I think the width of the trike concerns me as much as the visibility. It might just be a mental thing, but when I'm riding my bike, it seems like the cars and big trucks pass very close. When there's a soft shoulder, I'm riding on the edge of the lane. A trike takes up more lane than a bike with panniers.


This is one highway I ride. On the bike, I've usually got the tires just to the right of the white line in that narrow shoulder. Big rigs pass me on the left. If they've got the space, they'll edge over the double-yellow line and give me more room. If there's traffic in the other lane, we get tight. If I had a trike, I would be all the way into the lane.

There's a video on YT with the pros and cons of trikes. The guy covers safety from both perspectives. People are less likely to fall over on a trike, and they're less likely to be thrown over the handlebars. He also acknowledges the low visibility, flags and lights. Interestingly, he doesn't mention the challenge of transportation. Even if you're not flying the airlines, getting a trike in a regular car would be a challenge and bike racks don't help. Even with some folding features, it seems like you'd need a van, suv or a crossover with a fairly large cargo area and it would probably be best to have a pickup truck. Even then, transporting two or more trikes becomes a challenge. I've frequently traveled with four bikes on a bike rack or in a pickup truck bed. I don't think I could carry four trikes without a big truck or trailer. I do think about involving more of my family in touring, and that's another reason I'm avoiding trikes for now.

Back to riding position while touring: recumbent bikes offer the same reclined riding position, while still being a bike. They're still relatively expensive, and weird. Again, if I'd ever ridden one, I might consider it, but as of now there's too many questions around them to dive into touring on one. I think I'd look there if I couldn't find a position on a regular bike that worked for me.