PennyWV
Member
This is my story.
For years I rode a DF bike, a Giant Sedona hybrid that I loved. I would ride the C&O canal towpath, 20+ miles a day, 3 or 4 times a week on average. About 12 years ago I started having some hip problems and it became more and more painful to ride, to the point where I stopped all together. Then one day I saw someone riding a 2-wheel recumbent and I thought maybe that would be an option. There is a large LBS not far from me that stocks hundreds of new and used bikes, including recumbents. I went to the shop and sat on a number of bikes but they just didn’t feel right, or comfortable to me. I think something about having my feet so far forward, on two wheels, with my knees in my chest, just didn’t work for me. At this point I was feeling pretty dejected when my girlfriend came up to me and said “there is something around the corner I think you should see”. So I walked around the corner of the building and there sat this contraption I had never seen before. A recumbent trike, a Catrike Villager to be exact.
One look and I said, “no way am I going to be able to get down onto and back up from that thing”. The teenage sales guy that was helping me said “sure you can, give it a try”. So I did, and he was right, no problem. I asked to test ride it. That particular trike was sold but they had another one. In a few minutes he brings out this British race car green Catrike Villager. The shop shared a parking lot with a motel that was out of business so there was a lot of room to roam. After a few brief instructions off I went, down the hill from the shop lot and around the motel. As I flew back up to the shop and did a circle around my girlfriend I yelled to her “I’m buying this thing!”.
I hadn’t asked about the price, didn’t know how I would transport it, but I knew this was my answer to riding again. It wasn’t cheap, but was less than I expected. I told the kid I wanted to buy it only to be told that it was the only one they had in the shop and they couldn’t sell it, it was their demo bike and that they would have to order one for me. I told him I didn’t want to wait, that I would buy it right now, along with some accessories, or I would go home and order it from someone else. The owner said “sold” and I left the lot that day with the trike in the back of my SUV (it just fit). Keep in mind I knew nothing about trikes. Normally I would have researched the various brands and models, would not have made an impulse buy, but I just knew this was what I needed and I’ve never regretted it. 10 years later and I am still riding that same trike.
And now it is about to experience a metamorphosis. In the next 6 weeks or so I am having it converted to an e-trike. A couple of years ago I started having some arthritis issues in my knees after a massive poison Ivy infection in my legs and went almost two years without riding at all. My knees slowly improved and this past summer I was back to riding. Not as far or as long as I would like, to avoid putting too much strain on the knees and risking backsliding. So, looking to the future I believe that pedal assist is the way to go. I don't want an electric scooter, I want to do the pedaling, I just want the option for a little assist when the legs are tired or that hill is a bit too much.
I am working with a LBS, trike shop, on Long Island who will be doing the work. They are about 6 hours from where I live so we plan on taking a short road trip in March and I can’t wait. Really looking forward to it. I’m also upgrading many of the trikes drivetrain components at the same time (after all it is her 10th birthday). When it’s all done I will have a new, old, electric trike!
Happy pedaling all!
For years I rode a DF bike, a Giant Sedona hybrid that I loved. I would ride the C&O canal towpath, 20+ miles a day, 3 or 4 times a week on average. About 12 years ago I started having some hip problems and it became more and more painful to ride, to the point where I stopped all together. Then one day I saw someone riding a 2-wheel recumbent and I thought maybe that would be an option. There is a large LBS not far from me that stocks hundreds of new and used bikes, including recumbents. I went to the shop and sat on a number of bikes but they just didn’t feel right, or comfortable to me. I think something about having my feet so far forward, on two wheels, with my knees in my chest, just didn’t work for me. At this point I was feeling pretty dejected when my girlfriend came up to me and said “there is something around the corner I think you should see”. So I walked around the corner of the building and there sat this contraption I had never seen before. A recumbent trike, a Catrike Villager to be exact.
One look and I said, “no way am I going to be able to get down onto and back up from that thing”. The teenage sales guy that was helping me said “sure you can, give it a try”. So I did, and he was right, no problem. I asked to test ride it. That particular trike was sold but they had another one. In a few minutes he brings out this British race car green Catrike Villager. The shop shared a parking lot with a motel that was out of business so there was a lot of room to roam. After a few brief instructions off I went, down the hill from the shop lot and around the motel. As I flew back up to the shop and did a circle around my girlfriend I yelled to her “I’m buying this thing!”.
I hadn’t asked about the price, didn’t know how I would transport it, but I knew this was my answer to riding again. It wasn’t cheap, but was less than I expected. I told the kid I wanted to buy it only to be told that it was the only one they had in the shop and they couldn’t sell it, it was their demo bike and that they would have to order one for me. I told him I didn’t want to wait, that I would buy it right now, along with some accessories, or I would go home and order it from someone else. The owner said “sold” and I left the lot that day with the trike in the back of my SUV (it just fit). Keep in mind I knew nothing about trikes. Normally I would have researched the various brands and models, would not have made an impulse buy, but I just knew this was what I needed and I’ve never regretted it. 10 years later and I am still riding that same trike.
And now it is about to experience a metamorphosis. In the next 6 weeks or so I am having it converted to an e-trike. A couple of years ago I started having some arthritis issues in my knees after a massive poison Ivy infection in my legs and went almost two years without riding at all. My knees slowly improved and this past summer I was back to riding. Not as far or as long as I would like, to avoid putting too much strain on the knees and risking backsliding. So, looking to the future I believe that pedal assist is the way to go. I don't want an electric scooter, I want to do the pedaling, I just want the option for a little assist when the legs are tired or that hill is a bit too much.
I am working with a LBS, trike shop, on Long Island who will be doing the work. They are about 6 hours from where I live so we plan on taking a short road trip in March and I can’t wait. Really looking forward to it. I’m also upgrading many of the trikes drivetrain components at the same time (after all it is her 10th birthday). When it’s all done I will have a new, old, electric trike!
Happy pedaling all!
