Trike Ride

June, 2021

Since you didn’t ask, I’ve decided to tell you about riding my power assist trike. Two followers that regularly post comments are hard core cyclists so they might be interested. The rest of you might learn something. You might want to read again my earlier blog titled Trike to refresh your memory of this machine.

Because you have not read the earlier blog, I’ll remind you that you sit on a recumbent trike like you would sit on a recliner chair rather than a toilet seat. This has a major advantage over a standard road bike in that you don’t need to bend your neck while you ride. To my body this is a more comfortable and relaxed position. It also eliminates the groveling for a neck massage after a long ride.

Stability can take some practice. I found that the trike gets a little shaky down steep hills when the speed hits around 30 mph. The other issue is cornering. With a two wheeler you lean into the turn. With a trike you want to take it easy and lean to the outside of the turn lest your three wheeler turn into a two wheeler and greet you with an asphalt sandwich. Trikes just aren’t designed for tight turns and nimble maneuvers. My view is that trikes are best suited for rolling streets and bike paths rather than rock strewn single track.

The power assist is where things get really cool. Generally I kept the speed at the middle setting. The highest level really kicks it and I could get to almost 20 mph on the flats. The assist turns the machine into quite the climber. Because it is a pedal assist, however, those pedals better be moving and you’re in your low gear before things get too steep. So when approaching a hill, make sure your pedals are spinning or you’ll run out of gas so to speak. I found this out the hard way and had to roll backwards until I could get some level ground as runway to hit the hill again.

Thanks for indulging me as I describe a machine you’ll likely never see in the wild much less ride. You have, however, given me the opportunity to describe the performance of the trike and in so doing to remember the rolling streets and creek trails near my home. For this I thank you.

See you next time.