About my trike

Type of trike: I ride an ICE Trice QNT.

Why ride a recumbent trike? Serious long term illness and its many consequences such as inability to balance a normal bike.

How far have you ridden? Almost 55,000 Km and counting, all on very steep mountain roads ... so more had the roads been flat and the riding season not constrained by five-foot snow falls. At the start doctors told me I would never be able to walk or ride again. They were wrong!  .

What’s it like? Fast, comfortable, panoramic views, pain free after a long ride, and FUN!

Adventures? Yes - lots. For example: meeting bears, moutain lions, and century rides.  More here.

How fast is it? I no longer care about speed. However, I have no trouble at all coasting downhill at 80+ in the mountain passes here. At that speed, the trike is very stable and much more relaxing than a regular bike. I just sit back and watch the world flash by. Uphill however, I am slower than normal bikes. On the flat, most people on trikes can average the same as a normal road bike, YMMV.

Why this model? The four top manufactures of quality recumbent trikes are Greenspeed in Australia, Hase in Germany, Inspired Cycle Engineering (ICE) in England, and HPVelotechnik in Germany. There are a few others that are good, but IMHO not up to the same standards as the top four. After a very bad buying experience with my first trike (see my article on how to purchase a trike) I learned to be very untrusting of the promises of manufacturers. So after careful research I chose an ICE QNT as best suiting my particular needs. For me it has been a perfect trike - fast, stable, safe, strong, comfortable, and beautifully designed. After tens of thousands of Km in all weather and all terrain it has been completely trouble free - everything just works. ICE support has been outstanding, and their product second to none. Nice folks to deal with too.

Transporting: My trike folds quickly into a nice smallish package. Undo a few quick releases, the seat pops off, the rear wheel folds under, etc. It takes just three or four minutes to go from riding to standing beside a nicely folded trike to carry on a plane or pop into a car trunk. At the other end, it takes about five mins to have everything ready to ride again. Neat.

Safety: If you ride a human powered device along a road with 4000lb. vehicles, you are taking a risk . I decorated my trike and mudguards with fluorescent police tape, five high intensity strobe lights (two white front lights, three rear red lights), fluorescent tires, and carry a 7ft. tall pole sporting two homemade fluorescent flags in the rear. I’m pretty easy to see. I carry an AirZound 130 decibel horn for cars, and pepper spray for the local farm dogs who attack to kill. As far as safety regarding falling, this is very unlikely on a good quality trike. For ultimate safety just remember that the relationship between intelligence and driving an SUV is frequently an inverse one, and ride accordingly.

How are you treated?: Most people are very friendly as I ride by. Folks on normal bikes wave and say hello. People often want to ask questions so I carry a card with this site’s url on it, since health problems prevent me from easily replying. Once in a while some car driver sadly bereft of intelligence, polluting the air with his (and his car’s) noxious smell, yells invectives or even throws things. However I am happy to say that most people are very friendly, curious, and generally smile and wave encouragement as I ride along.