When my husband, Stephen Doroghazi, asked me to write a review of my Hase Kettwiesel, I felt that this was shameless self promotion.  However, after thinking about it for a while, and reflecting on how my Kettwiesel provided me with a sense of independence that I had not enjoyed for a very long time, I changed my mind.

        You see, I suffered a traumatic brain injury in 1990 which, for a period of some two years left me unable to walk, unable to communicate coherently at times, and unable to complete even the simplest of tasks.  My book,  Searching for the Open Door: A Woman's Struggle for Survival After a Traumatic Brain Injury, tells most of my recovery saga.  However, by no means, does it tell the complete story of how my daily life is a continuation of my recovery.  The sense of confidence and a renewed sense of life's enjoyment that has come from riding these trikes we purchased tells much of the rest of the story.

        Wanting Steve to get some exercise and at the same time find some activity that we might enjoy together, I suggested purchasing a tandem tricycle to ride around our house in Harpers Ferry, WV.  My physical therapist advised that an upright bicycle would not be appropriate for me given my balance issues.  She recommended getting a recumbent trike instead.  So, my husband began researching the problem.  You probably have guessed by now that a pair of Hase Kettwiesels was his solution.
We took delivery of my Hase Kettwiesel and Steve's Kettwiesel Ride on Labor Day, 2005, literally in the middle of a shopping center driveway since the delivery truck could never have made it down the country roads that leads to our home in WV.  Since the dealer adjusted my trike first, our friend, Pat, decided to take Steve's Kettwiesel Ride for a spin because it fit him perfectly.  Pat was so enthused about the handling and sheer fun factor, I did not think he would ever let Steve have a chance to ride his own trike.  The highly responsive maneuverability of the Kettwiesel and Kettwiesel Ride were obvious from the outset.

        My black Kettwiesel was ready to go within a half hour.  The sense of freedom I experienced on my first ride in that parking lot was almost overwhelming as I had not ridden anything even remotely pretending to be a bike since before my brain injury.  Now, finally, I truly could see myself riding on my own kettwiesel trike without having to worry about falling and potentially suffering a fatal injury as a result of head trama.  Pat pushed Steve's trike hard enough that my fear of flipping no longer existed either.  In 2005, truthfully, my muscles were not sufficiently developed to really push the trike to its limits.  Nonetheless, once my pedals were replaced with a set that would not allow my left foot to fall out, I was off and running.

        Because the muscles in my left leg wer so much less developed as a result of the partial paralysis from my brain injury, I found it very difficult to climb many of the hills within our subdivision.  After a few weekends of hard exercise, however, I found that I could master every hill except for the one that often stopped teenagers on upright diamond frame bikes.  The steering is very precise and my Kettwiesel trike could easily do a 180-degree turn inside one bay of our two car garage.

        Riding by myself was not, as I earlier stated, my true intent for purchasing these very upscale German masterpieces.  My husband, Steve, really needed to exercise since his job required him to sit behind a desk for eight to ten hours during week days.  Since Steve is blind, having the ability to attach my Kettwiesel and his Kettwiesel Ride in tandem was vital.  We began riding as a tandem team immediately.  Since Steve was seriously out of shape in 2005, riding just one two mile loop around our Harpers Ferry subdivision proved almost an insurmountable challenge.  We persevered, and by our second weekend, that two mile loop became much less of a challenge with the exception of that one hill I previously mentioned.  Nonetheless, as a tandem team, learning how best to use our two Schlumpf Speed Drive equipped Kettwiesels, we could regularly conquer that hill.  On the advice of our friend, Pat, we loaded our two Kettwiesels into the back of our Honda Pilot and headed across the Potomac River to the C & O Canal Tow Path. Though this is not a paved path, it is virtually flat and hard packed, perfect for pedaling along as long as your muscles could hold out, a true endurance exercise.  Steve's Kettwiesel Ride proved valuable on the trail because of its rear differential that drives both wheels as there are many places along the trail where traction from both rear wheels is virtually essential. 

For a more thorough discussion of our experience with our Kettwiesel and Kettwiesel Ride tandem, click here.  For a more complete discussion dealing with specifications and all those things that guys like, click here for Steve's long term review of his Kettwiesel ride.

For a helpful review of the Hase Kettwiesel AL,  CLICK HERE.

Kettwiesel Tandem Review

Kettwiesel Ride Review

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