Market models

Makers of recumbent trikes include KMX; Hase (who make the Kettwiesel delta, improbably named after the British children’s programme Catweazle); Inspired Cycle Engineering, who make the Trice range of tadpole trikes; AVD, who build the record holding Burrows Windcheetah or Speedy, a design exhibited in the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art (MoMA); Australia’s Greenspeed, one of the oldest manufacturers; Michigan-based WhizWheelz, which makes 10 models, including a sub-US$1000 model tadpole and a tandem; and Big Cat HPV which builds the 6 Catrike models in Florida.

The largest manufacturer of recumbent trikes is Sun Bicycles who make both tadpole and delta trikes. The deltas are built from designs licensed from Gardner Martin’s EasyRacers, the premiere maker of recumbent bicycles. Sun bicycles are factory-made in Taiwan and are among the least expensive trikes of good quality.

The least expensive adult trikes are steel framed upright models; the most basic models suitable for leisure riding or shopping start at about $300, and mass-market models tend to be in the $500 to $700 USD range. Mid-range trikes with better quality parts and more features are in the $1000 to $1600 range. High-end adult trikes begin at about $2000 USD, with some models costing over $3500 USD.