Category: tandem trikes

I have written about this subject previously … “HISTORY OR RECUMBENTS” and “NOTHING NEW UNDER THE SUN”. Many people are under the impression that tadpole  (or REVERSE) trikes are relatively new on the scene but they are very mistaken. I would love to post a picture of the first known tadpole trike but I dare not for fear of being sued.  The best I can do is provide a LINK to a webpage where you can see a picture of it. It says it was patented in England prior to 1876. Definitely it does not resemble anything like the tadpole trikes we have today, but by definition it is a tadpole trike with two wheels in the front and one wheel in the back.

HERE is a webpage where you can see some tadpole trikes from 1949.

One thing that needs to be made clear – – – there is a difference between the term recumbent and tadpole. A tadpole may or may not be a recumbent. A recumbent may or may not be a tadpole. Clear as mud, right? A tadpole trike or reverse trike simply means two wheels in the front and one wheel in the back. The word recumbent literally means laying down in the prone position.

By the true definition there are very few trikes that qualify as being recumbent. Yet people say trikes are recumbent when they really are not. I reckon that is just something we all have to deal with as it has become quite accepted.

That is about as prone position as you can get. Delta trikes (one wheel in front and two wheels in back) can be recumbent too although one does not see as many of them as they do tadpoles.

Only a few tadpole trikes are very reclined … 25 degrees or so. And many people don’t like leaning back very much so those trikes are not of interest to them. Some people want to sit very upright. They have various reasons for this. They may have physical issues where leaning back too far bothers them. They may want to see better while riding their trike. Some people just feel uncomfortable or unsafe leaning back. Of course, there are pros and cons to both. Leaning back makes for great aerodynamics. Such riders can truly say “what wind?”

Leaning back very far usually requires a neck/head rest for most riders.  Some riders have neck issues which require using a neck/head rest. I am one of them.

I have written about SEAT BACK ANGLE  before. And INCLINED TO RECLINE is another one. And HERE is yet another one.

I have always had a trike with a 45 degree seat back angle. I have always wanted to lean back more but could not with the trikes I have had. That is soon to change however. The Greenspeed Magnum SD has a seat back adjustment ranging from 30 degrees to 48 degrees so I will be able to recline more and see if I like it or not. I won’t be able to match the Catrike 700, ICE Vortex or Greenspeed Aero but I can come close. I will be reporting on it and many other things as time goes along.

Nope, tadpole trikes and recumbents are not a recent invention. Even the Japanese Mesa racers appeared back in the 1970s.

So don’t be ignorant about this matter. Afterall, there is nothing new under the sun. That is more than just an old saying.

KEEP ON TRIKIN’

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