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| My current ride ICE Sprint FS E8000 as of 2019. When we moved back to Thousand Oaks after screwing around with living on the Central Coast for three years and I was quickly reminded of all the hills to climb. For the last year I've averaged 71 feet of gain per mile. E-assist had come a long way so I bought a new ICE Sprint FS E8000 but the mesh seat is from an ICE Adventure (click here for info). Love it! |
Staying strong…kinda. I love riding bent trikes. I’ve been riding recumbent trikes since 2009. They’ve kept me moving with little pause through three back repairs, two new hips, carpel tunnel release to both wrists, heart attack 10 years ago while pushing my old bones too hard riding my Catrike 700, nerve damage to my right leg from a shitty hip replacement and now a pandemic that is screwing with all of us. I’ve lived a physical life and doing nothing is not option I can live with. So when the hills started to feel longer and steeper I added an e-assist trike from ICE trikes to my stable and I just kept on going.
The biggest problem people seem to have with a recumbent trike, is that it’s not “normal”. But normal is boring. Most people have a problem with “different”. I get it, you have to be comfortable with people staring at you when you ride a recumbent trike. People staring at you while they’re driving is actually a good thing.
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| 2013 to 2019 Catrike 700 with 20" front wheels. Fun fun trike. But after about 20 to 30 miles it starts to feel a little too laid back. |
In time maybe more people will consider a recumbent trike. Whether a fast road trike, touring trike, off road trike or an adaptive trike, it’s all good. Plus it’s really hard to fall off a trike. Every now and then I’ll see somebody on a new standard bike and they look so uncomfortable and I can just bet that their bike will probably be on Craigslist soon and they’ll give up cycling. Doesn’t have to be.
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| 2016 to 2018 Catrike Expedition. Sense the Sprint wasn't working out for me at the time I went back to a Catrike Expedition for awhile. Always a reliable ride. I still feel that the Expedition is one of the best all around trikes at a reasonable price for a solid well built trike. |
The UCI won’t allow recumbents in UCI sanctioned races, yet world speed and distant records are on recumbents bikes and trikes (the 24 hour distance record is on a velomobile trike). Knowing what I know now, if I were young again and all my parts were still working I would still only ride a recumbent trike. I would never go 50mph down a hill on two wheels at any age. I’d probably break my face. At 67 it’s always partypace, except when coming down a steep hill. Old guys need an adrenaline fix every now and then.
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| 2015 to 2018 ICE Sprint FS with Carbon Seat |
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| Same ICE Sprint FS as above but with a mesh seat. The carbon seat was a killer on my Piriformis. But eventually I parted with this trike because of the seat. The mesh seat felt too short for my 6'1" frame. I felt like I was constantly on the edge of the seat and it was a uncomfortable feeling. I tried making adjustments that helped but in the end it just didn't work for me. |
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| 2014 to 2015 my "Red" Catrike 700. This was a bit of an experiment to see if I could set up a 700 for longer rides and maybe even short tours I had planned at the time. It didn't meet my expectations |
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| 2011 to 2012 Catrike 700 with 16" front wheels. An old classic long ago discontinued in favor of 20" front wheels. The lower profile of this 700 gave it a low center of gravity and was awesome for taking tight turns at speed. The new 700s are good too but the old 700 beats it on the turns. |
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| 2009 to 2014 Catrike Expedition, my first trike. A really fun ride and a great first trike for breaking into the world of trikes and for touring. With proper tire selection the lack of suspension is not missed. |
