much about balance. But would I be sacrificing much with this recumbent trike compared to an upright two wheel? Would hills be significantly harder? Would I lose speed? I know that the Sun EZ-3 AX is lighter than my Pacific Dualie bike, and has more gears, but I have never ridden an adult trike before (I'd like to test ride one if ever possible). Is this a decent trike for not being a tadpole? Tadpoles are faster, but I'm not that desperate for speed. And I like how much higher the rider sits on this one.

I also like having handlebars in front of me. I had been looking at the EZ-3 SX, but I wasn't hearing too many good stories about it. Plus, finding out that the AX was lighter and better built lured me to it instead.

My tandem has standard pedals, always has. If I got this trike, I would opt for clipless since balancing would no longer be a concern.

Another friend of mine has ridden recumbent trikes in the past, so I plan to talk to him at some point. Though I don't know if he's ever ridden the EZ-3 AX.

osco53

I've had in my stable since 2007 the EZ 3 sx.. the 50 pound one, er 56 I think. I like it, my wife loves it, we will never ever sell it.
I really doubt the few pounds less the AX is will make that much of a difference. It's all about the engines ya know...

Our Sun Delta is NOT fast, period.... Our Sun Delta trike is nice, rides perfectly, never a problem, Its a keeper.

You got to spend more money for a somewhat faster delta IMO

The Greenspeed Anura can now be had with 20" wheels all around: https://www.greenspeed.com.au/anura_main.html

The Kettwiesel can be had in a fast configuration with a very light frame but like most things in life you get what you pay for
and performance cost money.
https://www.bicycleman.com/recumbents...ent-trikes.htm
https://hostelshoppe.com/cgi-bin/read...ike=1206726271

Then there is the Sun X-3 AX I guess those canted rear wheel are durable, this lady motorized hers:
https://www.ecospeed.com/mama-jean-an...les-the-trike/


For the money I think the Sun delta's in any flavor are worth every penny but then again if I want to go fast I take my Tour Easy out, or
my Harley XD

Yoshibiker

According to the Sun site, the AX weighs 49 pounds, the SX weighs 56. So, if that trike may not be right for me, what else is there that uses handlebar steering? I would even take an upright trike if I knew of one that wasn't very heavy.

cplager

Would you consider a tadpole trike? You can find many that are lighter...

Yoshibiker

On my upright tandem, before when it had knobby, more mountain bike-like tires, I could maintain about 16 MPH on flats with some effort. After I put road tires on it, I could get up to 19 MPH with little effort. This is all without clipless pedals. My tandem weighs about 60 pounds, I'm between 105-110. I don't think vehicle weight is the biggest issue, as long as it's 60 pounds or below, and that it has decent tires. Most upright trikes that I could find weighed 65-70+ pounds. I don't want to go that heavy.

Tadpoles sit a little low for my liking, I live 5 miles of busy shoulderless street from the nearest trail. Plus, I prefer handlebar steering. I don't necessarily need to be a speed demon per say, though I wouldn't mind that. If I knew that I would perform just as good and be just as fast on the EZ-3 AX as I am on my heavy tandem, I would be perfectly fine with that.

osco53

I see your train of thought Yoshi,, It Is sound..

Ok other random Input I have from my very limited experience..
Weight is NOT a show stopper on a tike, speed and delta's IMO don't mix well, they need to slow down for corners big time.

As for the Tandem weight you have experience with,, Adding a third wheel adds rolling resistance. How much this matters I do not know.

You Simply MUST drive to the right place and test drive Delta's and Tads.....

I am sticking to my story,,
Deltas are not fast, not due to weight but design..

Tad's can be very fast due to design and as the need for speed increases so does the need for less weight.

If I were you and wanted the performance I think you want I would not purchase with out test riding..

A day and a night in a hotel to reach the right Bike shop that has In stock both tads and delta's may be validated....

I would be willing to spend a few hundred on a road trip before I dropped a few thousand on a trike...

And If a sub $1,000 delta fit the bill the money spent on the road trip was still not wasted,, road trips are fun.

Yoshibiker

I talked with my friend who has experience with trikes. He thinks this would be a good choice for me. He did include his opinion on tadpoles, which are his favorite.

I do have a desire to test one out. I've been trying to find one, perhaps used and cheaper, like on Craigslist so I could check it out.

-SEAN

I bought a used Sun SX-3 2 last summer when I had rotator cup surgery so I could still ride...I had sold my last tadpole trike 2 years prior when I had a nasty accident with my Catbike Musashi and broke my ankle in 3 spots...though used it was easy to fix up with some replacement high pressure tires, a new front derailler, new bearings for the rear axle, and replacement of several of the spokes on the front wheel...I would describe the bike as solid for the most part but you will find that the front handlebars tend to oxidize over time and the seat fades easily, I replaced that too...though very fun to ride this bike is very slow due to its extreme weight...it weighs almost twice the amount of both my Catbike Musashi and Catrike 700...the high pressure tires give you a bit more speed but don't expect to get much more then 7 to 10 miles an hour out of it...price wise you can find them used between $350 and $700 or new $1100 and up...the AX version is slightly lighter but you won't see much difference in speed between it and the steel version...Terratrike makes several different types of entry level tadpole trikes if you want 3 wheels...I had two of them and had mixed results...you get what you pay for when it comes to these recumbents and the components they come with...I have had zero problems with my recumbents by Catrike and I also sing the praises of Bacchetta if you want a two wheel recumbent...I had a Giro 20 ATT that rode like a Cadillac...they have the Bella which is an awesome recumbent I would recommend...Rans also makes some nice recumbents...I can't say it enough...go test ride several different models and find which one you like and feels right...they are a pricey investment!

Yoshibiker

Two of my friends have Bacchetta two-wheels. A tadpole would be OK, but they just sit too low for comfort. I'm still willing to try out a delta just to see how it works out for myself. In the possible event that I don't like it, would a bike-to-trike conversion be too hard?

nogods

Sean - can you show a detailed pic of how you connected the trailer to the Sun EZ3 sx? Thanks

osco53

Speed is relative,
The trike, I've done over 10 mph
The Tour easy, twice that and more down hill,

The Black two wheeler in the back, is real smooth at 104 mph XD

tcs

The Sun AX delta seat height is listed @ 20". The Terratrike Rover tadpole seat height is listed at 16.5" Standard chair seating surface height is usually in the neighborhood of 18".

You'll find several manufacturers in the links section here. Not cheap.

Yoshibiker

Any tadpoles with handlebar steering?

All the decent looking ones were in Europe. The American links didn't satisfy me. I've been also looking at trike conversion axle kits, but I can't find one that is compatible with a 21-speed bike.

-SEAN

sorry...been working allot...will have to get a pic in the next few days...I have a cotter pin running thru one of the tabs on the rear axel of the Sun to the trailer...

nogods

Thanks Sean - I ended up making a trailer hitch from aluminum flat bar and posted it in a separate thread - when you get a chance post your set up so others searching can get several ideas on how to solve that problem.

Yoshibiker

https://www.lightfootcycles.com/archive/products/ariel/

A delta trike with handlebar steering that's a pound lighter than the Sun trike, and it has tadpole-style seating for aerodynamics.