We like trikes!
Forget about double takes. Gawkers steal triple takes--one for each wheel--as I pedal past, comfortably seated in the high-backed chair of my low-slung sapphire blue EZ-3 recumbent tricycle from Sun Bicycles ( sunbicycles.com ). Having never mastered the art of balancing on two wheels, I wondered if I would ever have the chance to bike through Central Park with my teenage son. Now I can--and I even look cool on a vehicle that does not in the least resemble an overgrown kiddie trike.
"Bent" (short for recumbent) enthusiasts have long extolled the spine-friendly, ergonomic virtues of two wheelers designed to allow you to sit in a recumbent position (hence the name). By contrast, traditional bikes compel riders to perch atop a butt-battling triangular stool with no back support. Although rare, recumbent tricycles have been available since the 1970s. The market is still small but growing--thanks to aging baby boomers eager to remain fit but wishing to limit aches and pains, and anxious about falling, especially if osteoporosis looms.
A variety of manufacturers offer different models designed not just for leisurely bike paths but for racing, touring, and tandem riding. "It's not your grandmother's tricycle," says Rolf Garthus, owner of the Hostel Shoppe, a store specializing in recumbent cycles, in Stevens Point, Wis. He cites the lighter weight, greater comfort, stability, aerodynamics, and easier maneuverability of recumbent trikes compared with upright adult trikes. Not to mention the decidedly different look.
The price may not be what your thrifty grandma had in mind, either. The basic EZ-3 SX is the least expensive recumbent trike at $725; others in the EZ line-including its first tadpole design, to be released mid-November--go as high as $1,500. Customized models and higher-end imports can range up to $7,000.
Nonetheless, "our sales [of recumbent trikes] have been tripling, year over year," says Anna Lee Husband, owner of Triketrails ( triketrails.com ), a Whitby, Ontario, store. "We see so many women who never learned to ride and are tickled pink that they can get on and just go," Husband says. But, she adds, these trikes aren't just for gals: When guys see the "sexier" models, she says, "they just drool"--and pop for their latest toy.
Three wheelers
Deltas. Two wheels in back, one in front, sleekly elongated.
Tadpoles. Two wheels in front for a fast ride--up to 40 mph on the Catrike Road trike ($1,995, www.catrike.com ).
Fold-ups. Easy to haul. A top seller is the Greenspeed GT3 ($2,595, greenspeed.com.au ).
This story appears in the September 27, 2004 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.
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