If you’ve experienced the joy of riding a recumbent trike, you know the seated-back position makes it easier to cycle further comfortably. You also enjoy stability due to the three-wheel design, reducing the risk for falls and serious injuries because the trike is lower to the ground than an upright bicycle.
However, if you’re looking for the ultimate recumbent trike experience, it might be time to invest in an electric-assist recumbent trike. You enjoy all the benefits of your recumbent trike, but with the boost of an electric motor when you need it. Here we explain why you should get an electric-assist recumbent trike to improve your cycling experience.
You’ll Still Benefit From Exercise
Some people are hesitant to invest in electric trikes with the worry they’ll miss out on all that exercise. However, Brigham Young University published research findings that showed electric bikes offer almost the same level of exercise as those riding mountain bikes. The bonus is that despite getting exercise, people find they feel better than they would following a workout.
Riders’ hearts work at over 90% of the rate of traditional bikes without feeling like they’ve worked as hard. According to a study by BikeRadar, champ Tom Bell hit close to his maximum heart rate when riding his favorite off-road test loop on an electric bike. If you use your recumbent trike to get to work, studies show an electric hybrid bike averaged 89% of the mean beats per minute compared to riding on a traditional bike.
Electric recumbent trikes still require pedaling so you still get the benefits of a cardiovascular workout, while also helping to build muscles and endurance. As with any bike, you strengthen muscles and improve the efficiency of your cardiovascular system, keeping you fit to enjoy other types of physical activity.
Higher Speed, Less Effort
Electric bikes allow you to push as hard as you like, reach higher speeds and climb higher faster all with less effort. So, if you love a challenging trail, the electric recumbent trike makes it easier to travel the routes choosing when you wish to use electric-assist or back off. This allows you to ride at your own pace and your own level of effort. In fact, you can take your average speed of 10 to 12mph, up to 20mph with your electric trike. If you love hills but hate how they slow you down, you can avoid drops in speed with an electric trike. The motor kicks in to help you keep up your momentum even on the most challenging hills.
Less Stress on Your Body
Because the pedal-assist electric feature helps with the strain and effort required, you also will manage hills, inclines, and rough terrain more easily. As a result, you put less stress on your body, particularly the joints and heart. So, while you enjoy the benefits of muscle strength and a good cardio workout, you do so without the strain that can lead to injury and stress experienced on a regular bike. You need less recovery time, which makes it ideal if you’re just getting started on exercising more often.
Good for Everyone
Cycling is fun, making it appealing to people of all ages looking to lead more active lifestyles. However, despite the saying, it’s just like riding a bike, you might be surprised how difficult it can be to get into the swing of cycling. If you aren’t used to physical activity, you are likely to experience aches and pains even after cycling just a short distance.
This can put you off physical activity, so your bike ends up collecting dust. However, an electric-assist recumbent trike makes it easier for people of all activity levels to ease into cycling without feeling overly exhausted and achy. The electric-assist allows you to ease into cycling, while the recumbent positioning puts less strain on your body. You can get used to using the muscles required to ride a bike. In fact, e-bikes are an excellent choice for those with mobility issues or mild disabilities.
Improve Your State of Mind
An electric 3-wheel bike provides an easy way to get outdoors and avoid living a sedentary life. Enjoying nature, even if it is just at your local park, helps reduce stress levels and improve mood. Fresh air and reduced stress also help you enjoy healthier sleep. For those who might feel left out when friends and family are out and about, you can become more social and join in the fun with an electric adult tricycle. You can ride with groups of younger, fitter people without getting left behind with your electric assist for a more social form of exercise that makes you feel part of the community.
Faster and Further
Not to dwell too much on speed and distance, but if these things are considerations to your cycling habits, data from European cities showed e-bike riders took longer trips. So again, you balance out any slight losses in physical gains by traveling farther. You can also go further in less time because you have that added speed from your motor. Imagine being able to reach those trails further from home whether you’re looking for a flat, smooth ride, or more challenging climbs in the hills out yonder. Suddenly new opportunities open up offering more options for your cycling outings. Instead of having to load your trike into the car, if you can even manage that, you can ride all the way there and back.
Safer for City Cycling
If you do all your cycling in the city, the electric assist motor is the urbanite’s best friend. You will find it’s easier to speed up from a standstill, so you can keep up with traffic when starting up after stops at lights, junctions and stop signs. This reduces stress while also keeping you safer when cycling on busy city streets. As a bonus, you also find parking a lot easier than traveling by car in the city. With rising gas prices, it’s also cheaper than a car.
Electric recumbent trikes allow you to enjoy longer rides and extend your workout time. It takes less effort than riding a normal bike so you can go further faster and can conquer rough terrain, hills and distances for the ultimate recumbent trike experience.
