Three wheels good – how trikes make cycling accessible to all

When cycling on two wheels is impractical, a tricycle is usually the best solution. Trikes cater for a much wider range of riders than standard upright bicycles.

They come in a host of different designs: uprights, recumbents, semi-recumbents, tandems, delta (one wheel at the front), tadpole (two wheels at the front), electric assist, hand-cranked, wheelchair carrying, wheelchair clip-ons… With a trike, anyone and everyone can enjoy cycling.

The uptake of trikes for adaptive cycling is limited by their low public profile and relatively high cost. Speciality cycles like trikes are expensive and disabled cyclists may have additional financial pressures.

That’s where projects like Cycling UK’s Inclusive Cycling Experience can help, by enabling would-be cyclists to discover and try out solutions that best suit them.

The best ambassadors for adaptive cycling, of course, are the riders themselves.

Ivor Washbrook

Ivor’s mum Sarah describes her son’s game-changing trike

When my son Ivor, aged six, was diagnosed with Angelman Syndrome, life as we knew it came to a crashing halt. Having Angelman syndrome means that he has severe developmental delays. Although he can walk, it’s not far or fast, and he struggles with balance and coordination.

You might think that cycling would be out of the question. But as a family of bike lovers, I was determined for him to be able to enjoy cycling just like the rest of us – with all the benefits that brings.

After a huge amount of research into adaptive cycles, we bought a Tomcat Fizz trike. This was based on their reputation, innovation awards, customer service and the trike itself, which can also be converted into a trailer trike that I can hitch to my bike for longer rides with the family.

As a relatively new cyclist, Ivor mostly uses his trike for short local rides from the house with parental control, but as he’s getting older we’re venturing further afield. The trike is really stable, so it’s great off road on bumpy tracks. He can ride while we walk at a healthy pace next to him – a win for everybody.

There are so many benefits to an adapted cycle, too. High up there is safety. It’s not safe or possible for Ivor to ride a conventional bike. He is unable to balance and steer, sometimes will not hold on and he will not respond to safety instructions. Straps and controls make this possible.

Ivor also benefits greatly from being able to do regular exercise. It keeps him moving, controls his weight, uses pent-up energy and helps him to sleep, as well as developing his balance, coordination, motor skills and strength. Not to mention the focus, calmness and positive mental health that comes from cycling – as any cyclist can testify.

More than anything, cycling for Ivor is a social event. He can now join in, helping our whole family to get out and about cycling together.

There were a few teething problems with this adapted trike. It takes practice to put it together after it’s been in the car or after using the towing attachment, and time to change the drivetrain for faster rides. The hand brake is somewhat fiddly, as are the calliper attachments and buckles over the feet as Ivor’s legs don’t stay still.

Yet it’s a brilliant trike with really thoughtful technology. It also looks fabulous; on first glance it’s little different from conventional bike or trike. Almost everybody we pass admires it and wants to talk about it. I would wholeheartedly recommend it to parents of disabled children.

Life can throw some really difficult things at us, but that doesn’t mean you can’t carry on doing the things you love. To see Ivor smile when he’s on his trike is worth its weight in gold, as is knowing that it’s helping him with his development at the same time. He loves it and we love it!

Karen Darke

Paralympian and adventure handcyclist

Adaptive cycling has always felt like a way to reclaim freedom. After a climbing accident in 1993 left me paralysed from the chest down, I knew I wanted to find a way back into cycling.

At the time, handcycles were almost unheard of; I’d never seen one. I asked Greenspeed, a trike manufacturer in Australia, to build me a tandem recumbent trike, pedalled by the arms at the front. A frame builder in Scotland built me a solo handcycle.

From there I moved on to one of the early commercially available machines from Varna, then to increasingly low, recumbent racing designs originally developed by wheelchair manufacturers. I raced on a machine from Carbonbike at Paralympic level.

The evolution of handcycling since those early days has been extraordinary. What was once improvised and rare is now a popular sport and thriving industry.

After a 13-year focus on racing and Paralympic handcycling, I felt somewhat starved of my real passion: cycle touring and adventure, exploring wilder places. I missed big landscapes, the feeling of being out in nature, remote, with friends or a small team.

That’s what drew me to off-road handcycles and eventually to the ICE Full Fat. Built as a one-off by Inspired Cycle Engineering, who had been collaborating with another manufacturer on off-road designs, the fat trike opened up terrain I’d only ever imagined reaching.

I’d read about one being used on an expedition to the centre of Antarctica – and I had Antarctic ambitions of my own.

More recently, ICE has developed its own dedicated off-road handcycle with electrical assistance and some beautifully considered engineering. It’s designed for accessibility, comfort, packability and serious terrain capability.

It feels like a machine built not just to function but to broaden horizons. I rode it across Scottish beaches and beside lapping waves, shedding tears for the connection with nature and adventure I had missed.

My ICE trikes have taken me to extraordinary places. The Full Fat travelled with me to Antarctica – although on deeper snow and ice I had to switch to a sit-ski. But it has carried me to the summit slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro and to Everest Base Camp (with help from an incredible porter team).

Destinations that once lived purely in my imagination became reachable. Like any form of cycling, one machine rarely does everything. Adaptive cycling mirrors conventional cycling in that different journeys call for different machines – road touring, technical off-road riding, steep climbing.

Cost and storage make owning multiple handcycles difficult, so a cycle that matches your biggest ambitions is the best starting point.

As I write this, I am about to use ICE’s recently released handcycle to cross a frozen lake in Mongolia: 160km across Lake Khuvsgul. I only had the chance to take it for a quick spin around Richmond Park before this.

For anyone considering adaptive cycling, the single most important piece of advice is to try before you buy. Fortunately, there are growing opportunities to experiment and find what suits you. Whatever you choose, I’m sure it will open up a world of possibility.

Jordan Burns

Wheels for Wellbeing participant and handcyclist, Wigan

For a long time, Jordan says, cycling felt like something he had left behind. The last time he remembers being outside on a cycle, he was “about 10 years old”. Now 30, he wanted to try something different.

He wanted to get out, build fitness, and find a form of exercise that felt achievable. That chance came through an organisational session with Be Well Wigan through Wheels for All. There, Jordan was able to try a power-assisted handcycle made available through Cycling UK’s Inclusive Cycling Experience.

“I just wanted to try something different,” he says. “When I came on the bikes, it was a different experience. It got me outside doing physical activity, which was really good.”

At first, the change was simply in showing up and having a go. Then it became about progress. Before the sessions, Jordan could manage two laps of the 400-metre track at Robin Park on a standard handcycle. With the power-assisted handcycle, “I’m doing at least 10 laps in the Wheels for All session,” he says.

That steady routine became part of a bigger goal. Jordan was training for a 40-mile charity challenge to raise money for motor neurone disease. He completed the challenge on a stationary hand bike, covering 40 miles in 4 hours 5 minutes.

The outdoor sessions on the assisted handcycle were a vital part of building endurance and confidence. “I used the power-assisted trike as part of my training,” he says. “If I didn’t have it, I think I’d have struggled to push through the training.”

On the day of the challenge, Jordan had plenty of support around him. Teammates from Wigan Warriors wheelchair rugby came down, along with his family. But he completed the miles alone, proving to himself that he could set tough goals and meet them.

The benefits have not been solely physical. Jordan talks about the effect on his mental wellbeing, and about feeling part of something again. “Being back on the bike is great,” he says. “It’s helped my mental health, and coming into the sessions is helping [me get into] the community and [with building] another set of friendships as well.”

What keeps him motivated is the sense of liberty the e-trike provides. “It gives me freedom,” he says. “It makes me want to push myself and see what else I can do.”

Jordan is already thinking about what comes next. He is keen to try new equipment, including an ICE handcycle, and has set his sights on an ambitious challenge. He wants to complete seven marathons in seven days at Robin Park to raise funds for MND.

“I want to inspire people,” he says. “I want it to be like a family fun day sort of atmosphere.”

Jordan’s advice to anyone in a similar position is simple: try it; start small; then keep showing up. The right cycle and the right support, he says, can open doors you did not know were there.

Amanda Brobyn

Recumbent tricyclist and ICE participant, Inverness

Amanda initially wanted a trike to support weight loss ahead of knee surgery. What she found after trying some was freedom, reduced pain during rides, and a new way to get around locally.

Amanda first came to Inclusive Cycling Experience with a clear goal. She hoped cycling could support weight loss so she could reach a weight considered suitable for surgery on both knees. Walking with crutches is slow and painful, so she needed an option that would let her be active without worsening her joint pain.

At her first session she tried several trikes. A semi-recumbent trike felt practical but she also found it uncomfortable. A fully recumbent trike seemed too difficult to get on and off. Over time, and after seeing other people using different cycles, she decided to try the fully recumbent ICE trike again.

A key part of that decision was making access easier. Amanda used Helping Hands supports for help with getting on and off the trike.

She was keen to do the work of pedalling herself and wanted to avoid power assistance. The team talked through how assistance would still involve plenty of effort, while helping on hills and reducing stress through painful joints. She was convinced.

Amanda took the trike out on short loans as often as her work and family life allowed. She started with loops of the local campus, then built up to longer rides as her confidence and route knowledge grew.

Sometimes her mum came along and enjoyed the café while Amanda rode. When Amanda’s adult daughter visited, she came too. “Ohh, she loves it. Absolutely loves it,” Amanda says. “Just getting out on a bike with me. Whenever she’s home, she’s like, ‘Can we go on the bikes?’”

To take the trike home on loan, Amanda needed somewhere secure to store it. She bought and built storage specifically for the trike. Once that was in place, she could take the cycle on two-week loans and ride as and when it suited her.

“Just being able to get out and about whenever I want, it’s been great,” she says. Having the trike at home changed what was possible. Amanda could ride from her front door on circular routes, including to a local nature reserve and trips to visit friends. She says she has used her car less and spent less on fuel.

Cycling has also changed outings with her dog. Walking is difficult, but riding means they can go further and faster. “Especially with the dog. I mean, I’m going 7mph on the bike and he’s still in front of me,” she says. “He likes to run, so he gets his chance now.”

Amanda has been surprised by the effect cycling has had on her knee pain. She expected it to be worse but often finds the opposite by the end of a ride.

“My knee pain was a lot worse,” she says. “Cycling, when you start off, my knees are really painful, but by the end they’re nowhere near as bad. Without cycling the pain was a lot worse, and there was no break from it.”

After one ride delivering the trike back, she noticed a moment of complete relief. “At this moment in time, I have no pain at all in my knees,” she says. “It will come back, but when I’m cycling I’m not really in pain with my knees.”

There have been mental health benefits, too. “It’s probably improved my mental health because I’m not stuck indoors all the time,” she says. “I don’t snap at my mum as much.”

Amanda has also been introduced to the HiTrans Inclusive Cycling Scheme, which can organise a specific adapted cycle for longer-term loan at a low monthly cost. Working with the scheme and the cycle supplier, she has moved to an e-trike setup that is even more user friendly, including integrated lights.

For Amanda, adaptive cycling has been about independence. It has given her a way to be active, spend time with family, and make everyday journeys that she couldn’t do on foot.