Frequently Asked Questions

What do you do with a Haley Tricycle?
Haley Trikes have an incredibly wide range of use. They can go almost anywhere: outdoor festivals and concerts, sporting events, through parks, inside public buildings, and between jammed vehicles on tight city streets. They are as easy to park as a bicycle, require very little maintenance, and can get through very dense traffic quickly.

The cargo capacity of a Haley makes it ideal to do almost anything, from daily errands like laundry and groceries to moving power tools or furniture. They can be used for medium duty commercial applications as well, and draw a lot of attention for their businesses.

What are the advantages of Haley cargo tricycles over bicycle trailers?
There are several advantages:

• The total length of a Haley is considerably less than that of a bike and trailer, making it much easier to navigate and park.

• Haleys, like all tricycles, don't need to be balanced or pushed hard at takeoff, so you can move a heavy load easier by starting slow and adding speed one pedal stroke at a time.

• Haleys have three easy rolling wheels with three individual brakes instead of four wheels of varying quality and two brakes.

• There's less wasted energy. You and your cargo are one unit, with the same number of pivots as a single bicycle. Each pedal stroke translates completely into forward movement. There's no fighting the momentum you've already built up some distance behind you when you turn, and no forces pushing your rear wheel around while going over bumps or down curbs.

• They're easier to fit inside elevators.

• They're very easy to reverse if needed. Just put a foot down, push back and steer out of a tight spot.

• Haley Trikes can get out of a very tight spot by stepping off the trike, lifting the tail and swinging the whole tricycle around its midpoint.

Why two front wheels?

• Delta (two rear wheel) trikes invariably need extra chains, gears, axles, and/or differentials and special wheels to pull equally through right and left turns. While this is a fine system, tadpole trikes (two front wheels) are simpler and easier to maintain, and new or upgraded parts are available from the stock of your local bicycle shop.

• You can keep an eye on your cargo better.

• It's easier to see if you'll fit between two obstacles without looking behind you while moving forward.

• Front load trikes, from the general public's point of view, are more likely to be seen as work vehicles of some type (and not just a weird bicycle) from their long history as ice cream trikes.

How does it turn? Is it easy to steer?
Haleys turn by rotating the cargo box around a pivot between the front wheels. The rider controls the direction by turning the cargo where she wants to go and following behind. The box will rotate easily no matter how much weight is inside as long as it is somewhat evenly distributed.

Like all tricycles, Haleys don't lean when you turn, and don't turn when you lean. They also handle best with a moderate amount of weight in the box. It only takes a few minutes for a utilitarian cyclist to learn to ride, and about a week of riding to get completely comfortable with steering.

Model 2 with green finish

How do people respond to a Haley Trike on the street?
A lot of products are promoted as making everyone around them smile. Almost always, this is an exaggeration, but that's not the case with a Haley Trike. After a while, your trike will be a normal, everyday way to move your stuff around. The smiles and comments from everyone else won't stop, though, and until cargo trikes once again become common in the US, you'll have to get used to living in a real-life TV commercial. It's fun most of the time, but sometimes you just want to move a table saw across town, and not have a conversation about it.

The attention has great benifits, though. Drivers are much kinder to cargo trikes, and will let you roll across their path more and give you more space when they pass. People come up with the same jokes and ideas, but they're almost always positive, even if they're not funny anymore. And once in a while, an older person will tell you about the cargo trikes that used to be in their neighborhood, or even the adventures that they had with theirs.

Is a single speed practical for a cargo trike?
Your gearing preference will depend on your most common cargo, the terrain of your city and your own strength.

Standard single speed trikes are best for medium use over relatively flat terrain: grocery shopping, transporting pets or taking your luggage to the train station. A regular cyclist should expect to transport 100 pounds without worry in most cities with a single speed trike.

The front and rear sprockets (and chain length) can be changed for consistently heavier loads, as for moving video equipment or musical instruments over flat or rolling land. Lower gears are good for riders who use their trike to push 160 pounds or more constantly.

Three speed wheels are excellent for heavy use or hilly terrain, or a use involving no weight/lots of weight trips, such as heavy deliveries, picking up heavy supplies, or varied uses (cut flowers one day, bags of potting soil the next). The sprocket can be resized according to use and terrain, lowering the entire gear range.

How fast does it go?
Most riders can expect an average casual city speed of about 10-12 real-life miles an hour, with a top speed of around 15 miles an hour (100 pound cargo). While this may sound slow, keep in mind this means moving 100 pounds of cargo two miles through several neighborhoods, from door to door, in 12 minutes. A three speed wheel makes acceleration and climbing big hills easier, and standing on pedals rare, but doesn't necessarily make for a faster ride.

Is the trike stable at high speeds?
Yes, Haley Trikes are very stable, although they aren't designed for racing. Moving faster than 26 miles an hour (downhill, usually) isn't recommended, simply because stopping distance increases and object avoidance decreases. The tricycle will not shake no matter how fast you go. As with any vehicle with more than two wheels, you must slow down for sharp turns.

Haley tracks in an inch of snow

If the streets are snowy but driven on already, you can usually fit two of the trike's wheels (one front and the rear) into one track. This leaves one front wheel rolling through whatever combination of ice/snow/water/salt is outside the track. You have some rolling resistance or bumpiness from the outside wheel to contend with.

If the streets are covered in fresh snow, rolling resistance becomes exponentally higher as all three wheels make their own track. An inch of snow is still fun, but more of an "I'm so awesome I rode a cargo trike through snow", exhausting kind of fun.

Lulu's Confections Display Trike in raspberry smoothie

What about storage?
Haley Trikes will fit almost anywhere that is handicap accessible. They're not so easy to get up flights of stairs, though, or into some historic buildings. Often, a Haley will have to be locked up outside on the sidewalk, similar to motor scooters or motorcycles. It's best to lock your trike securely and lock a regular old bike to it to make taking the trike extremely difficult. Fortunately Haley Tricycles aren't easy to slip into your town's bicycle black market, and get a lot of attention around town. The Haley shop trike is usually spotted by friends when someone borrows it for the afternoon, in a city of 1.5 million people.

What items are difficult for a Haley to move?
Because the cargo box is in front, very tall things like stacked chairs or an armoire may be impossible to see over. Items longer than 8 feet can be difficult as well, although an experienced tricycle rider can move a couple sheets of plywood at once by overhanging the handlebars as well as the box edge. 10 foot long items, like steel studs, are possible but a bit too exciting.

Is it easy to assemble?
The tricycle is shipped in two parts, easily bolted together with common tools. Anyone with some bicycle experience and a friend to help hold parts in place can be riding their tricycle about an hour after they receive it in the mail. No special tools are required to do any work on a Haley Tricycle.

Is the box waterproof?
The cargo box will keep your stuff relatively dry. Items that absolutely can't get wet, like books, artwork, or laptop computers, or multiple small items are best kept in another container (backpack, drink cooler) for added protection.

Can the box lock?
No. The box doesn't lock to avoid damage from nighttime break-ins, as well as for child safety reasons.

Is the box removable?
No, the box is fixed to the frame for maximum strength. The front section and the tail of the trike can be taken apart, but this is not practical on a daily basis.

How long does it take to build a tricycle?
Standard tricycles usually take four to six weeks for construction. Extensive custom work can take longer. For current build times, see our orders page.