Originally Posted by
Moonman802
Not looking for new. I was looking for info, not debate thank you. Raleigh retrofitted some sports into trikes in the late 50’s early 60’s with a bolt on conversion. Looking for something similar. Also, as a footnote, an upright trike would be much easier for my friends (85+ in an elderly community) to mount than a recumbent. Maybe I should just look into a longer replacement axle for an SA to mount on a Sun trike.
There are some really cheap Chinese trikes on the market now, selling new for the price of old used trikes but they are predictably heavy and low quality. I think if you could source just the axle assembly you could bolt it into a regular bike, like the old Holdsworth conversions. But worth the effort? It would require some bracketry and maybe welding, particularly if you want to use existing SA gears. I sympathise, my balance is not as good as it was, but I have a recumbent trike for the days I choose not to ride a bike (or drive a car). There are tadpole recumbents with higher more upright seating, built more for comfort than speed, that might be the sweet spot for your friends, if someone else could be persuaded to pay for them.