Trike Talk: Ep 2 - Trike Visibility, Flags, Lights, Seat Height

Brayden: Hey everybody welcome back to the trike show I'm Brayden.

Harold: I'm Harold and we're here to talk trikes.

Brayden: This time we've got a new slew of questions all kind of based around visibility and safety. So stick around and we'll get to answering this week's questions. You got a question to start us off?

Harold: Yeah, let's get right into it. All right, our first question for this week is I'm worried that my trike is too close to the ground and I'm worried that drivers aren't going to be able to see me. What can I do to be more visible?

Brayden: I think that's a pretty valid question. Some of these trikes can be pretty low. I strongly recommend, I mean you need a flag, got to have a flag.

Harold: Yeah big old tall flag! We have tons of options here. A lot of trikes will come with flags and we have a crazy amount of funky flags.

Brayden: Couldn't go over them all in this video wouldn't want to waste your time doing that either.

Harold: Go to website. Website time website!

Brayden: Yeah, go look at our flag tab we got a bunch of them we have some funny ones big old cow flags that I wish people bought more.

Harold: I love that flag.

Harold: What other things can you do?

Brayden: You know I get asked all the time I like the color purple.

Harold: You do like the color purple.

Brayden: I do like the color purple, but the customers will go 'hey I actually really like this trike color I'm concerned that it's not visible enough' so what's the general sentiment with that?

Harold: General sentiment in that is when you're on a trike and you're going by a driver, the drivers not really going to be able to see the color profile too much whether it's a fluorescent yellow or a dark green; you're taking up so much of that trike that any of the frame you're going to be able to see the drivers really not going to be able to see. What you can do to offset that, get some lights get some big old bright lights. I know you that you a light set that you love recommending, but one thing to keep in mind is don't worry about the color get the color you want and then get some big lights.

Brayden: Yeah, I mean, they're going to see you riding on the trike a lot sooner than they see the color of the frame of the trike.

Harold: What lights do you recommend, Brayden?

Brayden: We going into lights? I think lights are really important. I think they're really important and for the price of what they are and the safety that they kind of achieve, it's really important not to get the cheapest light out there. Get the brightest light, find the brightest light that you can. What we have in stock my CatEye ampp 1100. It's 1100 lumen light it's my favorite light that we have. When we're thinking headlights, I like a light that stays on constant the CatEye lights do have flashing they do have a strobe function and then same with the rear tail light.

Harold: the CatEye Viz 450 that you can toss in the back

Brayden: it's like you've heard my spiel every now and again.

Harold: Yeah it's like I have an office right next to you.

Brayden: It's perfect. Both rechargeable use the same cable even. I wouldn't do it any other way. The 450 Viz tail light and the 1100 headlight keeps you visible no matter the color of the trike. You have a flag, you have the brightest lights, you're sitting on the trike they're going to see you.

Harold: yeah to sum it up get a big flag get some bright lights and you'll be fine.

Harold: What about for those trikes with the motor? What integrated lighting options do you have there?

Brayden: If you don't want to have to worry about individually recharging your lights.

Harold: Just want to have one battery running everything.

Brayden: Each motor kind of has its own option the Bosch has the Nova light system it comes with the brake light and headlight runs right off the battery. Even for Bafang we have our own integrated lighting kit. Shimano has a light system.

Harold: Yeah there the Bosch e motor one.

Brayden: They all run off of the battery fantastic if just you don't want to worry about whether or not your lights charged or not I just want to get on the trike and ride.

Harold: Press a button and go.

Brayden: As long as that battery is on those lights will turn on too. I do think another thing to mention are quads, just to circle back to our quads our 4x4 eQuad comes stock with integrated lights.

Harold: Yeah those are really cool actually! We've taken the front bumper and integrated a set of lights there as well as in the back bumper that you can all control with that one display panel.

Brayden: Yeah it has the little button to turn it on and off.

Harold: I think we even have a turn signal system that we can do with those.

Brayden: Yeah an upgradeable turn signal, just in case that was something something you were feeling you needed turn signals on.

Harold: What about turn signals on trikes?

Brayden: We can we have done it in the past we've used like motorcycle turn signals to throw on the back. It really is a case by case, really custom builds, really flexible builds we're more likely to put turn signals on than than say some of our other trike options. Like on a Catrike there's not a ton of space to do that so I do think you sacrifice some other options to have turn signals which I think is worth considering.

Harold: Pros and cons in each and every way. We also have just a little box turn signal that we can install. It just is wired and goes up to your handlebar you use that as well but again that's taking up more right very valuable space.

Brayden: Especially in your controls.

Harold: Yeah you don't want to mess with that too much.

Brayden: How many buttons do you want to be dealing with with your hands.

Harold: Well Brayden, we've talked about lights, we've talked about motors on lights, you talked about flags, what other things can a rider get to make sure they're safe other than lights other than these flags and what are good things to keep in mind?

Brayden: Good, just pointers right? the person coming towards you on the road say you're sitting on the shoulder right? they're going to be on the opposite side of the road generally speaking I'm not in any danger from oncoming traffic. I'm not going towards them I'm more worried about the drivers behind me right so mirrors I think are a requirement.

Harold: Yeah a lot of trikes already come with mirrors all Catrikes come with one mirror right and then you should get another.

Brayden: It's better to have two mirrors. It's cheap safety insurance. I rather have had it than not have it and I just to really kind of nail it down the tail light needs to be I think elevated.

Harold: Yeah you want to get it up as high up as you can depending on what your set up is. You are fairly low to the ground so you want to get up the top of the seat on the back of your rack if you get our super headrest you can put that on there and clamping on there that way you're shining that right into a driver's eye not enough to stun them and make them get into an accident of course but enough to let them know hey I'm here don't squish me.

Brayden: I mean you shouldn't be worried about being obnoxious this is a safety thing I need to be seen so if that's being annoying then that's being annoying you know I rather be safe than than be at risk right. We get bothered all the time because we we film little shorts you know all our YouTube channels

Harold: Yeah we go in our parking lot people think we're in genuine danger.

Brayden: But, is it important to wear a helmet when you're out and riding?

Harold: absolutely yeah bright helmet.

Brayden: I know that it's not going to tip you know as much as a bike's going to but if it does you're going to really want a helmet on so don't do what we do if when we're out actually riding I mean at least for our videos and content when we're out riding on a trail we're wearing our helmets absolutely it's just about being safe yeah.

Harold: be safe be comfortable be seen. I guess another thing to keep in mind when you're going to take a trike what should I factor into that if I'm concerned about safety between the trike models.

Brayden: Sure I mean I think if you're going into it and you already know you're going to be in high traffic areas, I'm gonna be riding on the road there going to be cars all the way around me you should be going in looking for a higher trike seating seated trike right something that you're going to be more visible yeah that way your head's not as low like on a 700 right you're laidback the fun to ride don't get me wrong love that trike.

Harold: but it's it's less fun when you think oh my head's right next to the center axle of the truck.

Brayden: Right a lot easier to be on the side of the road and something with like a higher seat like the Villager.

Harold: The ICE Adventure HD.

Brayden: Yeah ICE Adventure HD and ICE has a really cool seat adapter.

Harold: Yeah their High seat adapter that brings it up a couple inches you be even more visible.

Brayden: Not only is it easy to get out of but for visibility reasons they're going to see a lot easier yeah um I think it's also good to circle back to Fat Tire trikes just being higher up off the ground right and our quads.

Harold: Just a larger profile on ground.

Brayden: Right being bigger I'm a lot more visible right not only in height but in in a quad and Fat Tire just size just general size be tall it's hard to not see an ICE Full Fat.

Harold: Plus in that orange they have right.

Brayden: The obnoxious ice orange yeah.

Harold: get it get lights

Brayden: You know another trike that just doesn't come up often I like thinking about him.

Harold: gee, I wonder why?

Brayden: Lot of mixed feelings what about the Delta style trikes.

Harold: Yeah what we see a lot of is for people that are really concerned about visibility they're going to want to go with an Eco Delta or any of the other Delta trikes that are offered because that's really going to give you the highest riding profile that you can get.

Brayden: It might be important to kind of circle back around. What is the difference between a Delta style trike and a tadpole trike?

Harold: If you think of it tadpoles are going to have two wheels in the front one wheel in the back Delta that's going to be reversed one wheel in the front two wheels in the back.

Brayden: Generally lower trikes Delta's got a higher seat rating right um we have mixed feelings about the performance between a Delta and a tadpole but it would be unfair to say that the seat high isn't an advantage on the Delta definitely definitely adds to the visibility of them right

Harold: Again be bigger be more seen right that's what it's about

Brayden: It really depends on what type of riding you're doing right if I'm going to be next to a bunch of cars in traffic I do think it's important to to be as safe as I can all the lights seat height pick the right trike.

Harold: Right well this week we talked about visibility and safety you guys let us know what you're doing and keep yourself safe and visible we want to hear it put it in the comments below um your idea of riding being safe could help the next rider out there remember to relax spin fast and ride tries we'll see you guys next time.