Tricycles
Trikes are like bikes, but have three wheels instead of two. There are more pictures here.
Trikes are hard to ride, especially if you ride a bike a lot. The trike moves differently to a bike, but the contact you have with it is the same. This takes some getting used to.
What are Trikes good for?
Ice
Trikes are great on ice. Bikes are rubbish on ice, as once you lose traction
on the front wheel you fall off. Trikes slide and as long as you are not going too fast you can control this.
People with disabilities
Some people with balance or other problems can't ride two wheelers, and a trike lets them enjoy all the benefits of cycling.
Slow cyclists
Trikes are fundamentally slower than bikes, so if you don't go very fast and want an excuse for being overtaken all the time a trike is ideal.
Thrill seekers
Sometimes on a trike you do something and think "I could never do that on a bike"... That's a "Tricycle Moment". A very experienced and record breaking tricyclist once told me, "You can master a bike, but you can't master a trike". You might get very good at riding a trike, but sooner or later it will bite back.
Cornering on a trike is great fun. You have to get out of the saddle to keep your resultant vector within the triangle of stability. Once you get the hang of this, hooking your knee on the crossbar, you hardly need to slow down for corners, confident that if one wheel loses traction you can correct and not fall off.
Show offs
What Trikes aren't good for...
People who can't ride a bike
This depends on the reason why someone can't ride. If they have just never learned, it's not that hard to ride a bike. Bikes are much better than trikes for almost everything.
Carrying stuff
There's not a definite answer to this, but panniers, baskets or a trailer will carry lots, and a long wheelbase cargo bike even more. You might be able to get lots of stuff on a trike, but very quickly it becomes too heavy to pedal.
Kinds of Trike
Trikes with two wheels at the back were traditionally known as Cripper type, and those with two wheels at the front as Kendrick, after early makers of the two kinds. Most trikes I have dealt with are Cripper type. The Kendrick is more stable.
All trikes further divide into cheap horrible rubbish and gorgeous lightweights. There is little middle ground. Search for a trike on the internet and you will most likely find the bad stuff. The good trikes are made by Longstaff and Trikit. The Tricycle Association have loads of information.
Trikes are staggeringly expensive to post or send by courier.
Trikes are hard to ride, especially if you ride a bike a lot. The trike moves differently to a bike, but the contact you have with it is the same. This takes some getting used to.
What are Trikes good for?
Ice
Trikes are great on ice. Bikes are rubbish on ice, as once you lose traction
on the front wheel you fall off. Trikes slide and as long as you are not going too fast you can control this.
People with disabilities
Some people with balance or other problems can't ride two wheelers, and a trike lets them enjoy all the benefits of cycling.
Slow cyclists
Trikes are fundamentally slower than bikes, so if you don't go very fast and want an excuse for being overtaken all the time a trike is ideal.
Thrill seekers
Sometimes on a trike you do something and think "I could never do that on a bike"... That's a "Tricycle Moment". A very experienced and record breaking tricyclist once told me, "You can master a bike, but you can't master a trike". You might get very good at riding a trike, but sooner or later it will bite back.
Cornering on a trike is great fun. You have to get out of the saddle to keep your resultant vector within the triangle of stability. Once you get the hang of this, hooking your knee on the crossbar, you hardly need to slow down for corners, confident that if one wheel loses traction you can correct and not fall off.
Show offs
What Trikes aren't good for...
People who can't ride a bike
This depends on the reason why someone can't ride. If they have just never learned, it's not that hard to ride a bike. Bikes are much better than trikes for almost everything.
Carrying stuff
There's not a definite answer to this, but panniers, baskets or a trailer will carry lots, and a long wheelbase cargo bike even more. You might be able to get lots of stuff on a trike, but very quickly it becomes too heavy to pedal.
Kinds of Trike
Trikes with two wheels at the back were traditionally known as Cripper type, and those with two wheels at the front as Kendrick, after early makers of the two kinds. Most trikes I have dealt with are Cripper type. The Kendrick is more stable.
All trikes further divide into cheap horrible rubbish and gorgeous lightweights. There is little middle ground. Search for a trike on the internet and you will most likely find the bad stuff. The good trikes are made by Longstaff and Trikit. The Tricycle Association have loads of information.
Trikes are staggeringly expensive to post or send by courier.
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On the right is an image of our Common Wheel tricycle in use by one of our Maryhill Workshop volunteers.
He cycled it and pulled a custom made trailer with Carnival Club's awesome Christmas tree and elves on top for the 2017 Glasgow Loves Christmas parade! |
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