Tricycles Were Once Considered Cornering Disasters – Today, Customers Love Riding Them
Gretel, for example, features a mechanical drive stabilization system which, according to the manufacturer, is a proprietary development. The drive force is transmitted to the rigid axle via two drum brakes, which slows down the outer wheel when cornering. According to the manufacturer, the effect increases with speed. Dirk Zedler, an expert witness for bicycles and e-bikes, served on the jury that honored Gretel. “During testing, I managed to reach the tipping point while cornering,” he says. So Gretel is not completely impossible to tip over – it simply tips later.
(...)
“Three million people in Germany will retire over the next few years,” says Alex Hülsmann, the brand’s marketing manager. And they want to stay active – it is primarily from this group that the industry expects growth.
Bicycle expert Dirk Zedler also sees this as the greatest advantage of tricycles for older adults: “I can set off confidently from a standstill. No matter how slowly I ride, I do not wobble and I do not fall off.”
(...)
One obstacle to this boom, however, is a factor that the industry itself can hardly influence: infrastructure. After all, a bicycle is only as good as the paths it rides on. In some places, cycle paths are built far too narrow for two wide bicycles to pass each other comfortably. Elsewhere, bollards are installed at the entrances to cycle paths with such a narrow gap that even cargo bikes can barely get through. “Especially during rush hour, things can get quite tight,” says Dirk Zedler. In such situations, good spatial awareness is essential – as is knowing exactly where the widest part of your bicycle is located, particularly when it is outside your field of view.
Author: Lena Frommeyer
Read the full article online at: www.spiegel.de/mobilitaet
