Accessibility off-road doesn’t need to mean flat or easy, and challenges are not always physical. Vicky goes on a family ride that makes her rethink her understanding of accessible adventures, read the adventure here.
Words Vicky Balfour Photography Emmie Collinge
Based in Falmouth, Cornwall, UK, employee-owned ICE Trikes (Inspired Cycle Engineering), has been producing trikes since 1999. They currently offer a range of award-winning recumbent trikes suitable for all sorts of cycling from road racing to Arctic and high-altitude mountain expeditions. The Adventure trike is the XC trike in the fleet (available in either rigid or full-suspension) – which was exactly what was required for our Route YC adventure.
If you’ve never ridden a recumbent before, you might be wondering whether they’re simply for those with additional needs who aren’t able to ride a two-wheeler. Put simply, the answer is no, they are fun for everyone! That said, a recumbent riding position can definitely remove all the aches and pains of a regular cycle setup, while delivering all the grins and adrenaline rushes.
The Adventure trike is a full-suspension, electric assist, off-road trike, with a 26” rear wheel and two 20” wheels out-front. Known as a ‘tadpole’ trike, having two wheels in front makes it easy to judge the width of the trike as you steer and negotiate obstacles.
The smooth Shimano EP8 motor delivers consistent power (250W with 85NM torque) as you press down on the cranks and without the feeling of ‘after burners’ kicking in which you get on some electric-assist cycles. Taking the assistance a step further, the Adventure trike is fitted with an Enviolo Automatiq hub. Just like an automatic car, the Enviolo hub’s automatic gears shift to ensure the rider is able to pedal consistently at a cadence that suits them, regardless of terrain, incline or speed. To control the hub, you connect it with an app on your phone (via Bluetooth) and then set the cadence you are happy pedalling at. While that might be 70 or 80 rpm most of the time, if you’re tired or not having a great day and your legs won’t spin that fast you can simply reduce it to 30 rpm or whatever feels right.
Steering is controlled via upright joysticks which can be angled forwards or backwards to suit the seating position of the rider. With soft comfy grips, the joysticks deliver responsive, agile steering which is intuitive for riders of all abilities. All ICE trikes are built to order and can be tweaked to meet the needs of the rider. For example, this model had a single brake lever controlling both front wheels, providing uniform braking for CeCe. The front brakes are cable-controlled drum brakes and the rear (parking) brake is a mechanical disc brake – all of which are easy to maintain and service.
The battery for the Shimano EP8 motor sits just behind the seat giving extra weight and traction to the rear triangle. Cables are externally routed across the frame of the trike to the control unit mounted on top of the left joystick. Once the battery is on, a simple tap on either of the paddle controls under the display unit increases or decreases electric assist from zero – eco – trail – boost. A fully charged battery gives a range of 80km in eco and approximately 50km in boost, which is plenty for most people on a single day riding.
With a higher riding position, the Adventure trike has good ground clearance and Elastomers are used to provide the 100mm rear and 40mm front wheel suspension. The elastomers can be adjusted for a firmer or softer ride, depending on rider weight and preference. The central cross-shaped frame is made from Chomoly 4130 Steel while the rear triangle and front boom are 7005 T6 heat-treated alumnium, which ICE say gives a good mix of weight, comfort and power transfer.
If you’re not transporting the Adventure trike in a van, the seat comes off and you can fold the entire frame in half for storage or transportation. Known as the CFT (Compact Flat Twist) fold, this design feature was created by ICE and is used on all bar one of their recumbent trikes. We were able to pack it into the back of a car along with all the detritus of a family on a roadtrip and a balance bike. Folding and unfolding the trike is made easy with quick release levers and on-frame markings reminding you what steps to follow and how to reposition things. The trike’s cross frame chassis provides natural routing points for cables and the chain, which are tucked out the way. Cable and chain housing stops them getting overly dirty or worn from the ground conditions.
ICE offers a choice of seats; this trike features the ergo-luxe with an additional padded neck support. Once you’ve chosen your seat design, you have 4 options on the seat bracket to help find the most comfortable riding position. The ‘parking’ brake connected to the rear wheel stops the trike moving underneath you when you get on and off; it’s also rather luxurious to be able to put it on when you’re stationary and have both hands free to check the route, have a drink or eat a snack! The front boom adjusts to ensure your legs are in the optimum position for pedalling and even CeCe at 149cm (4’11”) can reach the pedals comfortably. We added CeCe’s usual weighted pedals with toe cages to help her keep her feet in place, but some riders wear clipless systems or just use a regular flat pedal.
