recumbent trike

I had the opportunity to drive to Payson this weekend to test drive the three recumbent trikes I had decided upon based on "value" (another term for the best I can afford). One of the premier dealers in the country is Utah Trikes. Nice that they are located nearby (sort of).

It was a blast! I couldn't stop grinning! The recumbent trike has been compared to a sports car in the family of bicycles and I could easily see why. You sit very low in a recumbent, so even standing (that is, sitting) still, you feel like you're already moving fast. The recumbent position also provides a high degree of comfort with a totally different pedal feel. While you cannot stand on the pedals as you do in a conventional bike when going uphill, I understand you become accustomed to pedaling in such a way that you still have the capability of going up steep ascents with the added bonus of simply stopping and resting when you become overtaxed. You just apply the brakes and remain seated while you catch your breath.

This means little to those who have no interest in this sort of thing, but the three models I tested were the KMX Typhoon, the Catrike Trail and the TerraTrike Cruiser. Of the three, the Typhoon is really in a different class from the other two. It is really targeted at teens and younger bikers who are looking for a fun ride at a low price ($1099) and seemed more like a BMX version of a recumbent trike. The Catrike was nice (at $1749), but did not have an adjustable seat, which is an important consideration to me, especially if I ride long distances. The Catrike was the lightest of the three bikes however, and felt very nice although I did experience some pedal steer (meaning the bike sways from side to side as you pedal - something practice can help rectify, but interestingly, I did not experience it in the other two models). The TerraTrike Cruiser ($1499) proved to be the best of the three in my opinion, possessing a nice degree of comfort, no pedal steer and marvelous handling (indirect steering, which is again something of no interest to the unitiated. I think direct steering might be preferable, but for my money, the indirect steering was smoother). Santa (aka my wife) suggested that the Cruiser might be my Christmas present if I've been good this year. So, like the children you see in old movies, I may be out there in the snow on Christmas Day tooling around the neighborhood on my new trike. I've already begun planning my route to work and back and have carefully studied the bike path maps for SLC and Salt Lake County . . .