Problems riding a trike helppppppppppppp

[thegravestoneman]

Hello Gravestone man so you say i will be able to do it withough being pulled over to the kerb
as im unable to dare ride it i finish up in the gutter and nearly hot the left curb.
Are you saying then i wil be able to ride with a camber road and not be pulled
over to the c urb all the time, it is sooooo hard trying to force the handlebars
to keep to the right away from the curb.

Can you give me a link to get me to the tricycle association maybe this may
help me understand how to ride it.

You say stick with it so seems i will do it once i get used to it, and you say
that offering a trike to an experienced 2 wheel rider they wobble and give up.
So are trikes hard to ride or is it just me do other unexperienced trike riders have
problems riding a trike i just thought it was me doing it wrong.

It took me a fair while to master cambers but in the end it did come to me. I started with just a loop round the block and I think what was a 5 minute bike ride took me over an hour and a lot of swearing and I could have given up there and then. Car parks are a reasonable place to start just to get used to its characteristics and move on from there, when I first thought I was used to it Deep cambered (old Victorian) roads did catch me out but I did get there to the point where my bike stayed at home all the time. I guess the pull is always there but in the end I did not notice it, I don't know if wider bars might give you more leverage and help or make matters worse? but they might be worth a try. It is I think a case of re-adjusting your balance to the right whilst leaving the trike to do its own thing.

Trikes are indeed (imho) more difficult to ride then bikes once you have mastered a bike as you have to ignore all the balance skills you have acquired and honed over the years. I did offer a few bike riders ownership of my handbuilt Bob Jackson Racing trike which was worth about £800 upwards at the time in the mid eighties if they could ride it round the car park in a reasonable time at the beginning of rides and most were still trying to set off never mind get to a point where they might change gear or reach the first corner before they gave up and wheeled it back.

Once you have mastered it they are great machines and can get a tad addictive I think I ended up with four including a tandem trike and a box-trike. That is me on the back keeping it grounded.

Good luck and all the best Gaz

http://www.tricycleassociation.org.uk

 

[thegravestoneman]

Another advantage used to be turning up at the city centre races that were very popular at the time and putting the half a brake block from my pocket into the brake lever so I had my own grandstand to watch the action on. They do roll away if you leave them to their own devices for just a second.

 

[rebelpeter]

It took me a fair while to master cambers but in the end it did come to me. I started with just a loop round the block and I think what was a 5 minute bike ride took me over an hour and a lot of swearing and I could have given up there and then. Car parks are a reasonable place to start just to get used to its characteristics and move on from there, when I first thought I was used to it Deep cambered (old Victorian) roads did catch me out but I did get there to the point where my bike stayed at home all the time. I guess the pull is always there but in the end I did not notice it, I don't know if wider bars might give you more leverage and help or make matters worse? but they might be worth a try. It is I think a case of re-adjusting your balance to the right whilst leaving the trike to do its own thing.

Trikes are indeed (imho) more difficult to ride then bikes once you have mastered a bike as you have to ignore all the balance skills you have acquired and honed over the years. I did offer a few bike riders ownership of my handbuilt Bob Jackson Racing trike which was worth about £800 upwards at the time in the mid eighties if they could ride it round the car park in a reasonable time at the beginning of rides and most were still trying to set off never mind get to a point where they might change gear or reach the first corner before they gave up and wheeled it back.

Once you have mastered it they are great machines and can get a tad addictive I think I ended up with four including a tandem trike and a box-trike. That is me on the back keeping it grounded.

Good luck and all the best Gaz

http://www.tricycleassociation.org.uk View attachment 34021

Wow that is some trike you have there it seems then they are not easy to ride
and i need to practice i was tempted to giveup and sell it but the way your talkking
everyone struggles at first so im gonna keep the trike and persevere as i like the big wheels
ihave a 20 inch wheeler but no where are good at the 28 inch.
so can i say then it is not just me that finds it hard to ride a trike, as if so im gonna
keep on trying, i guess these rods round here are old types i live in a rural area all farms
so no modern roads they just re do the roads here with gravel kinds thingy,
wider bars are a good idea think i ought to try them do you.

you say trikes are imho ere well donno what that means can you enlarge on that please.

I have never seen a tandem, trike that must be very rare, a racing trike sounds great
but i guess i would struggle with them more so than my upright.

well im gonna keep on and not give up as i was going to do before i read this site
it seems im not the only one who struggles to ride trikes though i donno why they
are so hard to ride once you can ride a 2 wheeler but seems that dont help you ride
a trike.

many thanks for the photo the trike looks great im hoping one day someone local to me maybe
able to give me some lessons as it seems trikes are a lot more popular than i imagined,
i though they were just for older people who have a job to balance and get on a 2 wheeler,
but seems as in the photo young people use them too this is a great surprise to me thought
you needed to hit 70 yrs old to use a trike, well ive done that part of it now i need to get to ride
a trike, one thing id like to ask the right side wheel does not run free as a normal bike it seems
to turn part of the axle is this normal or should it run free like a 2 wheeler bike does, it turns ok
but its not free running like a normal bike is this ok and right , ,

Many thanks . . .

 

[rebelpeter]

You will get used to it. Took me about 30 miles IIRC.
Trikes need a very different technique to bikes - you're almost better off not having learned how to ride a bike, IMHO.

hello i am pleased to hear ill get used to it sounds like i am trying to ride
like a normal bike and balance it i see, can you tell me what IIRC and IMHO mean please.

 

[rebelpeter]

Wait until you've got used to the trike and you go back to the two-wheeler. You'll get off and walk away from it then hear a crash behind you as it falls over.

this is very funny and i can see what you mean, im getting so much help on
here i am overwhelmed and would like to say a big thank you to everyone
that is helping me on here, i was before this thinking of giving up on the trike
as i though it was me that was the problem. many thanks to you all and keep the replies
comong please as it is a great help to me.

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

hello i am pleased to hear ill get used to it sounds like i am trying to ride
like a normal bike and balance it i see, can you tell me what IIRC and IMHO mean please.

IIRC means If I Recall Correctly and IHMO means In My Honest Opinion (or humble opinion).

 

[rebelpeter]

IIRC means If I Recall Correctly and IHMO means In My Honest Opinion (or humble opinion).

IIRC means If I Recall Correctly and IHMO means In My Honest Opinion (or humble opinion).

ok thanks for the info on this i would never have guessed that.

Thanks Phil . . .

 

[Smurfy]

I've heard that right wheel drive in the UK is a constant battle to keep the trike from steering into the gutter. Take it to the continent though, and right hand drive is exactly what you want as it will lift you out of the gutter.

 

[Gravity Aided]

Camber just tosses you right back there. Dual drive is better, I think.

 

[rebelpeter]

I've heard that right wheel drive in the UK is a constant battle to keep the trike from steering into the gutter. Take it to the continent though, and right hand drive is exactly what you want as it will lift you out of the gutter.

mmmm my trike is left hand drive is th at good . . . .

 

[rebelpeter]

Camber just tosses you right back there. Dual drive is better, I think.

yes i guess dual drive is good i donno if this makes sense but my trike is left wheel drive
when i lift the right wheel it does not run free as a normal 2 wheel but then it seems to
turn part of the axle so i guess it would not run completely free,

is this right do you think it should it turn part of the right axle with the right side wheel . ..

 

[Gravity Aided]

I have to test some of these theories, later on as it is about 11f right now. I do use the trike more in the winter, it is right side drive and 3 speeds through a very complex but popular arrangement common in the States.

 

[rebelpeter]

I have to test some of these theories, later on as it is about 11f right now. I do use the trike more in the winter, it is right side drive and 3 speeds through a very complex but popular arrangement common in the States.

hello i have a 20 inch wheel trike as well and thats a lot easier to ride.
when you ride a trike and it oulls to the curb do you lean the other way
as i seem to be and which side should your weight be on when it pulls left

 

[Gravity Aided]

On camber, mine pulls right and I lean a bit right, steering a bit left. Somewhat counter intuitive, but tricycles are like that . Keep you thinking.

 

[rebelpeter]

On camber, mine pulls right and I lean a bit right, steering a bit left. Somewhat counter intuitive, but tricycles are like that . Keep you thinking.

so does this mean when mine pulls left to the curb i need lean and put weight on the left drive side thats pulling to the left.

Trikes sure are confusing things what sort of trike do you have and what wheel size
mine is a 28 inch wheel with 12 gears, do you have one of those lovely drop handlebars
racing trikes.