My new Liberty Trike

[elizilla]

Yesterday I received my new Liberty Trike.

This is actually my third e-bike. I was a hardcore bicyclist in my 20s, and a very hardcore motorcyclist in my 30s. But in my 40s I started having weird problems with my coordination and it turned out to be MS. My balance is actually still quite good, and I don't have any pain (except when I fall) but my left foot is spectacularly stupid, and my left hand is getting stupider as well. Imagine wearing a left shoe that weighs 100 pounds, and a stiff bulky mitten on your left hand; this is what it feels like. I also have fatigue and weakness.

I am not quitting, so I have become a sidecar motorcyclist, and e-bikes have also become an increasingly interesting option to me. The first e-bike I bought was a Prodeco Stride. My thinking was, if I have a throttle I can keep the bike going and balanced, while I struggle to get my left foot up onto the pedal. And that is indeed true, it works, but every time I have to stop, it is super fatiguing; I can only stop five or six times before I am done in, so I have to choose my ride routes carefully. No good for the neighborhood. Instead, for that I got a Razor Ecosmart Metro. This has no pedals, just a wide low skateboard deck, and a seat. This has worked really well for me; I mostly manage to only put down my right foot and I can stop and go fairly easily. I have had it three years and use it almost every day, in season. But the limitation with it, is the difficulty of standing still on it. I am riding it around my neighborhood and I always end up stopping to chat with neighbors or look at something, or just stopping because of the crowds in the farmer's market or other busy pedestrian areas. And it is tiring to sit still on it. I get stiff and can't move well. My right foot may not be as bad as my left but it fatigues quickly too. With the stupid left hand it is a whole body effort to squeeze that left brake, and the braking power of that rear drum is terrible so I have to squeeze it hard to keep the bike from rolling away while I am sitting there. I want to stay and chat with whoever I have met but I can't do it for long! Also, I am constantly finding myself needing to back up, it might only be a couple feet but my feet are so awkward I can't. The Razor is basically a mobility scooter for me, except I get to keep my head at adult height and occasionally go a bit faster, and people look at it and say "cool bike" instead of feeling sorry for the crippled lady. I get to have fun gadgety hobbyist talk, instead of endless chatter about medicare reimbursements and ADA compliance and blah blah blah. But I am still basically using it like a mobility scooter.

This is the point of view I am coming from - I am a long time bike person who has fallen on hard times. So I am always following links and looking at ebikes. I can't believe it took me so long to find this site, but I just found it last week. And I quickly chose the Liberty Trike based on the info I found here, as the first thing I have seen that is significantly better than the Razor for my needs. I want three wheels for easy stopping and standing around. But I didn't want something enormous because I want to take it into crowded pedestrian areas. I wanted reverse, and a parking brake. And I wanted pedals so I can move my feet and legs, keep them from stiffening up.

So I ordered my trike last Friday July 6. I had a little trouble ordering. Something about the order triggered a fraud alert at my credit card company, which made it throw errors on the website. I had to call them on the phone to place the order. Then the credit card people called me to confirm it wasn't a fraudulent transaction. But I was able to quickly confirm it and it went through. During the time this was going on, the website changed from saying they were In Stock, to saying it was back ordered until July 25. In spite of this, it shipped Monday and arrived on Weds July 11. I was amazed at the speedy delivery!

Here is a link to Court's review: https://electricbikereview.com/liberty-trike/electric-tricycle/ I am comparing what I am finding, to what he said there.

Unpacking the bike I was impressed with the quality of the frame, the paint, most of the components, and the careful packaging. Court criticizes the quick releases on the head tube and seat tube; well, those are now much better quality and I had no trouble with scratching on the steering stems and seat tube. The plastic basket is now a metal wire frame type and was the only shiping damage; some of the wires were bent. I emailed the company and they responded within the hour and sent out a new basket by the end of the day. It will arrive tomorrow. There is no longer a chain tensioner but the company tells me this is due to an upgraded design in the rear and I can see that; what I have looks better than the pictures in Court's review, and there is no slop in the chain. The controller is held on by quality metal brackets now. I have not been able to reproduce the software error Court described, so I think that is fixed too. And the current seat is an upgrade from the first gen - it is more supportive and has a backrest, and in fact it is identical to the seat I put on the Razor when I upgraded its seat, I already know I like it! But it does still have those short one-piece cranks - I think they have to be this short to work within the rest of the constraints of the size and configuration, so I feel OK about it. They are a size more typically found on a child's bike and it's probably hard to find a better crank in that size, that doesn't cost a fortune.

So all in all, my interactions with the company have been terrific, and the trike is even better than when it was originally reviewed. And the price has gone down - I paid $1498 with free delivery. I am a happy customer.

I have 1.5 miles on it so far, which isn't very much, so I will come back and post again when I have a bit more. I will say that so far I am very pleased.

.

 

[elizilla]

So I now have 5.9 miles on it. Here are my thoughts:

The throttle is very controllable. The hub motor makes a ticking sound which is not unpleasant, and gets quieter as you get closer to full throttle. It bogs down on steep hills but a little push on the pedals will get it going.

The display shows current speed, an odometer, what power level you are on, and a five-bar gauge for the battery, without you having to change to any other screens. If you have the parking brake on when you power it on, it shows an error code which goes away if you take the brake off. The instructions list a bunch of other fancy things you can do with the display but I haven't learned them yet.

After 5.9 miles, the battery has dropped one bar. I charged it before I first rode, and have not yet charged it again. I want to see how it does and will wait for another two bars to drop before charging again.

It turns on a dime and the reverse just adds to the maneuverability. I did a bunch of circles and three point turns, inside my garage. On a flat enough surface I could quickly and easily park it anywhere, turn it around and back it into a spot, etc. The handlebars are wider than the rear wheels, so you can look at them to gauge whether the rear end will fit through a space. The brakes work really well; they apply smoothly and stop the bike well.

I am very tall for a woman, and the seat doesn't go high enough for me. I have ordered a longer seatpost. In the meantime I have been riding it with the seat a little lower than what would make the pedaling comfortable. But I am still surprised at how well it pedals, especially with these short cranks.

Pushing it around with one or both feet on the ground is awkward because I can run the rear wheels into my own feet and ankles. Not surprising when you think about it, but I wanted to mention it.

I sought out some challenging surfaces for it.

The front wheel drive loses traction easily. You can make it across the lawn or the gravel parking lot if it is flat, but bumps in the lawn or potholes in the parking lot can get it stuck. You can use the pedals to drive the right rear wheel when the front loses traction, but when you start pushing on the pedals it transfers weight to the back and the front slides more, and when the front is sliding you can't steer. I went into a road construction site and got the left wheel trapped in a pothole. I actually escaped that one by switching to reverse and backing out of it.

It rocks the rider side to side as you cross over irregularities in the pavement. It could tip over if you hit the wrong bump while going too fast. Riding the sidewalks of my town, the curb cuts with their little drain channel at the gutter, shake me side to side as I cross. It is important to avoid hitting them at a diagonal, because of this side to side tilting behavior. And you want to make sure you don't get so close to the edge of the sidewalk, that one rear wheel hits the edge.

I found a particularly terrifying patch of sidewalk, where the sidewalk crosses a driveway that slopes towards the street and the change in camber is diagonal. I went over the curb cut and gutter just a little too fast, onto this cambered, gravelly sloped section. And the trike got away from me and turned down that slope towards the street! The front brake just skidded on the gravel and I didn't think fast enough to use the rear coaster brake. I didn't crash and no cars were coming, so no harm done, I regained control once I reached the street, but it was a cautionary experience.

This is just normal trike stuff and was to be expected. When the taller seatpost comes and I set the seat at a better height for my very long legs, it will raise the center of gravity and that will worsen all this trike handling stuff. I am fairly alert to it after my years on sidecar motorcycles, so I am not fazed, but it's there and I wanted to make sure my review includes it.

I also specifically took it out onto a recreational trail near my house, which is wide and smooth and not very busy on a Thursday evening. I wanted to test the max speed. I found a straight stretch and got it up to 12.6mph according to its display. It did fine at that speed but I am uncomfortably aware of the hazards so I don't expect I will do that very often.

Here's an interesting disability-specific thing I figured out: Since the pedals only drive the right wheel, it is possible to stand next to the bike and lean it over onto the front and left wheel, and turn the pedals to get them to the optimal point, for mounting the trike. I can lift my right foot a lot better than my left foot, so I want to have the left pedal at the low point when I climb aboard. This is easier than I ever expected would be possible. And the low point of the pedal stroke is lower than the skateboard deck on my old Razor scooter, so it is easier!

If you are disabled and considering this trike, I would say this: How is your spatial awareness and your vision? And how breakable are you? Three wheels are not a panacea that will save you from ever tipping over. You have to be able to avoid things like potholes and off-camber gravel covered ramps. Dropping one wheel off the edge of a sidewalk could give you a nasty fall. The risks are very manageable, if you are able to see and understand them, but risks do remain. If you have visual or cognitive impairments, or if falling could kill you, this trike is not for you.

I am going to add a bell and a mirror, and some reflectors. I have already attached a foot long section of PVC tubing to the backrest of the seat, to put my cane in - it sticks up like a flag.

 

[elizilla]

I am now up to 12 miles. I still have not charged and I am down to three bars. Anyone know what that battery gauge is measuring? Is it just a voltmeter or is it something fancier?

My taller seatpost has arrived and is installed. I still don't have the seat as high, in relation to the pedals, as I would put it on a normal bicycle. But it is a little more comfortable to pedal. Tried swapping out the pedals; I have some nice classic Campy quill pedals gathering dust on a shelf, but these little cranks use a different size thread so I'd have to buy something else to fit.

There is a spot in my usual haunts where I have to go up a steep drive from a parking lot by the river. I don't know what the grade is, but it is steeper than you'd find on any road here. The Razor always felt like it barely made it. This trike also clearly struggles, but not as much as the Razor did, and I like how I can push the pedals and I can tell it is helping the strain on the motor.

Other than that I have not gone anywhere else that is challenging since my last post. Instead I did the usual dawdling around, attended a concert in the park, etc. The trike is a vast improvement over the Razor, for this. I can sit comfortably on it in one place, way longer than I can sit on the Razor, and not feel like something in me will give out. I rode it into the farmers market and didn't feel awkward, it wasn't too large there. I rode it up to the ATM and did the transaction without dismounting. So it is slotting into my planned use case, just as expected.

Anyways it is working out super well.

I will report back when I finally recharge the battery. The manufacturer says 26 miles but my past experience of what e-vehicle manufacturers promise, is that you'd only ever get their max numbers in perfect conditions. Braking or turning or climbing or hitting top speed, all reduce your range. And I don't want to run it all the way down and get stranded with nothing but pedal power. If I get to 15 miles that will be good enough for me. Heck it is good enough now; it is no trouble to charge daily but it may only need it weekly.

In other e-bike news, a Zero motorcycle passed while I was out riding the trike. Go e-bikes!

 

[elizilla]

I am at 15.5 miles and down to two bars. I might charge it tonight.

 

[ebikemom]

So nice that you are sharing your experiences here. Happy riding!

 

[elizilla]

I plugged it back in at 17.7 miles. It still had two bars left, and three bars kept flickering back up occasionally, but I have run the test out long enough; I feel satisfied.

 

[elizilla]

I have been continuing to ride it even in the winter. If my driveway is clean enough that I feel I have enough traction to brake going down the incline to the sidewalk, I'll go out on it, just down to the restaurant on the corner, or around the block. I now have 137 miles on it. I took it apart and put it in the back of my car, and used it to attend the International Motorcycle Show in Cleveland. First time in years that I have felt able to go. I braced myself for hassles from officious security guards but no one said anything other than "Cool trike!". I guess it matched their mental ticky-box for mobility scooters. Maybe I'll take it to IKEA, next.

Last week the motor quit while I was riding. The problem turned out to be, that the electrical connector near the steering head had come loose. Plugged it back in and all was well. I suspect it got dislodged during the car trip.

Liberty sent me some business cards and I have been handing them out but I have yet to see any other trikes in my town. People don't know what they are missing.

 

[elizilla]

Today I ordered a second trike.

My husband is having intermittent problems with a pinched nerve that has kept him from walking, so he's been accompanying me on the old Razor Scooter. But it doesn't have the range, and it is showing its age in other ways as well. I went looking for ideas for upgrading it and decided that what it really needs is the same hub motor/controller/battery/brakes as the Liberty trike. The wheels are the same size, after all. So I went looking to buy the parts. And I found that I can get a whole refurbished Liberty Trike for less than what just those parts would cost, separately. So I ordered it. I don't know if I will cannibalize its parts onto the Razor, or if my husband will just ride it as a trike. I suppose the trike is more flexible; I could bring one of my parents, or my neighbor, people who can't ride the two-wheeled Razor, out onto the trails.

The refurb trikes are a terrific bargain. I suppose they are the ones that got sent back within 21 days. Liberty Trike says they may be lightly used or blemished and don't include the 21-day trial period. But I already know I like the product, and it will be lightly used within 24 hours of delivery here regardless.

 

[elizilla]

The second trike arrived today. What did it mean to be a refurb? Well, it had 0.3 miles on it. Everything else seems new. No cosmetic blemishes. It was packed the same.

Some slight changes since I got the first one...

The new one has gained a front fender, and reflectors front and rear. The forks and chain guard on my red 2018 trike are gloss black and the ones on my black 2019 trike are matte black. The wire basket is made of heavier wire, but larger spaces between the wires - less likely to dent in shipping, I suppose. Everything else seems much the same.

We took them out on the road and raced them. The new one was just a teeeeny bit faster but that might have just been their respective tire pressure - they were that close. They are software limited after all, it isn’t like a gas engine where they can be tuned.

The new one is slightly noisier. There’s a faint howl from the front wheel. Doesn’t sound bad, just different. Maybe it is just the newness of the tires. Maybe it is the brake wearing in.

We are going to leave the chain untouched, see if it comes off like the old one did before we put locktite in there. I bet the company will have been reading here and already did that though. It is an easy obvious thing and they are clearly on their game.

I have personalized the red one with a taller seat post, spoke reflectors, pedal extenders, a blinky taillight and lots of reflective tape. I’m going to leave the black one stock. For company. People don’t like to ride a bike personalized for someone else. And I am not going to cannibalize its parts onto the Razor. It will be fun running around on a pair of trikes.

 

[KWilke]

Yesterday I received my new Liberty Trike.

This is actually my third e-bike. I was a hardcore bicyclist in my 20s, and a very hardcore motorcyclist in my 30s. But in my 40s I started having weird problems with my coordination and it turned out to be MS. My balance is actually still quite good, and I don't have any pain (except when I fall) but my left foot is spectacularly stupid, and my left hand is getting stupider as well. Imagine wearing a left shoe that weighs 100 pounds, and a stiff bulky mitten on your left hand; this is what it feels like. I also have fatigue and weakness.

I am not quitting, so I have become a sidecar motorcyclist, and e-bikes have also become an increasingly interesting option to me. The first e-bike I bought was a Prodeco Stride. My thinking was, if I have a throttle I can keep the bike going and balanced, while I struggle to get my left foot up onto the pedal. And that is indeed true, it works, but every time I have to stop, it is super fatiguing; I can only stop five or six times before I am done in, so I have to choose my ride routes carefully. No good for the neighborhood. Instead, for that I got a Razor Ecosmart Metro. This has no pedals, just a wide low skateboard deck, and a seat. This has worked really well for me; I mostly manage to only put down my right foot and I can stop and go fairly easily. I have had it three years and use it almost every day, in season. But the limitation with it, is the difficulty of standing still on it. I am riding it around my neighborhood and I always end up stopping to chat with neighbors or look at something, or just stopping because of the crowds in the farmer's market or other busy pedestrian areas. And it is tiring to sit still on it. I get stiff and can't move well. My right foot may not be as bad as my left but it fatigues quickly too. With the stupid left hand it is a whole body effort to squeeze that left brake, and the braking power of that rear drum is terrible so I have to squeeze it hard to keep the bike from rolling away while I am sitting there. I want to stay and chat with whoever I have met but I can't do it for long! Also, I am constantly finding myself needing to back up, it might only be a couple feet but my feet are so awkward I can't. The Razor is basically a mobility scooter for me, except I get to keep my head at adult height and occasionally go a bit faster, and people look at it and say "cool bike" instead of feeling sorry for the crippled lady. I get to have fun gadgety hobbyist talk, instead of endless chatter about medicare reimbursements and ADA compliance and blah blah blah. But I am still basically using it like a mobility scooter.

This is the point of view I am coming from - I am a long time bike person who has fallen on hard times. So I am always following links and looking at ebikes. I can't believe it took me so long to find this site, but I just found it last week. And I quickly chose the Liberty Trike based on the info I found here, as the first thing I have seen that is significantly better than the Razor for my needs. I want three wheels for easy stopping and standing around. But I didn't want something enormous because I want to take it into crowded pedestrian areas. I wanted reverse, and a parking brake. And I wanted pedals so I can move my feet and legs, keep them from stiffening up.

So I ordered my trike last Friday July 6. I had a little trouble ordering. Something about the order triggered a fraud alert at my credit card company, which made it throw errors on the website. I had to call them on the phone to place the order. Then the credit card people called me to confirm it wasn't a fraudulent transaction. But I was able to quickly confirm it and it went through. During the time this was going on, the website changed from saying they were In Stock, to saying it was back ordered until July 25. In spite of this, it shipped Monday and arrived on Weds July 11. I was amazed at the speedy delivery!

Here is a link to Court's review: https://electricbikereview.com/liberty-trike/electric-tricycle/ I am comparing what I am finding, to what he said there.

Unpacking the bike I was impressed with the quality of the frame, the paint, most of the components, and the careful packaging. Court criticizes the quick releases on the head tube and seat tube; well, those are now much better quality and I had no trouble with scratching on the steering stems and seat tube. The plastic basket is now a metal wire frame type and was the only shiping damage; some of the wires were bent. I emailed the company and they responded within the hour and sent out a new basket by the end of the day. It will arrive tomorrow. There is no longer a chain tensioner but the company tells me this is due to an upgraded design in the rear and I can see that; what I have looks better than the pictures in Court's review, and there is no slop in the chain. The controller is held on by quality metal brackets now. I have not been able to reproduce the software error Court described, so I think that is fixed too. And the current seat is an upgrade from the first gen - it is more supportive and has a backrest, and in fact it is identical to the seat I put on the Razor when I upgraded its seat, I already know I like it! But it does still have those short one-piece cranks - I think they have to be this short to work within the rest of the constraints of the size and configuration, so I feel OK about it. They are a size more typically found on a child's bike and it's probably hard to find a better crank in that size, that doesn't cost a fortune.

So all in all, my interactions with the company have been terrific, and the trike is even better than when it was originally reviewed. And the price has gone down - I paid $1498 with free delivery. I am a happy customer.

I have 1.5 miles on it so far, which isn't very much, so I will come back and post again when I have a bit more. I will say that so far I am very pleased.

.

Hi Elizilla,
I read your post with interest as I too, have MS. This will be my 40th year. About 10 years ago my husband bought me an e-bike because often I could bike somewhere, then I'd hit a "fatigue wall" and couldn't bike back. I'd end up sitting on a curb with my bike until he biked home, got the truck and came to pick me up.
The e-bike solved all that because we could bike and when I could go no further, I could use the motor to get me home.

The reason I'm writing this post is that I have a "stupid leg" also and was unable to keep my left foot on the pedal.
To solve this, I bought some small rare earth magnets ( much more powerful than regular magnets...I used 8-10 very small magnets), drilled into the sole of the left shoe of a pair of old thick soled runners, inserted the magnets, locked them in place by squeezing some epoxy glue on top of the hole to the level of the shoe sole. I then purchase a piece of metal plate about 3 x 5 inches
In size. It was thin and looked like peg board, with a series of hole drilled in it. I attached that to the pedal.
The magnets give enough adhesion so my foot stays on the pedal but I'm able to remove my foot if necessary.

My balance has gotten a little wonky over the last year and i just don't feel safe on two wheels anymore so I've just purchased my first trike (an italian brand named Di Blasi... much lower step through than anything else on the market) and when it arrives I'll move the metal plate, so I can cycle comfortably again.

Thanks for your posts, they've been very informative and enlightening.
Kate

 

[MikeDD]

My wife has a stupid right leg. We purchased the Wellgo LU313 1/2 Cycling Pedal for her bike. It is a mountain bike pedal with spikes. You shoe will not slip off. Just be careful, you can scratch your leg. It will work with any shoe including sandals. The 1/2 is the diameter of the shaft.

 

[KWilke]

Thanks Mike,
I had one of the pedals you're speaking of and unfortunately it didn't work for me.
I have trouble getting my foot on the pedal ... the leg and foot are not only stupid but weak too, and I kept getting significantly scratched. I played around with a lot of options and the magnets seemed to work for me. The foot placement on the metal plate didn't have to be super precise to be effective.

 

[elizilla]

Hello Kate! I love that idea. I might do that myself. I already have a bunch of rare earth magnets. Thanks!

 

[elizilla]

Also, I ordered these for my trike: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0037N6NCG

They are pedal extenders that set the pedals a bit farther out from the crank arm, which gives me more room to fumble my foot around, and it also converts them from 1/2" to the more common 9/16". Back in the day, before MS, I had nice quill pedals with straps, then tried all the various clipless pedals like Look and Time and SPD, but I don't think I'd do well with them today. But my past history of swapping out my pedals means I have lot of 9/16" pedals around to try. Can't say I have found a favorite though.

Beware these pedal extenders do rust a little.

 

[KWilke]

Also, I ordered these for my trike: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0037N6NCG

They are pedal extenders that set the pedals a bit farther out from the crank arm, which gives me more room to fumble my foot around, and it also converts them from 1/2" to the more common 9/16". Back in the day, before MS, I had nice quill pedals with straps, then tried all the various clipless pedals like Look and Time and SPD, but I don't think I'd do well with them today. But my past history of swapping out my pedals means I have lot of 9/16" pedals around to try. Can't say I have found a favorite though.

Beware these pedal extenders do rust a little.

Thanks I'll look into the extenders, I do have a habit of knocking my ankle bone, that 16th of an inch might do the trick.
I didn't mention in my post that I just threaded a couple of bolts through the medal plate and pedal and it's fastened quite solidly, no drilling required. The plate can be easily removed and used elsewhere.
I have an indoor recumbent bike that I use in the winter and I use the plate and shoe with that as well.
We're planning a river cruise in Europe this fall and I'll have the opportunity to e-bike there (unfortunately no trikes) so I'll pack the shoe and the plate to use there.

 

[KWilke]

Thanks I'll look into the extenders, I do have a habit of knocking my ankle bone, that 16th of an inch might do the trick.
I didn't mention in my post that I just threaded a couple of bolts through the medal plate and pedal and it's fastened quite solidly, no drilling required. The plate can be easily removed and used elsewhere.
I have an indoor recumbent bike that I use in the winter and I use the plate and shoe with that as well.
We're planning a river cruise in Europe this fall and I'll have the opportunity to e-bike there (unfortunately no trikes) so I'll pack the shoe and the plate to use there.

Another note, when preparing the shoe, use less magnets than you think you'll need, test adhesion and you can always add more if needed, but once they're on, it hard to remove them.
I put 4-6 on the ball of the foot area and a couple closer to the arch. I found the small disk about 5-7mm across and 2mm thick work for me. I buy mine either at Lee Valley in Canada or online at Apex magnets (US) because they have a good selection. I prefer to buy them in Canada because when we order from the States we have to deal with the currency exchange rate, delivery costs and duty which really adds to the cost, so if I'm ordering specific magnets from Apex for other projects, I'll order some extra for the shoes.

 

[elizilla]

Thanks I'll look into the extenders, I do have a habit of knocking my ankle bone, that 16th of an inch might do the trick.

It's not extending it a 16th of an inch. It extends the pedals out about about 3/4", so, quite a lot. But it also converts the pedal size to 9/16" which means I could change the pedals. Decent quality adult bicycles use the 9/16" pedals, and most quality aftermarket pedals are 9/16". The stock Liberty Trike has these goofy 1/2" pedals which are more common on children's bikes and very low end department store bikes. 1/2" cranks are a hallmark of low quality, but I forgive Liberty Trike for this because it's part of the compromise they made to get the step-through down lower - they needed these short cranks so they used the kiddy stuff.

I don't know what your Di Blasi has for pedal size. It looks like a quality machine so you might have the 9/16" pedals already. If so you would want the 9/16" to 9/16" extenders, which are also available on that Amazon page.

 

[KWilke]

It's not extending it a 16th of an inch. It extends the pedals out about about 3/4", so, quite a lot. But it also converts the pedal size to 9/16" which means I could change the pedals. Decent quality adult bicycles use the 9/16" pedals, and most quality aftermarket pedals are 9/16". The stock Liberty Trike has these goofy 1/2" pedals which are more common on children's bikes and very low end department store bikes. 1/2" cranks are a hallmark of low quality, but I forgive Liberty Trike for this because it's part of the compromise they made to get the step-through down lower - they needed these short cranks so they used the kiddy stuff.

I don't know what your Di Blasi has for pedal size. It looks like a quality machine so you might have the 9/16" pedals already. If so you would want the 9/16" to 9/16" extenders, which are also available on that Amazon page.

Thanks! I'll do some research. Appreciate the info!

 

[elizilla]

I now have 650 miles on my first Liberty Trike. My neighbor persuaded me to sell my second Liberty Trike to him. He wanted one for his mom and they were out of stock. His mom loves it, he reports she has made a ton of neighborhood friends while riding around on it, so it’s all good. And being a geek I keep buying and selling and trading ebikes and etrikes, so I have other machines for my husband to ride.

So now I just have the one Liberty Trike. I still use it every day. Until last week when the battery failed. Now working on sourcing a new battery…

 

[pamela]

I was so happy to find your posts this morning! I’ve had my Liberty Trike for only a couple of weeks and love it! I’m 69 years old and after falling twice off my 2-wheeler (electric) this summer, decided to enter my second childhood on a trike, which is more fun than it sounds! I related to many things you talked about.. I’ve been riding electric bikes for years, trading in and trading up and always interested in what’s new. Now, I’m totally into my Liberty Trike.

My husband has MS and he’s also planning to hang up his electric moped and look for either a mobility scooter or electric trike. He’s been riding mine to get a feel for how well it will work for him. We live in an old town with a lot of busted up pavement and it does take keeping your eyes open for hazards. I thought your comments about needing good vision and alertness were spot-on.

One observation.. We have a lot of people in our town using mobility scooters and electric wheelchairs. I‘ve noticed that there’s not a lot of eye contact going on. It’s not right, but a LOT of people avert their eyes when a mobility/chair person approaches. By contrast, everybody I meet smiles at me and says ‘hello’ or ‘love your bike’. My husband is out-going and gregarious and I think he’d love the friendliness he’d encounter on a Liberty Trike.

I loved reading about you and your husband drag racing your trikes. We laugh about riding downtown together someday, a gang of 2, to get a cup of coffee or an ice cream cone. How fun is that?! Thanks again!