Riding Tips

Last revised: 07/15/09
DISCLAIMER: Advice given here is solely based on personal experience and feedback from other experienced riders. Nothing you read here is considered "bible" - individual experiences may vary. By reading and following this advice, you agree to hold Trikke SLC completely harmless, and understand you are Trikking at your own risk. As always, we strongly advise wearing protective gear while riding.

HOW DO I GET THIS THING TO GO?

NOTE - before you do ANYTHING - if you are riding a T78, T8 Air, or a T12, make sure your tires are pumped up to about 80 to 90 psi. Anything less will cause your Trikke to be sluggish.  Some people have reported a better riding experience by having 90 to 95 psi in the back wheels, and 80 to 85 psi in the front.

A very important thing to remember when learning to Trikke is - DON'T OVER THINK IT!  Don't over-analyze what it is you THINK you should be doing, or the way you THINK the Trikke should work.  One of the biggest things you'll find will help separate your body from your brain is to get yourself an iPod / MP3 Player, and crank up some tunes you can dance to!  Anything fun with a good, solid beat will do.  Just have a good time!

When first learning how to ride a Trikke, the most important thing to concentrate on is probably your balance.  By knowing your and your Trikke’s limits, you will not only be able to better propel yourself, but you will also have a much more enjoyable and safer ride overall.  Your learning curve will be drastically reduced simply by mastering your balance and confidence

To do this, what we suggest is to find a small hill – just a very simple, low-grade decline – something that has enough of a slope to allow gravity to do the work for you.  Start at the top, and simply zig-zag your way down in very wide "S" curves.  Don’t force anything.  All you’re doing is learning how to turn and getting a feel for your balance, leaning into your turns as if you'd lean while riding a bicycle.  Do it a few times until you feel more and more comfortable leaning into your turns.

When leaning into your turns – say you’re carving to the right – make sure your steering column is also leaning to the right.  At the same time, push off with your left foot.  Always push off with the opposite foot of your turn.  Possibly the easiest way to remember this, is to go up on the opposite toe as you push off.  So when you’re carving right, lift up your left heal and push off with your left toe.  When you’re carving left, lift up your right heal, and push off with your right toe.  It will also help to kick forward while pushing into the foot pad - this will give you an extra boost.

Practice these steps as you coast down the hill.  Get a feel for the lean, for the weight distribution, and for your balance. Try not to focus TOO much on what you are doing - just ride and have fun!

Next, try doing a circle on your way down the hill.  Try doing a figure 8.  Take wide carves, take small carves.  Try maintaining a slow speed without using your brakes by frequent circling or larger turns to slow you town.  Try balancing on one foot.  Try riding with both feet on one side.  Try maneuvering around obstacles in the road.  Setup a course with all of the above and do it all before the hill ends!  There are numerous things you can do for excellent balance on your Trikke – all of which will help you tremendously when propelling yourself on flat ground – or even up hill!  

Once you feel comfortable riding down a small hill, go find yourself a nice, smooth, flat area to practice in. A tennis court is an ideal place to learn - or even a public park with a paved running trail. Many people at this point will already have an idea of how to propel themselves after doing the downhill exercises - but it's perfectly normal to still be completely lost! Part of the fun of Trikking is the learning process - just be patient, and practice! Nobody is an instant pro.

When you have found your perfect learning spot, give yourself a good push off, like you would with a scooter. Use the same motion you were using going down the hill - only this time, use more upper-body motion. Don't be afraid to put some weight into the handlebars. Just lean into it, like you were doing down the hill - don't turn your handlebars side to side - the power comes from leaning and pushing off with your opposite foot while "hooking" (if you will) the energy behind the front wheel during the "switch back" part of the carve.

Again, keep practicing and be patient - and most of all, HAVE FUN! You will be happy to know that eventually you WILL get it! Do NOT give up!

HOW DO I CLIMB HILLS?

There are a couple videos we've done that should at least help you with the fundamentals of hill climbing.  The first video can be found by clicking here.  The second video is available by clicking here.

Hill climbing is a completely different beast. It just takes practice. Focus first on getting a good feel for how to ride on flat ground before you attempt hill climbing. If you are good on flat ground, your hill-climbing learning curve will be drastically reduced.

When hill climbing, many people think you have to really get cranking to get enough momentum, and KEEP that momentum, as you climb up a hill. This is simply not true. In fact, as you get better, you will find that you can actually stop completely on a hill, and start again with no problems - without even having to touch the ground!

When you first start climbing, you may notice your front wheel dragging on the ground as you do your switch backs. This will go away with practice. All you need to do is turn your wheel just a bit sharper as you go back and forth. Hill climbing is an ever-evolving technique, and is a very fun, and very rewarding exercise. Just keep it up - you'll get it in no time!

Again for reference, see VIDEO 1, and VIDEO 2.  Both should be a huge help in better-explaining hill climbing techniques.

WHERE SHOULD THE HANDLEBARS BE?

This is a matter of personal preference. Typically people will have the handlebars about waist level - roughly to about your belly button. We suggest starting there, and adjusting it later if needed. Also, make sure the handlebars are angled forward, away from you, at about 45 degrees with respect to the steering column. There are other angles that are more specific with each Trikke and are measured in respect to the ground - but the rule of thumb that best fits the majority is to angle them at 45 degrees with respect to the already-angled steering column. A good example of the different ways to measure can be seen here:

WHERE SHOULD MY FEET BE?

Again, this is another matter of personal preference. We suggest starting in the middle, and seeing where your feet end up. You don't want them to sneak too far forward because you'll start losing your balance - and you don't want them to go too far back because it may cause you to lose power, or even your footing. Just do what feels comfortable and experiment from there. Eventually it'll become second nature and you won't even pay attention to it anymore.

WHERE CAN I FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION?

We have put together some other resources that you might find helpful in learning how to Trikke.  Please see:

-3cvTV.com
-TrikkeTalk.com
-YouTube.com/TrikkeSLC

If at any time you have additional questions, don't hesitate to contact us!  We're always happy to help.