A picture's worth a thousand words...
So, here's a picture of my previous bike of choice, a Greenspeed GT3 tadpole trike
The basic GT3 is the 'mass-produced' Greenspeed. The frames are made in Taiwan and the trikes assembled in Australia, the idea being to get the (usually) exhorbitant cost of these bikes down to a reasonable level
My first trike, a Greenspeed GTO, was custom built and cost somewhat more than the GT3, even tho I've optioned up from the basic model with a really nice drive train. A Rohloff hub on the rear and a Schlumpf High Speed Drive up front which combine to give a gear range of something like 9 to 125 inches, in theory I could ride up a wall with gears like that. I can't. But that's another story - back to the trike
My current trike, an ICE Adventure FS, is configured more like the GTO than the GT3 and has a higher ground clearance for off-road 'adventures' and both front and rear suspension - that use polymer elastomers to soak up bumps - as well as (an after-market) electric assist
Recumbent trikes come in two basic flavours, delta or tadpole... the difference between delta and tadpole configurations is simply the wheel layout. Delta trikes have two wheels at the rear and one at the front while tadpole is the reverse, two wheels in front and one at the back
Each layout has it's supporters but most bent trikes seem to be tadpoles
No matter which configuration, recumbent trikes are often labelled (not without some reason) 'lounge chairs' and are seen as (again, not without some reason) as cumbersome, heavy, slow, low and expensive
Some of these seeming negatives are in fact just the opposite, bent trikes are indeed mostly low-slung affairs and in part this contributes to some of the positives of trikes - stabilty, ease of use (and maneuverabilty) and aerodynamic efficiency
In no particular order of importance, why do I like riding my trike?
1: I don't have to worry about balance, which in turn makes it
º stable on loose gravel, sand and maybe even ice
2: easy to stop and start, which in turn makes it
º easier to stop climbing a hill, to rest and then start again
º easier to stop at traffic lights and then start again at a good speed
º easier to stop to let people & cars pass then start again
3: comfort, of both buttocks (no 'bike bum' issues) and 'view angle'
4: I can ride for longer periods and so ride further each day (if I feel like it)
5: it has a reverse gear! (Think about it... )
6: most of all, it's just fun ☺