I am almost certainly going to buy a recumbent and will be using it for longer rides and some touring. I am leaning towards a trike but I am worried about how much slower or harder they are to move than a two wheeler.

Does any one have any stats or a good guess on how much more effort it takes to move a trike at the same speed as a two wheeler?

I ride a 2 wheeler & on 1 group ride, I have run into a few tadpole (2 wheels front) riders & 1 delta (2 wheels rear) rider. As we conversed, they all felt that the tricycle is more stable & enjoyable as we labored up hill. Other than that I can say that downhill speed and lower wind profile makes the recumbent an excellent way to enjoy your ride vs the diamond frames. There is a discussion on this subject over on Bent rider online. I think the ultimate conclusion is that the 2 wheelers will be `1.3 mph faster. I felt like the trike was just plain more fun. If you have the money, get both!

A trike won't fall over going uphill but it will take more juice to get it to the top as it will likely weigh more and have a bit more rolling resistance.
One thing you get with a bike but not a trike is maintenance and improvement of your sense of balance and skill at balancing. That could be very important way off in the distant future when we become Old.

I just don't get the tricycles for some reason. I just love being able to lean into turns on a two wheel recumbent, it almost feels like I'm flying a plane or riding in a bobsled.

The seat of my recumbent bike is 24 inches above the pavement. That's a lot lower than the one on my upright bike.

Does this mean it's harder to balance? No, it's not harder, but it takes more countersteering than an upright bike. Part of this has to do with the longer wheelbase and part of this has to do with a smaller (20in. diameter) front wheel. It's not all about seat height.

However, I am much less likely to fall off my recumbent bike because the seat is so low. Riding the recumbent bike is the only way to acquire the skills for turning and balancing. It took me about 20 or 25 hours riding my recumbent before I was comfortable taking it out onto the streets.

Don't consider buying a recumbent bike until you are sure it is the one you want and you like the way it rides.

You are right about the trikes being slower and requiring more effort than to move a two wheeled recumbent. It is definitely easier to propel my SWB Haluzak Horizon (~29 lbs) than my 39 pound Greenspeed GTO (~42 lbs with all the stuff I carry for a longer ride). This Sunday I will be doing a 50 mile ride on the GTO even though it will take longer and require more work. It's just much more fun to ride the trike. With the choice of a LWB, an SWB, and the trike, the trike gets nearly all of my miles.

Almost every recumbent rider I ride with has purchased more than one recumbent as they continued to ride. It also seems the price goes up with every new acquisition. You might do well to consider a used recumbent, knowing it will not be your last. In the long run, you can get back much of what you spent on a used bike if it turns out to not be the best choice.

The thing I like best about riding a trike is this: When I want to stop and take a break on a hill, I just set the brakes; when I'm ready to continue, I just release the brakes and pedal onward, without worrying about maintaining enough speed to stay balanced. It's also nice to have a nice, soft, stable seat with you wherever you ride! I hope VegasTriker's wrong about the price going up with every new acquisition, though - my wife's first (and hopefully last!) trike was $4500 by the time she was done adding accessories to it!
- Bob

Due to disabilities, I'm forced to ride a trike or a quad. Your description of riding a two wheeler brings back fond and exciting memories. On a well designed tadpole, you can get some of the same sensations when cornering on two wheels. Never done it, but I've seen it. Looks like fun, but less intense than flying around on a two wheeler.

Leaning trikes are pretty much custom articles. But they *do* exist.

My trike....48 gears, flys down hill, a little slower up hill than a DF but the view is better. And should I tire up that hill, I stop and set the parking brake and relax. Sure there is more effort, but the reason is the same....Its all about the ride.

Exerting about the same effort, my Trice Q is a mile or two per hour less rapid than my RANS Rocket. The trike, though, produces more smiles per mile.

We saw a 3 speed Terra Trike at our local bicycle show here in Colorado Springs, CO. We fell in love with the idea of a recumbent trike for road riding, only problem is that "WOW", their pricey for a one income couple! The 3 speed was basicly $1000 which although a lot of money, we could see buying 1 a year for two years but what kinds of rides can be done with just "3 speeds"?? We've also noticed they added a "8 speed" version for not a lot more money, could you "tour" on either of these machines? Any thought's, suggestions, comments or advice would be greatly appreciated.. Just for info. we currently ride Entry Level MTB's (Jamis Trail-X), which we are converting more towards "Hybrids" to ride more types of surfaces, thanks!

I too would be interested to know if 8 gears is enough for hilly terrain, since I live in East Tennessee.

I live in West Virginia; I know from hills. Just today I took my Greenspeed out for a long ride that involved significant hills. I have an eight speed IGH in back and a Schlumpf Mountain Drive, and I found that I could manage all but the very steepest hills. The others I might have managed had I not encountered them fairly late in the ride when I was tired and about ready to go home anyway.

My one experience with a delta-style trike was a HPM Tritan which I liked, but felt that when pushing it in speed it had a bit of a shimmy. Because the COG was so high, it also felt rather tippy.

Just my opinion but if you are doing any prolonged riding in the hills you are going to need more than an 8 speed. You are going to need a Sclumpf Mountain Drive which gives you a 2 speed crankset, so you'll have 18 gears. It would probably be cheaper to buy a trike with the standard 27 speed derailleur setup. 8 speeds are good for short rides with short climbs at casual paces.

You just need to ride one once and you will understand. Completely different riding experience. Not necessarily better just different.

Thank you. I'll go for the usual 24 or 27 setup.

I thought I wanted to go with a trike, for the stability. But after taking a few rides on both, and finding that I was very stable on 2 wheels, I went in that direction. I also found that I really don't like riding as low as a tadpole trike puts you, so I ruled them out after a couple of rides. Rode a couple of delta trikes that were fun, but not nearly as much as a LWB bent.

May still be a trike in my future.

Have to admit that I've never warmed up to SWB bents yet. I have trouble handling them in tight spots.

Well, I'm missing a chunk of cerebellum, so it's a trike for me...

That's what I have--an 8-hub in back and a Schlumpf up front. I love it.

I have both -LWB and a trike. I am about 1 mph slower on the trike, but the smile factor is way up.

My wife and I bought a pair of Catrike Roads today, after extended test rides on all but the Villager. We still need helmets, but will be riding soon.

I've got a Sun Sport AX LWB (based off the EZ design), and just have never really gotten along with it for around here. It weighs about the same as the ICE Q I'm ordering tomorrow, and I guess after a lifetime of riding sport motorcycles, along with the odd MTB and road bike, I'm used to a lot more weight on the front.

I'm also not that good at balancing the Sun at the low speeds the hills and roads around here seem to require, so trike seems like the way to go. The Catrike Road I demoed seems to have lower gearing and is actually lighter than my Sun, so I reckon will be a bit easier on the trike.

This PM as I took my Greenspeed home from work a State Trooper pulled me over. I thought he was going to give me grief for some reason, but he only wanted to chat about the machine.

Anent the Sun LWB, the only recumbent two wheeler I've ever tried was a SWB and I am not ashamed to repeat that I nearly broke my neck. I think I would do better on a LWB.

I guess I'm just a SWB kind of guy. I've tried trikes and found them slow, I've tried LWBs and found them awkward. But SWBs seem to handle more nearly like an upright, and putting them down really low gives them a bit of LWB-type awkwardness at low speeds but makes them amazingly fast. For me, speed always seems to win out; not because I'm always running around at 30 mph, but because that capability means I can loaf more while keeping up with my riding group.