Recumbent Trike and Recumbent Bike Frequently Asked Questions
When we go out on our trikes, people often stop to talk to us about them and are understandably curious about these unusual and wonderful machines. Some questions crop up regularly in these conversations, and these, along with our attempts to answer them, make up this page.
The question we are probably asked most often is "Did you make it yourself?", but the answer to this is too obvious to require inclusion below...
Do car drivers see you down there ?
Those things can't climb hills, can they ?
Is that seat as comfortable as it looks ?
Have you got a bad back ?
What are the Dangers of Cross Chaining ?
What are the best materials for recumbent trikes?
This question seems to trouble many people who are unfamiliar with our machines. In our experience, drivers notice recumbent trikes and adult tricycles much more easily than they notice upright bikes and often give them much more space on the road. If you are still unsure, try using a single piece or two-piece boom flag flying four to six feet above your recumbent trike or adult tricycle. Then you'll definitely get noticed!
While recumbent trikes are often quite low, they are also a little wider than two-wheelers and give the impression of being even more so. Many drivers seem to treat our trikes as a vehicle (as they should) and to overtake them properly when passing, instead of trying to squeeze past inside the white line as they sometimes do with upright bikes. And if a driver does pass a little too closely, the low centre of gravity and the stability of three wheels prevents their slipstream from affecting the rider's balance as it can with a two wheeled machine.
The recumbent position also gives the rider a better field of view. Instead of gazing downward at their front wheel, they are looking up at their surroundings, and better able to keep track of the movement of traffic. Looking behind is more difficult, however, and we strongly recommend the use of at least one rear-view mirror.
Well, not on their own, no.....
There seems to be a widespread belief that recumbent trikes in general are inferior to uprights when the road starts to go uphill. It is certainly true that you can't climb hills in the same way on a recumbent as on an upright. You can't stand up on the pedals and use your body's weight on a recumbent trike, so someone who uses this technique extensively when riding an upright is likely to be slower when climbing on a recumbent trike, at least at the beginning. To climb hills on a recumbent, the technique is to select a gear that is comfortable to pedal and spin. Alternatively, installation of any one of a number of light-weight electric motor systems will add a whole new dimension to your hill climbing efforts on a recumbent trike. With such an addition, you'll soon become the envy of any upright cyclist in your hill-climbing endeavors. The addition of an electric motor is not necessary, but it sure is fun watching the look on the competition's faces as you blow right past them.
Recumbents generally tend to be a little heavier than uprights and this is particularly true of recumbent trikes, but there are techniques to compensate for this factor. In addition to allowing the rider to push against the seat when pedalling, the stability of a recumbent trike allows climbing at slower speeds than a two wheeled machine by eliminating the need for a minimum speed with which to maintain balance. But, there is little doubt that the addition of an electric motor makes hill climbing both fun and easy.
Ultimately it is really a question of the individual rider's abilities. Steve, for example, has always been a strong rider and after an initial period of adjustment found climbing easier and faster on his recumbent trike than on his upright road bike. Cynthia, on the other hand, who is petite and a much weaker rider and a poor climber, is probably slower on her solo recumbent trike, but finds that, because of the stability and wider gear range it gives her, she can ride up slopes that would defeat her on an upright.
Yes.
Of course, it isn't quite that simple. People and their sitting equipment come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and not all of them find the same things comfortable. This is one of the reasons we always advise people to test ride before buying a recumbent trike, and, if possible, to test ride several different trikes, so as to determine which one suits them best.
We have heard complaints from some recumbent riders, usually of the BikeE style "semi-recumbent" machines, that after a variable time riding they begin to suffer from the elegantly-named "recumbent butt", which seems to consist of pain or numbness in the buttocks, probably arising from their weight resting mainly on the seat pad. We have yet to hear of this problem arising with the more reclined trikes, like the Greenspeed trikes where the rider's weight is borne by the back as well as the bottom.
As with climbing this is largely dependant on the strength of the individual rider. Many Greenspeed GTT owners report having achieved a speed of nearly 50 mph on a good clear downhill and could probably have managed a slightly higher speed if traffic conditions had allowed it. On a good flat road, we can easily maintain 13-15 mph, and given a stronger captain, the machine could probably go even faster. Steve has maintained a speed from 19-21 mph for a sustained period on a paved flat road.
There seems to be something about recumbent trikes that somehow suggests this to people, as it's a question that crops up surprisingly often.
Many people who do have back problems find recumbent trikes easier to ride than uprights, probably because many recumbent trike seats support the back well, and some find recumbent trikes allow them to continue cycling when they can no longer ride an upright.
What are the dangers of cross chaining ?
In order to achieve the wide gear range that our recumbent trike bike customers like, we set up most recumbent trikes with a 24 or 27-speed drivetrain. This results in a wonderfully useful band of gearing. The one problem that can arise, however, from this setup is the fact that your recumbent trike (any bike actually) does not like to be used in the large front chainring/larger rear cogs combination - this is called "cross chaining". We set up most recumbent trikes in the Large/Large gearing combination to prevent derailleur damage in the large chainring. This means that with the Xseam you give us you can access all of your rear gears while in the large front chainring. This ensures that your derailleur doesn't break when you are shifting to a lower gear while in the large chainring.
Similar to this scenario is the small chainring/small cog combination on a recumbent trike bike. Trying to run the chain around these two small circumferences creates slack in the chain that overloads the rear derailleur and has the potential to do harm to the recumbent trike bike drivetrain. This is bad technique and should be avoided. That same gear ratio can be achieved in the middle chainring on just about any 24 to 27 speed recumbent trike bike.
While getting accustomed to your recumbent trike bike, we encourage you to use the middle chainring from which you can access all the cogs on the rear cassette. When you need to go faster, use that big ring up front with the smaller cogs in the rear. If hills loom on the horizon, drop down into the smallest chainring and use the larger cogs in the rear. You should spend most of your time in the middle chainring.
Cross chaining is not exclusive to a recumbent trike bike. It should be avoided on any bike or recumbent trike bike. Never cross chain your gears!
If you need to adjust the boom length on a recumbent trike bike, check your chain before riding to make sure that it allows you to get into the proper gears without harming the rear derailleur.
What are the best materials for recumbent trikes ?
Customers often ask me what is the best material for recumbent trikes - 4130 Chromoli Steel, aluminum, carbon, titanium. From my point of view, there is a ton of misinformation and partial information out there. Therefore the record needs to be set straight.
Aluminum facts:
In the recumbent trike bike industry aluminum comes in a couple of different alloys: 6061-T6 and 7005-T6. 6061 is alloyed with both magnesium and silicone to make a moderate strength alloy, and 7005 is alloyed primarily with zinc to form a high strength alloy. T6 refers to the heat treatment and temper.
Welding aluminum alloys
The most important thing when considering aluminum is the ease with which they can be welded, and the strength of the weld.
When aluminum is welded, the weld zone becomes annealed. The key difference between the alloys is that 7005 recovers some of its strength after welding in a process known as age hardening (or low temperature precipitation hardening), while 6061 requires an expensive high temperature/heat treating process to regain strength and temper.
• 7005 keeps approximately 60% of its original strength after welding and age hardening.
• 6061 keeps approximately 30% of its original strength after welding.
Due to the cost and inconvenience of heat treating, 7005 aluminum is gaining popularity with smaller builders and for lower end recumbent trike bikes. 6061-T6 heat treatment requires that the metal be solution heat treated and then artificially aged. Typically this involves dipping the welded frame into hot brine at about 1000 degrees farenheight for 2-3 hours (solution heat treating), and then quenching and keeping the frame at a high temperature for an additional 2-3 hours a process known as artificial aging.
The result is a joint that is roughly 90% of the strength of the base material.
For this reason, it is vital that all recumbent trike bikes that are made from 6061 aluminum need to be heat treated. If they are not heat treated, they are dangerous.
With 7005 aluminum, the frames should be made from material that is 30% thicker than is necessary (which makes the bike 30% heavier). So comparing the materials:
Material Density (kg/m3) Yield Strength MPa Heat Treat? Weld compensation factor strength to weight ratio
4130-N Steel 7850 735 No 10% 80.3×10-3
6061-T6 Aluminum 2700 245 Yes 10% 90×10-3
7005 Aluminum 2780 257 No 30% 55.4×10-3
In the absence of heat treating, this makes 4130-N cromoly the strongest and lightest material of the three considered here for recumbent trike bikes. There are of course many other factors to examine when considering materials, not to mention a discussion of the benefits of titanium versus carbon fiber recumbent trike bikes. We will add to this discussion with more information as time permits.