My brand new (owned for less than an hour) recumbent trike sits in front of Palio's Dessert & Espresso in Portland, Oregon (at the center of this WikiMapia aerial view). This is in a pretty residential district called “Ladd’s Addition,” an area of less than one square mile. I stopped here to adjust the neckrest before continuing on my first ride with the trike. My exploration of the streets and alleys of Ladd's Addition added up to four miles.
My legs still had energy so I drove across town for a ride to Kelley Point Park.
iPhone photo
Lee, I have the feeling it would not do well. The trike is good on pavement and smooth gravel roads. Slickrock might be a problem. The bottom of the rear derailleur comes as close as 1.5 inches from the ground, which requires me to be careful going over speed bumps, asphalt buckled by tree roots, and some curb cuts. Its tires are narrower than those of a mountain bike, so it would have less traction. It would be fun to take to Crater Island, but the salt in the mud would not be good for it..
Lee G
04-Sep-2013 18:07
I am wondering how this set-up will do on the slickrock of Moab. Only one way to fond out, road trip with extensive testing!
There are other adjustments: seat angle and boom length. The angle of the seat can be done easily by the rider, but the range of adjustment is rather small. The boom (the forward “horizontal” tube) can be changed to accommodate different leg lengths, but this is only done when picking up the trike at a shop or when the trike gets a new owner because it will probably require changing the length of the chain.
