Tripleshift - Recumbent Trikes, Bikes and other cool things!

Mostly because 'they'  [trikes, bikes or unusual widgets] are not made in huge numbers!  Mass production brings the unit cost of things right down. To a lesser extent the exchange rate influences the cost in South Africa.  However, even overseas, recumbent trikes and bikes are considered expensive relative to conventional bikes. Our products are also selected because they represent the best that is available from reliable manufacturers with established track records.

It depends!

Climbing is a function of leg strength or fitness and of weight.

Once your legs are trained to the recumbent position there is nothing inherently in the position that makes you climb slower. Yes, you won't be able to stand and climb en danseusse but you can vary your stroke from an efficient spin to powerful, wedged against the seat sprinting. The main issue is that of being trained. Don't expect to climb fast the first time you go out on a recumbent. However, even when trained you may still find climbing in the recumbent position more tiring. Standing up on a conventional bike can provide some relief.

Climbing on a recumbent is a bit like climbing on a tandem or mountain bike where the emphasis is on sitting and spinning through the climb.

The other aspect to climbing is that of weight. The amount of energy required to complete a climb is directly proportional to the weight that will be lifted through the vertical distance. A heavy recumbent will be slower on the hills than a lightweight recumbent or bike!

Yes. I do, almost every day. For my route [about 13km] it doesn't take much more time than commuting by car. I get plenty of great exercise without having to waste time in a gym. I get to see things along the way. I feel good about not using fossil fuel getting to work!

Take a change of clothing. Leave the basics at work along with a towel. If you don't have a shower at work just be sure not to miss showering before you leave for work. Clean bodies don't build up body odour. Well, most people still stay in the room when I arrive... ;-) Make sure your riding kit is fresh as well!

Find a nice route through. Look for some back streets and even some longer, entertaining detours for variety. As you get fitter you'll appreciate returning on a summer's evening via the hilly route or even that off road section!

You should follow your trailer manufacturers guidelines. Don't overload the trailer and remember that the heavier you are the longer it takes to stop so adjust our riding accordingly. If the load is getting to be as heavy as you are you should use a trailer with a braking system. Don't carry loads that obstruct your vision or hinder safe passage of other road users.

There is lots of information about recumbent trikes and bikes on the Internet. The links page  will take you to pages with some of this information. It's also  worth joining a mailing list related to your topic of interest. Some suggestions for this can be found on the International Human Powered  Vehicle web site also listed on our links pages.

Recumbents were banned from UCI events in 1935 because they offered what was considered to be an unfair advantage. Since then all outright human powered land speed records are held by recumbent machines. My favourite is the 1 hour record - over 83km in one hour! Yip! They be fast.

Of course, there are many different kinds of recumbent... and many different build specifications, a wide range of quality and fit, from heavy to super light and a host of other differences that all could affect speed. It is also important to consider how a particular rider finds a particular style.

Within all this variety there are some obvious factors that would help you choose. Lighter is generally faster. Two wheels is generally faster. A more tucked position [Lightning p38] is said to climb better. A flat low layout is more aerodynamic giving higher speeds on the flat and smaller rolling hills.

Warren Beauchamp over at the WISIL site has some useful comments on recumbent speed: http://www.wisil.recumbents.com/wisil/misc/notfaster.htm

There is another kind of fast as well. Not all of us are super athletes out to break world records. Recumbents also help you more consistently ride further and feel fresher in less overall time. So, although you may not do 83km in one hour on a recumbent you may be able to ride 83km per day, every day for a week - significantly faster than the painful 62, 40, 10, faded away that you used to feel comfortable doing on your upright... and this may enable you to tackle that long dreamt of cycling adventure!

A trike is quite a large object compared to other things that motorists need to be aware of on the road. It is true that it is lower than a bicycle and it is true that if you hide it behind things people in cars won't see you on trike. But this is also true about bikes - and people - and children.

You need to ride where the motorist is looking.

• Don't sneak up alongside a line of cars and pop out the front into oncoming traffic!

• Don't hide in the motorist's blind spot. Stay in the lane!

• Be cautious when coming through intersections where parked vehicles obstruct the view!

These principles are also advised if you are a pedestrian, ride a bike or indeed operate a motor vehicle.

A good option is a trailercycle that will allow your child to participate in ride - pedalling, getting used to balancing and perhaps some aspects of road safety! They will be able to rest as needed without slowing you down! Another option might be a tandem with a small stoker position or a normal tandem with kiddy cranks. This is a special crank set that provides an alternate, removable set of pedals in the stoker position that can be adjusted as your child grows.

We are in Cape Town, South Africa. We're a web based and so  do not operate out of a formal shop. This helps to keep overhead  costs low. If you are in the Cape Town area we are happy to meet to  arrange a test ride or discuss your needs further. We're also happy   to ship to anywhere in Southern Africa. Look for us at some of the bigger cycling related events in other centres!

It depends!

Hop on a recumbent trike and you won't need to learn anything about balancing. Your muscles will need to learn a new pedal stroke and gradually get trained to the position. But you'll be riding in seconds.

Try an easy going long wheel base recumbent or one of the more stable short wheel base designs and you'll feel comfortable in minutes. Stopping and starting will feel different but you will soon get used to this.

Start off on an advanced high speed design and you will probably find it a bit twitchy and unstable at low speeds. You'll need a good few kilometres and maybe a few hours in the saddle before it becomes second nature.

Different designs represent different comprises to achieve the design goal. It's always best to try and find a way to test before you decide what you want. Unfirtunately in South Africa with a very limited recumbent market this is not always possible!

You most likely associate tricycle riding with early childhood... the days before you could climb onto that coveted two wheeler and speed off down the road. Your first trike was most likely a very simple machine with direct drive and prone to toppling on the corners when you tried to push the envelope a bit! Frustrating times for a three year old speed merchant.

Well, put those memories into a corner reserved for the rosy glow of times gone by. Today's performance trikes are a far cry from their humble predecessors! Sleek and low with a wide range of high tech components they afford the keen cyclist a number of advantages over their two wheeled stable mates!

Comfort

Slide into your armchair and start pedalling! No more narrow saddle wedged up between your legs. No more fussing with anatomically correct saddles designed to put pressure on your ischy-whatsical-tuberosity only to find your ischy-whatsit thingy is not exactly where the designers thingy was...

Recumbent trikes offer a range of comfortable seating options based on two basic designs: the tensioned mesh and the composite shell. The tensioned mesh is perhaps slightly more popular and offers two advantages - the spring in the seat absorbs road shock and the air flow through the mesh aids in cooling. The hard shell design is often used on dedicated racing machines for higher pedalling stiffness.

The comfortable seat will allow the rider to spend more hours in the 'saddle'. Those hours will also be more enjoyable as the seating position removes stress from the wrist and arm joints. Instead of carrying mass and absorbing road shock your arms are now held in a relaxed position and are free to operate controls or to retrieve goodies, take photographs or point out the scenery as it rolls by.

Relaxing in your comfortable seat will also allow you to notice that your back and neck are no longer held at difficult angles. Instead your head is well positioned to take in the passing view. At short rest stops - forced or voluntary - you can simply remain seated while you enjoy your refreshments.

Stability

One of the more obvious features of a three wheel design is that it doesn't fall over when it is stationary. Trikes come in two basic varieties:- two wheels at the front and one at the rear often called a 'tadpole' trikes, or with one wheel at the front and two at the rear known as a 'delta' trike. The delta is probably what you remember from your childhood. The tadpole design is much more stable when taking corners. This combined with the low centre of gravity on today's performance designs make for an exhilarating ride!

Stop on a hill? No problem. The trike does not fall over. Simply start pedalling to get going. The inherent stability means that there is no minimum speed for climbing. If you are tired or carrying a heavy load simply gear down - most trikes are configured with a wide gear range - and wind your way up the hill.

Likewise at traffic lights and intersections the trike can be stopped safely without wobbling and restarted easily.

The integrated racks in many trike designs combined with the stable ride characteristics make for very practical load carrying and touring machines. If you need to move more using human power then trikes make very good towing vehicles when combined with a cycle trailer.

Speed

Reduced frontal area makes for significantly lower air resistance. This makes a trike faster and easier to pedal at cruising speeds. Over level terrain and on downhill sections you may find that you are faster than you were on an upright bicycle. The different riding position does mean that your muscles will need time to adapt before you will achieve maximum performance. This, and the additional weight of many trikes, will also impact on your hill climbing speed.

The stable recumbent position combined with a sturdy seat does mean that higher power levels can be developed leading to explosive sprinting and tempting big gear climbs. However, these are usually less efficient than spinning and can lead to injury.

Once you have adapted to recumbent riding you are likely to complete a route in about the same time as a cyclist of equivalent fitness on an MTB although you will feel fresher and have suffered less discomfort.

More radically configured trikes with lower seat angles and higher spec components can be very fast machines to ride. Combined with streamlining aids such as full or partial fairings they can be very fast indeed!

Fun!

Perhaps the most compelling reason for riding a trike is that they are loads of fun! The levels of comfort, stability and speed add up to an ear-to-ear grin! Being able to get out for longer with less pain and suffering add to the enjoyment of the trike experience.

The Planet benefits!

Being able to ride further in greater comfort will encourage you to use your trike not only for recreation but also for more practical outings such as going to the shop or commuting to work. As our cities get more crowded and the true costs of casual outing's in a motor vehicle are revealed hopping on your trike will become an increasingly attractive alternative. Go on! Give it a try!

The child should be able to sit upright unattended and hold his or her head up while wearing a helmet. Generally this is true when the child is around 9 months to a year old. You should check with your pediatrician if you are in doubt about your child's neck strength. Children typically are able to ride in the trailer until about age six, or until they become too tall for their head to fit below the roll bar.

In a nutshell - they are comfortable, efficient human powered vehicles.

A trike is a variety of recumbent that is perhaps the most comfortable. You don't need to concentrate on balancing and when you stop you just relax in your seat without having to uncleat etc. But two-wheeled recumbents also score on the comfort side of things. They support your body weight with a well designed seat that spreads the load. Contrast this with the conventional bicycle saddle that concentrates all your weight on a very small area. They don't put pressure on your wrist and elbow joints. They allow your neck to be held in a comfortable relaxed position.

They are efficient! The recumbent position reduces frontal area and positions the rider in a naturally aerodynamic position that can be comfortably maintained. Upright riders need to adopt uncomfortable tuck positions that can not usually be held for very long. You will rider further and feel better on a recumbent.

Recumbents come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. This can be confusing but allows for much more flexibility in finding something to fit and to suit desired riding style. The following table illustrates some of the types:

There is overlap between types and certain models can be configured with different features to change type. e.g. there is often choice in above seat or under seat steering.

There are a few options for transporting children on your bike. Of these a proper child trailer is one of the safest. John Schubert writing in the Tandem Scoop, Second Edition says:

The trailer is the safest way to bring kids along by bicycle. The alternative, a bike-mounted child seat, has three drawbacks:

One, it places the child's weight high, and behind the rear axle. This hurts the handling and stability of the bike, particularly on a single bike. Two, if you have a mishap and the bike falls over, the child seat falls from a height of about three feet. And three, there's very little rollover protection for the child inside.

 

A good trailer neatly solves these problems. The rear axle mount affects the handling of your bike so little that you'll find yourself looking behind to make sure the trailer is still attached. Also, the trailer is low, with the child less than a foot above the ground, and its low center of gravity usually keeps it upright even if the bicycle manages to fall over. If the bicycle does pull the trailer over, the child doesn't fall from any distance-rather, the worst that can happen is that the trailer turns over sideways, usually in slow motion. And the trailer has a good roll cage.

 

Some people may be concerned that the trailer is difficult for other road users to see, or that it is too wide. Neither of these is a problem. Good trailers are made in bright colors, with a flag as standard equipment. People will notice you! And at less than a yard wide you'll find that road sharing normally isn't a problem. If motorists give you funny looks, it will be because they're curious, and perhaps envious of the fun you're having.

Your child should wear a helmet while in the trailer. A helmet will help keep your child safe in the event of an accident and wearing a helmet in the trailer will assist in developing the habit of riding with a helmet later.

Well... yes, but that's another story ;-)

A trailer can help you carry a load with greater safety than directly on your bike or trike. A trailer may help you carry a load that you could not practically carry on your bike or trike. Trailer a safe fun ways to get your children sharing your cycling adventures. Trailers are a good option for touring in comfort.

They help make human powered vehicles even more useful means of transport!