69-Year-Old Les Takes a Dual-Motor Fat Tire eTrike for Its First Ride

A First Day on Three Wheels

There is something refreshing about watching a person try a thing for the very first time and say exactly what they feel while it is happening. That is what this ride is. Les introduces himself plainly as a 69-year-old rider, tells us this is his first day on electric trikes, and then gets on with it. No script, no product sheet in his hand, just a man, a parking lot, and a trike with two motors and tires as wide as a loaf of bread.

By the time the camera stops, Les has ridden three different trikes. The one in this video is the biggest of the group: a fat tire model with a motor at the front and another at the back. Earlier in the day he had tried a smaller trike with standard tires, and he had also spent time on a middle option that sits between the two. That gives his impressions a useful shape. He is not reviewing one machine in a vacuum. He is comparing, out loud, the way most of us do when we are deciding what to buy.

If you have been thinking about an electric tricycle for yourself, a parent, or a spouse, a first-ride video like this is often more useful than a spec chart. Numbers tell you what a trike can do. A first ride tells you how it feels to a real person who has not yet learned all its habits. You get to see where the surprises are, what takes a minute to get used to, and what feels right immediately.

Below, we walk through Les’s ride from start to finish and pull out the practical lessons along the way: what fat tires actually do for comfort, what dual motors mean in daily riding, how he paired gears with pedal assist, why he praised the brakes, and what the weight of a bigger trike feels like when the motor is not helping. We will finish with his honest verdict, which may surprise anyone who assumes more power is always better.

The first thing Les talks about is not speed or power. It is comfort. Having already ridden the smaller trike without fat tires, he could feel the difference the moment he sat down and rolled forward. His description is the kind of thing you remember: riding on the fat tires feels like sinking into a big, cozy couch.

That comparison is worth unpacking, because it explains why fat tire electric trikes have become so popular with riders who care more about comfort than about racing anywhere. A wider tire carries more air and puts a larger patch of rubber on the ground. Run at sensible pressures, that extra volume acts like a cushion. Small cracks in the pavement, the lip of a curb cut, the seams between parking lot slabs, and the little bits of gravel that collect at the edges all get softened before they reach your hands and your back.

For older riders in particular, that matters. Wrists, shoulders, and lower backs tend to complain about vibration long before legs give out. A trike that absorbs the chatter of a rough surface lets you ride longer and finish the ride feeling better. It also changes your mood on the bike. When every bump sends a jolt through the frame, you ride tense. When the tires take the edge off, you relax, sit back, and start looking around instead of staring at the ground in front of you.

Fat tires also bring a sense of stability that is hard to describe until you feel it. On three wheels you already have the reassurance of not needing to balance at a stop. Add wide tires and the whole machine feels planted. That is part of why Les settles in so quickly. He is not fighting the trike. He is sitting on it the way you would sit on a favorite chair.

There are trade-offs, and we will get to them. Fat tires and the frame built around them add weight, and a heavier machine asks more of you when the motor is off. But in this first impression, before any of that, the verdict is simple and immediate: these are very, very comfortable.

The second thing Les points out is the drivetrain. This trike carries two motors, one in the front wheel and one in the rear. He has been told that means more torque, and he is honest that a flat parking lot may not be the place to feel it. He even gestures toward the big hill outside the property and says that is where the extra pull would really come into play.

It is a fair and sensible way to think about it. Torque is the twisting force that gets you moving and keeps you moving when the road tilts up. On flat ground at a gentle pace, almost any electric assist feels smooth and easy. The difference between a modest motor setup and a strong one shows up in three places: starting from a dead stop, climbing, and carrying a load. Put a rider on a steep grade with a basket of groceries, and a trike with more torque will keep its pace where a lighter setup starts to slow and ask for more effort from your legs.

Having drive at both ends of the trike also spreads the work around. Rather than asking one motor to do everything, the load is shared. In practical terms, riders tend to describe dual-motor setups as feeling eager, especially on takeoff. As you will see in a moment, that is exactly what Les discovered, even in the parking lot where he did not expect to notice it.

If your daily routes are flat, a dual-motor trike may be more than you need. If you live somewhere with real hills, or you plan to carry a passenger, pets, or heavy shopping, the extra torque stops being a luxury and starts being the thing that makes the trike usable every day. Keep that question in mind as you read on, because it ends up shaping Les’s final opinion.

After a quick thank-you to the sixthreezero team for letting him try the trikes, Les says the magic words, let’s go, let’s ride, and pushes off. Within seconds you hear it: a happy little whoop and the observation that this thing has torque. So much for the theory that a flat parking lot would hide it.

This is one of the most common reactions people have on their first ride with a strong electric assist. Your body is calibrated for a pedal bike. You expect to push hard on the first stroke and slowly build speed. Instead, the motor joins in and the trike surges forward more quickly than your instincts predicted. It is not dangerous when you are ready for it, but it is surprising the first time, and the surprise is usually a delighted one.

Les notices it even with the assist set very low. He says he is riding between zero and one on the power assist and can still feel the pull. He immediately adds a note of caution to himself: he needs to watch that, because it could get him moving quickly. That is exactly the right instinct. The smartest thing any new rider can do is start on the lowest assist level, learn how the trike responds, and work upward only once it feels predictable.

It is also a reminder that power on an electric trike is not a fixed quantity. You choose how much help you want. A strong motor system set to a low level can feel gentle and controlled, while the same trike set higher feels lively. That flexibility is a big part of why electric trikes suit such a wide range of riders. A cautious beginner and a confident rider can share the same machine and simply set it differently.

Throughout this stretch, Les keeps coming back to the same feeling. He is 69, he is on three wheels for the first time, and he is loving it. You can hear it in his voice. There is no strain, no nervousness, just a man discovering that riding can still feel like play.

One of the most useful parts of this video is how often Les calls out his settings. He tells us which gear he is in and which pedal assist level he is using, and he adjusts both as the terrain changes. For anyone who has never ridden an electric trike, that running commentary is a small lesson in how the two systems work together.

Think of it this way. The gears change how hard each pedal stroke is and how far it moves you. The pedal assist level changes how much the motor adds on top of your effort. They are separate controls, and the best ride comes from using them as a pair. Low gear with high assist feels very easy but spins your legs quickly. High gear with low assist asks more of your legs but lets you cruise along at a relaxed cadence.

Early on, Les is in gear three with assist near one, getting a feel for things. Later he moves to assist level two and notices right away that you get going right away. Then, as he picks up a bit of speed on a slight downhill, he realizes he needs to shift up into gear five, and decides that gear five with assist two is a good combination. A little further along he shifts again, this time to gear seven, and keeps assist at two.

What is happening here is that he is finding his comfortable cadence. When the motor is pushing you along and you are in too low a gear, your legs spin faster than feels natural and you are not contributing much. Shifting up gives your feet something to push against again. It feels better, it is more efficient, and you stay connected to the ride instead of feeling like a passenger.

Here is a simple way to practice what Les did. Start in a low gear and the lowest assist level. Once you are rolling and comfortable, shift up a gear or two until pedaling feels steady and unhurried. If a slope makes your legs work too hard, either drop a gear or bump the assist up one level, whichever feels more natural. Within a single ride you will start reaching for the right combination without thinking about it, which is exactly where Les ends up.

By the middle of his loop, Les has settled into what he clearly considers his favorite setup for this route. He is on a slight uphill in gear seven with pedal assist on two, and he says it is a good combination, nice and comfortable. Before that, he had wondered aloud whether he even needed the assist, then caught himself and decided that level two works well through that section.

That moment of reconsidering is very relatable. When the trike is moving easily, it is natural to assume you could do it all with your legs. Then you try, and you remember why the motor is there. On a heavier trike, assist level two is not about being lazy. It is about keeping the effort at a comfortable, sustainable level so you can enjoy the ride, cover more ground, and arrive without feeling worn out.

It is also notable how modest his preferred setting is. On a dual-motor trike with plenty of torque, he does not need to crank the assist to the top. A middle-low level is enough to make gentle hills feel flat and flat ground feel effortless. Lower assist levels also tend to stretch the battery further, so finding a comfortable low setting is good for range as well as for control. If you are curious about the power side of things, sixthreezero’s batteries and chargers page is a good place to see what keeps these trikes running.

The bigger lesson is that comfort on an electric trike is personal. Les found his groove at gear seven and assist two on this particular route. Someone else might prefer gear five and assist three, or gear six and assist one. There is no correct answer, only the combination that feels right for your body, your pace, and the ground under your wheels. A good trike gives you enough range in both systems to find it.

Somewhere in the middle of all this, Les pauses to report on something that does not get enough attention in casual reviews: the brakes. His verdict is short and confident. These brakes work great, and you are not going to get in any trouble. As long as your fingers work and you can squeeze the levers, he says, life is going to be safe.

That is a big deal on a trike like this. A fat tire, dual-motor machine carries more weight than a basic tricycle, and once it is moving with motor help, it carries more momentum. Strong, predictable brakes are what make that power feel friendly instead of intimidating. When you know you can slow down smoothly and stop when you mean to, you ride with more confidence, and confidence is a safety feature in its own right.

For older riders, the feel of the brakes matters as much as their raw stopping strength. Levers that respond with a light squeeze are easier on hands with arthritis or reduced grip strength. Brakes that bite progressively, rather than grabbing all at once, help you control your speed down a hill without lurching. Les’s comment about only needing your fingers to work suggests the levers on this trike asked very little of him.

If braking is high on your list of priorities, sixthreezero has a dedicated collection of electric trikes with disc brakes worth browsing. Whatever trike you choose, make it a habit to test the brakes at the start of every ride: roll forward a few feet, squeeze both levers, and make sure the trike stops cleanly. It takes five seconds and gives you peace of mind for the rest of the trip.

And of course, the rest of your safety kit matters too. A well-fitted helmet is the simplest thing you can add to any ride, and the sixthreezero helmets collection is a good starting point.

Not every moment of a real test ride is about the trike. At one point Les glances off to the side, clearly wondering what is going on over there, before turning his attention back to the path. It is a tiny moment, but it says something worth noticing.

A rider who feels unsteady cannot afford to look around. Every ounce of attention goes to balance, steering, and the ground directly ahead. On two wheels, a quick glance over your shoulder can mean a wobble. On a stable three-wheeled trike, especially one with wide tires, you can turn your head, take in the scenery, react to what is happening around you, and keep rolling without drama.

That is one of the quiet advantages of a trike that new riders often underestimate. It lets you enjoy your surroundings. You can wave to a neighbor, check out a garden, watch the ocean, or simply see what the commotion is across the lot. For many older riders, that freedom to look around is the whole point of getting outside in the first place.

It also helps explain why Les becomes comfortable so quickly. He is not spending mental energy holding himself upright. All of his attention can go to learning the controls, enjoying the motor’s help, and finding the gear and assist combination he likes. Stability frees up your brain for the parts of riding that are actually fun.

As his loop brings him back toward the parking area, Les does something experienced riders do automatically. He drops the pedal assist down to one before he gets there. Then, as the trike slows, he shifts down to gear five so his legs have an easier time getting it moving again.

This is good practice, and it is worth copying. Tight spaces, parked cars, people walking, and slow-speed turns all call for gentle power. Lowering the assist before you enter a crowded area means the trike will not surge unexpectedly when you start pedaling after a pause. Shifting to a lower gear before you stop means your first few pedal strokes from a standstill will be easy instead of a grind.

Riders coming from cars sometimes forget the gear part of this. A car’s automatic transmission handles it for you. On a trike, if you stop in a high gear, you start in a high gear, and that can feel heavy, especially on a larger machine. Getting into the habit of shifting down as you slow makes every restart smoother.

If you would rather not think about shifting and assist levels at slow speeds, it is worth knowing that some trikes include a throttle, which can give you a gentle push from a stop without pedaling. sixthreezero groups those together in its electric trikes with throttle control collection. For maneuvering in very tight spots, such as backing out of a garage or a narrow parking space, you may also want to look at electric trikes with a reverse gear.

This is where Les offers the most honest observation of the ride. With the assist dialed down, he notices that this trike is heavier, and that you can really tell when you do not have the power helping you. It is not a complaint so much as a plain fact, and it is one every shopper should weigh.

Bigger frames, fat tires, and two motors all add up. When the motor is engaged, that weight largely disappears. The trike feels planted, smooth, and strong. When the motor is off or set very low, your legs have to move all of it themselves, and you notice. That is true of nearly any larger electric trike, not just this one.

What matters is how that plays out in your own life. If you will always ride with the assist on, the weight is mostly a non-issue while riding and a real benefit for stability. If you want to ride with the motor off for exercise, a lighter trike will feel friendlier. And if you need to lift the trike into a vehicle, move it up a step into a garage, or store it somewhere tight, weight becomes a practical question that deserves a serious look before you buy.

It is also worth thinking about your battery habits. On a heavier trike, a dead battery far from home means a tougher pedal back. Planning routes within your comfortable range, charging after rides, and keeping an eye on the battery display are simple ways to make sure you always have the motor when you want it.

Les puts it into perspective right away, though. Even with that heaviness, he says it is not taking him long to get comfortable with the combination of pedal power and electric power. By the end of the loop he says he is getting really comfortable with that aspect. The learning curve is short. The weight is something you account for, not something that spoils the ride.

That phrase, the combination of pedal power and electric power, captures what riding an electric trike is really about. It is not a scooter, and it is not a plain tricycle. It is a partnership between you and the motor, and the first ride is mostly about figuring out how that partnership works.

In the opening minutes, Les is cautious. He keeps the assist low because the torque surprises him. A few minutes later he is choosing gear and assist combinations on purpose, adjusting for slopes, and planning ahead for the parking lot. That progression in a single short loop is typical. Most riders find that the controls become intuitive far faster than they expected.

For anyone who has been hesitant about trying an electric trike because the technology seems complicated, Les is good evidence that it is not. He is 69, it is his first day on any of these trikes, and within a few minutes he is riding with confidence and genuinely enjoying himself. The motor does not replace your effort. It meets you where you are and makes the hard parts easier.

That is also why fit matters so much. A trike that matches your height, reach, and riding style makes this learning process smoother, because you are comfortable from the first pedal stroke. sixthreezero offers a personal fitting to match riders with the right model, which can take much of the guesswork out of choosing. If you prefer to read up first, the sixthreezero buyer’s guide walks through the main things to consider.

He wraps up the loop with a simple announcement, we return to base, and rolls back to park the fat tire trike. Then he says what every good test ride should end with: that was fun.

Back at the starting point, Les steps back to sum up the day. He has now ridden three trikes. There was the smaller model without fat tires, the middle option, and this large dual-motor fat tire trike. Each one, as he describes them, had its own personality.

The large trike is the powerhouse. It has the torque, and he felt it from the very first pedal stroke. The fat tires make it the most cushioned of the three. It is also the heaviest, which he noticed whenever the motor was not helping. In a flat parking lot, he says, he did not really need all that power.

The smaller trike, the first one he tried, was the point of comparison that made the fat tires stand out. Without those wide tires, the ride was not as plush. That does not make it a bad choice, but it does show how much tire size shapes your sense of comfort.

The middle trike, the step down from the two-motor model, is the one he keeps coming back to. It sits between the extremes, and that balance seems to be exactly what appealed to him.

What Les is really doing here is what every shopper should do: matching the machine to the riding. Each of these trikes is very comfortable to ride, as he says himself. The question is not which one is best in general. It is which one is best for the roads you will actually ride and the way you like to ride them. If you would like to compare options side by side, sixthreezero’s collection of most comfortable electric trikes is a helpful place to start.

Les is careful not to dismiss the big trike just because he did not need its power in a parking lot. He looks around and points out that this is a hilly community. He estimates they are somewhere around 500 to 1,000 feet above the ocean. Then he paints a very specific picture: if you lived up there and wanted to ride down to the beach, you would want the big one with the torque. That is for sure.

That is the clearest possible case for a dual-motor trike. Riding down to the water is easy. Riding back up several hundred feet of elevation at the end of a beach day is a different story. A trike with strong torque turns that climb from something you dread into something you barely think about. Without it, the hill can become the reason you stop riding to the beach at all.

The same logic applies well beyond coastal towns. If your neighborhood has steep streets, if the grocery store sits at the top of a rise, if you ride with a heavy basket or a passenger, or if you simply want the confidence of knowing you can handle any hill in town, extra torque earns its keep every single day. In those situations the added weight is a fair price for the climbing ability you get in return.

If you will be hauling things, take a look at sixthreezero’s electric trikes with a large basket and the cargo electric trikes. Riders who need a sturdier build overall may also want to browse the high weight capacity electric trikes.

The point is simple. Power is not good or bad on its own. It is right or wrong for a route. On a flat loop around a parking lot, the big trike is more than you need. On a hill that rises from the beach, it is exactly what you need.

Despite all that praise for the big trike’s torque, Les does not hesitate when it comes to picking a favorite. So far, he says, he likes the middle one best, the step down from the two-motor trike. To him, that is his favorite, though he is quick to add that they are all very comfortable to ride. Absolutely.

It is a revealing choice, and a sensible one. For his riding on that day, the middle option seems to give him the comfort and help he wanted without the extra heft and surplus power of the dual-motor model. He does not need to tame its torque at low assist levels, and he does not feel as much weight when the motor is not helping. It simply fits the way he was riding.

Many shoppers fall into the trap of assuming the top model is automatically the best one. Les is a good reminder that best depends on you. If your rides are mostly flat paths, neighborhood loops, park trails, and trips to nearby shops, a well-balanced mid-range trike may serve you better day to day than the most powerful option in the lineup. If you live on a hill or haul heavy loads, the calculation changes and the dual-motor trike moves to the front.

For riders shopping with age and mobility in mind, sixthreezero gathers suitable options in its electric trikes for seniors collection. If getting on and off the trike easily is a priority, the easy to mount eTrikes with a low step-thru collection is worth a look as well. And if you are curious about other designs entirely, there are recumbent electric trikes and folding electric trikes to explore.

Les’s ride is short, but it packs in a lot of useful advice for anyone about to try an electric trike for the first time. Here is what we would take away from it.

Start low. Les began between zero and one on the assist and could still feel the torque. Starting at the lowest level lets you learn how the trike responds before you add more power. You can always turn it up; it is much harder to un-surprise yourself.

Use your gears. The motor does not make your gears irrelevant. Les shifted from three to five to seven as his speed and the terrain changed, and every shift made the ride feel better. Shift up when your legs are spinning too fast and down when they are pushing too hard.

Pair gear and assist on purpose. His sweet spot, gear seven with assist two on a gentle uphill, came from combining the two controls thoughtfully. Experiment until you find your own comfortable pairing for each type of terrain you ride.

Prepare for slow zones. Dropping the assist and downshifting before entering the parking lot made his return smooth and controlled. Make that a habit any time you approach people, cars, or tight turns.

Trust, but test, your brakes. Les found the brakes reassuring and easy to use. Check yours at the start of every ride so you always know what to expect.

Respect the weight. A larger trike feels effortless with the motor on and noticeably heavier with it off. Plan your routes and battery use accordingly, and think about storage and transport before you buy.

Match the trike to your terrain. The dual-motor fat tire model shines on hills. A lighter or mid-range trike may suit flatter routes better. Think honestly about where you will ride most often.

Most importantly, have fun with it. Les spends much of this video laughing, whooping, and repeating how much he loves the experience. That joy is not a side effect. It is the reason to ride.

If there is one thing this video makes clear, it is the value of actually riding a trike before committing to it. Les learned more in a few minutes in a parking lot than he would have from any amount of reading. He found out that the fat tires felt like a couch, that the dual motors had more torque than he expected, that the brakes inspired confidence, and that the middle trike suited him best. None of that is obvious on paper.

If you are near Southern California, sixthreezero invites riders to visit the store and test ride in person. If you are not, the company offers a 30-day test ride so you can try a trike on your own streets, along with free shipping. Bikes arrive mostly assembled, and sixthreezero publishes assembly instructions to help with the last steps. If you would like to spread out the cost, there is information on available financing as well.

Whichever route you take, ride the trike the way you would ride it in real life. Try a hill if you have one. Stop and start a few times. Shift through the gears, test the assist levels, and squeeze the brakes. Notice how the seat feels after ten minutes, not just ten seconds. Those details are what separate a trike that looks good from a trike you will want to ride every day.

Les came into this day as a first-time electric trike rider and left with a clear sense of what he likes. The dual-motor fat tire trike impressed him with its cushioned ride, its eager torque, and its reassuring brakes. He could see exactly who it is for: someone living high above the ocean who wants to ride down to the beach and back without a second thought about the climb.

For his own riding, though, the middle trike won out, a reminder that the right choice is the one that fits your roads, your body, and your habits. And across all three trikes, his overall impression was the same: they are all very comfortable to ride.

That may be the most encouraging part of the whole video. A 69-year-old rider, on his very first day, felt comfortable, confident, and happy on every trike he tried. If you have been wondering whether an electric trike could bring that same feeling into your own life, Les has a pretty convincing answer.

For more first-hand rides, reviews, and riding tips, browse the sixthreezero video blog or the wider Bike Advice section. And when you are ready to explore the full lineup, start with sixthreezero’s electric tricycles.