Why Trikes are the Hottest Trend in Cycling Right Now

Here at Utah Trikes we are around these 3 wheeled monsters all the time. Once you work here long enough you start to forget that these cycles look a little funky, especially to someone who has never seen them before.

For many people the first thought when seeing a trike is “why does this bike have three wheels?” or “trikes are only for kids learning to ride bikes” Well we here at Utah Trikes are firm believers that trikes are for everyone. We want you to get in on the hottest trend in the cycling world right now!

What is a Trike?

When we are talking about trikes, what we are referring to is an adult tricycle. Now this isn’t the tyke trike you may have had growing up, this is the grown up super awesome version. It keeps the thrill of cycling with the safety and security of a third wheel.

Recumbent trikes as the name suggests give you a fully reclined seat position. Situating you lower to the ground you get a more stable and controlled ride. Trikes come in a variety of shapes, sizes, colors, and configurations. So if you need any specific builds there is definitely a trike for you.

Who is Riding Trikes?

So the big question is who are trikes for and who is riding them?
Recumbent trikes are good for a wide range of people of varying ages.

Historically, our main demographic has been older folks that are looking to stay active. Some are riders that have been avid cyclist for years and others are people that want to ride but never learned to ride a two-wheel bike. The stability of a trike makes it perfect for the rider that needs help balancing or just can’t risk falling like they once could.

All aspects of a trike are perfect for the older rider. They provide an easily mountable seat, and riding in a reclined position that you would with a trike allows riders to exercise other parts of their bodies without causing as much pain as a traditional bicycle would while also putting less pressure on joints, which is ideal for anyone with arthritis.

People with stability or balance issues are also perfect candidates for trikes because little to no balance is needed to ride a trike.

Recumbent trikes are also a great option for people with disabilities. With an easily mountable seat that is low to the ground and requires next to no balance to stay situated in it. As Well as the option to be powered and steered only using your hands like on our Not a Wheelchair or HandCycle.

Here at Utah Trikes we also have a ton of custom options for trikes. We can adapt a trike for almost any circumstance. Making trikes even more accessible.

Recumbent trikes are perfect for people getting into cycling later in life too. Many people don’t have the opportunity to learn how to ride a bike when they are young for one reason or another and as they grow older learning how to ride a bike may no longer be interesting or may appear dangerous.

There is no fear of all of the bumps and bruises that come with learning how to ride a bicycle. With recumbent trikes you just hop on your trike and ride and that’s all there is to i

Lastly, people who want to be comfortable. Recumbent trikes are the peak of comfort in the cycling world.

With trike riding you can just sit back and relax and with the option of adding a motor you don’t even have to worry about pedaling.

Trikes allow you to sit in a comfortable position instead of hunched over uncomfortably over your handlebars. The way you are situated makes a big difference, and with such a comfortable ride it's no wonder why people like it so much.

Why a Trike?

You may have noticed, but trikes are becoming the next big thing in cycling. With the inclusive riding roster, and many quality of life improvements from your average bicycle there's a lot that's started to catch on. And the comfort of a trike is a big reason why.

Traditional bike seats are uncomfortable and cause pain if riding for an extended amount of time. You also have to remain in a somewhat upright position while sitting on your bicycle.

With recumbent trikes the seats are much more comfortable and do a better job at keeping you relaxed so that you can continue triking for a longer amount of time.

Trike seats are also reclined and many of them are adjustable so you can choose how far you want to be laid back while you ride your trike.

Going along with comfort, they also require no balance. With traditional cycling there is a large amount of focus put in balancing and keeping yourself stable. If you aren’t focusing you risk falling over.

Taking balance out of the equation lets you have a more relaxed and comfortable ride. Letting you take your focus off of stay up right and instead focus on yourself and the ride.

An Inclusive ride brings a lot of people to the trike platform too. Trikes allow people that would not typically be able to ride a bicycle to enjoy the joys of cycling.

Many people can not ride bicycles whether that be because of age, disability, balance issues, or never having the opportunity to get to learn. Trikes make it so that everyone can have the opportunity to ride if they want to no matter who they are.

Trikes take little to no skill to learn how to ride. The beauty of the recumbent tricycle is that you can hop on and ride, it's really that simple. There’s no learning how to ride and you easily avoid the many falls that come with learning how to ride a traditional bike

Lastly, Trikes are just fun! They allow you to get out into nature and to move your body. There's so many passionate people in the triking community as well and it's great to get out and have fun with a dedicated community of people.

If the guy who works at the company whose selling you trikes isn't enough to convince you that a trike really is a game changer. Let's look at the sentiments of some awesome customers who have reached out to us with their experiences.

Jeanne from The Real Grizzly Granny on youtube gave her account and says
"My back injury caused me to be fairly inactive for about a year, and had lost significant muscle tone and strength. Since I have been riding my recumbent, I now have strength back in my legs, which not even PT had helped since my back injury."

Similarly after a bad fall on his bike our next rider Bob decided it was too dangerous to keep riding two wheelers. After this decision he says “ I told my wife I cant go through this again. SO I bought a Catrike Expedition not really knowing too much about recumbents but it turned out to be a great choice. I was disappointed to be giving up the two wheeler but that attitude changed very quickly when I realized how much fun it is to ride the Catrike recumbent”

And our last rider Dwayne is a 56 year old paramedic and lifelong cyclist. He says “ After a stroke I was left unable to use my left side, initially unable to use my left arm or walk. My therapy was fairly intense but all I wanted more than anything was to get back on a bike. I ended up buying a Catrike Trail and ive been sold ever since my first ride. I’ve built strength and agility activating muscles I was unable to activate since my stroke in August. I'm inspired to share the ”freedom” of triking to others who struggle with mobility issues.”

Many of our customers that come to us have some sort of injury or disability that prevents them from riding a regular two wheel bike. And thats where the trike comes in. Be that from the uncomfortability that comes from a bike, danger, or lack of balance. We get a lot of these cases and I would say a lot of our customers deal with something along these lines.

Along with working individually with each of our customers. We work with a lot of foundations like not a wheelchair, Forgotten Not Gone and Veterans Affairs branches. Working to get people who can't ride bikes normally back out on the roads and trails.

All of these personal stories showcase the amazing opportunities that trike riding can allow new and old riders.

We love to hear these personal trike stories and if you do too we always share them from real customers and riders on our Newsletter every friday. If you are interested in joining the newsletter you can sign up with our link right here.

And if you want to share your own trike stories we'll have a link to that right here will take you to our personal survey that you can fill out.

And with that there's a ton of reasons on why a trike may be the right fit for you!

If you enjoyed this article make sure to let us know in the comments and if you own a trike, leave a comment down below on what made you decide to get your trike, and if you don’t let us know what you are interested in.

With that we'll see you next time remember to relax, spin fast and ride trike