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We bought two Kettwiesel Trikes almost a year ago from Hugh and PBW. We now have a couple hundred miles on the pair and almost all of it has been as tandems. The bike is incredibly stable, very maneuverable, and a blast to ride. There is none of the pain in the rear, back, wrists or neck that I’m used to with my old upright bike.
We got these bikes because my wife has a form of muscular dystrophy that has weakened her lower legs. Ridding upright bikes was very tiring for her and getting her feet firmly on the ground when she came to a stop was a challenge. With the trike, we don’t need to unclip from our pedals until we want to get off the bikes. The recumbent position focuses more on the muscles of the upper legs which are stronger for her, and with my added pedaling power we are going for 20 mile rides regularly without feeling sore afterwards.
The only downsides we’ve felt with the bikes is feeling like we’re a bit slower in general, especially going up hills, and if we are on a very steep incline the front wheel can skip a bit since all the weight is on the back wheels. Neither are big problems because we’re not going for speed and we don’t do lots of crazy hills.
Another great aspect of these bikes is the truly independent cadence, pedaling and gearing that you don’t get with any other tandem. This was one of the reasons we purchased these bikes and we haven’t been disappointed.
If you buy one (or more), make sure that you get the High Speed Schlumpf Drive. It is easy to change gears with the click of your heel and you’ll only miss a couple strokes in your pedaling. Make sure that your ready for all the attention you’ll get ridding these. When we did the Tulip Pedal in Washington, we felt like people were as interested in our bikes as they were in the fields of tulips.
Thank you Hugh for setting us up with these bikes (and shipping them up to Washington) and a great big thanks to Hans and Gretel for letting us test ride your bikes!
Nathan & Cheryl
Rating:  [5 of 5 Stars!] |
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