General Cycling Discussion - Recumbent trike...Please help me decide.

I'm wanting to get back into biking after a 9 year absence
due to severe arthritis in my knees. Now that I've had both
knees replaced I can ride again,but, NO two wheelers due
to the danger of falls damaging my knee implants. My doctor
says you ride a trike or you walk.

So since I don't mind the idea of a trike to use for caual
riding I need help from the experianced folk's here to help
decide if it's doable at all. Since I'm also retired cost
is a concern which rules out many high dollar recumbents.
(The "senior" type trikes don't fit my knees bend anymore.)
In searching the web I've settled on "Sun EZ3" trikes as the
best budget fit with the features I like. I'm trying to find
them locally to "try one on" before I even think bout buying.

I need to know the following........(for trikes only please)
How much strain is placed on the knee joint on a recumbent?
Do recumbents require higher starting effort?
Are recumbent trikes "tippy" at reasonable speeds?
Will a recumbent trike easily support my 300+ weight and a
load of groceries/"stuff"
Can a trailer be safely pulled behind a recumbent trike?
Do recumbent trikes "wobble" at low speeds?
Any other points that should be considered concerning 'bent
trikes?

Thank's in advance for any help.

OK, let take these one at a time...
How much strain is placed on the knee joint on a recumbent? As much or as little as you want, if you spin the strain will be much lower on the knee joints. But if you mash the pedals your going to place more strain on the knees.

Do recumbents require higher starting effort? NO, but you will want to shift to a lower gear before you stop. Remeber you can't stand on the pedals and use your weight to get going.

Are recumbent trikes "tippy" at reasonable speeds? No, the tadpole (two wheels in front) can corrner very hard with out tipping, I've had tadpole trikes slide around corrners before they lifted a wheel.

Will a recumbent trike easily support my 300+ weight and a
load of groceries/"stuff". Yes, but when you order the trike let the shop and the trike builder know what your going to do with the trike. Then the frame and wheels can built to suit the load. I would get the disk brakes.

Can a trailer be safely pulled behind a recumbent trike? Yes, Most trikes can pull a BOB trailer or one of the many two wheeled trailers.

Do recumbent trikes "wobble" at low speeds? NO....

Any other points that should be considered concerning 'bent
trikes? Will it fit though your door? some trikes are wider then standard house doors so you have to tilt it to get it though the doorway. Will you need to transport your trike by car? I've seen trikes hung from trunk racks, or carried on roof racks.

Trikes can be costly, look at the trikes offered by Organic Engines or Stine. We have an Organic Engines tandem trike and I'm very happy with it. If your near CT and would like to see it first hand let me know we can set something up.

Discamer: Yes we sell OE at the shop....

Thank's for your reply. I went to a local shop to try the
trike I mentioned. Found that (sigh) I can't lift my leg
the 22" to step over the frame to mount the bike. This
sheds a while new light on any return to biking.

While I won't give up just yet I'll keep looking. Does anyone
have any info on the "Worksman PAV3" trike? Quality? Price?
Ride? Step over hight? Any other trikes (delta only please)
that will work?

Oh yes, I looked at the OE trikes and really liked the SUV.
However, I'd never sell it to the wife or be able to get on
it(?).

Again, any help would be appreciated.

Take a look at this web sight, he has photos of just about every trike made with links to the builders web sight.

http://home.mindspring.com/~kb7mxu/index.htm

The Worksman PAV3 is a solid bike, simple, heavy and slow. The gearing is very limited, but it dose have a low step over hight, If your not looking to go fast it may work for you. I'm not saying its a bad bike All of the Worksman bikes are built the same way heavy and solid. Worksman sells a lot of bikes used in factorys and ware houses.

Sun are going to release a high seat tadpole trike I think about July priced around $990, it should be a lot easier to mount.

A guy I ride with has an ICE - Inspired Cycle Enginneering - truly an amazing trike.

www.ice.hpv.co.uk/

55/Rad

A guy I ride with has an ICE - Inspired Cycle Enginneering - truly an amazing trike.

www.ice.hpv.co.uk/

55/Rad
Getting in and out of the ICE trike looks like it would be impossible without full mobility and from memory they are quite expensive. It's the kind of trike I would like :) but for a severe lack of $.

Thank's for the replies on the Worksman PV3 as I think this
is right for my needs. I used Worksman trikes in the factory
where I worked for 40 yrs so I know they are (almost) bullet-
proof. Plus they are a lot like me...."solid,simple & slow".
I guess I'll have to call the factory to see how/where to
find one to try/buy.

I do have one question about the PV3 about the 3sp hub.....
Can a 5,7 or more speed hub be used to replace the standard 3sp??

Yes, with a little work.

Yes, with a little work.

Just how much work,please. In your learned opinion would the
work to install a 5/7 speed hub be worth it over the factory
3 speed hub?? I need to get the pedaling effort down to as
easy as possible so my wife will ride the "Worksman Pav3" too
without pedaling so fast to go no where in a super low gear.

I've read a lot about speed hubs , which I really prefer over
derailer anyday, to find out what's new. When I read about
the Rohloff 14 speed I thought I'd died and gone to heaven.
A 14 speed!! Imaging that!!

The Rohloff hub is a sweet hub, I have built up three bikes with that hub for customers. ANd I'm sure that on could be mounted to Pav3 with a bit of work.

Most of the 3 speed trikes from Worksman have a hub mounted to the frame, and a chainwheel mounted to the hub shell, a chain connects the gear on the hub shell to the rear axel. To use a Rolloff hub in a drive like this I would order a hub for disk brakes and make up gear that would mount to the disk brake holes on the hub. But the draw back to this is the price off the rolloff hub, it lists for $1099.00....yes thats the hub and shifter only.

As to how much work to retofit, thats up to the hub you want to use.

Do recumbents require higher starting effort? NO, but you will want to shift to a lower gear before you stop. Remeber you can't stand on the pedals and use your weight to get going

I thought one of the benefits of a recumbent is that you can push against the seat, and can thus put more power to the pedals (if your knees can hack it) than you can get merely by using your body weight and pulling up with your arms on an upright. It's like doing a leg-press.

It can be a benefit if you have strong knees, but if you have weak knees it will cause problems, so you must spin so as not to damage or knees. Tightwad has already had both knees replaced...

bentbaggerlen, Thank you for your very kind resopnse. I'll
think it over as to how I want to proceed next. More than
likley I'll buy the PAV3 with a 3speed to see if that's
enough gearing (I doubt it will be) to get the job done.
If that fails then I'll see if I can find a bike shop
locally that will be able to swap out a 5 or 7 speed
for me.

You are correct about the Rohloff. I't's a sweet set up and
if I were young enough to get longer use from it then I
buy one in a NY second. However, taken on a cost basis
I'm not sure I'd ever get my use value back from it.

Again, thank you. You are a gentleman.

You could swap out the front ring to get a lower gear. This would be cheaper then a new hub, and the labor to install it. Ware are you located?

You could swap out the front ring to get a lower gear. This would be cheaper then a new hub, and the labor to install it. Ware are you located?

Yes, that feature is offered and I have considered it.
However, not knowing (and I haven't been able to find
the 3 speed gear ratios) I'm not sure which ring
offered will work best. (42t,32t,28t). I'm guessing
that the 28t will bring high gear down enough to
ease pedaling without to much spreed penalty while
leaving the middle & low ratio as load puller and stump
puller for the few hills I have.

Am I on the right track?

Oh yes, I'm located in the center of Illinois.

take a look at the americin tricruiser, it supports 300lb people like myself... it is also fairly inexpensive 799 for the basic model. I dont own one yet but this is the trike that I plan on buying for myself, it looks like it wouldnt be that difficult to get on and off it, I have sent a request for more pictures of it and a quote. the link to the website is http://www.americruiser.com/index.htm

standard sizes fit riders 5' to 6'6 but custom ones can be made.
if your looking to get an electric assist motor, it is available with this trike.
this trike is the best priced one I have seen, and the specs are good first one that I have seen where the standard weight is up to 300lbs.
it also has a very well cushioned seat.
you should seriously check it out, its the best Ive seen.

Sorry, mate but thank's anyway. The American is 'tadpole" design with
no where to haul anything really. That said, I'll stick with a PAV.