Australian Cycling Forums - Bicycles Network Australia

Quick question with what is probably a complicated answer!

I know that with practice I could happily handle a bent bike, but I have always been interested in the trikes.

So here comes the question:
Since most trikes are basically "low racer" profiles, but they have more frontal area due to extra frame/wheels, and they also have more weight, which is going to be quicker to ride, assuming the essential components are the same (Same gears sets, wheel sizes etc)?
I run into the Freo Doctor on a regular basis so the wind factor is a biggie for me, and as anyone from Perth knows the southern run is pretty flat.

The reason I ask is that it seems to me that I can get a trike or bike for about the same money.

I like the concept of the trikes, and my wife like the fact that they are harder to fall off! (mine is not a pretty face, but she doesn't want it bashed up anyway! )

So; same money, same bits - extra wheel vs. high or mid racer (low racer is out of budget!) - which is going to be faster on a 40km into the wind commute?

Thanks for your thoughts,

Dave.

DaveW wrote: So; same money, same bits - extra wheel vs. high or mid racer (low racer is out of budget!) - which is going to be faster on a 40km into the wind commute?
Dave.

I don't think there's really much dispute. Unless there are exceptional circumstances, or your trike is a velomobile, the mid-high racer will generally be faster - more visible, thinner (for fitting between cars/kerb and getting to the front of a traffic jam) and more compatible with hooking up with DF bikes going your way to take a draft (you did say it was windy!). Pop a simple, properly designed tailbox on the bike for an even better result.

raptordesigns wrote:I don't think there's really much dispute. Unless there are exceptional circumstances, or your trike is a velomobile, the mid-high racer will generally be faster - more visible, thinner (for fitting between cars/kerb and getting to the front of a traffic jam) and more compatible with hooking up with DF bikes going your way to take a draft (you did say it was windy!). Pop a simple, properly designed tailbox on the bike for an even better result.

+1

There's no doubt that our weekly 'bent rides are split into two speeds, with the front group only comprising of bikes, and the rear group mainly made up with trikes. The bikes are consistantly 5 to 10km/h faster than the trikes.

Why don't you join us for a weekend ride? We don't exclude people based on their bike - all types are welcome and two or three regulars ride DF bikes (including Nimm from this forum.) You'll be able to check out the options (and there are a lot of them) in the flesh.

Cheers,
Graeme

I ride both, and I would say that the two wheeled bent would win hands down! However, there are times when I choose to take the trike, especially in wet weather. And the stability of a trike is hard to beat!
Are you talking leisure/group rides, or commuting? If commuting, depending on the distance, you might find that there will not much difference in time, and the extra carrying capacity of a trike is nothing to be sneezed at!
If its fairly flat, and I think you said it was, the speed difference may not be that great. My trike is probably within about 2-3 kph of my SWB bent, and both perform much better than a DF into a head wind!
John is absolutely correct on adding a basic tailbox, give you good carrying capacity, and an increase in speed to boot, and should make the bike/trike more slippery into a headwind, due to the decreased drag.

I have a Greenspeed bike and trike. For going someplace in a hurry, two wheels is the go. I've bolted one of the el-cheapo plastic storage cubes onto the rear rack. It doesn't seem to affect the performance either way, but will carry most anything I'm likely to need.

However, I live in Lesmurdie so I've got to face a lengthy climb to get home, and for going up hills trikes are great, since they don't have a minimum speed. Further, I've fitted panniers AND a BoB trailer, and I can just about move house with it. 30 plus kg.

Trikes are heavier, bikes are faster.

Joe

My trike weighs 14 kg and is lower than most lowracers and I would think maybe as quick as alot of standard SWB style bikes especially into the wind (20 degree seat) but in general the 2 wheeler will be faster unless you build a shell over a trike turning it into a velomobile then you will be faster than a 2 wheeler especially into the wind.
Shells are cheap and easy to build but they attract alot of attention, much more so than a trike or 2 wheel bent which is both a plus and minus.
I have both the described racing trike and fully faired cheapo trike and the full fairing will turn an average trike into a speed machine.

Thanks for the info - I figured that would be the result, but thought it worth asking.

I will look at the two wheelers and see if I can get comfortable (I am sure I will), and probably do the trike at a later time just for the fun of it.

Really thinking hard about the bent this time over - still love the Bott but the bent is calling again - I have to try one out.

Check the classified. There's a bent going just under $700.