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Married to Night Train
- Location
- Salford, UK
I have ... well, a trike at least ... and I nearly rolled it I got so carried away. Great fun!!
Haven't ridden one in traffic though, so not sure what that experience is like?
Cheers,
Shaun
oh yes....
As for the traffic...
Well, it's different, that's true. But you generally get far more room and respect from passing drivers - they can't work out what you are, and that makes them actually think, instead of just drifting past. Think of almost every car that passes doing so entirely on the opposite side of the road. Also, I think a lot think you're disabled - suits me, if it means they take a bit more care.
I think if I had a garage at the flat, and all I had to do was open the door and roll it out (as opposed to cycle 2.5 miles on the upright to the lock up to fetch it), I'd end up using the trike much more of the time, even for around town stuff. Ok, you can't filter so well, but I'm not usually in that much of a hurry. I think the one thing that would hold me back from using it every day for commuting would security at St Nicks - while I could lock it inside the office, or in one of the big lockups we keep equipment in, I would be bound to attract the attention of the local scroats if I rode it in regularly, and I'd rather not do that.
The main advantages of a trike for me are comfort (which also applies to a two wheeler) and stability (less so on two wheels, but much less further to fall if you have a spill). I feel much more confident at speed (downhill!) on the three wheels, and better equipped to deal with sudden swerves or horrible windy weather. I still ride upright, for convenience and short hops, but for a longer or challenging ride, the trike wins.
You do use different muscles, and it takes a while to get your performance up to match your upright riding - how long varies from person to person, I think. But I swap between the two quite happily.
