Originally Posted by
BlazingPedals
I don't fully understand the fascination with trikes when 2-wheelers are going cheap. You could easily find a quality brand name bent bike for $400. But then you'd have to learn how to ride it. That might take a few minutes. One unusual feature of that trike,, it looks like the chain runs internally in the boom, back to a point under the seat.
The disconnect is in the bolded. I've seen that you have the talent for the two wheel bents. Most of us aren't that gifted. I rode
Saki quite a bit the first year (2017) I had her, but less and less each successive year and none during or since the Pandemic. I'd like to re-visit recumbent riding, but have no protected spaces (car free) nearby like I did in 2017. I had a number of falls and a couple of real hip busters just learning to ride Saki. I can count the falls from a regular bike on one hand in decades of riding. There are two wheel recumbents that are stable and easy to ride but almost to a one, they are heavier, slower, and much more expensive than a standard bicycle. The Highracer and Lowracer formats both (as you know) offer superior performance, but the lowracer requires much more balance talent because there is a much shorter window of correction available.
Trikes offer stability and poise, and can be decently fast. They are not for me either, but I get it. That trike in the o.p. is a disaster. There is no triangulation for the front 'forks' which is why brakes haven't been fitted. The designer didn't trust that a hard stop wouldn't compromise them. That internal chain in the boom must also be under incredible stress. I see no way to tension it and the torque transfer at the main chainwheel under the seat takes place without a standard coupling of known limits. But, ridden within its (considerable) limitations it would be less ... 'dangerous' than my highracer.