My wife has two prosthetic hips and refuses to ride an upright bike because she has this fear of falling and injuring her hips. Several years ago, she bought a Sun EZ 3 recumbent delta trike. It actually got her out riding and she enjoyed it for about a year before it no longer worked for her. We got rid of the Sun and she bought a Performer FX which is a tadpole trike. This worked out much better for her but it was a racing trike and after two years, the extra low, and aggressively positioned, hardshell seat started to bother her back and neck. Last month, she bought a new ICE Sprite 26 and has ridden it more in the last month than she rode her other trikes for any given month.

A few things that we have noticed about the difference in the trikes: While a delta trike (one front-two rear) is easier to get in and out of and will give you the most upright seating position, the trikes are much heavier than tadpole trikes. Her Sun weighed in at 58 pounds vs 32 pounds for the Performer and ICE. Unless you have a pickup, a regular van or a trailer, delta trikes are more difficult to transport. They are also more awkward to handle than tadpoles. When riding, the rider can't see where the rear wheels are and riding on paths or streets often causes the rear wheel to go off the path or hit a curb when riding. This was my wife's biggest complaint with the Sun. The weight distribution on a delta, puts the weight mostly to the rear of the trike. Going down an incline (depending on grade and speed) the trike was more difficult for her to steer since there was little weight on the smaller front wheel. It was also more difficult for her to go up any incline because all the weight was in the back of the trike and she had the extra weight of the trike, the resistance of two drive wheels and and extra pulley system vs a lighter weight trike and one direct drive wheel.

With the tadpole trikes the biggest disadvantage that they have is that they are a bit more difficult to get in and out of because of the lower seating position. However, my wife has no issues doing so even with her limited mobility issues. Some of the big advantages of tadpole trikes is a lower center of gravity which allows for better steering at faster speeds. They are usually half the weight of delta trikes and are much easier to handle because of the difference in weight distribution. I can load my wife's trike in the van or my pickup by myself. It took two of us to load the Sun. Some tadpole trikes are foldable making them easier to transport and store. My wife's ICE is foldable and takes up half as much space when folded. Tadpole trikes have easier and more stable steering since it uses two larger wheels (usually 20") over one smaller wheel (16" for the Sun). With a lighter frame, better weight distribution and a single drive wheel, it is much easier to pedal a tadpole trike over a delta trike. With all the surgeries my wife has had on her hips, there isn't a lot of muscle mass in her thighs for her to build up. The most she was able to do on her Sun was 7-8 mph. (10 on an extremely good day). On her ICE, she is doing between 10-12 mph average with up to 15 mph max speeds on mostly flat terrain.

There are several manufacturers of recumbent trikes and it will all come down to what features you are looking for and how much you are willing to spend on a trike. My wife's ICE was around $4K but it is worth every penny we paid for it if it gets her out of the house and getting some exercise rather than sitting around the house or going shopping. Here is a link of recumbent bike manufacturers that may help you find something she might be interested in. Good luck in your hunt and hope you find something she will enjoy riding.