Reviewed by Adulttricyclereview.com
Sun Traditional Review on November 9, 2019
Sun
Bicycles have been building quality adult tricycles for over forty
years and has become the largest seller of adult tricycles in the
world. I personally know Jack and Ben, the owners at Sun Bicycles, and
there are no harder working guys in the bike business. Sun Bicycle’s
philosophy has always been to offer good quality products at a low price
and then stand behind the product. Sun really is the best in the
industry, they carry in incredible amount of replacement parts so you
can be assured if you need a replacement part they will more than likely
have it in stock.
Frame: The frame on the Sun
Traditional is MIG welded together in Taiwan and has a 250 Lbs.
capacity. The frame is easily put together by bolting the rear section
to the front by using four bolts. The Sun Traditional’s frame design
gives you an extremely low step-through for easy on and off access. Sun
offers the trike in red, blue, purple, mint, yellow, and black.
Gearing:
The stock setup of the Sun Traditional is a one speed freewheel. Sun
has lot of options, one speed coaster brake, three speed coaster brake,
five speed coaster brake and seven speed with two hand brakes. Adding
some gears to the trike is a nice addition if you have to ride into the
wind or up a hill.
Braking: The Sun Traditional
uses a “V” style front brake which is welded to the fork of the trike.
The “V” brake come with oversize brake pads and can stop the trike more
than sufficiently. The braking will vary depending on which wheel set
you choose. The best stopping can be achieved on the aluminum rim
followed by the steel rim and then the Mag wheels. If you order the
Traditional in a three speed or five speed you will get that old school
coaster brake hub like you had when you were a kid so you can stop the
trike by pedaling a quarter turn backwards. If you opt for the seven
speed version you can stop the trike with the front hand brake or rear
hand brake. The seven speed Traditional adds a rear disc brake which
will stop the drive rear wheel.
Seat: Big,
oversized, Western style seat with rear support bars. The seat is
probably the best seat on the market for Traditional trikes. The
Western style seat is contoured to fit your bottle and the shape of your
leg. Wider does not always equal more comfortable, The Western style
is very comfortable, but if you are looking for the ultimate, Sun makes a
fitted gel seat pad the can easily slip over the existing seat. The
rear support bars positioned the seat farther back on the trike which
adds stability and the rider pedal will be farther out in front. There
is something about this position which older people really like, for
some reason older people do not like the pedals underneath them like on a
traditional two wheel bike.
Ride: We like the
ride on the Sun Traditional. The cranks are positioned a bit farther
forward which gives the Sun Traditional a more recreational feel and
adds stability. While moving the cranks farther forward helps stability
it also makes riding the trike standing a bit more awkward. The Sun
Traditional handling is precise and predictable, and all of our testers
thought Sun has offered up a good designed product.
Wheels:
Sun offers lot of wheel choices for the Traditional. The stock setup
is with alloy rims and stainless steel spokes, you can also get heavy
duty steel wheels which come with thicker gauge spokes and a heavy duty
steel rim. The Mag wheels are molded from a plastic like material which
will not rust and should not get out of true. A popular option is tire
liner to help prevent flat tires.
Other Stuff: Large rear basket, front fender and reflectors set are included.
Pros:
The Sun Traditional brings safety, durability and stability to everyone
who rides this well built trike. Features; sealed rear axle bearings,
extra wide Western style seat, heavy duty rear basket and three
different types of wheels to choose from. The frame is Mig welded
together and the construction is solid. The trike is very corrosion
resistant; paint is applied evenly and consistently.
Cons: Only a 250 Lbs weight limit.