Madmonk1

Lost my balance is due to middle ear issues. Considering a recumbent trike. Looking for feedback.

WhyFi

There is a recumbent forum, which would probably provide better feedback - https://www.bikeforums.net/recumbent/

Iride01 

Sorry about your middle ear issue.... recumbent? I'm certain I'll be there with you one day....................... but until then

downtube42

Go big or go home

unterhausen

moved here from road

BlazingPedals

thanks for the context! Trikes are becoming popular across the recumbent world, but they're a particularly good solution for those with balance problems. Do
you have something specific in mind? What would your goals for riding?

VegasTriker

Be ready for sticker shock. The good ones are expensive. The cheap ones are heavy and usually have a very limited gear range that you would soon outgrow as you gained your "trike legs". Recumbent trikes do not use muscles the same way as you do on a road bike so most beginning riders need an adjustment period to get even close to what they accomplished on a DF bike. A few recumbent trikes come in different frame sizes but many offer just one size and you move the boom in and out to get the trike to fit. At the same time you must adjust the chain length to get the gears to work correctly by adding or removing chain links. You might find a used trike for sale and save a bundle but if you know nothing about trikes, that can be risky. There are just 3 trikes listed on my local CL. A pair of 9 speed 43 pound trikes with an accessory trailer for $3,900 and a Sun EZ-3 SX for $650. It weighs 56 pounds and has 21 speeds and cost around $1,100 new. I wouldn't recommend either one if you are a serious rider due to the weights and gear setup. The ad for the pair of trikes says, "like new condition, barely used". I guess that is why they are asking near the new price for them but seem to forget subsequent buyers don't get a warranty.

Irishred

You can always buy a used trike. There is a recumbent specific sight called "Bent Rider On Line" which has a classified section for used trikes. Good luck.

rydabent

Trike are great fun, and actually the easiest and most relaxing way their is to cycle. Pretty much as soon as you ride one you will be hooked.

79pmooney

I saw one of those today. My first time on a ride. It was going the other way. I don't recall seeing the front wheel cut out and the cockpit was open like an early airplane so it may have been a two wheeled version.

My first thought - we are coming into the weather and temperatures for those. Summers? Way too warm!

downtube42

They are allowed in randonneuring, so you see them particularly on the big grand brevets. Incredibly fast on flats and downhills. I've never seen a two wheeler on the road, only videos of them pursuing records. Most of what I've seen have open cockpits. A super fast dude I "rode with" in Scandinavia would flip his cover up on climbs for cooling, then flip it down for the descent and disappear.

Tony Marley

A 'bent trike would definitely be a safe option for you, but they are not cheap and take up more room to store. That said, I love my current trike and plan to add another.

Notso_fastLane

There are quite a few velonauts around the Portland area. (Yes, that's what we call ourselves.)

They are surprisingly not that hot. I ride mine year round, although I also have a 2 wheel recumbent that I ride more frequently in warmer weather. The shell enclosure is offset by great airflow, and the shade provided by the roof.

There are many different models of velos. If you saw one with the wheels covered, it was most likely a Quest, one of the faster velos out there.

FWIW, on the flats, I'm about 5 mph faster than on my 2 wheel bent. The only place my 2 wheeler is faster is going uphill.

BlazingPedals

I'm, doing 45 mph when he passes me at 1:23 in the video. Velomobiles are fast, yeah! Edit: he caught me in the hills, so even if you call them 'slow' uphill, they can apparently more than make up for that minor liability. The hills in this area ran around 10% and 150 feet (vertical) or so.

pm124

Performer makes a well-priced trike for the weight and will ship it to you. If you have $$ for for a Bacchetta carbon speed monster. Those are probably the two best value for the money trikes.

rydabent

Some people will try to say trikes are not safe. I find that to be not true. Almost all trike riders including me notice that cars almost always give trike riders a wide berth when passing. Many I think believe a trike is some kind of handicap device, and dont want their name on the front page of the local paper saying they hit a handicap person. Further in the vein of safety, falls are almost non existent, and not very far in the first place. Also if riding in a high cross wind a trike is far less likely to be blown over into the path of traffic, than a DF or even a recumbent bike.

Jeff Wills

Several friends have recumbent trikes as well as recumbent bikes. We're kind of ambi-cyclic that way.

IMO: try to find a group of local riders. (Where are you?) BentRiderOnline is a good place to start. Look different trikes over, ask questions, test ride a few. What you think you like might not be what really works for you. It's an axiom in the recumbent community that a trike will go through three owners before it finds its forever home.

I have 3 recumbent bikes (and my wife's recumbent) plus 3 upright bikes in my garage right now. I'm not anti-trike- I just haven't gotten back there yet. I built recumbent trikes in the early '80's:

10 Wheels

I bought my First Trike from that site.

rydabent

Another note on trike safety is the fact on start up from a stop, you dont weave and wobble all over the place trying to get clipped in. On a trike, at a stop, you just remain clipped in, and you ride off straight ahead. People in traffic like that.

northernjeep

I used plans from Atomic Zombie and have built 3 trikes. The first was a tadpole , the next 2 which are the ones I'm currently riding are Delta's - that's 2 wheels in back, one in front.. They are all e assist and are super comfortable to ride.

rydabent

Another thing about trikes is climbing hills. If you have a trike with a front triple and low mountain bike gears in the rear, you can tackle any hill. Gear way down and just spin. You can go as slow as necessary without wobbling around into traffic, and if you need to just stop and rest and take off again straight ahead.

Rebarrish777

Just took my brand new catrike villager out for a spin! On my mom's country road. Not gravel but that older, gravel in asphalt type stuff? Well, the road vibration was incredibly bad! I mean, my vision was blurred? I've ridden my old Greenspeed G3 on it a couple years ago and there was some vibration but not real bad as I went back and forth many, many times? Any ideas? Tires to full? Or is that just, the villager? I had hoped to ride it on back country Georgia dirt roads?

JanMM

Chipseal. Lots of it in Central Indiana - some not so bad. Some bad. My experience riding 'bent bikes on it is that larger tires with lower pressure make it more tolerable. 1.5" is as large as I've gone.

VegasTriker

The OEM tire on the Catrike Villager according to the current specs at Utah Trikes is the Schwalbe Marathon Racer. I couldn't find a reference for the 20" size but the 16" version used on folding bikes is 65 to 110 psi. If you are running them really hard at the upper end, that would be the reason for the harsh ride. It looks like getting a different set of tires right now might be difficult. The listing at UT shows they will send the Villager out with wider tires like the Big Apple in the 2" and 2.15" width. Both are available.in stock. They run at 30-70 and 30-55 psi respectively.


My Greenspeed GTO came with Tioga Comp Pool 1.5" tires and that was pretty comfortable but they were discontinued by Tioga. That may have been what was on the G3 if it was old enough.

skier

Catrikes in general have very stiff rides. They’re great when the road is smooth, but they aren’t that pleasant when the roads get rough. If this is typical of roads in your area I would suggest it may be the wrong trike for you.

You can do things to make the ride softer: big apple tires, lower pressure, etc.