Adult Tricycle
Adult Tricycle
06-18-08, 04:37 PM
#2
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: On the Road
Posts: 1,260
Bikes: Custom built tourer, custom electric bike, beaters everywhere
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I built up an electric trike from a similar frame once. They call those 'deltas'. The ones with two wheels on the front are 'tadpoles'.
Deltas have a problem with cornering. You must go slow because of the high centre of gravity. I used to 'hike' like in a sailboat to move the centre of gravity, but that seat wouldn't work. You need a large bike seat or a bench to slide from side to side.
The bikes are wide, so travelling slowly on the road means that you will take much of the lane. That takes a lot of nerve if the traffic is heavy and lanes are narrow. Also roads are crowned (higher in the centre) until you get used to that you seem to be riding on an angle, and you have to steer to adjust for that.
They are heavy, difficult to store inside because of the size and are theft magnets.
So, bottom line:
Once you know all this, trikes are grear
Deltas have a problem with cornering. You must go slow because of the high centre of gravity. I used to 'hike' like in a sailboat to move the centre of gravity, but that seat wouldn't work. You need a large bike seat or a bench to slide from side to side.
The bikes are wide, so travelling slowly on the road means that you will take much of the lane. That takes a lot of nerve if the traffic is heavy and lanes are narrow. Also roads are crowned (higher in the centre) until you get used to that you seem to be riding on an angle, and you have to steer to adjust for that.
They are heavy, difficult to store inside because of the size and are theft magnets.
So, bottom line:
- Trikes are great for people with balance or weight problems
- They are not very fast
- They're wide as a door, so you must take your lane
Once you know all this, trikes are grear
06-19-08, 10:02 AM
#3
Recumbent Trike
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Santa Cruz, CA.
Posts: 560
Bikes: WizWheelz TerraTrike with Velo-Kit & 24V motor, completely enclosed (fiberglass/kevlar & Lexan) EZ SX Tad with 36V motor
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Adult trikes with any height are manually dangerous. An unexpected wheelchair ramp at about 5 mph threw me right into a moving cars path. That 45 degree turn is just plain unsafe with many delta trikes. Then I thought it would be safer with a motor- Wrong. With a front scrub-tire motor that trike threw me off several other times- get halfway around a corner; touch the throttle- pulls up the inner rear wheel- *thump*
Try test riding before buying if at all possible. A very low recumbent streamliner trike or a VeloKit (Electric Sierra Cycles motor, or a Currie motor) was the way to go for safety/speed/width for me.
Try test riding before buying if at all possible. A very low recumbent streamliner trike or a VeloKit (Electric Sierra Cycles motor, or a Currie motor) was the way to go for safety/speed/width for me.
