Trident recumbents....any good?

[fergal penge]

I bought a TW 'bents trike from a dealer in Scotland. It was bought unseen, and had been a demo bike. It had only done a few laps of a car park, and was a 'Buy it now' sale on ebay at £800. I had never ridden a trike, but already owning a recumbent meant that I knew that they agreed with me.

Quite frankly this trike has been superb value for money. It is well-built and I have carried out only a couple of upgrades (not through any necessity - I just change things to suit my personal taste). I knew that I would have no back-up - but let's be honest here, it's a bike not a lunar module. Bikes are not complicated things to fix in general. I'd still be quids in if I had to pay a cycle mechanic to fix any problems.

I love my TW 'bents trike and would recommend one to anyone. The steering is not twitchy, despite being direct. There is no brake steer, and it is a well-designed and thoroughly engineered. Its low price will allow for components to be easily upgraded when circumstances permit. I am a large guy and no lightweight; the trike coped admirably with 45 mph down a French hill last summer. I reckon that I would have exceeded 50 mph, but the bumpy road had me leaving the seat, and the trike flying over the undulations, so I had to brake a little. I'd happily ride it anywhere.

Thanks x p c for that write up, not many of us T W trikers about I'd never ridden a "bent" before and i bought my trident mail order. I've been using it since Christmas and so far so good, except for a puncture, bargain basement it maybe but it's fun and what i could afford.
Lets hear some more from T W trike riders.

 

[squeaker]

Link to the manufacturer's description. They do produce a vast range!
I have no experience of TWBents' products but, anecdotally, they come out heavier than claimed....
Regarding the Trident, do you need the fold?

 

[fergal penge]

Link to the manufacturer's description. They do produce a vast range!
I have no experience of TWBents' products but, anecdotally, they come out heavier than claimed....
Regarding the Trident, do you need the fold?

Hi squeaker, i'm not sure what you mean about the fold, personally i don't bother folding it as transporting my Trident is not an issue.
Regarding weight, this my first trike so i don't know any different.

 

[squeaker]

Folding trike?

Hi squeaker, i'm not sure what you mean about the fold

Only pointing out that if you don't need to fold the trike, then other TWBents models mighter be better in that, unless the fold uses the rear suspension pivot (e.g. pre-2010 Trice) the folding mechanism will add weight / complexity: that's all.

 

[twdesigns]

Actually the Trident bike from TW Bents (UK distributor is Buy Buy Bicycles) are not by any means bottom of the market. They have high spec components (SRAM) and are extremely light becuase of the cr-moly frames. Depends what you are looking for I guess but they seem like a good deal to me.