lisitsa

Hi I am beginning to consider riding my trike on the road, but would like to know from those who've had some experience (and I mean bad experience) of how trikes react in a crash. EG, if you smack into a bicycle rider, are you gonna go skidding or flipping. (or will you casually recline as he gets treated). God forbid if a car knocks you as it passes, if anyone has had any experiences, If a car hits you from the side at a slow speed as it comes out of a driveway or out of a parking space, will your trike slide sideways, or will it automatically flip or get crushed.
What if someone opens a door on you? I imagine you'll be much safer than on a bicycle, but you could get hurt if it jams into your leg.

I've given many scenarios here, but if you have had some others, feel free to share

PS- What about lone accidents? Has anyone ever actually flipped their trike on a turn. I can get one wheel in the air a bit, but i can imagine it would take a huge more G-force before it flips.

FarHorizon

Sorry, I can't answer the questions, and hope I never can!

geebee

I have flipped mine a couple of times, It takes a lot to do it too . On one occasion I slid down a bike path on my side at 30kph and didn't get a scratch, the trike got a scratch on one hub (mostly the bolt) and on the rear rack. The trick appears to be to hang on stay clipped in and ride the trike to a stop, I suspect in 99% of crashes this would be the best course of action.
Regarding the dreaded dooring senario, always try and turn around the door and straighten up immediately, I have done this at speed with only a few feet of warning, the trike changes direction instantly, then flicks straight onto 2 wheels and when you straighten up it drops back onto 3 wheels, in this case if I had been on any 2 wheeler there is no way I could have cleared the door.
I hope you never have to test any of your senarios.

Wheelchairman

Trikes are ok in a crash in my experiences. I had a DF clad guy lock wheels with me and he fell across my legs. I pulled up entangled in him but no damage done...to me .
Ive rolled a couple of times back in the early days. I find sudden dips into positive cambered corners will unsettle a trike the most. The best thing to do if you get on two wheels is to just keep pedeling and focus on the road ahead, or the apex you're heading towards. I myself can ride two wheels at walking pace for as long as I want. I havent rolled over in years . If you do roll over, then its usually ok. You'll pretty much fall and roll out of the trike in my experience. If you are stupid enough to install seatbelts, then thats different.
As mentioned car doors arnt a prob when they open... if you're paying attention.

Oh and one other thing. Dont pull rear brakes halfway through a corner. It'll unsettle everything. If you have a disc or drum brake setup on your front wheels(most likely) then get into the habit of using them exclusivly. I only really use rears as an emergency brake, and even then, thats only in a straight line!
Oh and when you're leaning into corners, dont jam your elbow under the seat. This will only help in lifting the wheel more so. Just use your abs to hold seat position and your biceps to keep you pulled towards the inside steering handle.

Hope that helps, sure its different for everyone though

lisitsa

Thanks for the info. Don't even have a rear brake. My trikes a very cheap homemade one by one of my schoolfriends in yr10. Still fun and thick tubes mean it's pretty strong. In fact, I use pram wheels for my front wheels, because he managed to find them new for $4 for the wheel tires and tubes. On the other hand a proper wheel costs like AU70 just for the bare wheel.

FarHorizon

Is this true of conventional trikes, tadpole trikes, or all trikes?

Wheelchairman

It only concerns trikes with a single rear wheel I think(such as tadpole). If u pull the brakes on the rear through a corner, then the rear wheel will experience most of the load. I guess the result is similar to a mass swinging around an axis. It cant help but rotate.
Its different if u hav 2 rears. You've got a setup that spreads the load over a larger area. Altough I could still see wheels lifting, depending on the length of the rear track.

Someone can surely explain it better then me

megaman

FarHorizon, if your Speed is a normal one then you don't have rear brakes.

Pedaling while on two wheels could be a problem if you aren't prepared when you are up on two wheels.

I rolled my trike once, trying to take a turn too fast. I felt like it was in slow motion. I remember trying to lean harder, but before I knew it I was on my side and then completely over. I stayed clipped in, which I believe saved my legs and knees from road rash. I did have extensive road rash on my arm and side. This happened more than 6 weeks ago and I'm still healing.

The only thing that bothers me about road riding is at intersections with cars parked close by. It's hard to see around the cars parked there and depending on the speed of the traffic, it could be a problem for me. I avoid buy intersections like that.