Blogs
May 10, 2012
Saturday May 12th Hours
We will be closing at 2:00 PST on Saturday May 12 to celebrate our daughters college graduation with friends and family.
Come by between 10am and 2pm to test ride and pick out your trike 🙂
May 10, 2012
All Trikes Are In Stock!
Rovers !Ramblers !Tour 2 !Sportsters !Tandems !
All models, colors and sizes are now available and ready to become yours! Give us a call or visit and start 2012 with an investment in your health.
We are the largest TerraTrike & Greenspeed recumbent trike bike dealer in Northern California from Sacramento to San Francisco and offer adult recumbent 3 wheel tricycles for all people of all shapes, sizes and personal performance levels!
No matter what life stage you may be in, you’ll be sure to discover new innovative ways to improve and maintain your health and quality of life for years to come.
Here at Laid Back Cycles, we are focused on being your fit for life solution
It’s All About The Healthy Lifestyle.
March 28, 2012
TerraTrike Rambler Is The Ultimate Comfort Trike
Is the TerraTrike Rambler a “Sell Out” for going Ultra Comfort with its higher seat and wider Harley style handlebars? Or is it just selling out. Well the latter is more likely the case. The Rambler has been the trike of choice for new trike owners.
Is Rambler The Ultimate Comfort Trike?
After surveying many Rambler trike owners, it seems to be because with its lighter cro-moly frame for lifting into cars and trucks as well as the up to 27 speeds for better gear ratio allowing for better hill climbing and faster on the bike trail.
TerraTrike said with its introduction in 2011 “The Rover was, no doubt, very well received in the market, and we were very pleased to see the trike helping so many new people get into or back into cycling. But, there were still a lot of people asking for something similar but with a more refined design and more gearing, so we created the Rambler.” says Jeff Yonker, Marketing Director at TerraTrike. “We think this design combines all the great features of the Rover and Cruiser and then takes it to the next level.”
The Rambler also comes with a new improved TerraTrike adjustable seat. Recline adjustments from 40 to 90 degrees allows the rider, not the manufacturer, to set the angle at which you feel most comfortable – and at 15″ high, it’s still a full 5″ taller than most trikes. Similar to the Rover, the seat also slides along the frame allowing for quick adjustments for riders with similar leg lengths. This trike is easy to get in and out of and adjusts in seconds. The Rambler comes in two colors, orange and green.
Because of the design, it has a very small turning radius (in most cases even shorter than a standard upright bicycle). You can take your Rambler into places that had never before been accessible to trikes. They’ve also included locking brake levers as a standard component so you’ll stay put once you get to where you’re going.
The 2012 Ramblers retail at $1499 to $2399 depending on the component level. You can test ride and get your new Rambler at our Sacramento Recumbent Trikes Store.
March 27, 2012
TerraTrike’s New Tour II Recumbent Trike
TerraTrike’s New Tour II recumbent trike is a combo of The Path, Cruiser and Tour all into one. The basic design has been around for a decade but has had a few updates.
The Tour II steering linkage has been changed to improve the trike’s turning radius. It’s comes with a chromoly steel frame and has the same comfortable mesh seat that comes on all TerraTrike models. TerraTrike offers it with 3 boom choices with the most popular being medium and large. The new sliding seat mount makes sizing adjustments easier than previous models.
The Tour II comes in three different specs starting with a 8-speed model, 24 speed Base model and capping out with the Pro Model.
The Tour II Base Model 24-speed MicroShift drivetrain and Bengal disc brakes all worked impressively.
TerraTrike comes with 40 psi tires that provide a comfortable ride but some riders may want a faster higher pressure tire such as the Schwable Marathon’s as an option.
The Tour II comes in a bright yellow color which provide a nice sporty feel as well as good visibility.
A much needed and appreciated change to the Tour II’s is the steering linkage to allow a tighter turning radius. The Tour is great for cruising or touring which comes from combining the best of their past models.
A few of TerraTrike accessories you may want to go with your Tour II are racks, fenders, seat bags, panniers, flags and a host of other add-on that will make your ride fun, safe and more enjoyable. Laid Back Cycles also offers a wide variety of other accessories that will work with the Tour II.
The Tour II comes in a 20” wheel or 26”, I prefer the 20 for a better low end gearing which will help you get up hills easier. If you are looking for a trike with a 26” rear wheel I recommend looking at the TerraTrike Sportster.
TERRATRIKE TOUR II
Highs – Very comfortable, Great performance for the price.Lows – Could benefit from higher pressure tires for faster speedsMSRP – $1599 – $1799More Info – LBC Recumbents Shop Sacramento
January 28, 2012
2012 TerraTrike Sportster
Want to go fast? Really fast? Then the New Sportster is your machine. This is the culmination of our 15 years experience with trike design.
If you are a trike enthusiast, you owe it to yourself to take a test ride on one of these. It accelerates faster, climbs better, and maintains high speeds easier than any trike we’ve ever ridden. And trust us, we’ve ridden them all.
Sportster is the supercar of trikes, and a complete thrill to ride.
With its “no compromise approach” to build quality, you can be confident you’re riding the best. The Sportster has a newly designed strong and light weight aluminum frame that can be taken apart for easy traveling. It comes stock with a 26″ rear wheel for higher gearing, and is available in four component levels to suit any budget. If your goal is simply to move as fast as possible under your own power, then look no further than the new Sportster!
Features Of TerraTrike Sportster Recumbent Trike
Heat Treated Aluminum Frame
Annodized Aluminum Finish
Artisan Level Build Quality
Direct Steering
26″ Rear Wheel Standard
Laser Sharp Handling
Adjustable Seat
Adjustable Handlebars
Disc Brakes
One Size Fits All
For Riders Up To 250 Pounds
Made In The USA
The Sportster is available in four different component levels:
This will be the trike that all trikes are measured against. But don’t take our word for it ..try one out for yourself at Sacramento’s #1 Source for Recumbent Trikes, Laid Back Cycles.
Laid Back Cycles is your Sacramento Valley and Bay Area recumbent trike adult tricycle dealer.
January 12, 2012
TerraTrike Sportster
By Larry VarneyCo-Editor – BentriderOnline.comPosted on January 12, 2012
One recumbent trike manufacturer that has seen much success in recent years is TerraTrike. Part of the reason is price: the Rover opened up an entirely new entry level trike pricepoint. And yet, some people wanted a little bit more – and then they unveiled the Rambler. Both of these trikes offered features that many buyers wanted, especially a comfortable ride on a trike that did not force them to squat very low. Yes, both trikes have been big hits, and while many of the more vociferous owners rebelled against any talk of “performance” – after all, they were riding them for far better reasons than “speed” – there were some out there who were thinking, how nice it would be to have the no-squat attribute with not just a bit more speed, but considerably more. In fact, these buyers would be willing to pay more, too. The result? Come join me in a ride on the new TerraTrike Sportster.
The Sportster is undeniably a TerraTrike. It caters to those riders whose primary concerns are ease of entry and exit, coupled with a low bottom bracket and a seat that doesn’t have them straining to hold their head up. When you sit down on this trike, you aren’t looking at the road ahead between your knees. The variable recline angle of the seat ranges from the modestly laid-back angle of 40 degrees, to a nearly upright 70. And you may be forgiven if you think: this is just another TerraTrike – what’s the big deal? Start pedaling and shifting, and you’ll find out!
Let me be clear about one thing: this is not the fastest trike I have ever ridden. The hands on the grips are off to our sides, and combined with the recline angle, we present a pretty big target for the wind. But even with that, this is a very quick trike. I was impressed! Shifting up through the gears (8 cogs and 3 chainrings; this is the basic model, there are others with more), the acceleration was noticeable. Toss in indiscernible brake steer (Bengal disc), and a turning circle that is among the best I’ve encountered, and you’ve got an enjoyable, fast ride. Not the fastest, but hardly slow. The direct-steer was precise, it tracked well, and while I prefer to have my hands and arms in closer to my body, the position on the Sportster was comfortable. I would not have a problem taking this trike out to do a century.
I’ve mentioned comfort and speed, two pluses for the Sportster. Another is ground clearance. At 7 inches, this is the trike I would pick for traversing grassy fields, loose sand, and crushed limestone trails. Combine this with a seat height of 14.5 inches (bottom bracket, too), and you have a very lofty perch, There are some potential drawbacks to such a “tall” trike: stability in tight, fast turns. I have mentioned the turning circle (12 feet in diameter). A trike this tall, with a track of just 34.25 inches, can result in a lifting of an inside wheel. I do want to point out that this lifting is not abrupt, and you really do have to be either very tall, or almost deliberately turning so fast and abruptly, that you want to raise that wheel – which I did, of course. In anything approaching normal riding, this didn’t happen. And when it did, it was very mild and easily controlled.
The attention to detail on the Sportster is good, as are the components. As mentioned, there are other models that cost more, and the components are a bit higher in grade, as you would expect – but this lowest-cost model is nothing to turn away from.
I wondered at various times just what was making this trike faster than other, similar TerraTrikes. The weight is in the mid-30′s, which is good but not the complete explanation. I won’t claim to know completely just how they made such an improvement, but part of it may be due to the angle of the chain to the first idler. In prior TerraTrikes, that angle is quite extreme, with the result that power is being lost while pedaling. On the Sportster, that angle is much less severe. Toss in the larger rear wheel, and the result is a fast trike.
My bottom line opinion of the TerraTrike Sportster? Aerodynamics of the seating position keep it from being even faster, but only the real performance nuts will have a problem with just how fast this trike is, and it’s definitely a spirited trike. With a granny of 25 inches, you won’t have trouble with most hills, unless you are weighed down with a touring load that is probably twice what you need. A top gear of 118 inches is quite good – if you find yourself “spinning out” on flat ground, you maybe want to look at some of the other variations of this model. Regardless, give this newest TerraTrike a good look. It may just be the TerraTrike you’ve been hoping for.
TerraTrike Sportster
Pros: Comfort, speed, ground clearance and priceCons: It is possible get an inside wheel off the ground, in “spirited” riding
December 20, 2011
Nominated Best Bike Shop In Sacramento
BEST Bike Shop
– Nominate Laid Back Cycles as the Best Bike/Trike Shop in Sacramento! …..To Vote For Us: Click on A List Best Bike Shop above..
21 Tips from Voters
Lisa M. on April 5, 2013
Love this recumbent bike shop, Mark Mickey and jason are the best!
Janet M. on March 27, 2013
Micky may be laid back but goes the extra mile to help riders to be successful no matter where they bought their bikes.A quality shop. A quality guy.
bob m. on March 26, 2013
When I needed a hand crank recumbent, I came here and had one special ordered. Mick ordered it and said that, if I was unable to ride it, I wasn’t obligated. When it came in, I fell in love with it and ride it daily. Definitely a business I’ll refer every chance I get.
Beverly K. on March 23, 2013
Laid Back Cycles is best in my book! Great service, Great deals, veryknowledgeable, and most of all, very trustworthy.
Ellen C. on March 23, 2013
Laid Back Cycles is the best for information and service. I get all the help and information I need and attend their trike maintenance workshops too.
Robert F. on March 22, 2013
Bought two Recumbents in Feb 2012, one for wife and one for myself. I wasn’t sure I wanted one but after putting over 1300 miles by Feb of 2013 I just love it. Mickey is a great bike mechanic and extremely frendly and knowlegeable about any Recumbent bike I have asked him about. I am really thinking about upgrading to another recumbent Trike since I am now a Pilot. I wouldn’t purchase anywhere else and now since he has a shop closer to where I live, I would order what I want from Laidback cycles only and nowhere else. Best bike shop anywhere!!!
Scott E. on March 22, 2013
My wife and I came from Chico and purchased a recumbent tandem trike at the Sunrise Blvd store. Mark and Jason were just incredible! They listened to what we wanted and used their years of experience to build us a killer one-of-a-kind trike. We are having a blast riding it around town. The level of customer service at Laid Back Cycles was superb! We couldn’t be happier with our purchase or recommend Laid Back Cycles more highly. They ARE the best bike shop in Sacramento!
Charles L. on March 22, 2013
Great service, knowledgeable,
Brian R. on March 22, 2013
Great bike shop with the Holy Trinity (Mark, Mike, Jason) giving you real PRO service! This 86 year old bought a recumbent andwas truly amazed how well it’s built, and how fun it is to operate, and the serious quality construction. Awesome communication and attitude. Thank you guys!!!
Melody O. on March 22, 2013
this shop is the best recumbant trike shop! I love recumbants! 😀
Jane S. on March 19, 2013
This place is so great. My hubby and I love going here. We make up reasons to stop by to see Mick. The trike selection is awesome. They have really fun events too!
Andrea A. on March 18, 2013
The owners ,Mickey and Jennifer O’brien are so helpful and friendly. Their bike selection is fantastic. They let you take the bikes for a test drive in their large parking lot. What fun!!I am in my 60’s and was afraid of getting off balance with a regular bike. I have also had a hip replacement. I was reluctant about bike riding, but needed to get some exercise.The owners told me that they have a lot of customers who have had hip and knee replacements. The Recumbent bikes are so comfortable to sit in and very stable.I took one for a test drive and LOVED IT!!! I rode all over the parking lot and didn’t want to stop.It was so easy and comfortable and FUN! Now I just have to decide which style I want.It was a wonderful experience and Micky and Jennifer couldn’t be more helpful and knowledgeable. A must Have!!
Tallymv on March 18, 2013
Really awesome owners!!
Jennifer O. on March 18, 2013
Truly the best, they take time to fit and customize each recumbent trike to each person individually, more than willing to adapt for any physical need. Very kind, friendly, welcoming atmosphere, & extremely knowledgeable about bicycle mechanics & custom adaptations. Best place to find the perfect trike
Wendy J. on April 29, 2012
Great selection of recumbent trikes! Great service on trikes, by far (and I’ve used a lot of them, so I would know)
Daniel R. on April 13, 2012
Mickey is a rad dude.i VIVA TRIKES !
robrien777 on April 10, 2012
You won’t find a nicer guy to do business with.
Michelle B. on March 29, 2012
Get seletions great owners and sooooo fun!!!!
Mickey O. on March 28, 2012
Vote here for Laid Back Cycles as #1 Favorite Recumbent Trike Shop!
Kiki O. on March 27, 2012
Awesome bikes, Awesome People!
Jennifer O. on March 26, 2012
Recumbent trikes are amazing! This is the only exclusive recumbent shop in Sacramento, and the customer service is so friendly and helpful.
Vote: BEST Bike Shop
Two TerraTrikes were featured on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon Monday night.Jimmy and special guest Queen Latifah Raced 2 Rovers around the studio for 2 laps with Jimmy eventually winning.
Laid Back Cycles is your Sacramento Valley and Bay Area recumbent trike dealer.
December 06, 2011
TerraTrike Adventures: You Call This Retirement?
Warm sea breezes tickling your face and tousling your hair as you cruise a meandering oceanside route in sunny Southern California. Soft, sandy shores stretch westward toward the crashing Pacific on one side of you; on the other side, lush grasses carpet the lawns in shades of fluorescent green … and in the distance, the gently sloping range of the Santa Ynez Mountains hovers almost mirage-like, hazy beneath the deep blue baby’s eye of a Southern California sky.
Excerpt From A Dream Vacation?
The kind of magical moment you might experience if you decided to rent a ’65 Fairlane convertible in San Diego and take it all the way up the Pacific Coast Highway, perhaps?
Try your daily commute to work. Or David Lawson’s daily commute to work, rather. For ten years, the 60-something-year-old resident of Santa Barbara blithely bypassed Southern California’s notoriously overcrowded highways in favor of a commute by recumbent trike.
Interstate jams, road construction and an ever-sinking gas gauge needle quickly became all but a memory for the man who preferred to begin his 9-mile commute each day by literally lying back, kicking his feet up and taking in plenty of sunshine, scenery and fresh air from the comfort of his distinctive cycle.
But don’t get the wrong idea—this isn’t your grandpa’s recumbent we’re talking about here.
David’s TerraTrike, produced by the WizWheelz Company out of West Michigan, is sporty and sleek, built for efficient handling at high speeds. He has been known to push the trike up to 30 M.P.H. while on the bike paths, in fact, passing up his years-younger two-wheeling cohorts left and right with the greatest of ease.
Sand on the paths? No problem! Sharp turns? Bring ‘em on! The TerraTrike’s low center of gravity and wide, stable wheel base provides a road-hugging thrill which David describes as being comparable to driving a sports car—a very eco-friendly sports car, that is.
“It’s even more fun with hazards like sand or water on the roadway!” he exclaims.
Now retired, the former Senior Artist for the Anthropology Graphics Lab at the University of California, Santa Barbara owns a total of five TerraTrikes by WizWheelz, including one of the company’s trademark bright red tandems … to enjoy with his wife, of course.
“What a thrill for both of us,” says David. “Judging from the ‘thumbs up’ and cheers we commonly encounter when cycling around town, it appears that the famous ‘Triker’s Grin’ is contagious!”
His love affair with recumbents (commonly referred to as “’bents”) began in 1997, when a chiropractor advised him to give up cycling on an upright due to the resulting stress to his neck vertebrae. A lifetime spent exploring the world from the seat of his mountain bike had apparently taken its toll on David, but he wasn’t ready to give up on cycling altogether.
Luckily, he didn’t have to.
“Recumbent cycling was the obvious answer,” David says. “A way to both recline and ride!”
Following a few experimental stints on two-wheeled recumbents (which he found fun, but somewhat awkward as far as balancing was concerned), David happened upon the WizWheelz site while surfing the Internet. Although the company was barely a year old at the time, he was instantly enamored with their design model. Subtly stylish, the TerraTrike was built low to the ground and featured 27 gears along with a unique wheel configuration consisting of two tires in the front and one in the back. He snapped up a ‘TerraTrike 1.3’—one of the first models ever produced by WizWheelz—and (as David puts it) … “The rest was history!”
In the ten years since he made the switch to recumbent triking, David has undergone a transformation of sorts. Having logged over 20,000 miles on his TerraTrike in that time, he is quick to boast that, “for someone who is fast approaching the seventh decade of life,” he keeps himself plenty busy through cycling adventures which far exceed anything he ever would have attempted in his younger years on an upright. He frequently embarks on spur-of-the-moment 50-mile treks, participates in organized century rides (100-mile cycling expeditions), and in 2002 even withstood a 24-hour endurance ride under the sponsorship and support of WizWheelz.
How does he wind down and relax after all that exertion? On his TerraTrike, of course! The mesh-slung seat conjures up thoughts of a typical lawn chair … and David says it’s not unusual to find him using it as such.
“I’ll recline on my TerraTrike in the backyard and listen to A Prairie Home Companion,” he says.
His love for the recumbent lifestyle is so great he has even managed to convert four of his former UCSB co-workers into fellow TerraTrike diehards. After all, by his estimation, the trikes pay for themselves, saving him and his colleagues each roughly $1500 per year on vehicle upkeep expenses, university parking fees and health club membership costs.
Plus there’s the added benefit of those idyllic seaside commutes, of course.
“Santa Barbara is a cyclist’s paradise,” says David, who fondly recalls a ‘particularly exhausting’ day at work, after which he eased himself onto his TerraTrike, put his feet up and got ready to enjoy a leisurely ride home. Barely a mile into his commute, he noticed an upright biker following closely behind, apparently trying to catch up.
“Do you always ride this fast?” the rider asked after finally managing to pull up alongside of him. David smiled as he gave his reply.
“No, this isn’t my normal speed. Usually I go faster—I’m just having an off day.”
Laid Back Cycles is your Sacramento Valley and Bay Area recumbent tricycle dealer.
November 27, 2011