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A Whole New Ride: Three-Wheel Bicycles

Recumbent tricycle gains ground

by: Joan Mooney | from: AARP Bulletin | August 1, 2011

"When I'm riding, I don't have Parkinson's," says Smith, "because the balance issue is gone. It's just me and my muscles."

But you don't have to have a serious disease like Parkinson's to feel benefits from recumbent trikes. "For retired people who begin to question their physical ability, this is like the fountain of youth," says Santa Barbara biker Lawson. "It's like when you were a kid riding carefree around the neighborhood. That's what retirement should be."

Buying a Recumbent Trike

There are two basic types of recumbent trikes.

Tadpoles, which have two wheels in front, are much more common. They are lower, faster and usually more expensive. Fans say their steering has a sports-car feel.
Deltas, which have a single wheel in front, are usually higher and easier to get in and out of. They're heavier and slower, so it's harder to put them in the trunk of a car.

Price Details:

Recumbent trikes have become much more affordable in the past few years. Peter Stull, owner of the Bicycle Man in Alfred Station, N.Y., and a big fan of recumbents, says $700 can buy what he calls a "mobility trike" for people who can't walk for exercise, but want to be able to get outside and don't care how fast they go.
The less expensive models have a limited range of gearing, and the parts are not as lightweight, says Larry Black, owner of Mount Airy Bicycles in Maryland.
More serious bikers who may want to go 50 miles a day can expect to spend $1,500 or more. David Lawson, an avid tricyclist in Santa Barbara, Calif., has a carbon fiber trike that cost $5,000.
Atlanta-area tricyclist Bob Cardone was able to buy a Rover, Terra Trike's newest model, for $1,000. "You can spend $1,500, $2,000, but it's a lot cheaper than going to the cardiologist," he says — and certainly more fun.

Joan Mooney is a writer and book reviewer based in Washington, D.C. She previously reviewed Karen Armstrong’s Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life and the Dalai Lama’s My Spiritual Life for AARP The Magazine.