Seeing a child pedal a tricycle for the first time at a demonstration is often an emotional experience and is something that is hard to prepare for. Many parents are overwhelmed, and in the grand scheme of things the technical aspects of the tricycle hardly seem important. However, after the initial joy subsides a little, it is well worth giving thought to the issue of gearing.

Make a tricycle too easy to pedal and two things can happen. Firstly the child doesn’t feel fulfilled, resulting in a shortened attention span and he/she wants to get off after 5 minutes. The second thing is that the child finds him/herself pedalling like mad and going nowhere, causing great frustration, especially if friends and siblings are getting much more reward for their efforts.

 
Gear Options for Quest 88 Tricycles

Quest 88 tricycles have a reputation for gearing that gives slightly more resistance. Whilst this may not give the dramatic results on a demonstration or organised trike day, in the long run it is more rewarding for the child in terms of both fun and exercise. It may take anything from a day to 2/3 weeks to build up to this point but it is worth it for the reasons stated above.

There are, however, some children with very low muscle tone and strength who do require further assistance with pedalling. Quest 88 can provide an “easy gear” option to accommodate this.

In some cases, a child’s condition may prevent them from pedalling independently in the short term or maybe even long term. By using a parental/carer control rod the child can still access the benefits of cycling which include fitness, physical development, cognitive stimulation and social skills. See Steering & Parental/Carer Control for more information.

Gear Options for Draisin Tricycles and Bicycles

The Laser, Neon and Eclipse tricycles from Draisin can be fitted with different gear options and this offers a great deal of flexibility to cover all kinds of abilities.

Fixed Wheel - This is setup in a similar way to Quest 88's own tricycles and enables the rider to pedal both forwards and backwards.

Free-wheel - This offers 7 gears which can be changed via a twist grip shifter incorporated into the handgrip. There are two options of freewheel gear for Draisin tricycles, the first is as described with 7 forward gears, the second has an added back-pedal brake which means that the rider can slow down the tricycle by rotating the pedal rearward.

Switchable "Fixed & Free" - This enables the rider to start with a fixed wheel gear until they are familiar with a continuous pedalling motion. By a flick of a lever, the tricycle can then run in a freewheel gear, enabling the rider to coast along without the foot rotating the pedal or the pedal rotating the foot.

Pedal Assist (Motorised) - Draisin tricycles are also available with power assistance. Each of the models featured on this site can be fitted with a motorised hub and battery unit which can assist pedalling when it is needed. This still requires the child to pedal and have exercise, but makes it easier when they are tired or where muscle tone is very low.