You can tell I’ve never been a totally serious bicyclist: I’ve never shaved my legs. It was a neck injury at a domestic violence call that forced me to sell my fast street bike.  I could no longer get on the drops, so we bought our first recumbents: Lightning P38s. “Recumbent” for the easy chair-like riding position. They were great machines, light, fast and comfortable.

Then, in 2015, my seven-year-older wife began to have a slight balance problem, and we traded in our beloved two-wheeled recumbents for trikes. Not the delta-configuration trikes of childhood, but “tadpole” trikes, with the single wheel in the rear, of adulthood. We’ve never looked back.

We began with TerraTrike Sportsters, a model they no longer make, and last summer upgraded to their GTS model: 

Image: Terra Trike GTS with numerous aftermarket accessories. Author photo.

The photo of one of our trikes shows a variety of attached accessories.  The GTS currently retails for $3500.  Sound like a lot?  Haven’t been shopping in the cycling world lately, have you? TT’s lowest priced model, the Maverick, retails for $1500. Its highest, the Spyder ATC, an ultralight, go-fast machine, retails for $5800. The difference is in frame materials, more advanced components, and purpose-specific design.  

The Maverick is perfectly adequate for folks who want a little exercise and fun in the sun. The two Spyder models are among the fastest trikes on the market, ergonomically designed for serious athletes. The GTS is an all-around, fast, and very capable aluminum-framed machine. It works for training, organized rides and races, even touring.

For comparison, consider Trek, bikes made in America, but exclusively two-wheelers. Their mid-range mountain bikes run from $2450 to $$4500. Their most expensive? A mere $11,000. Their most expensive road bike is $13,000. Take the link to see the rest.

Across the nation countless, $500-$1000-dollar bicycles, are gathering dust, lonely in countless garages, their tires slowly deflating. For what a few years of movies, eating out and other entertainments cost, one can own a quality trike that won’t be gathering dust. That’s priceless, and likely life-extending.

The title of this little article teases People of Age—I’m a card-carrying member--and I won’t disappoint. If balance issues are your problem, trikes are the solution. They’re stable, corner with surprising speed and stability, and one need not put a foot down when coming to a stop. If you’re worried about falling and breaking things you’d rather not break, get a trike. It’s possible to flip a trike, but you have to really work at it and do obviously stupid things.

The greatest trike advantage is comfort. They are near-easy chair comfortable. One can ride a hard twenty miles without one’s crotch forced upward around one’s neck. No crotch, back, shoulder, arm, wrist, hand or neck pain, just the familiar burn of muscle exertion. Seat angle, boom length—seat to pedal distance—handlebar and brake lever angles, all adjustable.  

It’s best to get cycling shoes with cleats on the soles that snap into matching pedals. For trikes, the Shimano SPD standard is best. They’re easier to walk on and make a solid connection to the power train, transferring maximum propelling power. They also keep your foot from slipping off the pedal, which can be drug into the wheel crossbars, possibly causing orthopedic injury. Remember, when coming to a stop, there’s no need to take feet off the pedals. The shoe easily clips into, and unclips from, the pedal.

Trikes have disc brakes on the front, but not the back, wheels. They’re powerful, and if you want to show off, can loft the rear wheel at a stop. That’s optional.

Helmets are optional if you’re not fond of your head. I rather like mine, so I never ride without one. Options like flags, taillights and water bottles are also helpful and necessary.  

Trikes are not as fast as street bikes. Even the lightest weigh about twice as much. You’re not going to be keeping up with the Greyhound lean, forever 20, nothing-but-legs-and-lungs, guys and girls. Trike riders don’t care. They’re out there to stay in shape, enjoy each other’s company, and have fun. They don’t need the newest cycling clothing--athletic shorts and t-shirts work fine--and the latest, lightest, unobtanium go-fast parts that shave off a few grams of weight. They’ve learned to keep their egos in check. Still, someone in reasonable shape on a GTS can cruise between 18-20 MPH on level ground, faster on a Spyder. 

Beyond the reasons I’ve cited, they’re more fun than sex with lots of people. Everyone I know that has fired a Browning Automatic Rifle grins like an idiot when they’re done. It’s the same satisfaction with a good trike. What more can you ask of life? 

Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor and retired police officer and high school and college English teacher. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.