Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Recumbent trikes fast, practical

Recumbent Trikes are the wave of the future: low to the ground, they are fast and aerodynamic. However, with three wheels they also provide a stable platform for carrying larger groceries and bulkier items, tasks that previously meant a trailer if you wanted to use a bicycle. There are two configurations, "tadpole" with two wheels at the front and one at the rear (upper photo), and "delta", the other way around (lower photo).

The seating position in recumbents is more comfortable, with no pressure spots, and no neck strain. The conventional wisdom is that riding low as recumbents do makes it harder for traffic to see them, but those who ride trikes say that the get far more attention as a "different" vehicle, and as a result they are safer than on a bicycle.
A few of the best trike manufacturers:
Catrike
Terratrike
Greenspeed

For more info, please contact the author.

2 comments:

Joce13 said...

Very nice! I especially like the "Tadpole". Seems much more comfortable than my road bike : ) And probably very nimble.

Mr Frugal said...

I really think, as our population ages, recumbents (especially recumbent trikes) make sense. Every time I come back from a ride,(on my upright hybrid, no less), I feel like I need a trip to the chiropractor for a neck adjustment.
Too bad those bicycle manufacturing buggers in the early days of the Tour De France played politics and sent the recumbent down the road of 'curious oddity'...