Category: other recumbent trikes

RECUMBENT TRIKES … ARE THEY FOR YOU?

You may be asking … “is a recumbent trike for me”? Keep in mind that one does not have to be old  or disabled to ride a tadpole trike. But if you happen to be old or disabled recumbent trikes are likely your answer. They are highly modifiable and can be equipped to meet the needs of nearly everybody. From a basic tadpole trike to a FAT trike to a sophisticated velomobile there are lots to choose from. When it comes to riding on thru the winter most definitely 3 (or 4) wheels are far better and safer than only 2.

That is how I got started with tadpole trikes. Winter was fast approaching and I wanted to keep riding … riding safely. I knew 2 wheels were unsafe as a bicycle goes down readily on slippery surfaces. I had already experienced that more than once. Fortunately I never received any serious injury, but I was well aware it can happen. So I built me first tadpole trike and rode it thru the winter. I fell in love with riding a tadpole trike. It is so much more fun than riding a bicycle and it is much much safer. When Spring time finally came around I tried switching back to a 2 wheel recumbent bike, but quickly discovered that I much preferred riding the trike so I sold my bike which I didn’t care to ride anymore. That was in the winter of 2007-2008. So for 16 years now I have had the infamous “recumbent smile” on my face and never a moment’s regret. Recumbent tadpole trikes are difinitely for me. I bought a 2009 Catrike Trail and sold my homemade tadpole trike.  I now ride a 2013 Catrike Trail.

Recumbent trikes come in two completely different design builds … a Delta with one wheel in the front and two wheels in the back …. and a Tadpole (originally called a Reverse trike) with two wheels in the front and one wheel in the back.

Although my personal preference is a Tadpole design you may find you prefer (need) a Delta design.  A Tadpole is like driving a sports car (Corvette) while a Delta is like driving a family sedan (Rambler). Not everybody is able to get in and out of the low seat of a Tadpole trike so for them the Delta is the only way to go. In all fairness there are some Delta trikes which are made low to the ground and built for speed and cornering.

These videos address these subjects:

As shown in the video above there is a lot of difference between a Delta recumbent trike and a Tadpole recumbent trike. I fully agree with the thumbs down for the Delta and the thumbs up for the Tadpole.

One last comment … I have found that riding a tadpole trike brings a whole lot more respect from motorists than one gets riding a bicycle. That, of course, adds greatly to the safety factor.

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

A FREE GIFT AWAITS YOU!

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RECUMBENT TRIKES – THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE

Recumbent Trikes – The Essential Guide (2019 Edition)

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A FREE GIFT awaits you!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL

I put together this video for this occasion.  Yes, it is a repeat from 2018. I have decided to offer it every Christmas Day each year. It is a compilation of images of recumbent trikes out in the snow … riding in a winter wonderland. Merry  Christmas to each and everyone of you. May you truly know and embrace the reason for the season. 

BTW, we hear all the time that Jesus is the reason for the season. That is not really true. We are the reason for the season. Jesus did not come to earth for Himself. He came for us. We are the reason He came to dwell among us. He did all He could do … all that He needed to do … accomplishing the mission He was on. “The ball is in our court”. The video further below tells the story of the man and the birds. It is a beautiful illustration of what God did for us.

I love this story Paul Harvey is well known for telling … The Man and the Birds:

Christmas is known for gift giving. If you have not already done so please consider taking advantage of this limited time offer …

A FREE GIFT awaits you!

PODRIDE VELOCAR

Another new velocar is attempting to be birthed into the market place. It’s a cute little thing called a Podride. HERE is their website. Both a 3 wheel version and a 4 wheel version are planned. It will be available with or without electric pedal assist.

They have a StartUp Campaign and a YouTube Channel.

Their website states that they hope to have their product available in Canada and the United States by late 2017 … first in a non-motorized quad and soon to follow a motorized trike.

2 wheel drive above, single wheel drive below

A FREE GIFT awaits you!

TRIKE BUYING GUIDE – TAKEATRIKE.COM

There is a website, takeatrike.com which offers information on buying a trike. According to their own words, “Take a Trike is your recumbent trike buying guide. Learn everything you need to know about recumbent trikes and how to buy a recumbent trike. Find out everything you need before buying a recumbent trike.” Their offerings include: ABOUT TRIKES, TYPES OF TRIKES, WHY GET A TRIKE, WHAT TO KNOW and SHOP TRIKES. Their shop trikes part is very limited only showing a very few brands and models … very disappointing. Actually the entire website is quite limited as far as the quantity of information they cover, but what they have is put together on one page making it easy and quick to read thru. It is obviously designed for those who are just starting their search and education about recumbent trikes. So what I am saying is I take issue with their statement about “learning everything” as they don’t provide much on any subject they cover. Never the less, I give them credit for putting together a website which could indeed be helpful to someone starting out knowing next to nothing about recumbent trikes.

This ‘tadpole rider blog’ has far more information available to help readers find out about recumbent trikes. If you are looking for trike brands, models, prices and links to their websites you can find them HERE.

There is also another website (Recumbents.com) which offers buying guide help.

AMPHIBIAN VELOMOBILE

Athough this is a delta style recumbent trike in this video I am sharing it here just because of it’s uniqueness. That is not to say that others have not made similar trikes and even bikes. I have written about one before. Here is a picture of it. As you can see it is propelled by rowing and not by pedaling.

rowing

Unfortunately it was back during my first tadpole rider blog and has been deleted and gone forever so I can’t link to it here. Of course, there have been many human powered watercraft of various sorts made over the years, but they are strictly for use in the water and not able to travel on land. I am only looking at trikes that can be ridden in the water as well as on land and also are classified as “recumbent”. Here is the video of this delta trike …

And here is another one I find even more impressive …

And then there is this one which mystifies me. With two large openings in the bottom where his feet step thru down onto the ground how can this shell float? There has to be more to this shell than meets the eye.

HPV SLINGSHOT DRAGSTER

slingshot dragster

Just a little difference in horsepower here between Big Daddy (above) and Junior (below).

slingshot recumbent quad

It’s not a tadpole trike, but it is a recumbent quad.

I doubt very much if you could pull wheelies or smoke tires with this, but I am pretty sure you would get a lot of attention. Isn’t this sharp? As long as the slingshot dragster is it would take up a lot of floor space storing it. And I don’t think it would handle sharp turns very well. Never the less, I think it would be a blast to take out on a local trail.

And there are similar 3 wheel vehicles (tadpole trikes) …

slingshot tadpole trike

slingshot tadpole trike 2

SAMSUNG

SAMSUNG

slingshot tadpole trike 5

These are all rather unique, but for me I will stick with standard trikes. That way there will be no problem encountered making sharp turns, etc. I like to …

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

A FREE GIFT awaits you!

ELECTRIC RECUMBENT TRIKE … “RACE WOOD”

electric screwdriver powered recumbent trike 2

Well, it is a trike and it is a recumbent, but that is about the end of commonly used descriptions for this vehicle. It is not human powered … there are no pedals or anything else such as hand powered. Nope, this is powered by a Bosch portable electric screwdriver. It has a top speed of 15mph that lasts for ten minutes on a single charge.

It is mostly constructed of custom bent plywood and aluminium other than the wheels, handlebars and steering linkage.

Here is a short write-up about this vehicle:

The Rennholz was designed and prototyped during the space of ten weeks. Created by Jirka Wolff, Andreas Patsiaouras and Marcel Heise, a team of German student designers for the annual “Akkuschrauberrennen” competition held by the HAWK University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Hildesheim, Germany, the Rennholz presents a “serious vehicle concept [for] e-mobility.” The Rennholz has been specially designed to take part in the HAWK Hildesheim’s bi-annual race. Rennholz means “race wood” in English.

electric screwdriver powered recumbent trike

electric screwdriver powered recumbent trike 4

electric screwdriver powered recumbent trike 5

electric screwdriver powered recumbent trike 3

electric screwdriver powered trike frame

electric screwdriver powered rear wheel

I know absolutely nothing about this trike other than what I have shared here so please don’t ask me questions about it as I can’t answer them. This is just something I came across and thought I would share here on this blog. HERE is an article I found online about it.

COMFORIDER DELTA TRIKES

This blog is about tadpole trikes and I pretty much try to stick to that. However, every once in awhile I come across something that impresses me and gets my attention. So without further ado I present to you the reader a delta trike. It is still a recumbent trike. It is a bit unusual which you shall soon see. Meet the COMFORIDER TRIKE.

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Comfortrider

As you can readily see it is not a low rider. Here is what the manufacturer says about this trike on their WEBSITE:

Unlike any other existing model, this tricycle has several features that make it more versatile, more comfortable to drive, and incredibly easy to store and transport.

– Modular structure, variable configuration
– Spring suspended seat
– Leaning seat
– Car style steering
– Leg operated back pedaling brakes
– Folding for storage
– Disassembling for transportation

This trike can be set up in various configurations including a velomobile.

Comfortrider configurations

And there are various options available:

Comfortrider drawing

As stated this trike folds as well as disassembles for transporting and storage purposes. The first step is to remove the seat which is suspended on springs on the back side.

Comfortrider seat removed

Comfortrider folded

Comfortrider disassembled

The trike has a single rear driving wheel, back pedaling brakes and automotive style steering. Here are some images showing this:

drive system detail

back pedeal brake detail

back pedeal brake detail 2

steering detail

They have some videos of this trike available:

They even have a couple of motorized versions shown on their WEBSITE.

Comfortrider motorized

I assume that the engine is a 4 stroke and not 2 stroke, but they don’t specify. Here is an electric motor version:

Comfortrider electric motorized

You can check out some of their options HERE. And HERE you can check out a lot of details about the trike. Here are a couple of samples of what can be found on their detail page.

Comfortrider clamps

Comfortrider seat

The Comforider is not a tadpole trike. It is not a low rider. It is a recumbent. And it does look like it would be a comfortable ride. It may be somebody’s “cup of tea”. (For the benefit of those reading this who are not Americans and don’t understand what I just said the term “cup of tea” means “what someone likes or is interested in”.)