Due to some odd circumstances in my youth, I never really learned how to ride a bicycle. Well, I can ride a little, but I fall off a lot. The city I live in has the largest urban bike path system in North America, and it seems a shame not to use it a little, so I’m thinking about getting an adult tricycle.
I have a hunch that this will make me quite dorky; however, I’m already quite dorky so I’m willing to risk it.
This one appears to only have one speed which seems ok, although it might make going up and down hills a bitch. It also has a large basket, which is a nice feature.
I had access to an adult trike when I was in my late teens, though not that model. I can’t remember if it was one speed or three speed. The public library was about a quarter of a mile from my house, and the supermarket and K-Mart was about a tenth of a mile the other way. I wasn’t particularly stylish, but I was stable. I’d suggest getting two or three chain bike locks, and chain up all the wheels as well as the body of the trike.
I do remember having to get out and push in a couple of steep places. And it was kind of fun to ride it. As it happens, I can (or at least, I could) ride a regular bike, but the trike was what was available, so that’s what I used. And I think it was more practical for hauling books and groceries, as it’s almost impossible to take a serious spill unless a car hits you. You might want to get one of those flags for it.
You really need gears if only for the fact that a low gear that gets you going will also limit your speed to almost walking pace.
Unless where you live is pancake flat, you need gears.
Also, helmet, pump, spare tubes, patch kit, levers( Quik Stik) and know how to change a flat.
Is there something stopping you from riding a regular bike? Why not just learn to ride a normal bike, and then you can have all the choices of baskets/gears/towing that you could ever desire. It’s just practice.
Well, I think bike riding may be one of those things that if you don’t learn when you’re young it’s a bitch to try to pick it up when you’re old - I know because I’ve tried. At the moment I can ride a bike but I’m very, very unsafe - I certainly couldn’t go anywhere towing my son. I think the amout of time and practice it would take to get to a level where I could actually ride somewhere safely is prohibitive.
Have you considered a recumbent trike? The tadpole style(two wheels in front) will allow you to hook up the trailer just as you would on a standard bike and it’s far more efficient than an adult trike.
Hey, I’m curious. Is it really that difficult to learn to ride a bike in later years?
I mean damn, all you have to do is pedal and let the gyroscopic effect of the wheels keep you balanced. I’m not at all being demeaning here, but really, is it somehow difficult to learn this?
Maybe this should be a separate thread; it is an interesting topic.
I learned to ride when I was 27. I met a woman who ran a camp that taught mentally an physically disabled children how to ride bikes and I was like, “ok, if you can slow it down a few more notches you should be able to teach me too”. I don’t mean to keep pushing the idea onto you in your thread about trikes but just wanted to say it’s doable.
Well, it’s difficult to learn to do it well. Like I said, I can ride but it’s very unsafe - I wobble everywhere, including into traffic, and occasionally tip right over. For comparison, I can still do gymnastic moves that I learned in my youth (handsprings, walkovers, beam work) so its not a matter of me having no balance or being a pudding, I think it’s because I never mastered the skills when I was young.
I used to have one in my late teens, well, since you are a parent, you’ll appreciate their storage capacity, I used to give two smaller classmates a ride to school.
an upright bike would be better, you can see more and will feel safer. a recumbent is safe when you already have good biking skills and experience.
balance on a 2 wheel bike is from maintaining speed. hesitating to pedal because of fear of going to fast or loosing control will make it hard to ride and you can fall easier. also physical problems that keep you from pedaling easy can cause you to go too slow and be unsteady. one you ride a bike well you will find balance easier and many people can balance at very slow and even stopped (for a short time).
learn in an empty or mostly empty parking lot or unbusy empty street without parked cars.
