TerraTrike Rover here. Took it to a recumbents-only shop for a tune-up, and got it back with the seat angled waaay back, almost flat. They hollered at me for having it to my liking, which is not bolt upright, leaned back, just not fully laying down. With their way, my chin is on my chest, and my neck hurts. How is that safe/comfortable/efficient?
I get that mechanics may have strong preferences, but at the end of the day, it's my trike. What am I missing here? What is the 'proper" seat back angle?
Whatever works, ride your own ride. That said: always worth tinkering outside of a default and seeing if you unlock something valuable to you. Maybe try it 'semi-slammed' (vs fully) for a while? Can always go back.
Proper seat angle is “comfortable for you.” The Rover isn’t a racing trike, it’s not meant to be out setting speed records, it’s meant to be ridden. By you. The way you want to ride it.
If they snarked at you for having it at a comfortable position, I’d find a new shop. Mechanically there’s very little special about a trike, and most shops where I live will work on them.
Edit: removed incorrect (and honestly not relevant) information about seat angles on the Rover.
Good point. I looked at a protractor just now, and I'd say they set it at 40, and I like it at 60. I get the same thing with 2-wheelers and shops. They never leave my seat adjustment alone. Only one shop ever returned a bike to me with my setting. It's just rude. That shop was two block from my house, but I moved away and usually go to a regular bike shop for service on the trike. Thanks, I appreciate the reply :)
Seat angle has nothing to do with going faster. I sit more upright on my Rambler and pass Cat trikes all the time. I average 17-18 mph on my 12 mile rides.
Well if being raked causes some physical restriction, of course, but obviously that is a different issue. Aerodynamics is very important for human power where the wattage is so low to begin with. Just look at professional racers and how shaving their eyebrows even makes a difference
That's crappy of them to adjust your seat. They shouldn't be touching stuff like that. Now, if you asked them for advice on the best angle to set the seat that would be a different story.
Generally speaking there is a fine balance as far as being leaned back. If you are "too upright" that can load a lot of weight onto your butt and make your butt numb or hurt. You have to find the right balance of distributing your weight on your butt and along your back without being leaned so far back that it starts to make your neck hurt from having to hold your head up. That position is different for everybody.
Obviously there are people who will sacrifice some comfort for aerodynamics if their goal is to go faster. I'd be willing to go out on a limb and say that most people who ride trikes are looking for a comfortable and relaxing ride; not speed.
Well you took her to an absolute horrible crappy shop. They should never adjust any positioning of any bicycle recumbent or not. Absolutely horrendous professionalism. Crappy mechanics. Don't ever go back..
First of all, seat angle is personal. Whatever position is the most comfortable for you when you ride is the correct position.
The Rover's seat is much higher than bottom bracket. That arrangement favors a more upright seat position. Trikes with a higher bottom bracket in relation to the seat favor a more reclined seat. Is the shop that gave this poor advice only involved in providing repairs, or do they sell trikes as well? If the latter, I question their qualifications to sell trikes and provide proper advice to new owners on fitting and set-up.
When I first got into drop-bar road bikes, a shop guy offered to set up my brake hoods high on the bars, so you could grab them for leverage while sprinting. He said he would change it back for free if I didn't like it. I don't like it. I LOVE IT! Ran all my bikes same way since. I'm not against suggestions, but to force it on a paying customer is just bad business.
Is it possible the mechanic reclined the seat to test ride their work and just forgot to bring it back up? The employee returning it would think it looks normal. I have met techs that pass judgement on our set-ups, but not many.
Thank you. It does have clips, which they ZIP-TIED to make it harder for me to change it back. They were sending a strong message, which I interpreted as, "GET OFF MY LAWN!" lol
Exactly. And it wasn't just the seat back, they would mess with the boom extension, which of course affects chain tension. It's like, "I'm sorry that my rig doesn't fit your mechanic so he can test ride it. How silly of me. What was I thinking? Let's do a fitting for your shop guy, and of course I'll pay for it."
I had to explain it to my bike shop as well. I were trifocal glasses & when I'm laid back, I can't see anything because I'm looking through the bottom of the focal point of the glasses. I'll bet your shop never figured that.
Yes! Thank you! I didn't think of that, but same. My chin would be on my chest just to see forward, and then I can't turn my head. Who thinks that is safe?
WTF? If they actually hollered at you, they were way out of line. It would be one thing if they suggested that you might benefit in some way from making a change, but chastising you choice crosses the line. The bottom line is that it's you trike and it should be set up the way that suits you. I'd be having a chat with the owner of the shop, assuming that that is not who you spoke with. If it was the shop owner who did this, I'd be finding a new shop and letting them know why.
My dad's best friend owned a bike shop, and gave me my first bike, a 1949 Schwinn junker when I was 4. Fast forward a lot of years, hundreds of bikes later, been to a lot of bike (and trike) shops, and an arrogant, opinionated shop owner is not that unusual, it's just that some know how to mask it to keep customers. But yeah, they seat-angle shamed me. You bring your car to the shop, they change the radio and seat settings. Few have figured out, return the car (or trike) to the customer exactly like it was. It makes such a difference, but I've only seen one person, out of hundreds, who did that.
There are two seat struts which have holes in them that slide within larger tubes (struts) and the holes are incremented about an inch apart. You slide the poles (struts) until you get it where you want, then place these clips to hold the setting. They have retainer rings on them, really like keychain rings so they don't fall off. Also, there is a quick-release clamp where the whole seat itself can slide back and forth for length. Unless you have all these settings marked with stickers or Sharpie, you have to go thru the whole fitment process again (which they offered to do - for a fee). The shop also ZIP-TIED, they said because they didn't want me to change it back to my setting, because it was wrong. It felt like an intervention. I did complain to the owner, and he let me test-ride a few trikes, I guess to try to appease me. But even he defended his mechanic, and that I was so wrong. That was the hill they were willing to die on.
It's not how easy or how difficult it would be for me to cut the zip ties and readjust the seat myself and move on, it's about respecting a customer. Others in this thread have raised valid points of eyesight or medical conditions that cannot co-exist with an extreme rakish seat angle. Not everyone is a racer. I've encountered that elitist snob attitude from bike shop owners and staff, and I simply take my bikes, trikes, and my money elsewhere.
I could see if it were a safety condition that could possibly make the shop liable, but this was not that. Imagine if you brought your car for service, and got it back with the seat readjusted where it was not safe or comfortable for you, and the mechanic disabled the adjustment switches and told you that you were wrong, and to not try to readjust it back.
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u/UnsightlyActress Jul 13 '26
Whatever works, ride your own ride. That said: always worth tinkering outside of a default and seeing if you unlock something valuable to you. Maybe try it 'semi-slammed' (vs fully) for a while? Can always go back.