My brother has been riding with his kids for a multi-weekend trip on road bikes. They are going to ride down the California Cost from Ventura to San Diego. Unfortunately, my brother hit the deck and broke his elbow today. He has had this trip planned for over a year and the rooms reserved, kids all ready, time off work set, and then this.

Anyhow, I told him that a bent might allow him to still do the trip. The kids ride rather slow and don't climb too fast. He is open to the idea. So I need some help/tips about how this might work. What style bike should I look for? His budget is around 500 bucks so it will be a used bike...from Bakersfield CA or San Diego CA. (Craigslist cities we can buy from)

With a bent, generally, there is no weight-bearing, as it were, on the arms/wrists/hands. But, it does take two arms for most folks to ride a bike, even a recumbent. Does he know yet what restrictions he will have on use of the injured arm?

Nope, in good conscience I can't recommend a bent in that case, either. It takes a good deal of familiarization to ride a bent one-handed, and besides what would happen if he fell? Maybe a trike, going really slow. Even that would be tricky for riding one-handed. But then it's doubtful he'd find a $500 trike. Maybe he can consider driving the SAG vehicle for the boys.

If you check Craigslist Orange County there are a couple of nice Sun EZ Sports up for sale...

There are actually problems for which there are no solutions. SAG driver might even be too difficult.

A trike might just be the answer. TerraTrike I believe can supply a brake lever that will apply the brakes on both sides.

Assuming it's a relatively minor radial head fracture (very common cycling injury) he can ride right away. Just don't crash. I was paddling class IV whitewater 2 weeks after my last one, with nothing more than an Aleve preparty. I was road biking in less time than that.

A friend of mine broke her wrist rollerblading a week before Cycle Oregon. She got a Ryan Vanguard (this was about 15 years ago) and did the ride without issue, including a lap around Crater Lake.

I agree with Blazing: riding a recumbent one-handed is not the way I would learn. My friend had the advantage of being able to rest her hand on the handlebar, even with a cast. A broken elbow is another kettle of monkeys.

Yikes- 500 bucks will not buy you much of a 'bent. A Sun EZ Sport is an OK bike though.

I see. I have seen used bikes for about 500-600ish so I had some hope. I am sure we are talking about pins, cast, and maybe even reconstruction.

A trike seems like something we can talk about! What should I be looking for in terms of a trike that would be as close to a road bike as we can get used?

There is SAG support but the kids need someone in the group to keep them safe. That was my brother.

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I sold my Sun Sport AX (aluminum frame with very reasonable components) for around that price. That's one of the easiest 2 wheel bents to learn on. But probably a tadpole trike with under seat steering would be the best bet. Sun sold one model which should be relatively cheap now, but was quite heavy. A better option is probably one of the Actionbent or Performer trike, those were around $1200 to 1600 new. Craigslist or bentrider.com are 2 places to look.

Venture, CA to San Diego, CA is almost 200 miles? This is not even remotely realistic with the recumbent pictured. Too heavy and too far and no recumbent experience or conditioning. I would not try it without a broken elbow.

Can't he just ride in the SAG vehicle? Assuming you mean they need a chaperone as he cannot "protect" them. Maybe we are missing something here. How old are the kids, what are they riding, duration of trip, daily mileage, elevation profile of route, etc? What is a multi-weekend trip; did you mean week?

ggg300

When you say as close to a road bike as possible, that generally again says more money. Money buys lightness in trikes as in road bikes. Review ads with trikes that have a 26" or 700 rear wheel, and when you see one that seems right, start checking ads for used trikes. Angletech and Hostel Shopee have used trikes, and for sale ads.

A surgical repair would be followed by a period of limited activity, to be defined by the ortho doc. Would guess that would exclude cycling for a while.

Every weekend the group rides 50 miles. They have been doing this for some time now. It is what I would call base pace tempo riding. The youngest is 10 and the oldest is 14. I have ridden with them and the amount of guidance about gearing, drinking water, looking out for cars, pace line, ect can be a bit. As you ride in the group it is much easier to role model what they should be doing and looking out for. My brother's wife is SAG support.


The trip is multi weekend, 50 miles a three day weekend trip. They stop, eat, drink, and pray along the way (my brother is religious).The kids love it and this is their 2nd trip like this. The 1st was from Bakersfield CA to Pismo beach CA.

I would tend to agree. My bother has put a lot of loving time and planning to make this happen. So we are looking for some way to pull this off.

They'll probably enjoy this book, then: https://www.amazon.com/Hey-Ride-Bike-.../dp/096257077X

I think riding a Sun 'bent 50-60 miles a day at a 10-year-old's pace one-armed is doable, especially if they're staying in motels instead of camping. Ventura to San Diego is mostly bike lanes and/or dedicated bike paths, even though you're never out of populated areas. Oxnard to Malibu and through Camp Pendleton are the only places that I'd call "low-traffic".

(I grew up there- Pasadena- and I've ridden many of those roads before.)

I broke and dislocated my left elbow when I was a kid. Doc came into the ER, looked at the X-rays, and said, "****! One of those!" Said I probably wouldn't get full use back, ever. He was wrong. But the road back was not pleasant. In the hospital almost a week before the swelling went down enough for them to operate, then 6 weeks in a cast. The cast was HUGE so it could accommodate the pins, which protruded from my arm. They came out at about 4 weeks. I barely notice the 5-inch scars on each side of my arm, and my only limitation is that if I do push-ups it gets sore in a hurry.

I vote in favor of not riding; besides, sweating in a cast would be uncomfortable!

I have to agree that with a broken elbow, the use of a trike might be best. There would be no balance issues when first staring out, they are easy to steer one handed and as previously mentioned, one could be set up with a single lever operating both brakes. I personally ride a TerraTrike Path tadpole trike and love it. May I suggest having your brother contact TerraTrike directly and inquire whether one of their California dealers offers rentals. That by itself could be a cost savings for him, why buy if he can rent. Have him try this link: https://www.terratrike.com/index.php The people at TT are very helpful.