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Greenway

A recumbent trike suitable for commuting, recreational riding or touring. Provides stability for those unable to balance on a two-wheel bike. Can be steered by persons who do not have two strong arms or who lack grip strength. Three versions of width and cargo capacity. Owner-built jackshaft creates two-wheel drive plus compound gearing, utilizing standard off-the-shelf bike wheels. Complexity: 'Simple'. Chain-drive only. Small/compact version has 16"/20" wheels.

The Greenway was and is again a sport-and-utility recumbent trike. More than just a trike, it is a proven vehicle configuration. It has the ability to take on all kinds of errands and activities, having something like 5 cubic feet of room for your groceries and touring gear. One bicycle reviewer wrote that the original ancestor of this model was "(the) most useful bike/trike I have ever had...”. Its metal-framed ancestors crossed North America coast-to-coast and even circumnavigated the lower 48 US states.

In all configurations it is efficient. Stability is created by having the rider’s center of weight close to the wide end of the stance triangle, a geometry that does not demand a dramatic lowering of the seat as is the case with most tadpole trike designs, which put the rider’s center of weight at the narrow end of the triangle. The three-wheel stance of the Greenway is stable on loose gravel, packed snow and glare ice, making it a competent winter commuter.

The transmission can be installed as 1-wheel drive or 2-wheel drive. The 2-wheel drive can be set up to be selectable, since an infrequent need for 2-wheel drive traction makes it feasible to operate most of the time in 1-wheel drive, which has maneuverability advantages.

It has compound-low gearing for hill-climbing torque, and selectable 2-wheel-drive for traction and predictable weighting of the front wheel in sand, gravel, mud and snow, and on steep climbs. You can outfit it as a 1X multi-gear; this will be paired to a rear drive which provides a ‘granny gear’. There is no room for a front derailleur post. It can also accept an internal-gear rear hub built into a wire-spoke wheel.

It is designed to accept the owner-built all-weather Aerojacket shell, which will strengthen its abilities as an all-year conveyance. Many of the ancestral trikes used front fairings.

Minimum stable width is over 36”, so the standard Greenway will not pass through a residential doorway (see the more compact S-model for a sub-doorway-width urban trike). Fits riders 5’ to 6’4” (1.5m to 1.9m). Rear wheels 26”, front 20”, with enough frame room for 3” wide tires. Overall length is 96” ( cm). You can stand it on its rear end for storage, with or without added bracketry, and it will fit under an 8’ ceiling. Weight varies a great deal with choice of framing wood, wheelset and cargo boxing; the Greenway may weigh between 45 and 65 pounds.

Three-wheel stability greatly improves the sightseeing experience when touring; you don’t have to constantly scan for road hazards as you do on a two-wheeler (hitting a pavement seam, grate, pothole or cobble can topple a two-wheeler), and consequently you will see a lot more details of the environment you are passing through. If you must at times, you can put the outside rear wheel off the pavement into the gravel or grass, without losing control or bleeding off much of your speed.

Like all larger trikes, the Greenway presents a substantial visual “road presence”, an image which is emphasized by its relatively tall seating for the driver (same as that of a compact car); we have learned over the years that automobile drivers (who may crowd a bike) tend to give our delta trikes a lot more room when passing.

The nightmare scenario of being rear-ended by a swerving, inebriated car driver happened to one of the ancestor Greenways, and demonstrated the safety value of the car-height trike with its perimeter ‘safety bumper’ frame around the rear wheels and cargo area. The car bumper matched with the trike’s frame at contact and the trike and rider were accelerated forward. The trike rider still had enough control to reflexively steer off the shoulder. Rather than the cycle’s wheels being deformed by the impact and rendered instantly useless (which would result in the whole cycle being dragged) the trike’s wheels were still round and functional despite the impact, and the operable cycle rolled on out of harm’s way into the roadside grass.

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Greenway