Back at the Shop for the Two-Front-Wheel E-Trike
This is Diane, back at sixthreezero, and I'll be honest, I've been looking forward to this one. Today I'm test riding the any-terrain, two-front-wheel e-trike, and if you've never seen a bike built like this, it's going to look a little different from anything you've ridden before. Instead of one wheel out front and the usual single wheel in back, this machine flips the whole idea around: two wheels up front, sitting side by side, and one wheel in the rear. In the trike world that layout gets called a reverse trike, or a tadpole trike, and I'll get into why that shape matters in a minute, because it changes everything about how the ride feels.
I came to this from road and mountain biking. I'm at the stage where I'm thinking carefully about what's going to keep me out on the trails and out on the road for the long haul, and that's exactly the itch this bike scratches. It's part of why I keep coming back to test different models, I want to feel the differences for myself before I settle on one. If you're browsing the same way I am, sixthreezero's two-front-wheel e-trikes and the wider range of electric trikes are worth a look, but nothing beats actually throwing a leg over one and rolling.
First impression: this thing is powerful. You can feel it before you even move, there's a seriousness to it. It has a real cargo setup, too. There's a storage area up front and a big cargo area in the back, which immediately got me thinking about all the ways you'd actually use a bike like this in real life, not just for a joyride but for hauling things, running errands, bringing gear on a trail day. Like the other e-bikes in the lineup, it has pedal assist, and it has a throttle. But then it starts adding features that most bikes just don't have.
It has drive and reverse. Actual reverse, you can back this bike up under power, which sounds like a small thing until you're trying to wiggle out of a tight spot or reposition on an incline. It has blinkers, so if you're out on the road and you're about to make a left or a right, the people around you actually know what you're about to do. And it has a horn. I love that. Between the turn signals and the horn, it's clearly built with the idea that you might be sharing the road with cars, and that you deserve to be seen and heard out there.
Then there's the seat. This one has a dual-post seat adjuster, which means the seat height range is genuinely wide. If you happen to be a taller rider, you can raise it up and get real leg extension. I'm only 5'4\", so I've got mine set low, and honestly I like it down there. Being closer to the ground means I can plant my feet and stand up over the bike whenever I want, and that does a lot for my confidence, especially on a bike I've never ridden before. That flexibility is the kind of thing I always tell people to pay attention to, and it's why getting properly fitted to a bike matters as much as the spec sheet.
Here's the part that makes this bike what it is. When I'm riding, you'll notice the two front wheels pivot and swivel a little, they're not locked in place. That movement is completely by design, and it's the whole secret to how stable this thing feels. If those front wheels were static, just bolted straight and rigid, you'd actually be at more risk of tipping, because the bike couldn't adjust underneath you when the ground changes. Instead, the front end tilts: when one wheel rides up over a bump or a curb, the other one drops down to meet the ground, so both wheels stay planted. That's what gives you the balance. The engineering here has safety built right into the shape of the bike.
What that means in practice is that a reverse trike like this steers and corners a lot more like a two-wheel bicycle than a traditional trike does. You're not sitting on a rigid platform that can't lean, you get that nimble, bike-like feel through the turns, but with two contact points up front holding you steady. For somebody transitioning off a regular bike, that's a really reassuring combination. You keep the fun of steering and leaning, and you gain a big margin of stability. That mix of nimbleness and security is a big part of why this design keeps catching on with riders of all ages.
It's worth saying how different that is from the tricycle most people picture. A conventional trike puts two wheels in the back, and it stays upright entirely on its own, which is great if you've lost the ability to balance but makes for a heavier, less bike-like ride. This one flips that. You still get real stability from having two wheels, but they're up front and they tilt, so the trike carves through corners much more like the bikes I grew up on. That's the sweet spot I was after: something that holds me steady without making me feel like I've given up the ride I love.
So that's what I'm walking up to: a powerful, cargo-ready, road-aware e-trike with two tilting front wheels, drive and reverse, turn signals, a horn, and a seat that adjusts for just about anybody. I was genuinely excited to get on it and see what it could do. Let's go for a ride.
","id":"9531341a-af83-41fc-a789-d44921a3f5e2"},{"layoutId":"bike-listing","variants":{},"bikes":[{"id":"b0ef6ba4-da6a-473c-bdf2-eb4c84aa0fd5","value":{"entry":{"entryId":"2XHxWTKzOw7Q9lN4SMDViw"}}}],"id":"95e7f44d-a813-4fdb-a803-d9fc32f1a965"},{"layoutId":"paragraph-section","variants":{},"heading":"A Closer Look Before the Ride: Controls, Cargo, and Comfort","body":"Before I get rolling, it's worth walking through how you actually operate this thing, because there's more going on here than on a standard bike, and once you understand the controls it all becomes second nature.
Power comes from a strong rear-hub motor, this is a rear-wheel-drive setup, which is a little different from a lot of trikes that pull you from the front. You've got two ways to tap into it. There's a thumb throttle sitting on the grip, and there's pedal assist. The throttle is exactly what it sounds like: press it and the motor moves you, no pedaling required. Pedal assist is the one I lean on most, you pedal, and the motor multiplies your effort. On this bike the pedal assist runs through five levels. Level one gives you the lightest nudge, and level five gives you the most muscle. You're constantly deciding, level by level, how hard you want to work and how much you want the bike to do for you, and I'll show you exactly how I played with that out on the hills.
On top of the assist levels, you've also got actual gears you shift with your finger. That's the part that trips some people up at first: the pedal assist level and the gear are two separate things. The assist decides how much the motor helps; the gear decides how your pedaling translates to the wheel, just like on a regular bike. Once it clicks, you realize you've got a huge amount of control over the feel of every ride.
Now, the throttle-plus-reverse combination. This bike has drive and reverse, and having reverse under power genuinely changes how you handle tight situations. If you pull into a spot and need to back out, or you misjudge a turn and need to reposition, you're not climbing off and dragging the bike around, you just shift into reverse and ease back. I'll admit I actually forgot it had reverse in the middle of my ride and muscled through a turn the hard way, which just goes to show it takes a session or two to build all these features into your muscle memory. If you specifically want the convenience of backing up under power, that's what sixthreezero's reverse-gear e-trikes are built around.
The cargo situation is one of my favorite things about this bike, and it's a big reason a trike like this earns its keep. There's storage up front and a large cargo area in the back, so this isn't just a recreational toy, it's a genuinely useful vehicle. Groceries, a bag, gear for a day out, even a small dog who wants to come along for the ride, this bike has room for real life. If hauling capacity is high on your list, it's worth browsing the cargo e-trikes to see how much these can carry.
For riding on the road, the turn signals and horn do a lot of quiet work. Flip the blinker before a turn and drivers around you can read your intentions. Tap the horn, which, I'll admit, I mostly used because it's fun, and you can make yourself known. There are LED lights front and rear as well, so you're visible in low light. All of it adds up to a bike that feels road-ready, not just trail-ready. If you like the idea of controlling the motor entirely from the grips, sixthreezero groups these under throttle-control e-trikes.
Stopping is handled by hydraulic disc brakes front and rear, and I'll get into how those felt on a steep descent later, but the short version is they're sensitive and confident in a way that really matters when you're pointing downhill on a trike loaded with cargo.
A couple more practical notes. The frame folds, which makes it far easier to stash in a garage or load into a vehicle when you want to drive somewhere and then ride. And there's a security feature up front that I think is genuinely clever: you can turn the front end and lock the brakes so the bike physically won't roll away. On a hill, or anytime you're parking on anything but dead-flat ground, that's real peace of mind, you set it and the bike stays put.
That's the tour. A powerful rear motor, throttle and five-level pedal assist, real gears, drive and reverse, cargo front and back, turn signals, a horn, lights, hydraulic disc brakes, a folding frame, and a locking parking brake. It's a lot of bike. Now let's find out how all of it comes together when the ground actually gets steep.
","id":"455987ba-103e-4fe3-aaeb-b24dfcf07d3e"},{"layoutId":"full-width-image-with-out-bleed","variants":{},"image":{"assetId":"1PfzacksBIPHIXrPM3jA77","options":{"backgroundSize":"cover"},"mobileAssetId":"","mobileOptions":{"backgroundSize":"cover"}},"id":"9c71007c-f796-467c-ba32-035a0e8a718d"},{"layoutId":"paragraph-section","variants":{},"heading":"The Climb: Throttle Starts and Pedal Assist on Steep Hills","body":"I started out on a bit of an incline, on a road I'd never ridden before, total unfamiliar territory for me. When I'm on new ground and pointed uphill, I like to begin with the throttle, just to get moving without having to fight for momentum from a dead stop. So I released the brakes, eased into the throttle, and immediately felt how strong it is. This is not a shy motor. It pulled me up and going right away.
Once I had some speed I started pedaling, and because the hill was steep I bumped the pedal assist up, first toward level four, and then I just went ahead and kicked it all the way to five. I probably didn't even need level five, to be honest, but the point stands: there is no way on this green earth I would have gotten up that hill on my own. Not a chance. That's the whole promise of an e-bike, and it's not an exaggeration. A climb that would have simply been off the table for me became something I rolled up while taking in the view.
And then I decided to take it off-road. This is where I'll be honest with you about the nerves, because I think it's useful. Right as I was about to drop onto the trail, I got a little anxious, new bike, steep ground, unknown surface. I even had to pause and gather myself. But here's the thing: the nervousness was about the newness, not about the bike letting me down. A minute later I wasn't nervous at all. Once I was actually moving on it, the trike felt planted and I could feel it doing its job underneath me.
The trail I dropped onto was steep, genuinely steep, and I leaned on the throttle to get through the worst of it. And this is the part that got me a little emotional, honestly. Without this bike, I would not be able to go on this trail anymore. I could have, years ago, when I was younger. But at this point in my life, a climb like that would just be closed to me, and I'd be missing out on it entirely. Instead I was rolling right up it, looking around at how beautiful it all was. Southern California at its best, just gorgeous. The bike gave me the power I needed and, just as importantly, an incredible amount of stability while it did it.
That combination, power plus stability, is really the heart of why a machine like this matters. It's easy to focus on the motor, because the motor is the dramatic part. But a powerful motor on an unstable platform would be frightening on ground like this. What made me comfortable enough to keep climbing was that the bike felt steady under me the entire time, even as the trail pitched up and the surface got loose. I never felt like the front end was going to wash out or that I was going to tip. If you're the kind of rider who wants access to terrain that a regular bike has quietly taken away from you, this is exactly the kind of freedom an electric bike can give back.
I want to be clear about how I was managing the power, too, because it's not just mash the throttle and hope. Going uphill, I was thinking the whole time about when to use throttle and when to use pedal assist. On the steep sections I'd let the throttle carry me through, then settle back into pedal assist to keep things smooth and to be smart about the battery. When the grade eased, I could drop the assist level back down. That constant, small optimization is part of the fun once you get the hang of it, you're always reading the trail and adjusting, and the controls make it easy to do that on the fly.
I keep coming back to that word, access. There's a whole category of rider, and I'm becoming one of them, who can still ride but who has quietly let certain hills and trails slip off the list. A bike like this is the reason those places come back onto the list. That's exactly the thinking behind sixthreezero's electric bikes for seniors, machines that add just enough power and stability to keep you doing the rides you'd otherwise be giving up. On this climb I wasn't just getting up the hill; I was getting back something I thought I'd already lost, and it's hard to describe how good that feels until it happens to you.
By the time I crested the worst of the climb, I'd gone from nervous to grinning. The bike had turned a trail I'd written off into an afternoon I got to actually enjoy. And we were only getting started, because what goes up eventually comes back down, and coming down a steep trail on three wheels is its own conversation, which is where I want to go next.
","id":"4e895a12-abf4-4035-a9dd-eb88c9edb7e6"},{"layoutId":"full-width-image-with-out-bleed","variants":{},"image":{"assetId":"51KKP1IDcBGMDm4V44Dh8C","options":{"backgroundSize":"cover"},"mobileAssetId":"","mobileOptions":{"backgroundSize":"cover"}},"id":"46e54802-dc0e-4179-8416-ddf6942e3bf4"},{"layoutId":"paragraph-section","variants":{},"heading":"Handling, Brakes, and Comfort on Rough Ground","body":"Coming down and working through the twistier sections is where I really got a feel for how this trike handles, and where a few things surprised me.
The first tight turn I hit, I took slow and cautious, riding the throttle just enough to keep moving. Not because the bike demanded it, but because I was new on it and I wanted to respect that. And we made it through clean. I'll say this about the corners: you do not have to do a ton of leaning on this bike to get through a turn. On a two-wheeler you're committing your body weight into every corner; here, the tilting front end does a lot of that work for you, so you can take turns in a much more upright, relaxed posture. It's stable and it's comfortable, and once I trusted it, the turns stopped feeling like something to survive and started feeling easy.
To be smart about the battery, I dropped down to pedal assist two for a stretch, and it was plenty for rolling along and working through the tricky bits. I kept my pace deliberately slow through some of those turns, again, new bike, and I'll cop to being a little bit of a chicken when a trail gets technical. That's a me thing, not a bike thing. Someone more aggressive could have taken those same corners a lot faster, and the trike would have been fine. I just wanted to build my trust in it one turn at a time.
Then came the downhill, and this is where the brakes earned my respect. I'm someone who rides the brakes down a steep hill, I know a lot of you are the same. I feathered them the whole way down, and the trike stayed completely composed. There's a lot of stability on tap here, and even riding a brand-new bike down a steep grade, I did not feel unsafe. The brakes are super sensitive in the best way. They let me modulate my speed precisely on a steep hill, so I could pick my way down carefully instead of lurching. On three wheels loaded with cargo, that kind of controlled, confident braking is exactly what you want, and it's a big part of why I'd steer nervous downhill riders toward the most comfortable electric trikes in the lineup, composure on the descent counts for a lot. It's also why I pay attention to which models come with strong disc-brake setups.
The grips deserve a mention, because they made a real difference. They feel a bit wider than the grips on a normal bike, and given that you'd genuinely take this thing off-roading, that's exactly right. Through those early turns, when I was still finding my confidence, I felt like I could get a really firm, secure hold on the handlebars. That solid connection to the bike is one of those small comfort details that adds up to a lot of confidence over a full ride.
Now, the rough stuff. When the trail got bumpy and rocky, the trike just managed it. I even slowed way down and crept over a rocky patch on purpose, and those fat tires gripped onto everything, they held the surface and kept me controlled instead of skittering. This is where the fat-tire trikes really separate themselves from skinnier-tired bikes: that extra rubber grabs the ground and soaks up a lot of what the trail throws at you.
What impressed me most on that rocky stretch was how deliberate I could be. I wasn't fighting the bike or bracing for it to slip out from under me; I could genuinely choose my line, ease over a rock, and let the tires do the work. That's a very different experience from picking your way across the same ground on skinny tires, where every loose rock is a small negotiation. Here it felt like the trike wanted to help me get across, and that changes how much of a trail you're willing to attempt in the first place.
And it wasn't just grip, it was comfort. I went over a pretty big bump at one point and noticed I wasn't feeling much vibration in my arms at all. I wasn't getting rattled by the bumps the way I'd expect to on a stiffer bike. Cruising along in pedal assist two, my upper body felt genuinely comfortable and relaxed. For anybody who's given up rougher rides because their wrists, arms, or back couldn't take the pounding anymore, that's a big deal.
The two front wheels were doing exactly what they're supposed to the entire time. I could really feel the benefit of having those two contact points up front giving me stability. I didn't look down to watch it happen, but I'm certain the front end was flexing and tilting to keep both wheels on the ground, because without that, you'd tip. That's the whole design at work: the wheels move independently so the bike stays balanced under you, and the result is a ride where you can go straight over uneven ground, take a corner without a big lean, and trust that you're planted. It turns terrain that would feel sketchy on two wheels into something you can just roll through.
Put it all together, the composed brakes, the wide secure grips, the grippy fat tires, the low vibration, and that two-wheel-front stability, and what you get is a bike that feels safe and comfortable on exactly the kind of ground where a lot of riders would otherwise feel out of their depth.
","id":"079340a7-e8bc-4c26-99ed-ee5afc1ff2e4"},{"layoutId":"full-width-image-with-out-bleed","variants":{},"image":{"assetId":"2AqCpMYjpIj7iyjYi7AXUP","options":{"backgroundSize":"cover"},"mobileAssetId":"","mobileOptions":{"backgroundSize":"cover"}},"id":"ebeb540d-6bfe-46b6-a3ad-ef1abc5c7f35"},{"layoutId":"paragraph-section","variants":{},"heading":"Getting the Most Out of It, and Who It's For","body":"By the back half of the ride I was comfortable enough to start really playing with everything this trike can do, and a few moments stood out.
At one point I needed to cross a street. I checked for traffic, waited until it was clear, and then used the throttle to get myself across quickly and decisively. This, right here, is one of my favorite things about any e-bike. Rather than standing there hoping you've got enough leg power and momentum to launch yourself across a gap in traffic, you just press the throttle and go. That instant, on-demand power is a genuine safety feature. It gets you out of intersections and across roads without that vulnerable, wobbling, building-up-speed moment that a regular bike forces on you. The confidence that gives you out in the real world is hard to overstate.
I also finally used the horn, mostly because I think it's fun, but it's a real safety tool too, and I was glad to have it. Little things like a horn and turn signals make you feel like a legitimate part of traffic instead of an afterthought.
I spent some time mixing the controls in different combinations, too. At one stretch I was in pedal assist one and a higher gear, just cruising, barely leaning through the turns because the bike is so stable and comfortable that it doesn't ask you to. And if you want the opposite of cruising, if you actually want a workout, you can get one. Like any of these e-bikes, you can back the assist all the way off and ride it in manual mode, putting the work back on your own legs. Then, when you want a boost to pick your speed back up, the throttle is right there. That range, from real exercise to effortless glide, all on the same bike, is a big part of the appeal. Some days you want to sweat; some days you just want to enjoy the scenery. This lets you choose.
That flexibility is a bigger deal than it sounds. A lot of people worry that going electric means giving up the exercise, that the motor does everything and you just sit there. It doesn't have to be that way. On this bike you decide, moment to moment, how much of the effort is yours. You can climb a hill entirely under your own power for the challenge of it, then flick on the assist for the ride home when your legs are done. One bike, and it flexes to match whatever you've got in you that day.
One feature I want to circle back to, because I think it's genuinely smart, is the security setup up front. You can turn the front end and lock the brakes so the bike simply isn't going anywhere. Given that this is a bike you'd take into hilly terrain, being able to lock it in place so it can't roll off on a slope is exactly the kind of thoughtful touch that tells you the people who built it actually ride.
So what's my honest takeaway? I loved this bike. Full stop. Did it take a minute to get used to? Of course, every new bike does, and this one has more going on than most, so give yourself a session to let it all become second nature. We took it off-road, up steep trails and back down them, and it handled all of it. I was personally a little cautious around the corners and a little slow on the technical bits, but I want to be really clear that's me, not the bike. You do not have to ride it that timidly. You could take this thing a lot further and a lot harder than I did on my first outing. In fact, I'm already planning to come back and be more aggressive with it once I've got a few more miles under me, because I could feel there was so much more it was willing to give.
Here's the bigger picture, and it's the thing I keep coming back to. E-bikes give you the freedom to go places you otherwise couldn't, and that becomes more true, not less, as you get a little older. If you're eyeing hillier trails, or longer rides, or terrain you've quietly written off because your body isn't what it was at twenty-five, a bike like this hands that world back to you. That's not marketing to me; that's what I felt on this ride, climbing a trail I'd assumed was behind me. If that resonates, it's worth looking at how sixthreezero builds its electric trikes for seniors and riders who want stability without giving up the fun.
The best thing you can do, honestly, is come feel it for yourself. I'm out here at sixthreezero in San Clemente, and we'd love for you to come test ride the bikes in person, there's no substitute for getting on one and rolling around. And if you're not local, sixthreezero backs these with a 30-day test ride, so you can spend real time on the bike, on your own roads and trails, and make sure it's right for you before you commit. Getting properly sized to the bike matters too, so take advantage of the fitting help while you're at it.
That's my first ride on the two-front-wheel, any-terrain e-trike, nerves, steep hills, gorgeous views, and a whole lot of grinning by the end. Drop me a line if you've got questions or comments, and thanks for coming along on the ride with me. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.
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