RobW1

Hi - newbie here. I have had a number of falls lately - more due to not placing my feet carefully enough than anything else, and not having the reflexes or balance to recover. Consequently, I have lost confidence in walking too far from home. As a result my weight has ballooned from 240 to 290 pounds.

Friends have suggested an adult tricycle for exercise, but from what I have seen, they are very hard to transport by car (My concern is that I would eventually get bored with riding around the same old course and would want to transport it somewhere else so that I could explore other areas also.). A regular cycle would be easy to transport.

I have seen advertisements for two kinds of training wheels that can be fitted to adult bicycles. Does anyone have personal experience of such wheels? Do they make a bike safe enough for someone with balance problems to ride?

There's also the issue of my weight. I would want to be sure that the bike frame and wheels were up to it. I would be sticking to paved areas - no jumping and stuff, just nice leisurely rides.

Any suggestions would be gratefully received.

bengreen79

What about a recumbent trike? Many of them fold up to a manageable size - still bulkier than a regular bike but much smaller than an adult trike. Also, if it is of any concern to you, it's not going to draw attention to you like a full adult trike or training wheels on regular bike. I wouldn't worry too much about your weight, which would be spread over three smaller (so typically more resilient) wheels.

I bought a set of Wald training wheels from Amazon for my daughter's 20" wheeled bike and I think they had some for 26" wheels as well. They were very well made. The issue you'll run into with those is insufficient axle length on most bikes to actually use them.

RobW1

Thanks, bengreen79. No, I'm not concerned about what I look like, only with not falling off, as that would defeat the purpose of the exercise. I hadn't seriously looked at recumbents, though - they are very expensive here.

BikeUSA training wheels look good but if I read the info correctly, the wheels are not designed to touch the ground unless you tilt to one side or the other, so I'm not sure how much value they would be at say 10-15mph or higher. Ez Trainers look interesting but they are not sold in Australia and the good folk at the factory think the cost of shipping would be as much or more than the wheels!

Say hello to Wisconsin for me. I spent a few great years in Madison.

catonec 

If you were to buy a trike now, it doesnt mean you have to keep it for ever or that you cant buy a different bike once your needs change.

as far as getting bored riding the same route, I wouldnt be concerned about that. As your abilities increase you will find longer routes to travel.