Need a trike....

Gavin Gilbert

:oops: okay, so those who have served their time here will now be weeing themselves laughing. And I admit choking on humble pie, but I need advice :oops:

Since tarmac surfing last February and picking up no end of broken body parts I've been off the road. My knee is getting much better and I'm back to near full-function despite The Lump.

The sprained ankle on the otherhand ( Shirley otherfoot?) is still a warzone. I need to wear boots when walking for support and any attempt at movement exercises in the gym has the foot collapsing inwards. The prognosis from my physio and Personal Trainer is that it will be a while yet until I'm ready to use clipless pedals. I've considered going back to cages & clips but I suspect that in a high stress moment I may well have a Pavalovs Dog reaction and try and twist my foot out of the strap and make my condition much worse than it is now.

So my only hope of salvaging something of my year, and not going crazy on the tube each day (and avoiding Boris provoked strikes) is a trike. What does the 'bent community suggest?

woodford2barbican

Could you not just use platform pedals? Or is this just an elaborate excuse to buy a new machine?

andrewc3142

Ankles can take ages to heal. I sprained/crushed mine (and broke my leg) a while back off-road motorcycling and it still isn't right, despite being good about doing the exercises, etc.

But I ignored the advice about getting back riding and in fact rode the motorbike after the accident off road to the centre and then 200 miles home, and then rode the bike to the physio, with clipless ...

I know exactly what you mean about trains/tubes and if a trike is the only option, for a while at least, why not? Just ignore any who might snigger. Never tried a bent myself but they seem excellent.

AidanR

Trikes are good fun... and I've got a Windcheater for sale too if you're interested. Medium frame, so would suit a few inches either side of 5'9".

I'd be cautious of using one for commuting though if it's going to be on crowded urban roads - it can be a bit disconcerting being quite so low down, though with a flag you can be very visible. Also, filtering traffic is pretty much out due to the width.

Aidan.

BentMikey

*Goes looking for rocks to throw* just kidding mate.

Ooh, sorry to hear about your tribulations, that really sucks Gavin. One point is that with a trike you really do want clipless pedals because of the danger of leg suck. If your foot hits the ground whilst moving, there's a danger it'll get sucked underneath the bike.

I don't commute on a trike, but I do ride a pretty low two wheeler in London traffic, so from that point of view I doubt you'll have any problems.

AidanR wrote:

Trikes are good fun... and I've got a Windcheater for sale too if you're interested. Medium frame, so would suit a few inches either side of 5'9".

I'd be cautious of using one for commuting though if it's going to be on crowded urban roads - it can be a bit disconcerting being quite so low down, though with a flag you can be very visible. Also, filtering traffic is pretty much out due to the width.

Aidan.

I'm seriously disbelieving of the flag for visibility. It'd have about as much effect as putting one on a Martian spaceship for the purposes of attracting more attention. I'm often told how I should have a flag because I'm invisible. "Why do you talk to invisible people?" is my response, and besides which I get fewer SMIDSYs on my low Hurri than I do on my fixed wheel upright.

I've also seen quite a few posts on u.r.c. that trike width isn't much of an issue for filtering, because most trikes aren't that much wider than your shoulders.

Mike Healey

Used BMX-type platform pedals osveral years commuting. Combination of pins and soft trainer soles made my feet stick to the pedals like glue.

hoathy

Mike Healey wrote:

Used BMX-type platform pedals osveral years commuting. Combination of pins and soft trainer soles made my feet stick to the pedals like glue.

Yep. thats how I ride all the time, can't be fussed with having on the right shoes, or carring extra ones for when I get to my destination (I'm lucky enough to be allowed to work in my globes). Its a winner allround, clipless pedals give me cramp as well (thats my official excuse for never ever using them)