Trike riding for a total newbie.

[carlislemike]

Any advice for a friend who wants to buy a trike. I gave her the recent article on trike suggestions and is currently looking to buy one based on the magazine recommendation of the Jorvik eTrike, As a total novice she wants to find road skills training in the Broadstairs area. She’s not a driver so couldn’t bring a potential trike to any training, trainer or other person.
I don’t live in the area and tbh, trikes are not part of my skill set or experience. Any suggestions and i can forward them.
Many thanks, Mike

[Bowedw]

Has your friend ever ridden a bicycle? if not she has a head start over bicycle riders. The greatest problem in learning is that the trike will always steer down a camber, taking you into the hedge, pavement or wall. To start take the trike to as level an area as possible, empty car park or similar. Do not use the electric but try steering around in circles, figures of eight and generally get the feel for it. Introduce some cross camber. Repeat these sessions some half a dozen times and she should then be ready to try some cycle path route or road. Do not give up as it can seem impossible to master. Keep speed slow and resist the temptation to feel over confident after a ride as the next one could end up in the hedge. One mastered it will be an absolute pleasure, I have assumed we are talking about an upright trike .

[pjclinch]

What Bowedw said, but taking it further... Not only will trikes drift down cambers, but if the rider is used to a bike then those are mostly steered by leaning the bike to turn the forks and, of course, that doesn't happen on a trike. You lean into the bend and... the trike stubbornly carries on in the direction it's pointed!

So for a bicyclist it does take a while to dial in the differences, but once you're there they're fine. The more bicycle experience one has the more re-learning steering seems to take. Whenever I get on a trike it typically takes me longer to get the hang back than it does for someone that's not been on a bike for decades.
The Jorvik e-trikes were used by a local charity to get folk back cycling who thought they'd left it behind years ago and despite what's been noted above folk just seemed to get on them and after a short period of adjustment just got on with it.
There may be similar charities working in your friend's area. Probably worth dropping CUK Towers a line and asking if they know of any such, or if not local instructors. The local council may well have cycling encouragement schemes too.

Steering aside, when it comes to road skills there's not really much difference aside from they're really not so good for filtering past slow/stationary traffic lines (so just don't do that is the easy approach) and there's no need to put a foot down when stopping.

Pete.

[Grandad]

I had far fewer close passes when riding my upright trike.

[Bmblbzzz]

I haven't ridden a trike since I was five or six, but a few years ago a neighbour, losing her mobility and balance, got a Jorvik trike. She could not get on with at all and also found it really badly assembled (possibly this was down to the shop not the manufacturer?). She sold it on and got a recumbent.

[Bowedw]

Personally I find I get treated with respect by drivers when riding my trike and find that most if not all are when overtaking.
I also show consideration and will use wider sections of road to slow down or stop to hand signal vehicles to pass. Yes they are difficult to learn as you steer them like a car instead of leaning like a bike and that requires the brain to be retrained . There is a lot of nonsense put out how a trike will always try to catch you out, you will always have to have a hand on the bars unlike a bike that will steer straight just by slight leaning.
There are some useful Utube videos that may help. It will be a rare person who could enter a showroom and ride a demonstration trike immediately.
A trick I used was to cross my hands on the bars, say in a quiet area and the steering would be fine, this helps believe it or not, frequent shortish tries to learn are best as the concentration needed can be very tiring. Cross camber can be very off putting, just watch people on mobility scooters and notice how much camber they cope with fine. I find my trike an absolute joy to ride and am so glad that I took the plunge and it was not for any physical ailment reason.

[Tigerbiten]

To steer a bike hands off the bars, you lean into the corner.
To steer a trike hands off the bars, you lean away from the corner.
It took me a few years to work that trick out on my recumbent trike while going slowly uphill.
So the more you lean into a corner/camber, the more the trike wants to go the opposite way.
Hence the trike trying to turn down into the gutter when on a bad camber.

The lower your centre of gravity, the less this effect is noticeable.
Which is one reason recumbent trikes are easier to ride than upright trikes for beginners.

[yostumpy]

I assume upright trike as opposed to recumbent trike. the latter would be superior imo

[pjclinch]

I assume upright trike as opposed to recumbent trike. the latter would be superior imo

Jorviks are uprights. A pal had one that she traded in for a recumbent, but because she needed back support rather than the Jorvik was a wrong'un.

Pete.

[carlislemike]

Thanks folks. These are amongst the best responses to any of my posts over the years on the forum. All are being sent to my friend then it’s over to her! Repeat THANKS!

[cooper_coleraine]

With increased balance problems I bought a trike. I bought a Provo 20 tricycle. I eventually had to return it as.I could not ride it. Mechanically it was sound. But I could not ride it safely. I have cycled on two wheels for 80 years but I could not.make the transition to three wheels. My advice is try a trike before you buy. I appreciate that my age, physical condition and a recent heavy fall from my bicycle make me perhaps a special case.

[Stradageek]

+1 for a recumbent trike. None of the upright trike steering issues. I'd pick a delta trike from the 'Hase' range because of their higher seating options and excellent manoeuvrability.

[pjclinch]

+1 for a recumbent trike. None of the upright trike steering issues. I'd pick a delta trike from the 'Hase' range because of their higher seating options and excellent manoeuvrability.

Not quite "none", I certainly found myself drifting down the camber first time I tried a Kettwiesel (perhaps exaggerated by it having only the rear right wheel driven).

Pete.

[Tigerbiten]

A bent trike still has the same steering quirks as a upright trike, just at a lower degree due to it's lower CoG.
But the under seat steering helps decouple your hands from your shoulder position which can affect your steering.
So leaning right/left on a corner/camber doesn't automagically move your hands forward/backwards.
So it's learning curve is a lot less.

One trick on an upright trike is to just rest one hand flat on the handle bar or just hold one bar with your finger tips.
This way you can only really push/pull on one bar, while feeling what's happening through the other bar.
Again it helps decouple your hands from the bars while you learn how an upright trike steering differs from an upright bikes.
And the more you've ridden a bike, the more you've got to unlearn.
Once you've unlearnt how a bike works while learning how a trikes works, then a trike is easy.
But it does take time which most people don't expect, so they give up.

Luck ....

[Stradageek]

Interestingly different experiences. I hopped on a Kett and rode happily into the distance with nere a care.

Later I tried an upright trike and gave up after maybe 10mins. It felt totally uncontrollable.