Personally, I’m a science writer with more than a decade of experience interviewing experts in countless fields, including health, parenting, and child development. I’m also the mom of two small guys who were 1½ and 3½ when I was initially reporting and testing for this guide. I’ve pushed, pulled, rolled, and cajoled kids on tricycles for countless after-dinner strolls and park dashes over the past three years. You might think that tricycles are just for kids who haven’t learned to ride a bike. But the Schwinn Meridian Tricycle for adults is an excellent alternative to a bicycle for your commute or weight loss.
Tighten these two screws down as hard as you can — this connection point takes a lot of stress, especially on uphill grinds. Some customers said they exceeded the weight limit for their Schwinn Meridian with no problems. One reviewer who purchased the tricycle for his weight loss journey was pleased to find that the tires held up for him at 400 lbs. It can handle more weight than the average bicycle because of its broad and sturdy frame. The prevention would be to store the bike in a garage or inside, and to rinse the transmission off after every winter ride – I see a bit of corrosion there which could indicate the cause.
We’ll look at the features listed by the manufacturer and why they make this tricycle perfect for a heavier rider, riders who want to lose weight, and those that need extra balance. The trike took about 17 minutes to assemble—less than average for schwinn cruiser the 11 trikes we tested—and though it required an extra screwdriver, the instructions were straightforward. This trike lacks a restraint system and sunshade for small kids, and it’s not as easy to ride as our pick, but it usually costs less.
The Radio Flyer Deluxe Steer & Stroll isn’t as versatile as our pick for littler kids, because it doesn’t have a protective ring and straps to hold a baby in place. It also doesn’t ride quite as well for older kids, and isn’t quite as good as the Joovy at smoothness and ease of starting. Although it was the least stable of our four picks, we still found this tricycle easier and more stable to ride than most of the other trikes we tested, including three other Radio Flyer models. The tricycle a kid learns to ride at school—and usually pedals well for the first time—is often an Angeles trike, a generally higher-quality tricycle than what most kids have at home. Even though the company sells more to institutions than directly to parents, you can buy an Angeles tricycle at retail.
I then spent 18 hours evaluating the tricycles in everyday conditions with my two sons, using each trike for several strolls around the neighborhood and the top contenders for a dozen or more walks. We tested each trike on grass, pavement, and bumpy broken concrete surfaces, paying attention to how the wheels performed on each surface and how long it took to get the bike going. For the combo grow-with-you models, I assessed how difficult and time-consuming it was to convert the trike from baby mode to toddler mode. I checked how the tricycles fit my 1-year-old and almost-4-year-old to assess which models would work best for the same kid over several years. These trikes arrive fully assembled, which is the first sign they are a different breed of quality.