Recumbent Trikes

[Jimmy S]

Hi Everyone Newby here, i gave up cycling approx five years ago due to arthritus of the Ankle and lower back, i am due an operation to correct my ankle quite soon, i have also had electro therapy on my lower back which has got me thinking about cycling again, i am considering a ice trike, either the Adventure HD or the Sprint X, the problem i have is i cannot find a dealer that is anywhere close to where i live in Lancashire, so i was considering a used trike but i am having equal problems sourcing the same, a friend of mine is dead against me buying second hand as he thinks i could slip up with an unsuitable trike, i am 64 years old so only want to buy one once. are there any websites that i could look at or magazines i could purchase.

[NUKe]

Jimmy its a bit of a trek from Lancashire but Kevin at Dtek specialises in second hand recumbent Bikes and trikes, and has a variety which you can try out on a 1/2 day trail session. Give him a ring and have a chat
http://www.littlethetford.org/?page_id=529

[Tigerbiten]

Welcome .......

With an ICE trike you need to make around 4 major decisions when picking one.
1:- Seat height. An Adventure with it's higher seat is easier to get in and out of, while the Sprint/Vortex being lower is more stable in high speed corner.
You can fit handles which can help you get out of the seat if you find it hard to stand up from a very low seated position.
2:- Seat type. The mesh seat is more forgiving when the going gets rough, while the hardshell seat holds you more in place on high speed corners.
3:- Rear wheel size. A 26" wheel is better at high speed and probably slightly more comfort, while with the 20" wheel it's easier to get silly low first gears and you have have a common wheel size all around.
Don't be surprised if you spend a lot of time in first gear hill climbing when you first get a bent trike, it can take +1,000 mies to get "bent" legs.
I'm also a believer in that the lower the first gear is on a bent trike, the better.
4:- Brakes. Drum brakes are very low maintenance, while disk brakes tend to have better stopping power from high speed.
The rest is basically window dressing.

But you will find out a lot more if you can get in contact with Kevin at DTek.

Luck .............

[skelo]

Get Cycling in York usually have a good range of Ice, Hase, and other weird & wonderful machines to try.

[nigelnightmare]

With arthritis in your lower back I would also recommend that you go for the "Adventure" with a "Mesh seat" as it has a higher seating position making it easier to get in & out of.

[Tigerbiten]

I think the mesh seat is a bit 50-50 for backs.
It is easy to set up and gives reasonable support.
But with the hard shell seat, you can adjust the shape of it with thin blocks to fine tune the shape needed to exactly match the support needed for your back.

I've found through experience the hard shell seat works better for me.

YMMV ........

[kerryw]

Quest88 in Shrewsbury might be a bit closer than York depending where in Lancashire you are

[Lodge]

Welcome to the forum.

You really need to try before you buy. My wife has a Hase Kettwiesel, I have an ICE Sprint. Both are good but are quite different beasts. The delta Kett is easier to get on and off and with two wheel drive has excellent traction off road and is fun in the snow. The tadpole Sprint is lower and faster round corners. It's also harder over the bumps as it lacks the suspension of the Kett.

Depending upon where you are in Lancashire it may even be better to pop up to Kinetics in Glasgow.

I strongly suggest much research and a bit of travel to test ride. Trikes, not being mass produced, can be very expensive, especially new.

[Lodge]

Just found Castleford Recumbents just east of Leeds...

http://castlefordrecumbents.uk/About_us.html

Typed recumbent trike into Google Maps.