I live in a hilly area and a trike or a bent just cannot compete with a road bike in that type of terrain. I did see an electric ICE trike on the electric forum and that did look like fun.
Steve
Hmmmm. On the Catrike, I quite often pass road bikes on the 'long way home' (I usually come home the quicker/flatter way though). When I say pass, I mean downhill, on the straights and on the steep uphill sections. I've even passed a group of club riders (they were all dressed the same, so assume it was a club) on the straight before the steepest uphill, and they didn't gain on me going up the steep 300 yard section....then they disappeared completely on the downhill. That said, I've had my 'bent' legs for a good 2 years, and ride 25 miles a day, but I'd guess club riders should be of a similar fitness?
To sum up. A 'sporty' 'bent ridden by a rider of similar fitness, and assuming they've built up the appropriate muscles would destroy a df bike downhill, and on the straights, and should be able to at least keep level on the uphills. Only when the hills are uber steep would a 2 wheel 'bent fall behind/have to stop-due to balancing difficulty. A fast trike doesn't have the balance problem, and assuming it's lightweight (a Catrike 700/Ice Vortex type) should be very close to a roadbike.
If you're willing to put in the 'training' and built up your bent legs, I think you'd be pleasantly surprised ;-)