How to Turn a Corner on an Adult Tricycle? Don't Hit the Curb on a Trike When Turning!

How to take a corner on a tricycle and not hit the curb.

Hey, everyone, I'm Dustin. I have nearly 20 years of experience in the bike and e-bike industry and today, I'm going to show you and tell you how to corner on a trike and not hit the curb. All right, right here I've got the EVRYjourney 250-watt Electric Tricycle, one of our more popular cruising trikes.

Now, I have done hundreds of test rides with riders on tricycles for the first time, and there is a definite adoption period to getting used to a three-wheel bike if you haven't been on one ever or for a long period. One thing I see does not commonly happen, but one of the more common things that happen on a first-time ride is people coming up to curbs and turns, and we're using this as an example, and there's this tendency to take the curb or the turn much narrower than you should. And as a result, they end up bumping the back wheel of the trike into the curb.

Now, this is something that comes with getting used to a trike and having this wider rear end of your bicycle. The reason a lot of people do this is because they're used to being on a two-wheel bike and when they come into the turn, they think as soon as their front wheel clears it, they can make that turn and the back wheel will follow. Well, on a two-wheel bike, mostly true. On a three-wheel bike though, you've got this extra width, right? So let me demonstrate here.

If you are coming up tight on this turn and you turn your wheel like this, and all of a sudden you can see that's going to cause the wheel to go up on the curb. You need to take the turn wider to allow you to clear and get around to allow for this. Now, this is important if you're getting on a trike for the first time in a while, you need to be aware of that width because this is a way that the trike can lift up and of course, tip over would be the worst result. Most times what I've seen is they hit the wheel, it jostles them, and then the wheel comes back down as they make their way through the turn.

Now this is not to say that three-wheel bikes or trikes are unsafe. It's more a result of riders just not being accustomed to this type of bicycle or tricycle. Very much the same as driving a U-Haul or a large truck for the first time, or a Sprinter van. If you're used to a sedan and how small it is and how you can take turns and then all of a sudden you jump in and start driving a bus, the way you drive a bus is much different than the way you drive a sedan.

As you develop and get used to your three-wheel bike, you will have the instincts and the tendencies where this problem won't happen over time, but it's something that you need to develop the muscle memory for, the steering for and the awareness for as you begin to learn to ride your adult tricycle. And over time, you will be accustomed to it and I guarantee it will come naturally.

So let me go ahead and just hop on quickly. And if you want to come over here and shoot from back here. And maybe just come back here so they can see how I'm going to turn. All right, so imagine that I'm riding up to this curb right here. And you can see here, that you cannot turn your wheel immediately to take the curb because you can see I'm going to intersect this rear wheel here with the point of the curb. So we need to get our wheels out and clear. Want to get the rear wheels almost even with the point of the turn here, at which point then I can start turning and come to complete my turn right there.

Let me go ahead and loop around again and show you one more time. I don't have this bike very well-adjusted for my body right now. Okay. Okay. All right, so on a two-wheel bike, you could take this turn much narrower right here, right? Now, you can see if I do that, here we go. There I am running the wheel in, and this is what happens a lot of time, they come through and then boom, that wheel comes up like this. And then sometimes they come through, all of a sudden you're up on the curb like this and you come through. Okay?

So honestly, it's very much like getting used to driving a U-Haul and how you need to be aware. That's why it is also a good thing to recommend having mirrors on your trike. Now, this wouldn't necessarily prevent this because you would need that lower mirror shooting here to show you the space, kind of like they have in a U-Haul. You have the top mirror and the bottom mirror. It shows you the space of where you're going.

But okay, you're going to come out, you're going to clear, at which point then you're going to make the turn. Okay? The other thing about a tricycle that's much different than a bicycle is you have essentially a zero turning radius. So you can actually... I apologize for my riding style here. This is not adjusted for me. But you can clear and at that point, when you make it past, you have a zero turning radius, right? Kind of different than a bike.

That's why on a bike, you're trying to be efficient and lean into the turn. On a trike, you can come up, clear the turn, and at this point, you can turn your handlebars as steep as you want and you make your turn nice and easy. Okay? So making a turn on a trike is no problem at all. Again, you just have to be aware of the curb. Slow down, take your time, and don't be too aggressive with your turning until you're comfortable with how the trike performs.

So that sums it up, how to take a turn on a three-wheel bike. If you have any questions, please email us at theteam@sixthreezero.com or you can call us at (310) 982-2877. Also, if you're in the market for an e-trike, a three-wheel bike, adult tricycle, pop over to our website, sixthreezero.com. We have a proprietary algorithm. You'll answer a few questions about your body and your life, and we'll recommend the perfect e-bike, e-bike for you.

In addition to that, we have a 30-day Test Ride Your Trike policy. If you don't love it in the first 30 days, send it back, no questions asked, no money out of your pocket. And we're going to warranty everything for the first year. If anything goes wrong in the first year, we'll take care of it, and get you the parts and labor to keep you riding. Lastly, join our Facebook group, Sixthreezero Pedalers. You can talk to existing Sixthreezero trike riders who already have a trike. Ask them questions, and see how they like their trike. Then when you have yours, post in the group, make friends, and then download our app and track your rides. It is so much fun. See how far you're riding and compete on the leaderboard.

So thanks for sticking around and don't forget, it's your journey, your experience. Enjoy the ride.