Re: Why Do People Fall Down?

On Oct 27, 5:17 pm, Tom Sherman <sunsetss0...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> Prisoner at War wrote:
> > There was a guy with a hand-cranked trike...I was happy to see him.
>
> > But I don't know what the big deal with trikes is...'bent bikes are
> > already safe enough.  Why a trike, exactly?  What real advantage does
> > it offer?  So you needn't worry as much about balance (except on
> > turns, I guess!)...so what?
>
> Ride a well designed tadpole trike for an extended distance. You will
> either get it, or you are a lost cause. ;)

Perhaps the one hanging in my garage isn't well designed... but the
original owner rode it on only a few occasions before giving it up for
his normal bike.

The next owner took only a couple test rides and stored it in his
basement.

The guy he gave it to passed it on to me.

My wife, a couple friends, and I each took our turns at test rides.
For all of us, it failed the test.

The low-racer configuration seems good only for "toy" use.  The
turning circle is inconveniently large (you can't do a U-turn on a 20'
road) and getting in and out of the trike is an extreme yoga
exercise.  The need for three tracks through the potholes, plus it's
low visibility, seems risky for the roads, and the extra width makes
it inconvenient on MUPs.  And of course, you'd better have a pickup
truck to take it anywhere.

It's interesting as a design exercise.  But that's its only virtue,
from what I can tell.

So I suppose the whole crew of us are lost causes!

- Frank Krygowski