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Upright Tricycickles

(7 posts)
  • Started 12 years ago by Smudge
  • Latest reply from Smudge
  • This topic is not a support question

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  1. Smudge
    Member

    Hello all,
    My mum-in-law live in near Londinium and is apparently considering a tricicyle as she feels guilty taking a car to the local shops but overtaking cars are intimidating if she takes a trad bicycle. (Understandable down here!)

    So, given I know nothing about trikes, what's the best solution for an occaisional cyclist looking for a bargain trike in a relatively flat area? (needs hub gears and ability to carry shopping)

    She mentioned Pashley, and I found these http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Pashley-Tricycle-/160703797270?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item256ab15816

    http://www.edinburghrc.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=13822.0

    Which I guess are possibles, she is tempted by an electric and found this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/electric-tricycle-forward-and-reverse-/260921739679?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item3cc025c99f
    Got to say, that rings my chinese BSO alarm bells, but I don't know enough about them to be sure...

    Thoughts?

    Posted 12 years ago #

  2. kaputnik
    Moderator

    The Pashleys look like 3-wheeled Raleigh Twenties. Kinda cool. You could get a decent load of messages in the back too. Sorry, I too don't know anything more about tricycycycles!

    Posted 12 years ago #

  3. DaveC
    Member

    I saw a few trikes on Gumtree a few weeks ago. Might be worth a look.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  4. ruggtomcat
    Member

    not in a million years. or until someone else gets one.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  5. gembo
    Member

    I have seen a couple of trikes. Local man takes his daughter out in one and another down at Canonmills Tesco - both look sturdy but heavy. Electric tricycle? No idea. Electric bicycle all the rage.

    I can see the logic of cars having to give a trike a wide berth - if the roads are wide enough?

    Posted 12 years ago #

  6. wee folding bike
    Member

    If she can already ride a bike then a trike will feel very wrong. They steer using the steering and stay up by using your weight to balance them. I let one of the S4 boys have a shot on mine last week. He couldn't turn it. He also couldn't find the brakes which makes me think there is now a whole generation of kids who have never used drop bars. Anyway, not being able to turn a trike is quite common. Steering straight into the kerb is normal too because the camber makes a bike rider feel like they are falling left so they steer that way to bring the wheels under the centre of mass.

    I've never tried a Pashley but they are reported as being less difficult to ride than a Longstaff style large wheel trike. Apart from any engineering issues a Pashley trike isn't going to be moving as fast as a Longstaff so Newton is less likely to be a sudden concern. I'm pretty sure Pashley uses one wheel drive. Two is better but again I might be looking for more performance than the machine is designed to deliver.

    Cars will give you a wider berth. This could be because trikes are unusual and get noticed, they occupy space more convincingly or perhaps they just think you're nuts. On the down side you can't slip though traffic with quite the same élan.

    I fitted Marathon Winter spikes on mine last week to get round the brake/steering on ice issues. Two weeks ago I had to walk down the hill because even with the front wheel locked it was still moving on the ice. The front tyre fouls the mudguard. I could Dremel off part of the mudguard but in the first instance I'll probably just take it off.

    Posted 12 years ago #

  7. Smudge
    Member

    Thanks for the input chaps, I'm pushing her in the direction that a £600 "conventional" trike secondhand (and therefore cheap) will be a better device than a £600 electric of unknown manufacture.
    Will keep an eye on the classifieds and see if I can pick her up a bargain. Have emailed the ERC lass but no answer so far, I assume it's either sold or she's away on holitags :)

    Posted 12 years ago #

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