Lately my bicycle has been turning green with envy every
time it watches me take my little green Trikke out for a joyride. Today I decided to show the bike some love by
taking it for a 19 mile ride on the D&L Canal Path from Bethlehem to Easton
and back. This was also my first chance
to try out the new seat I installed on Monday, in an effort to overcome my
primary objection to riding the bike.
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| Battle of the fitness machines |
My ride was great, albeit a bit tiring over some rough
terrain that would have been better conquered on a light-duty mountain bike. At least my new seat cushioned me as I hoped,
and I’m not experiencing much post-biking pain and discomfort as I sit here and
type this. At many points during the
ride, I wished I was gliding along on a smooth stretch of tarmac on my Trikke
instead, and this got me thinking about the pros and cons of the two different,
yet effective fitness machines.
Riding Environments:
The bike has the advantage of being able to go almost
anywhere. Rough pavement, gravel trails,
and undulating hills may take more effort, but they are not show-stoppers when
you’re on two wheels. The Lehigh Valley
is filled with plenty of such terrain that is difficult or off limits to the
Trikke, which instead thrives on smooth and relatively flat asphalt and
concrete. While some of these asphalt
patches, such as parking lots or neighborhood streets, may be boring and
uninspiring on a bike, carving across them with the Trikke is a sheer pleasure
because you are more focused on the motion of the machine than on the scenery
itself.
Riding Speed and
Distance:
How far and fast you can go is primarily a factor of your
fitness level, riding skill, and the terrain you ride on. I consider myself an intermediate rider with continually
improving fitness, yet I am still technically classified as obese, so my
commentary here is made through those filters.
I’m currently able to bike about 20-22 miles at an average of 10-11
mph. I typically Trikke 8-10 miles at an
average of 6-7 mph. In general, you can
expect to go slightly faster on your bike and travel about twice the distance
that you would on a Trikke.
Workout Quality:
Here’s where the Trikke really begins to gain the upper
hand. Your entire body gets into the act
of carving, and you can alter your riding style to emphasize or rest certain
parts of your body at any given time. In
general, your legs, arms and core are all going to feel equally exercised after
a good ride. On the bike, your legs bear
the brunt of the effort, while your upper body is enjoying a free ride. I personally get a better cardio workout on
my Trikke, because I’m able to exercise more of me at once. I find on my bike, my legs start to burn and
protest long before my heart rate really starts to climb. This may improve with my fitness, but if you’re
in a similar condition, you are likely going to get a better workout on a
Trikke.
Comfort:
This is another area where the Trikke shines. Quite frankly, the bike is a pain in my rear! Yes, the new seat and padded shorts have
helped, but I am typically squirming around and counting the miles to the
finish line on a typical ride. I also
have problems with my wrists and hands going numb, as they are locked into
position on the bike supporting the weight of my upper body. I ride a hybrid bike, which is fairly upright
compared to a road bike, but this is still a problem for me. As for the Trikke, I really have no
complaints comfort-wise. Apart from
stepping on and off its foot decks, it is a literal no-impact exercise. My wrists are never numb and I never wince as
I sit down after a ride. I also love
that I can hop on the Trikke regardless of what I’m wearing. This makes it great for after-work rides on
days when I really don’t feel like bringing a change of clothes.
Portability:
I drive a small hatchback, which is a necessity for fuel
efficiency on my long commute. My Trikke
folds up quickly and is very easy to load in and out of the car’s rear
hatch. I recently had two Trikkes back
there, and there was still room to spare.
My bike, on the other hand, is a chore to wedge in and out of the car,
and it eats up every inch of space. I
have to detach the front brake cable then remove the front wheel to get it
in. Even with that done, it is still difficult
and awkward to handle. Needless to say,
I have to reassemble it to ride it once I reach the trail. I have considered buying a bike rack, but I
had one years ago, and I know they can be equally difficult to fumble around
with. Plus I like the security of having
the bike locked completely inside the car.
When you’re pressed for time and looking for convenience, the Trikke is
again the clear winner.
Learning Curve:
Many people shy away from buying a Trikke because they’re
worried they won’t be able to learn to ride it.
There’s no denying the learning curve that comes with riding a
Trikke. Well guess what? Your bicycle has a learning curve too! But you likely learned to ride at a young
age, and have thus forgotten about that aspect of it. If you found the rare adult who does not know
how to ride a bicycle, I would venture a guess that they would actually find
the Trikke to be the easier of the two vehicles to master. Don’t let the learning curve discourage you
from riding a Trikke. If anything, it is
healthy and satisfying to challenge yourself to do something new at any
age. I am the kind of person who is
always looking to grow and learn, and I have taken great delight in mastering
my new riding toy at the tender young age of 40.
Social Opportunities:
Odds are you already have a lot of friends who ride
bicycles, so joining them on a ride is simple.
There are biking clubs everywhere, so finding new friends is easy too. Although there aren’t a lot of Trikke riding
groups out there yet, hooking up with one is a great way to make new friends
and to become a better rider. Our choice
of an unconventional fitness machine creates an instant bond with each
other. As you ride, you’ll also attract
the attention of a lot of curious passersby, and for some of us shy types, this
is often enough to break the ice to lead to a conversation (and perhaps a new
friendship) that would have never occurred had you pedaled by on an ordinary
bicycle. If you’re looking to meet
others who Trikke in southeastern Pennsylvania, please check out the
Trikke Riders of Pennsylvania, who are very welcoming to new riders.
Maintenance:
Hopefully you’re riding your bike and/or Trikke often enough
discover that they eventually need maintenance and repairs. The Trikke wins again in this final category,
as it is a simple machine to work on. Apart from occasional tire and tube changes
and the tightening of bolts and brake cables, it is as close to a
maintenance-free ride as you’ll get. A
bicycle, on the other hand, has a lot more complex moving parts, especially
with the drive train. The chain requires
frequent lubrication in addition to the typical bolt and brake cable tightening. I consider myself very handy mechanically,
yet if my bike requires fine adjustments to the gears or truing of the spokes,
I usually find myself crying uncle and carting it off to the local bike shop to
have a real mechanic deal with it.
For some good graphical depictions of bikes vs. Trikkes, go
to
http://www.trikke.com/ev/consumer.html
and click on the “Bike vs. Trikke” tab.
Even though this is on the Electric Trikke website, the same principals
apply to the body-powered fitness models.
You’ve now learned about the pros and cons of bikes and
Trikkes, so which do you decide to ride?
There’s certainly no harm in having one of each! I ride them both and can personally attest to
the benefits of cross training. The
Lehigh Valley offers a wide array of trail types, and it is great to have both
a bike and a Trikke so that I can enjoy them all.
There are a lot of people who are overweight and out of
shape these days, and several of them that I know have complained to me that
they are just too far gone to ride a bicycle now. It saddens me to see how they have given up
on the idea of ever being healthy and fit again, even though these same people tell
me how much they used to enjoy biking before they gained weight. This also frightens me, because I came so close
to crossing this threshold myself. If
you find yourself identifying with this growing problem, consider learning to
ride a Trikke. It has made exercise
possible for people who can no longer do more traditional activities like
biking and jogging. I have lost 43
pounds since I bought my Trikke, and have heard numerous stories of people
losing even more than that on theirs.
Whichever your choice, it is most important to do something
you enjoy. The more you enjoy an
exercise, the more likely you will do it regularly enough reap the rewards of
improved health. Happy trails!
The day after being inspired by the video, fate delivered to
me the opportunity to buy a used T12 for just $150. The owner was moving and needed it gone “today,”
so agreed to have a friend pick it up for me sight unseen. I had figured I could sell it at a profit if
I didn’t like it, but I’ve fallen unexpectedly in love with it!
I put the T12 through its paces on three test drives this
week. The first was 9 miles lapping a
school parking lot, which featured a lengthy 4-degree hill climb. The second was a quick Friday night workout
at Rodale Fitness Park,
with 2 laps around the flatter inner loop, and 2 laps around the hillier outer
loop (with its 4.5 degree hill). The
final was a grueling 11-mile ride on the hilly streets of Stroudsburg. Some hills had to be walked up, but I was
able to tackle a few in the 6-degree range.
I made it up a few hills that I had not been able to do on my last ride
in the area. My friends, who are both
certified trainers, said I was riding better than ever, and believed that this
T12 being a good fit for me was part of that.
So it looks like this copper beauty is a keeper!! I have already added the pull cords, which are
an absolute must on older T8’s and T12’s whose locking mechanisms can be
very hard to operate otherwise. I will
likely upgrade the handgrips next, because I was getting some blistering on the
inside of my thumbs. I’ve heard the
sand-paper foot decks wear out easily, and when they do I will likely upgrade
to the same rubber foot decks I enjoy on my T8.
I have the locking brake levers on order, and will swipe the water
bottle holder from my T78. Finally, I’ll add a cargo net and lights to fully outfit this Trikke for touring.
