Cycling UK Forum

Just rolling along on my trike and a roadie passes saying "a nice gadget!" before I could respond he had shot up the road. I regard my trike as transport. At what point is a bike/trike just a gadget or transport? Is your Recumbent a gadget?

Both are true

My Trice Q is a widget, or plaything

When I bought my Kett it was an essential (and only) form of independent transport I had for 3 years, now I can walk a mile again and drive too. The trike is now really just for pleasure & fitness but I would hesitate to call it a gadget. i think my electric tin opener is a gadget, how could I put my beloved Kett in the same category?

If it's a gadget then so is his bike. It's a recumbent bike/trike. A gadget is something usually not very big with electrics or electronics in it. At a stretch an ebike could be a gadget.

See him again say "nice tool!" to him. That's either the multi tool in his back pocket, the bike or him. Take your pick.

PS roadies always have a tool on their back pocket right? Mine is in my pannier but I'm not a roadie.

I was told mine was a "contraption" by a lady........bloody cheek while hers was a BSO

I've had words like "plaything", "contraption" and "dangerous" used in conversations about my trike. And I get questions like "Isn't it unsafe being so low down?" and "Don't you feel vulnerable?".

This throwaway remark of "gadget" comes into the same category.

They are all derogatory remarks, whether said politely or not. They're all meant to undermine trike riding, and elevate the status of the upright to a superior position. It's an elitist position.

If other cyclists need to do this then it's them them that have the problem.

(Of course, this is only my opinion. I may be wrong, because I do seem to feel some uplift when I swap to my Brommie !!!! )

'Gadget':

A small mechanical or electronic device or tool, especially an ingenious or novel one.

Take it as a complement and move on An MTB riding friend described my first trike (ICE 'S') as 'an amazing piece of kit' when he first saw it (caught me up on a steep hill ). Definitely not a gadget

A cycle acquaintance saw me approaching on my BikE and said "I thought it had to be you on that contraption"

Just bought it, love it, IT'S A FANTASTIC BICYCLE! is what I should have said - but the words eluded me

Lets face it... most critics cannot count


I have a Catrike Expedition, HP Velotechnik Gekko, Kettwiesel and a Christiania trike....

The number of times I am told... nice bike

I feel like pointing out the wheels and shouting""

ONE

TWO

THREE

It isa %^$&$*%(%&(. TRICYCLE

( I would even accept "Trike"

piratepete wrote:Just rolling along on my trike and a roadie passes saying "a nice gadget!" before I could respond he had shot up the road. I regard my trike as transport. At what point is a bike/trike just a gadget or transport? Is your Recumbent a gadget?

You should’ve caught him up to continue the conversation.

This is a guy called Steve, who I rode with earlier this year, and who went on to ride the PRLS 100, on his Ice Trike. He suffers from a condition called Cerebral Atrophy, which means he has issues with his balance. I know the trike is not a ‘gadget’ for him, I know several other people who also can’t ride a conventional bike, for various reasons, for whom the trike isn’t a gadget either.

Where I am, I'd just accept it as a complement and smile back. Happy to accept any acknowledgement.

OB

Gadget, contraption etc, only means they don't know what it is But they like it.
Take it as a compliment.

Geoff.D wrote:I've had words like "plaything", "contraption" and "dangerous" used in conversations about my trike. And I get questions like "Isn't it unsafe being so low down?" and "Don't you feel vulnerable?".

Quite often I find these are more statements than questions...