The Adult Tricycle

I'm trying to find a way to dump the truck most of the time. Walking is slow. Scooters hit every bump. Roller blades hit every bump. Bicycles go so fast they can be like non- electric motorcycles, which means a health hazard because they tip over and you are not very visible to the cars, but have to share the road with them. I just found out they make adult tricycles. Anyone use one? It seems like it could solve a lot of problems.

They can carry heavier loads, do hills better, don't tip, have greater traffic visibility, and sometimes have electric motors to assist with a full load. Seems easy to convert to solar powered and get around.

They have ones that fold: http://motorgenic.com/20-folding-adult-tricycle-trike-3-wheeler-bike-bicycle-portable-blue/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw9JzoBRDjARIsAGcdIDWYOf6ofzwW_UuhupJHB2xWFU6SxXxIHhd_xixhHzrZTd2Bgb9eajwaAkWlEALw_wcB

They have ones with front loaders for kids and other objects: https://bunchbike.com/products/family-cargo-bike?variant=7687836991539¤cy=USD&matchtype=&network=g&device=m&keyword=&campaign=1650227750&adgroup=pla-536005838388&gclid=Cj0KCQjw9JzoBRDjARIsAGcdIDVTCAB7G6nu2EbU2dTTilwFrEtwljkOAbXFpQ1_tc2EUNvdrfvhHOAaAjCxEALw_wcB

And they can be electric, which means they can be solar charged: https://www.bpmimports.com/shop/bikes/t-950a-passenger/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw9JzoBRDjARIsAGcdIDVFhaS1Ls0VGz_AVWZHOmxI5qXyiIXZS0nqFgC88c9YIFNf-CpEfnEaAlheEALw_wcB

My husband has an electric bicycle from Rad Power Bikes.  He really likes it for taking small packages to the post office two miles away.  They also make a cargo bike. https://www.radpowerbikes.com/pages/commercial-radburro . He thinks it is awfully expensive.

Here's a page reviewing different electric trikes:  https://electricbikereview.com/category/trike/

We have homebuilt one my father in law picked up somewhere.
The tires are rotted out,  but the frame and drive train are solid.
I hope to get my 11 year old on it for pedalling and peddling-selling off the back of an adult trike seems extra artisan,small batch,  organic and wholesome.

There are kits for building trikes, and even no weld builds.
There are recumbent trike builds out there,  but then you are back to being unseen.  

There are also a lot of DIY and kit options for electrification that seem worth looking into .
The prevalence of scooters makes their parts more available,so adapting them to use with a bike seems like a good idea.

Hey Tyler;   That is one cool cargo trike!  I agree with your husband about the price but...   up to 80 mile range... 2.5 hr recharge !    Way cool !  I like it !  Sadly wife is smiling and shaking her head no :(

C5, or Ross Raven here, has this excellent post on the value of trikes down in South America:

DGMSRC Trike Article (clean version)

I think it's well worth a read.

Solve traffic crowding problems:  https://lifehacker.com/a-pool-noodle-isnt-the-worst-way-for-cyclists-to-keep-a-1787965236

when i lived in japan we used to see people with tricycles all the time, i found it pretty comical to see an old lady on an adult-size tricycle. However, considering that bicycle was my means of transport there, it was pretty darn smart. You can haul a lot on one of those and not have to worry about the bike falling over when your sick-dog-in-a-kennel-going-to-the-vet or a propane tank is strapped to the back fender. Add a trailer to the back and you approach a car in terms of cargo capacity.

I used to work at a bike shop that sold tricycles. In my opinion, they are more dangerous than people think. People would often buy them for an elderly person or for someone with cognitive disabilities and the outcome was too common. The trike would tip on them while they were sitting in place and it would start to role backward on a slope, or the trike would tip on them as they tried to make a small radius turn on a slope.

I don’t know all off the values and considerations that lead you to wanting a trike but I think you may want to at least look at a step-through bike with a low angled seat tube like this pic below. Any shop worth it’s salt can set a bike like that up with large sturdy baskets and a sturdy kick stand. Also, I think most people find that these bikes are just as easy to ride up hills as they are geared properly for getting around and not geared for racing around.

Funny I saw this thread today, on the way to the shop today I passed a "trike" it was a push bike design but with two seats on the back next to each-other (and three wheels obviously) both people could peddle. Never seen anything like it before.

Funny that my grandpa didn’t like tricycle at young age. He tried to ride two-wheel bike after trying tricycle and he liked it after some falls and bruises. So his whole life he ride on average bicycle. But now he prefer tricycle because of his legs issue.

Now he even says  that trike has more advantages over two-wheel bike. And it easy to understand because a tricycle offers more stability than an average two-wheel bike; grandpa can't (almost) get out of balance on a tricycle, even if he cycle slowly;  а tricycle does not fall over when it is stationary; with a tricycle he can easily get on and off and a lot of other advantages.  

In my opinion if you need safe and healthy vehicle, tricycle - the best choice.

I like trikes, specifically the cargo trikes with the beds on the front. I also like recumbent trikes. For the visibility issue, I have always wanted to see something of an aerial spine from the front wheels to the back, especially on recumbents, with a brightly coloured, probably neon, fibre optic mohawk standing up from it. Good luck not noticing that coming up on your right.

-CK

Amit Enventres wrote:I'm trying to find a way to dump the truck most of the time. Walking is slow. Scooters hit every bump. Roller blades hit every bump. Bicycles go so fast they can be like non- electric motorcycles, which means a health hazard because they tip over and you are not very visible to the cars, but have to share the road with them. I just found out they make adult tricycles. Anyone use one? It seems like it could solve a lot of problems.

They can carry heavier loads, do hills better, don't tip, have greater traffic visibility, and sometimes have electric motors to assist with a full load. Seems easy to convert to solar powered and get around.

They have ones that fold: http://motorgenic.com/20-folding-adult-tricycle-trike-3-wheeler-bike-bicycle-portable-blue/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw9JzoBRDjARIsAGcdIDWYOf6ofzwW_UuhupJHB2xWFU6SxXxIHhd_xixhHzrZTd2Bgb9eajwaAkWlEALw_wcB

They have ones with front loaders for kids and other objects: https://bunchbike.com/products/family-cargo-bike?variant=7687836991539¤cy=USD&matchtype=&network=g&device=m&keyword=&campaign=1650227750&adgroup=pla-536005838388&gclid=Cj0KCQjw9JzoBRDjARIsAGcdIDVTCAB7G6nu2EbU2dTTilwFrEtwljkOAbXFpQ1_tc2EUNvdrfvhHOAaAjCxEALw_wcB

And they can be electric, which means they can be solar charged: https://www.bpmimports.com/shop/bikes/t-950a-passenger/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw9JzoBRDjARIsAGcdIDVFhaS1Ls0VGz_AVWZHOmxI5qXyiIXZS0nqFgC88c9YIFNf-CpEfnEaAlheEALw_wcB

By the way, at last week i googled some new tricycle for my grandpa. Maybe this article https://www.bestadvisers.co.uk/adult-tricycle  also will be useful for you.

Chris Kott wrote:I have always wanted to see something of an aerial spine from the front wheels to the back, especially on recumbents, with a brightly coloured, probably neon, fibre optic mohawk standing up from it.

Now i am wanted to see this trike too.

12 years and counting, I've been saddling the self-built, 3-wheeler pictured below. 95% of construction is discarded bicycles.
The 500w electrification was originally from a kid's kick scooter. Street legal WO/license, reg or insurance.
Top speed is 30MPH and range is approx. 12 miles.

Eugene, I love your trike!
I have a factory built one that we finally rehabbed for my (now) 13 year old.
Now my wife wants another one, and your design looks excellent.

I got an old electric golf cart and reengineered it as a farm runabout.
It works well, cost $150 complete with a burnt out speed controller..

My extended family has utilized a variety of adult trikes for local transportation for years.

My grandparents, when they were younger' would ride around on my grandfathers motorcycle for leisure. Due to medical issues that developed with time, they sold the motorcycle. Instead of a moto-trike, they each got their own adult trikes and LOVED them. I also have cousins that have various medical issues that make riding 'normal' bicycles a challenge and they have also adopted trikes. This has enabled some of these family members safe and effective transportation to and from their workplaces and shopping.

In fact, I have noticed people unrelated to the family but in the area starting to utilize adult trikes these days!

Transportation for people and things, easy to work on, and relatively cheap if you find them used. I'm pro trike!

Tadpole (2 wheels front, 1 driving wheel rear) configuration is more stable than delta (one wheel front) configuration.

Douglass, do you have any more information please?

Per the "tadpole" thing, My father and I used to make the Newton tricycle which was that format.  It was based on the Kendrick trikes which were made in the early 20th century although in fact Kendricks weren't that good as the steering wasn't well adjusted.  My father had a background in automotive design and built a trike with stable Ackermann style steering.  Eventually I took over the building until we had to sell the farm where the workshop was.  My father decided to pursue this after he got a "normal" delta trike and wasn't impressed with its performance.

"Tadpole" vs "delta" is a debate at least 100 years old  However, I can make a good argument based on physics for why tadpole is better:

The most unstable condition for any trike is when going fast around corners.  The biggest risk for tipping any trike is cornering fast downhill when braking.  Now, consider the trike when it begins to tip.  When the inside wheel on the turn leaves the ground, the machine begins to tip over, pivoting around the line between the 2 wheels that are still on the ground.  With a delta layout (2 wheels at the rear) that line is inclined towards the front, and so weight of the machine and rider try to tip on a diagonal which is partly sideways, partly forwards - and in the downhill-cornering scenario, your weight is trying to go forwards anyway.  Now if we consider the tadpole layout, that tipping line is inclined backwards so the forces tipping the trike over act partly in the opposite direction to the force of cornering and braking.

There's another aspect: it's easier to transfer your body weight to the "light" side of the trike with a tadpole.  If you watch racers on deltas, when they are cornering hard they have to get off the saddle and hang off the side of the machine, which is all very well if you're young and athletic.  With a tadpole you can lean your upper body over and put your weight more on one handlebar.

Austin Shackles wrote:Per the "tadpole" thing, My father and I used to make the Newton tricycle which was that format.  

Here's Himself moving an armchair on a cargo version of one of the Newtons they built.

What Austin said matches my experiences, which are rich in road rash.  But tadpole has more complicated steering and sometimes less traction b/c of the single rear driving wheel.

Some of these sound really cool.

the other aspect of drive though, the drive wheel is on the center line of the trike and has all your weight on it.  Cheap deltas tend to be 1-wheel drive, and thus the drive is off-center and your weight is split between the 2 wheels.

Better ones have either a double-freewheel or a differential.  There are advantages and disadvantages in both systems.  

The cargo trike was a prototype I built but sadly never had the funds to develop fully.  It would've allowed for carrying large items and shopping, or fitting child car seats to the front so you could carry small children safely and where they could be seen.  With modern systems now available it could easily have had electric assist as well.

There is an elderly disabled man who lives near us who uses a trike.

He's in his late seventies, has lost the feeling in his feet due to diabetes so his feet regularly slip off the pedals, and he's missing an arm so it's very difficult to balance on a two-wheeled bike. He also lives up a very rough, steep track and no longer has a driver's licence due to his disabilities.

We help him maintain the trike, for any jobs that need two hands, and also helped modify it so that all the controls can be operated with one hand. We added an extra battery to it to extend his range and he's become quite a local celebrity. It's certainly helped him maintain his independence!

We had some folks zoom past us the other day in this popular new adult tricycle:



source

Burra thanks for sharing that photo, and for sharing your compassion with the elderly gentleman.  We all need to be reminded daily of the cornerstones of love,life and the pursuit of happiness

"Love thy neighbor as yourself"

We all proper when giving a helpful hand; some days it seems that simple kindness is on the wane.  But not in the Permies community!

Been trying for two days to understand Moosage system of sending.....hm...I am a Luddite of sorts though  
Burra here is part of my message to you, will try again tonight sending a moose


Hi Burra
Been reading about your projects, thanks for sharing, walker stove et al, I'm impressed by work posted and most notably your kindness and sense of humor.  

I will be biking for 5-6 days  in Viseu and the rural area surrounding, april 24-30.   Long long story,    Been trying to get there for some years now , our family has some fond affection for your country, from our history.  This trip is to have a break from our small farm ,  just for connecting w family we have in Europe...........
..............just asking advice, if you can. Thank you
Peace
Rico