Beginner's Guide: What You Need to Know about Electric Tricycles for Adults

Video Blog

August 26, 2020

Hey, guys. Dustin here, CEO of sixthreezero. Today, I want to talk to you about electric tricycles, specifically adult electric tricycles. So if you're in the market for a tricycle, an electric tricycle might be something to consider. In particular, if you have any sort of hills, taking a normal tricycle up a hill is going to be somewhat challenging. So an electric tricycle could be a good option. It's not going to be scary. You're not going to have a ton of power on this thing. So if you use it just right, it's going to be a real benefit to you. So I've got our EVRYjourney Tricycle, E-Tricycle here to just show you a little bit about electric tricycles and how they work and what goes on with them. So as you can see, I mean, it's a standard trike. There's nothing crazy. We've put the battery right here, so it's fairly inconspicuous.

It's not sticking out. And actually, the motor, and this is something you could find different tricycles or different e-tricycles may have different mounting positions. The benefit of having it right here, the battery in the middle, is you get the weight of the battery centered on the bike. So it's not going to move the back. It's not going to pull the bike in a direction. It's going to keep it in the middle, which is, we think, a benefit. We've chosen to use a front hub motor. Now I would say, generally speaking, the mid-drive motors and the rear mount motors may be a little more powerful. But again, even with the front-drive motor on our bike, you can still go about 15 miles an hour by just using the throttle. And with tricycles or e-tricycles, because of the two wheels in the back, you do have to be somewhat careful taking turns.

So too much power could be a little bit dangerous on a tricycle if you came into a turn too fast. So we like the front hub motor because it gives you just enough to help you ride, but it's not too much. I don't think a mid-drive motor would be necessary for this setup, especially just for an adult recreational tricycle. But again, having the front hub motor is going to make hills and things just a ton easier. And we'll take you guys on a ride right around the block here, just to show you what I'm talking about. Yeah, it's really basic. You can see here, we've just got a power button. This is our controller for the whole thing. And there are two options for ours. Again, different e-tricycles made differently may differ. Ours gives you the option of pedal assist or using the full throttle without pedaling at all.

And you can also turn it off completely and just pedal normally. And again, with the front hub motor and this battery, the additional weight isn't going to be that extreme, where if you just wanted to pedal under your own power on flat ground, it would be fairly easy. And this is a seven-speed. So you're going to have the gear ratio to help you move. Basically, you can put it in first gear, it's going to be super easy to peddle. Or you could put it in seventh gear if you want to get a little faster. But again, for normal flat road riding, maybe third gear would be fine, even without the motor on this thing. Again, on a tricycle, the added weight won't make it that much more difficult for you, especially if you're not trying to win any races or do anything like that.

So I've just got the charger here, too. I mean, this is it for the charger. Real basic. You plug it in right here, and you're off and running. And you can see here, there's a power switch to the battery. Also, a USB charger on our electric tricycle. And you've got a basket in the back here as well. Yeah. Let me just show you guys how it works really quick. I'm going to hop on. So got your front and rear brake. I don't know if you can see it here. So if all I want to do to get going is just pull that throttle, I can just push that down and I can increase my speed. Now if you can see here, come up next to me, I've got five different power levels that affect your throttle. So I can do plus or minus right here, and I can push that, and then I'm off and running.

We got a car coming here, so we've got a contest with that, but we'll just keep going. Oh, they're turning around. Good to go. All right. So now, what I'm going to do is I'm just going to pedal with my pedal assist on. So here we go. And you can see, I'm barely exerting any effort. And we're already going eight miles an hour. Now let me show you something else. Now I'm just going to go ahead and turn this off. Okay. So now it's off completely. And right now, I'm in fourth gear. So even... Let me actually come to a stop really quick. So again, this is with a front hub motor. The options for the mid-drive or rear-drive exists. The mid drive's going to be a little more expensive. I don't think it's necessary for general tricycle riding. If you're going to be hauling stuff, heavy loads, a mid-drive might be something to consider.

But again, for a recreational cyclist, the front hub motor, it's light, lighter, and it's going to give you enough. So here we go. Now everything's completely off and I'm in fourth gear. Let's just start pedaling. And I'm going to downshift just to third, so we can go leisurely. I'm going to turn left here. And you can see, I mean, I'm not exactly working very hard. And we're cruising along fairly easily. Now I can also if I want to put this into seven, it's getting a little harder to pedal, but I can pick up my pace. Now, the other option is I can turn this on, and I can actually set this to zero. So we're at zero. I'm going five miles an hour. Let me just show you guys really quick.

So I'm up to eight miles an hour without the motor at all. Now, if I just want to click that into two, I'm going to downshift a little bit. And here we go. Now I'm in fourth. Give it a little more. I can take this up to 10, 12 miles an hour with barely exerting. So let's stop right here. And then real quick, if you just shoot, I want to show you guys this hill right here. So that's pretty substantial. I'm going to go ahead and put it in fifth, and let's just get to the top of this hill. I'll show you guys how this thing works. So I won't even pedal, and I'll show you what it does. So we're at nine miles an hour. Well, we are slowing down a little bit. Let's give it a little pedal.

Okay. So you can see, I'm barely doing any work, feet are off the pedals. There we go. So for some steeper hills, the throttle may not be enough because of the weight of the bicycle and the weight of the rider to get you all the way up. But you can see, I have my feet off and I'm barely exerting myself. You can see, it's not a bad hill if you shoot back down there. So an electric trike is definitely a good option for someone to consider if you really just want to get out with leisure, you want to get outside, you don't want to have to be working too hard, especially if you have some hills to contend with out on your rides, but you're most comfortable on a tricycle.

I think, again, the electric tricycle's a good option. I like the front hub motor. It's not too much. They're generally a little less expensive than mid-drive and rear mount. So that's it. You can check out our website. This one, EVRYjourney E-Tricycle is on there. You can take our body fit quiz, and it actually can tell you what bike is right for you. And don't forget, we have a 365-day return policy. So any problems, issues, concerns, you can send it back in 365 days. So enjoy the ride.

Sixthreezero Adult Electric Tricycle Features & Specifications

For safety reasons, the electric tricycles don't have a crazy amount of power (be especially careful on your turns!)
Great for going uphills
Battery is mounted in the middle so that the weight of the battery is centered on the bike (i.e. it won't move back or pull in any direction)
Uses a front hub motor
Can get up to 15 miles an hour going full throttle
Uses a power button for control with two options: pedal assist and full throttle (you have the option to pedal normally as well)
7 speeds with a gear ratio to help you move
Comes with a USB charger