Where do I get started?
 

I am pretty new to this so I am looking for all kinds of advice. I stopped off at the Clydesdale place first, which is why I want to start riding a lot, I need to shed some weight, a lot of weight. I don't really care for running, hurts my feet and so far my wrists and butt don't really care for biking much. I have seen some recumbent trikes and I thought that it looked like a comfortable way to exercise, if such a thing existed. I have also been intrigued with the Rhodes pedal cars. My wife has minor spastic cerebral palsy and can't really ride a bicycle, but I think she could manage to pedal a Rhodes car and I thought it might be a way we could exercise together.

I also have little to non existent budget. I am hoping the tax return will help my situation here, but I have my doubts. so the less expense the better. Can any of you steer me in the right direction?

From everything I've heard, Rhodes Cars are pretty problematical to own. They're heavy, they have poor components, and they break often. You could probably do a search and find some harrowing tales. I'd recommend getting a trike for your wife instead. If you have no particular problem balancing, you may not need the extra wheel and a less expensive 2-wheel bent might work. In fact, the bottom end, such as an EZ-1, will not only be "less expensive" but will have a steel frame and strong 20" wheels.

You might want to look into adaptive cycles for your wife. Their is a forum hear, and lots of info available on the internet.

Thanks for the info guys. I don't have any problems balancing, at least I can ride a regular bike without too much trouble. There was a regular 2 wheel bent at the bike shop I went to last, I may have to go and have another look at it.

I had half of this rig once, loved it :P

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=421487

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=421489



My wife has mild to moderate CP and she rides this :

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=421488

This was my EZ 1 replacement, still have it,, Will never part with it :

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=421491

You simply must go over to BROL and say Hi, This is the single greatest gathering of recumbent knowledge anywhere In the world bar none !
http://www.bentrideronline.com/?p=9817#more-9817

http://www.bentrideronline.com/messageboard/index.php

An option for 4 wheels on a single-person vehicle is to get a TerraTrike and then get the kit from Utah Cycles to convert the back wheel to two.
Utah Trikes - Quad Conversion Kit (TT) - Black

And thanks for the private messages with advice as well, need to get my post count up so I can reply to them.

I was about to get excited about Mt. Airy Bicycles, thinking it was in North Carolina about an hour away, but it is Mt. Airy Maryland

I have been looking at KMX trikes some on Amazon and at Utah Trikes website, are they any good?

Catrikes........! Of course you have to be into elite trikes. I've been riding Cat's since '09, started with the '09Trail and a '13 EXP. I tour with these machines.....gotta love the class of these trikes.

Trikin', I used to do that sort of thing on a motorcycle, it looks like a lot of fun! Have you ridden all the way across on that?

KMX Trikes (British) started out a few years ago making an off-road, BMX type trike for older kids and has since branched out into making some suitable for road use and for adults. Most standard 20" wheel trikes weigh about 36 pounds. The KMX trikes are a bit heavier than that. Some of the parts used on their trikes are the bottom of the barrel brands like Bangle for the disc brakes and Shimano Alivo for the RD on one model. It's not surprising since the prices for some of their trikes are less than many other brands. If you buy an entry level (sub $2K) trike don't expect to get mid-level, name-brand components on them and do expect the trike to be heavier. I personally prefer a mesh seat as it absorbs some of the road shock and breathes. KMX trikes come with a hard shell seat (but so do some of the more expensive recumbents).

Been looking at a lot of videos on Youtube. Really like the looks of a Catrike Villager, to me it looks like a good place to start for a recumbent trike, not so low to the ground, which I like. And it looks quite comfy. Also got to watch some videos about guys making their own which really looked fun too. Don't own a welder, but I saw some designs that didn't require much welding either. Maybe I can make use of my old bike and make myself a trike someday.

Setting up the jigs to make a trike that really works okay is pretty complicated. I'd recommend looking for a used Villager if that's what appeals to you.

..."and so far my wrists and butt don't really care for biking much. I have seen some recumbent trikes and I thought that it looked like a comfortable way to exercise, if such a thing existed."

@@@ YOU CAN RIDE IN COMFORT - ON A TRIKE.

Been there, done that. Found that you can find comfort on a trike. After twenty miles on my MTB, I am off it. At ten miles it is warning me. I was about to go for seat #7 in an effort to find comfort when I decided it was time for a paradigm shift. I bought a trike from Utah Trikes during a Black Friday sale. It was a modified Terratrike Rover.

It was a great first trike. It was affordable. It was comfortable. No more riding in pain. No more pain in the ass, pain in the neck, pain in the wrists, etc. No more looking at the blacktop. Comfortable seating, great view and fun to ride.

I spent a year on it learning about trikes and what I wanted in the Next Trike. Then out to Utah Trikes to test drive the HPV Scorpion FS 20. I liked. I bought. They shipped. I sold the Rover onward for a bit less than my price and have been enjoying the Scorpion. Best part is when someone asks if I build it. Don't I wish?. No, it was fabbed by fussy Germans and looks like a high end Mercedes.

A good used trike makes sense. I have all the Craigs List trike offerings in Seattle area and LA area sent to my phone. There have been a lot more offerings this year than in past years. Market heating up? Saw some nice ones appear this month. Info: Get over to Bent Rider on Line forum. That is where a lot of bent riders hang.

I have been off here for a while, but I am back in the land of the living and doing some more research. toolbear, you mentioned Terratrike Rover, I see that they are a bit less expensive, are they a good trike? I see the bottom end is a two speed bike, do you think that would be enough for me to start out on. I am looking to do this for exercise, I really need to lose weight so pedaling is good, but we have a lot of ups and downs in SW Virginia. For starters I may be going around the track at the local school just to get my stamina going. I am right at 300 pounds now and I just can't have that, I have to do something about it, you can guess what jogging would do to my joints and leaning on handlebars does to my wrist and shoulders.

The base rover is a very reasonably priced trike (well, for a trike at least) and is an 8 speed. That will be perfect for a track, but for hills, I'm a bit worried that it isn't geared low enough.

I've read about a lot of people successfully using this trike to get off of their recliner chair onto a recliner chair with wheels and getting themselves into shape.

A trike would probably be cheaper. It may take a while but keep checking all the sources for a used trike.

I went to the bent rider forum and they have some good prices on some good trikes, think I saw a Catrike Villager for around 1200, that sounded like a pretty good deal. I just need to get my taxes done now.

Now that sounds like a plan. :)

+1 for Catrike....when I was looking into trikes the 1st time I rode a '06 Cat Road, thought it couldn't get much better than that. Couldn't afford the Road at that time so bought a used older trike. I rode that trike for 3.5yrs until I test rode a Catrike Trail (bought it).
Today I'm riding a Catrike Expedition, not a Scorpian but a quick, light trike that's responsive in the corner's. Great tour machine as well.

I was out and about today and stopped by a bike shop in Abingdon, Va, which is just down the road from me about 40 miles. While they don't stock any trikes or recumbents, the owner did tell me that he can order them from his distributor, and that the trikes he can order are Sun trikes. I looked in his catalog and the tadpole he had looked like it had some good features, adjustable back rest, 24 speeds. I see from their website that it has a 300 pound weight limit, I am right there maybe a few pounds over, so I would need to know if I am going to crush it the first time out. I also noticed that the price was a bit lower than some others I had looked at so I wonder where it stands in the quality department. I know it also is probably considered to be a bit heavy at near 50 pounds. What say the experts, should I steer clear? I suppose some other Sun trike other than the tadpole might work for me, I was just looking at those because I like what I saw.

Not to mention I also liked the idea of having a local dealer when maintenance issues arose, not that I want a lot of problems mind you
;)

Bull, I took a test ride on that trike. Very nice ride. I found that it does take a bit more effort to peddle than a two wheeler but that will actually help in your quest to loose weight. It wasn't fast enough for me, I ended up with the Sun EZ Sport recumbent. From your list of requirements in this thread, I think the Sun will be a good fit for you. You can get into one a lot cheaper than most and after you've lost some weight and your peddling gets better, then look for a better, faster ride. Sun builds a very robust bike and I think you'll find that it will hold up just fine. By the way, I weighed 275 when I took the test ride and I felt the bike carried my weight with no problem.

Bob

Sun bikes and trikes are indeed robust. Not light but not delicate.