Just got a call from my older (75) sister. She wants to get a trike and doesn't know where to begin. I gave her the general advice. Buy quality, sized and fitted properly. And find a reliable LBS. Problem is, she is over 300 miles from me. Does anybody know of such close to the Kansas City area? Kearney MO to be exact.

What kind of trike are you recommending? Is it the typical "adult trike" that you see in retirement communities or are you suggesting a recumbent trike? There is a world of difference between the two. You can see the differences here: Choosing the best adult tricycle made easy. The former are inexpensive, generally heavy, have a limited number of gears, and are really meant for riding short distances such as from home to the store. Recumbent trikes are entirely different. The decent ones are very expensive but comparable in quality to the bikes you own. They are capable of being ridden the distances you would on a road bike (but far more comfortably for us older riders). Which model might be suitable for your sister might depend on how spry she is. The low seating trikes are fun to ride but difficult for some people to get in and out of. They make higher seating trikes for the less spry. I ride one of the lowest, most laid-back trikes available, a Catrike 700 and I am close in age to your sister. Someone who is 62 asked about the ages of people who ride the CT700 because he was concerned it might not be suitable for someone his age. Quite a few owners who replied are in the 70s so you can never tell. Age of Cat 700 riders? - BentRider Online Forums Bentrider is an excellent website for prospective recumbent trike riders.

Recumbent or upright. Tadpole (2 wheels in front) or delta (2 wheels in rear)? If recumbent, you may want to post on Bent Rider Online. Trike dealers are scarce in most areas, unfortunately. There are some online vendors though. If she has developed this interest from a friend or acquaintance, perhaps that person would have some good leads.

I did a search of Terra Trike vendors and there is one in the KC area: Bike America. There website shows a few trikes, but that does not mean that they stock them.

Good luck.

It looks like Bike America carries (or at least handles) Catrike and Terratrike, the two big brands, as well as the Sun line. I'd recommend calling ahead to verify that they have something on the floor; carrying and having something in stock are apparently two different concepts.

Trikes are currently about 90% of the bent market, so it shouldn't be that hard to find them.

Really??!

I don't doubt you for a moment, and as I think about it, it makes sense, I had just never heard that before.

No? Probably not, but kinda hip looking