Bikes + Innovation: Trikes Are Cool!

After chatting to quite a few people on the subject of trikes it seems that these bikes often get forgotten or pushed to the side. If you thought that trikes were just for kids, our older generations, and those folk with mobility restrictions, well, I’m here to tell you that trikes are cool.

To my surprise, Trendhunter, the online publication of “cutting edge ideas” curated by 155,000 contributors, recently ran an article showcasing 19 cool-as-hell trikes. Beyond Trendhunter’s list are some pretty awesome trikes.

Kiffy – French designers Patrick Jouffret of Agency 360 and Norbert Peytour of NP Innovation have developed a configurable tricycle that lets riders get around their city, as they would with an ordinary bicycle, with a few extra features. Kiffy is more stable due to its design and has a new kind of unlocking and folding system, letting you lock half of the bike while you shop with the front carrier. It also looks awesome.

Butchers and Bicycles – From Copenhagen, a tilt-action cargo trike, called the MK1. The team set out to challenge the perception of how fun and easy riding a cargo bike could be without compromising usability. Speedy and agile, the MK1 sure is attractive. The MK1-E features a mid-drive electric assist and belt drive for minimal maintenance. A spacious front bucket has a door for little passengers and there is even a lockable glove box and integrated cup holder. The MK1 is now available in Europe and North America.

And now for something completely different. Earlier this year, the Verrado Electric Drift Trike from Local Motors in Arizona successfully raised more than twice its funding target of $20,000. Quite different from the above Kiffy and the MK1, drift trikes were pioneered in the home of bungee jumping, New Zealand, and are a little more on the extreme side of things and are for performing tricks and looking cool. The Verrado puts power into the trike so that there is little reliance in friends pulling you around thus meaning more hours of fun. Drift triking is quickly spreading to other countries including Australia, the United States, Colombia, many European nations, and elsewhere. A non-profit organization was founded in the United States in 2011, called the American Drift Trike Association, with the goal to promote the sport of drift triking.

Trikes can be fun, stylish, and even a little edgy. I may just have to snap up a Kiffy bike soon.

Nikolas Badminton is a British transplant that lives in Vancouver, BC. He loves innovation and design and speaks internationally on human behavior in relation to technology, mobile, digital, and social influences. He bikes to work at Freelancer.com and owns a single-speed and a road bike but feels that maybe that’s not enough quite yet. @nikolas_dcm