Will a 3 Wheel Bicycle Tip Over? The Truth About Balance on an Adult Tricycle

Will an adult trike tip over? Stick around to find out.

Hey everyone, I'm Dustin. I have nearly 20 years of experience in the bike and e-bike industry and today we're going to answer the question, will an adult trike tip over? Now, before we get into it, hit that subscribe button below. Stay in touch with us here at Sixthreezero. Be the first to know about all the new content we're putting out, giveaways we're doing, and of course, new product releases.

I've got two of our adult trikes right here, our EVRYjourney 250-watt e-trike and our EZ Transit foldable 750-watt foldable trike. Find these links in the description below, also linked in the corner of the video. All right, so I have done hundreds of test rides with people on trikes for the first time. I've also had experienced riders, you can check them out on our YouTube channel. We've got trike rides over 10 miles. We've got seniors taking trike rides for the first time. Lots of different ride experiences.

Now, there's a sentiment out there in forums and customer feedback that trikes will tip over or trikes are at risk of tipping over. And while that is true on a two-wheel bike, you can fall over on a two-wheel bike. You can fall over on a three-wheel bike. Anything is possible. The idea that a trike will tip over is only true if ridden improperly. What I find in my experience is most people that jump into riding an adult trike, it happens later in life. At that point, most riders have already been riding two-wheel bikes for a substantial amount of time. Sometimes they've been riding for 10, 20, 30 years.

The other thing is a lot of riders that jump into adult tricycles are they've been off of a two-wheel bicycle for 10 years. Now they don't want to be on two wheels, so they jump onto a three-wheel bike and their body and mind are doing the things that they did 10 years ago on a two-wheel bike to ride their tricycle. A tricycle does not function or operate the same way that a two-wheel bike does, and you cannot ride an adult tricycle the same way that you would ride a two-wheel bike.

So, just like on a two-wheel bike, there is a risk of falling if you don't balance properly. On a three-wheel adult bike, there's no risk of falling because of balance. Because when you sit, you can see the bike balances itself, right? So you don't need your feet down to properly balance. With the two wheels in the back, it just balances itself and you don't have to worry about anything, right?

Now, the difference is when you're up and riding a tricycle, the principles of how you keep your two wheels on the back are different from how you keep the two in-line wheels on a bike upright. And the way it works is this. A bicycle you ride, a tricycle, you steer. What I mean by that is when you ride a two-wheel bike, you lean into turns and you lean with the turns and steer with the turns. On an adult tricycle, it's completely the opposite. It is when you come into a turn, you want to lean in the opposite direction of the turn. So if you're turning this way, you don't want to lean like this because that puts at risk lifting this outside wheel. And, if you're traveling at the appropriate speed, your weight shifting isn't even that important. So the number one thing on a three-wheel adult bike is you don't want to accelerate into the turns. You want to slow down into the turns and accelerate out of the turn when the turn is complete.

On a two-wheel bike, you'd almost argue that you want to go a little bit faster into the turns, or at least maintain your speed into the turns so you can maintain the balance on two wheels. A tricycle is fundamentally totally different. Remember that you cannot rely on how you ride your two-wheel bike. So, you take a turn, At the very least, you want to keep your body straight to keep your weight distribution in the back here the same. The reason a lot of people lift their rear wheels and maybe get close to tipping is they tend to lean. And the minute you lean, you can see I pop up that wheel right there. Just don't lean into the turn. Keep your body upright, the weight on your butt in the seat evenly distributed. And if you're taking a turn at some level of pace, lean a little bit to the outside, which will keep the weight down on this side of the trike and you'll turn this way.

So the difference, two-wheel bikes, you lean into the turn as you turn. On a trike, you would either keep your body straight or lean in the opposite direction of the turn. So it's very important to remember that. So, will your tricycle tip over? The answer is no. But so many people get onto tricycles, and it's interesting because I see it firsthand. They think it feels unstable because they're riding it like a two-wheel bike is supposed to be ridden. That would be like anything else, right? If you used anything in life and you were using it the way you were supposed to use something else and said, "Oh, this doesn't work." It would only not be working because you would be using it like a different object versus the way you should be using that object.

Now, I'm trying to find a good example in my head as we sit here and talk. Let's just say as an example, you're using a soccer ball as a basketball and you're saying, "Why is this soccer ball not bouncing the way I want it to when I want to play basketball?" Well, because you're not using a basketball. You're trying to use a soccer ball as a basketball. Same principle here. You're going to feel like you're going to tip over if you're riding a tricycle like you're riding a two-wheel bike, that's what creates the illusion that tricycles are not stable, that they're going to tip over.

But I've logged well over 1000 miles on a trike. I've done rides of 10 miles, 20 miles, 30 miles. I have one of our rickshaw trikes where I transport my children. I feel incredibly safe, and I've developed a natural ability with the leans and the flows of a trike where I don't even think about it at this point. But that may take time for you, especially if we're unwinding a thought process on riding a two-wheel bike that you've developed over the course of 20, 30, 40, 50 years. So give it some time, and have faith that your tricycle will not tip over. As you get more comfortable, I believe that you'll understand how to perfect the riding style and keep all three wheels safely on the ground.

If you have any other comments or questions, please pop them below or email us at TheTeam@sixthreezero.com or call us at (310) 982-2877. Don't forget both of these adult trikes are linked in the description below and the corner of the video and also at the end of the video if you want to check these out. These both have motors, which give a little power. They're very stable as well. They will not tip over. You can see the EVRYjourney is like a traditional tricycle, just with a little added boost of the 250-watt front hub motor.

Again, check them out on the website. In addition to that, we have a 30-day test ride on your e-bike or bike policy. If you don't love it in the first 30 days, send it back, no questions asked, no money out of your pocket. In addition to that, we're going to warranty everything for the first year. Up to the first year, if anything goes wrong, we'll take care of it, no questions asked, no money out of your pocket. And lastly, we have a Facebook group called the Sixthreezero Pedalers. Join the group before you purchase. Ask questions of other riders. See how they like their adult trike. Ask them questions if they feel unsteady or if they're going to tip over before you get one. Then when you get yours, post in the group, make friends, then download our app in the iOS or Play Store, track your rides, and compete on the leaderboard. It is a ton of fun. So thanks for sticking around, and don't forget, it's your journey, your experience. Enjoy the rides.