Are there any problesm using TRIKES for commuting/cargo hauling?

[John Paul Downe]

There seem to be several trikes available suitable for hauling groceries. Organic Engines and
Lightfoot Cycles both make one. Has anyone used them in city traffic? Are they too wide for bike
lane use? What kind of problems do they present?

John Downey Ann Arbor, MI 48103 [email protected] home page:
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jdowney/index.html

<\ \ \~@ \\\_ _/\_ (*) `- (*)

 

[Barry Davidson]

John, I've used Lightfoot trikes as car-free alt for 5 yrs. I find them excellent in city traffic.
I've driven them in Toronto and Montreal. The width works for me. I get high visibility and don't
get 'squeezed'. I don't get hassled when I need to take the lane, tho' I'm still able to filter
forward at lights in most cases. An important consideration in traffic is seat height to be able to
see ahead (and be seen). SH on standard Lightfoot trikes is 22-24", which is eye level with most
cars. The Greenway version is narrower and SH is correspondingly lower for COG (20"). I also use a
SMV triangle on seatback for visibility. Regards, Barry Davidson Cyclotec HPV--Recumbent Bikes
Trikes and Quads 548 Albert St. Peterborough ON CA K9J 4N7 Ph.705 749 2859 [email protected] "john
paul downey" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> There seem to be several trikes available suitable for hauling groceries. Organic Engines and
> Lightfoot Cycles both make one. Has anyone used them in city traffic? Are they too wide for bike
> lane use? What kind of problems do they present?
>
>
> John Downey Ann Arbor, MI 48103 [email protected] home page:
> http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jdowney/index.html
>
> <\ \ \~@ \\\_ _/\_ (*) `- (*)

 

[Risto Varanka]

Barry Davidson <[email protected]> wrote:
: I also use a SMV triangle on seatback for visibility.

Why don't seatbacks come in red, yellow or high visibility green?


You could consider a coroplast luggage fairing in similar colour too. And 3M reflective foil.

--
Risto Varanka | http://www.helsinki.fi/~rvaranka/hpv/hpv.html varis at no spam please iki fi

 

[Bill Hamilton]

[email protected] wrote in news:bd2gm3$j0t$2 @oravannahka.helsinki.fi:

> Barry Davidson <[email protected]> wrote:
>: I also use a SMV triangle on seatback for visibility.
>
> Why don't seatbacks come in red, yellow or high visibility green?
>
>
> You could consider a coroplast luggage fairing in similar colour too. And 3M reflective foil.
>

I was thinking for when I build a fairing, getting some of that tape they use for marking lanes in
construction areas around here. It's a metallic tape painted road stripe orange, with some sort of
clear plastic glued to the surface to refract the light.

-Bill Hamilton