How to buy a recumbent trike

My first trike cost $3500 and was a complete lemon. I was badly ripped off.
So I wrote this little article as a small guide on how to avoid the same mistake.

I make the assumption here that you are interested in riding a trike for more than just the occasional ride to the store and back. If you want a trike just to go a mile or two on weekends, I recommend an EZ-1, TerraTrike Path, or similar trike. These are relatively inexpensive and are fine for occasional use. Otherwise if you are like me and ride many tens of thousands of miles by trike (see here), then this bit of purchasing advise is for you. The picture below is my ICE QNT trike during a ride through the mountains. I have gone 50,000+ Km on it, and enjoyed every minute. That's the pacific ocean in the background. Did not see anyone for many hours - just the trike, the wind, and the views. riding through the mountians

Trikes vs. Bikes: Most folks who want to buy a bicycle walk into a bike store, find something with a nice colour and comfortable seat, and maybe some sort of suspension, and they are happy. This is because bicycles are for the most part, rather similar. Of course there are some important differences between models. Yet the general shape and engineering design between different bikes have far more similarities than differences. This is not the case with trikes. Trikes really can be very different from one another. Some have two wheels in front, some have two wheels in the back. Some have three large (26" wheels), some have three small (16" wheels). Some have direct steering, some have indirect steering, and so on. The bottom line is that it pays to self-educate a little bit about trikes before you buy one. Not all trikes are created equal, and not all trike designs are good designs. So read on..
Tracking: Many trikes will not stop in a straight line when the brakes are applied (known as brake steer). They pull either left or right. This is fine at low speed, but during a high speed panic stop the chances of veering into traffic and dying are high. IMHO no trike should be purchased unless it tracks in a straight line during hard breaking. On my trike even if I apply only say, the left hand brake, the trike will track perfectly stopping in a straight line (assuming I steer in a straight line of course). Some believe that straight tracking with one brake is impossible due to resultant asymmetrical force. This is an unfortunate misunderstanding of basic engineering. But such details are unimportant here. What does matter however is that if you brake only on one side, your trike is designed such that you do not suddenly veer into traffic. I strongly recommend eschewing any trike which does not track straight during hard braking. Very important!
Transporting: My trike folds into a fairly small package which easily fits in the trunk of my car. I was not at all interested in a trike which could not do this. Most trikes do not fold, and must be carried in a pickup, large van, on the roof of a car, or on the back of your favorite elephant. (How do you know there is an elephant under your bed? Your nose is touching the ceiling.) I much prefer the ability to fold the trike so that it can fit pretty much anywhere. In this regard, quick releases for the wheels and seat can be a real help - only a few manufacturers provide this very useful option.
Stability: Take a look at the picture at right. I had climbed high into the mountains and was headed toward that lake you can just make out far in the distance (the whiteish blue small blob at the right of the photo). Going down that road the trike averaged about 80. That is fast. On an unstable trike a pothole, sudden swerve, or indolent marsupial could be fatal. Stability matters! While of course all trikes are more stable than bicycles (3 wheels), they can still flip if driven foolishly or you hit an icy patch…. or if they are poorly designed. Some trikes are so unstable as to almost guarantee disaster if you ride in mountains or very steep hills or corner quickly. Riding a trike around the parking lot to decide if it is right for you will definately not tell you if it is stable. The manufacturer should be able to tell you how stable her products are. For me, this means that they rate all their trikes relative to one another on a scale which they document either on their website or in an email to you. Saying something like “Oh I’ve had my trike up to 80mph on a hill and was able to take my hands off, it’s that stable!” is useless information. I have ridden trikes that I would not feel comfortable on riding over a small bump, let alone on a fast decent here in the mountains. Please do not buy an unstable trike. Stability matters. Any of the main manufacturers I list below build stable trikes. The top three are, IMHO, the best in this regard.
Width: For me width matters. Some trikes cannot fit between doors to a house and must be carried in sideways. No thanks. Some are so wide they cannot fit on single tracks or narrow sidewalks. I got a fairly low (low center of gravity for increased stability) and relatively narrow trike. The narrowness decreases stability slightly but the stability index is still quite high. Although a narrow trike is not necessarily less stable than a wide trike - really it is a matter of engineering, not width. And I can take through any doorway or bollard with ease.
Speed: A low trike, one where you can lie very reclined, and one that is quite narrow, will ride faster than others. BUT… this would be a very bad trike for touring as it probably would not be as stable (safe) as others, not be as comfortable for long distances, and would be frightening during fast descents with lots of heavy luggage. It also would likely not be strong enough to carry a lot. As a general rule of thumb, a fast racing bicycle will be faster than a fast tricycle. If speed is really, really important to you, save your pennies and purchase a Varna racing bike. Otherwise, sit back relax, and enjoy the view. This is not to say that trikes are slow - they are not. But they are certainly slower up hills than most racing bikes. They should be - they weigh more
Disability: Lots of trikes can be custom set to accommodate various disabilities. Varna, Greenspeed, Kettwiesel, and several others have lots of experience tailor making trikes for the physically challenged. If you do not have feet or legs, or cannot pedal for some other reason I would contact Varna - nice folks who make what are IMHO the world’s best handcycles and hand operated trikes. You can also try Lightfoot cycles. They are an excellent and caring manufacturer with special strengths in dealing with people who are disabled in various ways. Good handcycles and good cargo carrying tricylces too. (See my page on health issues and triking for more information.)
Suspension: Generally speaking a steel frame will be more comfortable than an aluminum one if you ride on rough roads. A super low trike will not clear potholes very well. A mesh seat is usually more comfortable in terms of passive suspension and in terms of breathability in the heat than a foam or carbon fiber seat. I ride on rough mountain roads (which are regularly maintained by the government at least once every 1000 years). Hence I chose a trike with rear suspension, steel frame, and mesh seat. These three things combined to give a plush comfortable ride over the scenic but very bumpy roads here. Note: Although there are trikes with full suspension (front and rear) such as the FS from HP Velotechnik, Swift's full suspension model, one from Stein, and a few others this is rarely necessary and IMHO just adds unnecessary weight, complication, and cost. Fully suspended trikes are much more comfortable on very rough roads but... for real off-roading IMHO you need stronger spokes than are normally built into wheels; you need knobbed off-road tires to really grip sandy or gravel surfaces; you should not have a rear-dérailleur but use an internal hub otherwise the off-road surface is almost guaranteed to eventually tear your derailleur off; and so on. Also IMHO a trike - especially one with full suspension - is too wide for most single track roads. For me, the pros of single rear suspension are obvious and necessary; but the many cons of full suspension (heavy, expensive, wide, need special tires/spokes/gears) are too many to make it really worth while. YMMV however.
Hand placement: Placement of the handle bars also has a lot to do with comfort. On my trike the handle bars can be moved forward and back, and in/out perpendicular to the seat. Most trikes do not have this ability, so you are forced to accept the hand position that the manufacturer finds comfortable. No thanks - I want adjustable hand positions.
Seat: The seat should be reclinable to a position right for your body. Many manufacturers do not allow seat recline, or make it difficult to do. I chose a trike where I could recline the seat in seconds according to my mood. Great! When exercising I get hot. Even in winter. Since your entire back and bottom rest against the seat, these areas heat up. So for me a mesh seat makes sense. There are some very well designed carbon fiber seats with holes cut for cooling, but I personally have found these rather hot. YMMV.
Crank length: A trike is not the same as a bicycle. Different muscles, different riding technique. But for some odd reason most manufacturers supply the same cranks (generally 170-175mm in length) that are found on road bikes. No. I ride with short cranks of 130mm. This allows me to spin (pedal faster) with no extra effort and eliminates the devastating effect that steep hills can have on knees. If you are unsure of how long you want your cranks, get crank shorteners (available at several places online). Crank shorteners attach to the crank and have multiple positions for the pedals.
Pedals: Some manufacturers supply cheap platform pedals on their trikes. No!!! Unless you use clipless pedals your legs will (a) fatigue faster and (b) fall off the pedals into the road as you relax down a hill causing blood to spattered over your nice new trike. Clipless pedals only, please. I use Look pedals which have a high amount of float (allow the foot to move sideways on the pedal). A large amount of float (9 degrees at least) is necessary to save your knees and ankles. And being cliped in (i.e. with clipless pedals) will prevent the dreaded 'leg such' where your foot falls off dragging your leg under the trike which leads to the aforementioned blood all over the place. Never ride a trike without clipless pedals - potentially very dangerous.
Steering: While there are some direct steering trikes which are reliable (that is, where the handle bars control the wheels directly), in my experience indirect steering is generally superior. This means that there are steering rods attached to the ends of the handlebars. If done properly steering is smooth and vibration is minimal. I have found most direct steering designs to have more, even much more vibration than indirect. A good indirect steering will have the handle bars mounted on ball bearings and be fully adjustable. I can go over potholes on my trike and feel very little vibration coming through the hands, and the steering is so smooth that the trike still tracks straight during the bump. Not so on other trikes I have tried. If you are test riding before purchase, try to find the roughest pot-hole-filled road you can find. Make sure the steering is smooth and true.
Gears: If you live in the mountains, low gears are a must. If you have health problems, low gears are a must. There are three ways to have low gears on your trike: A small (24 tooth) chainring up front. Or use an internally geared hub in the rear. Or use a Schlumpf internal bottom bracket in the front. Or some comination of the foregoing. All are expensive and add a small amount of weight and drag. For a discussion of the pros and cons involved, please q.v. my page about trike upgrades here. If on the other hand you want high (fast) gears, IMHO you would be best served by a Capreo cogset on the rear (has a small 9-tooth gear) and as large a chainring on the front (60 teeth or more) as your muscles and pride can handle. I would suggest if you are a new rider however, a gear-inch range (see here for the meaning of 'gear-inches') of 15-90 is quite sufficient for most types of riding. When you purchase your trike, try to get as close to this range as you can. My setup here in the mountains with my various severe health issues, is a gear-inch range of 8-95. I can climb vertical walls with this range. Spider trikeman! .
Chain line: Some trike manufacturers have awkward chain lines. On a good trike, the chain line should be as straight as possible. It must not touch the frame at any point, even when bouncing around as you coast over a pothole. There will usually be a idler - a 2" wheel - through which the power side of the chain passes on its way to the rear gears. The bend for this should be minimal, and the idler should be set on good quality bearings. I have tried trikes (not from the top manufacturers) where the chain line had do go through multiple idlers making the line from the rear gears to the front gears very convoluted. In a parking lot ride this is not noticable. But on long rides where the chain line is twisted like this, you must exert more force to make the trike move - resulting in much more fatigue. And oh yes, the chain should be good quality. I like SRAM chains - long lasting and almost zero stretching as they age. I also like the fact that SRAM chains come with little metal links which make it easy to take the chain apart and resassemle it if you need to while out in the middle of nowhere, without having to carry a chain tool with you.
Where to buy:
- Only purchase from major, well known, well established, reputable manufacturers. My first trike came from a small manufacturer east of Germany. Missing parts, parts welded incorrectly, poor stability, dangerous, did not track in a straight line, excessive boom flex, bad chain line, , an utterly useless warranty, and worst of all - a frame which cracked after two weeks use just riding around the block. I spent the next two months completely re-working the design, spending money on frame bonding, and basically changing most things to make it ridable. So I learned my lesson: Buy only from the best, well known trike makers which I list below, or save your pennies until you can afford to do so.
- In my experience most bike stores are in the business of clearing out their inventory. Very, very few know anything about recumbents, let alone about trikes. Bicycles are pretty much all the same. Trikes are not! Unless the person you are speaking with has traveled tens of thousands of Km on her own trike, ignore anything she says no matter how good it sounds. In a city near here is a store that specializes in recumbents. Yet only one or two people there actually ride them, and not one person has ridden more than a couple of hundred Km on one. They also sell trikes… but no one there has gone more than a short trip around the block on any of the trikes they sell. Yet I have overheard them tell naive customers they are recumbent and trike ‘experts’. Sure they are. This same scenario has been repeated in most bike stores I have visited around the country. This is not to say that there are not some honest and knowledgeable bike stores for trikes - but they are very few and far between. But just because someone is friendly, a nice person, and seems knowledgeable does not mean they really know about trikes. Sure, there are exceptions, but IMHO your best bet would be to purchase directly from a good manufacturer with a solid reputation, or from a distributer authorized by the manufacturer in writing (if in doubt, ask to see it) and properly warranteed by the manufacturer.
- Most major manufacturers will allow you to spec and order a trike directly from them. The good ones will give you a delivery date and honor it. They will keep you informed of the progress in building your trike. And they will explain every detail of shipping. The trike will arrive partly or fully assembled; there will be an owner’s manual with photographs and drawings of things you should know; and there will be an email and telephone number of help if you need it. I purchase everything for my trike directly from ICE who have always shipped on time accompanied by full instruction manuals. For some parts such as pedals I order from reputable online dealers. I feel that it is generally cheaper, faster, and more reliable to go this route that to order anything from a local mountain-bike selling store front
Weight does not matter: Well, not as much as most folks think! Unless you plan to race your trike professionally, all of the top manufacturers offer trikes that are fast enough for any realistic riding. One or two pounds difference in weight is irrelevant. What does matter is gearing, comfort, and stability. If you live in the mountains or around steep hills, you need low gears - lower than on a bicycle. If you purchase a good trike you will not need a high downhill gear - trikes are really fast downhill. Aluminum trikes are generally lighter, but I can easily outstrip most of these on my heavier mainly steel trike. Not because I am particularly strong (I am not) but because my trike is well designed. No one wants a weight pig, but a few pounds here or there does not really make much difference.

Delta or Tadpole: A delta trike has two wheels in the back; a tadpole has them in the front. Tadpoles are more common. I've made a quick comparison table below, which may help you. Generally speaking however, unless you have trouble getting into and out of a lower trike, my own feeling is that most people will be happier with a tadpole design than a delta, although YMMV.

Tadpoles vs. Deltas
	Tadpoles	Deltas
Variety	Larger varitity and choice from many manufacturers	Only a few to choose from - Hase (Kettwiesel), Greenspeed (Anura), Rans (Trizard) and a few others)
Complexity	Less complex drive train	More complex drive train
Off-road	More center weighted. A few (ICE's line for example) can be adjusted to move the center of gravity rearward for slippery or off-road terrain	Rear weighted - e.g. Greenspeed's Anura is 75% rear weighted. Great for climbing slippery surfaces such as ice or loose gravel
Touring	Great for long distance tours	Apocryphal indications are that they may not be as good for long distance tours
Speed	Faster on average (but not by much)	A little bit slower in general although a good leaning delta (very rare) can be quite fast
Sitting	Easy, but requires a little more dexterity	Usually easier to get into

Final words: Do not get a cheap trike! Unless you are only interested in the occasional short ride to the store and back, get the best trike you can afford. If you cannot afford it, do what I did - wait and save until you can. A cheap trike cannot be upgraded by simply buying better components for it. A good trike is made that way by using proper materials, having proper welds, but most of all, proper design. A trike is much more like a car than a bicycle in terms of its engineering. To design them properly is actually rather complex. Anyone can weld three wheels to a piece of muffler steel and call it a trike. But a good, well designed, well made trike is worth every penny. It will be stable, safe, fast, will look good, and will last a life time.

The best tadpole trikes for normal use, IMHO come from ICE, HPVelotechnik, and Greenspeed. These companies are run by very helpful, friendly folk who support their products and "go the distance" to help trike riders. (Greenspeed is particularly exemplary in helping disabled and non-traditional needs.) Hase, Greenspeed, and RANS offer excellent delta trikes. Other good manufacturers IMHO are Challenge (particularly the Alize model), Catrike, Terratrike, Optima, Lightfoot Cycles, and Anthrotech. There are certainly other good trike manufacturers out there too.

Whatever you decide however, trike riding is terrific fun. Enjoy!