Climbing a Real Hill on the Simple Glide 500W Recumbent E-Trike: Pedal Assist, Throttle, and Gears in Action

Why a Hill Can Make or Break a Ride

Ask almost anyone who rides in Southern California what shapes their route, and the answer comes back fast: the hills. Unless you live right on the sand, it's hard to plan a ride here that doesn't run into a climb somewhere. For a lot of people, that single fact is what keeps them off a bike entirely. They picture the grade around the corner, they picture stalling halfway up it, and they decide it isn't worth the struggle.

That's exactly why I wanted to write about this ride. A guest rider took our Simple Glide 500W Recumbent E-Trike out from our location in San Clemente on a bright Southern California afternoon, and they did something I love to see on camera: they went looking for a hill on purpose. Before rolling out, they said it plainly. On a regular bike, they'd be worried about the hills and about which path to take. On this trike, those worries mostly went away. The rest of this article walks through why, minute by minute, using what actually happened on that ride.

I'm going to stick closely to what the rider showed and said. There's no marketing gloss needed here. The hill, the speeds on the display, and one very honest moment of rolling backward tell the story better than any spec sheet could.

Three tools for one job

The reason this ride worked comes down to three systems working together: pedal assist, a twist throttle, and a traditional set of gears. Each one does something different, and the trick to riding any electric trike well is knowing when to lean on which.

Start with pedal assist. The Simple Glide has five levels of it, and the rider began the ride in level one. A simple press of a button moves you up toward level five or back down toward one. In the video, the very first attempt to demonstrate that came with a small fumble at the handlebar and a quick "whoops" before everything cooperated. I like that it stayed in. Real riders fumble buttons, especially in the first few minutes on a new trike, and it takes about two seconds to get comfortable.

What pedal assist does is simple to describe and surprisingly fun to feel. When you pedal, the motor adds its own effort on top of yours. The higher the level, the more help you get. The rider put it in the clearest possible terms: move from level one to level two, keep pedaling at the same cadence, and you go faster. Your legs keep the same rhythm. The motor makes up the difference. That's the whole idea, and it's why so many people who haven't been on a bike in years find they can ride again.

The second tool is the throttle. This model uses a twist throttle, and the rider compared it to the gas pedal in a car, which is a good way to think about it. Twist it and the trike moves without you pedaling at all. You don't have to touch the pedals if you don't want to. The rider described it as a way to get where you want to go quickly and very smoothly, and on the hill you'll see exactly where that matters most. If a throttle is high on your list, it's worth browsing our electric trikes with throttle control so you know which models include one before you shop.

The third tool is the one people forget about: the gears. The Simple Glide still has seven traditional gears, just like a conventional bike. Electric assistance doesn't replace gearing. It works with it. Later in the climb, the rider mentions being in fifth gear while the motor is helping, and that combination is part of why the climb felt controlled instead of frantic.

Why the combination matters more than any single feature

Here's the thing I always tell people who come in asking about electric tricycles: no single feature solves every situation. Pedal assist is fantastic once you're moving, but it relies on you turning the pedals. A throttle is perfect for getting a heavy trike rolling from a dead stop on a slope, or for crossing a street quickly, but you don't necessarily want to ride a whole route on throttle alone. Gears let you keep a comfortable cadence as the terrain changes. Put all three together and you have a trike that can adapt to the road in front of you instead of forcing the road to adapt to you.

The rider set the plan up nicely before heading out. There was a hill right around the corner from our shop, and the goal was to show how each feature gets used on that hill, and when. They also said, with some enthusiasm, that this was not a ride they'd be able to do without pedal assist and the throttle. That's an honest framing. The point of this video isn't that the hill is easy. It's that the hill becomes possible, and then becomes something you can actually enjoy.

Where the recumbent design fits in

The Simple Glide is a recumbent trike, which means you sit back in a wide seat with a supportive backrest rather than perching on a narrow saddle. That matters on a climb more than you might expect. When the rider later pedaled under their own power for some exercise, they pointed out that the wide seat and supportive back let them use all their muscles. You're braced against something. If you're curious about the category as a whole, our recumbent electric trikes collection is a good place to see how the seating positions compare.

With the setup covered, let's get to the part everyone wants to see: the hill.

The climb started at the bottom of a pretty substantial incline, and before the rider even moved, they pointed out something I think a lot of first-time e-trike shoppers overlook. They weren't holding onto anything, and the trike wasn't moving at all. Sitting still at the base of a slope, hands off, the Simple Glide just stayed put.

The brake lock that holds you in place

The rider called them emergency brakes: brakes that, once set, stop the trike from moving completely. In practice, it means you can stop on a slope, take your hands off, and the trike holds. The rider's reaction was simply that it's super cool, and I agree. On a two-wheeler, stopping on a hill means holding yourself up with your feet and squeezing the levers. On a trike with brakes you can set, you can pause, look around, let traffic clear, and start again when you're ready. For riders who worry about rolling backward on a slope, that's a meaningful bit of peace of mind.

There was also a moment here that made me laugh. The rider noticed some bees nearby and said they wanted to get away from them quickly. It's a small thing, but it's the kind of real-world detail that reminds you this wasn't a studio shoot. It was an actual ride on an actual street.

First attempt: no assist at all

The original plan was to start the climb with the throttle. But the rider changed their mind on the spot and decided to prove a point first. They turned pedal assist off altogether and tried the hill on leg power alone, to show that it simply couldn't be done that way.

It couldn't. The trike barely moved before stalling, and then it started rolling backward. The rider said it outright: that was as far as they could go. This ride would have been impossible without pedal assist or the throttle.

I want to stay on this for a second, because it's the most important moment in the whole video. Later in the ride, the rider added a line I appreciated: they're not that out of shape, but they just couldn't do it. That's the reality for a lot of riders. This isn't about fitness in the abstract. A steep grade on a three-wheeled trike with a rider sitting back in a comfortable seat is a lot of work to start from a standstill. Admitting that on camera, and then showing what changes when the motor joins in, is far more convincing than claiming the hill is a breeze.

Getting started on the throttle

After waiting for a couple of cars to pass, the rider gently twisted the throttle. Gently is the key word. On a slope, a smooth, measured twist gets all three wheels rolling without any lurch. And just like that, the trike went from not being able to start at all to moving up the hill.

This is the single best use case for a throttle that I know of. The hardest part of any climb is the first few feet from a dead stop, when you have no momentum and gravity is pulling the other way. A throttle takes care of exactly that moment. Once you're moving, you can hand things over to pedal assist and your own legs.

Level one: too much of your own energy

Once rolling, the rider settled into pedal assist level one and immediately noticed they were using way too much of their own energy. Level one on a steep grade is like having a friend give you a light push. It helps, but not enough for a serious climb.

Level two: about four miles per hour

Keeping the same cadence, the rider clicked up to level two. The display showed about four miles per hour, still on a pretty steep part of the incline. Same legs, same rhythm, more help from the motor.

Level three: about eight miles per hour

Next click: level three. Now the trike was moving at around eight miles per hour on that same steep incline, and the rider mentioned they were in fifth gear on the manual gearing. That's the combination I mentioned earlier in action: assist and gears working together so the pedaling stays comfortable while the trike keeps climbing.

Level four: the motor takes over the heavy lifting

At level four, the rider said the motor was really doing all the work. The display showed around twelve miles per hour. Think about where this started. A few minutes earlier, on the same hill, the trike rolled backward with no assist. Now it was climbing at a speed many people would be happy cruising at on flat ground.

Level five: cresting the top

Coming up to the top of the hill, the rider moved into pedal assist level five and reached close to fifteen miles per hour. Their summary at the top was simple: they made it up without doing any real physical work, on a hill they could not have tackled on their own.

A quick note on those numbers. They're what the rider read off the display in the moment, on one particular hill, with one particular rider. Speeds on a climb will vary with the grade, the rider's weight, cadence, and gear choice. What matters is the pattern: each click of pedal assist added a clear, noticeable step of help. If you'll regularly be climbing with extra weight on board, you can also look at our electric trikes with a high weight capacity to compare options.

The habit worth building at the top of every hill

Once over the crest, the rider shared a tip that I'd put near the top of any list of advice for new e-trike riders. When you get to the top of a hill, click back down to pedal assist level one. They had already dropped to level two while talking, and explained why going lower matters.

If you stay in level five after the climb, the motor is still set to give you maximum help. The moment you start pedaling again on flat ground, it can take you from zero to really fast very quickly. That's not what you want, especially on a test ride when you're still learning how the trike responds. Dropping back to a low level after a climb keeps your next start predictable. Make it a habit and you'll never be surprised.

Every rider's body is different, and the level that feels right on a climb depends a lot on how the trike fits you. That's why I spend so much time on fitting. If you're not sure where to start, our personal fitting consultation walks you through it.

The rider closed out this section of the ride by circling back to the bottom of the hill one more time in conversation: on their own, they rolled backward. With the combination of pedal assist and the throttle, they rode up and over. That contrast is the whole case for an electric trike in hilly country, captured in a few minutes of video.

A climb gets all the attention, but what impressed me most about the middle of this ride was how thoughtfully the rider handled traffic and descents. These are the parts of a ride that don't make for flashy footage, and they're the parts that keep you safe.

Using the throttle to cross a busy street

The next challenge was a busy street. The rider explained their thinking clearly: they didn't want to rely only on their own pedaling to get across. You never know when a car might come around a corner quickly. So why take that risk when you don't have to?

The plan was to wait for traffic to clear completely, then use the throttle to get across quickly and safely. That's precisely how I'd want anyone to use a throttle at a crossing. You're not racing traffic. You're waiting for a real gap, and then using instant, smooth power to clear the intersection without the slow first few pedal strokes that leave you sitting in the lane longer than necessary.

The throttle needs pedal assist to be on

Here's a detail every new owner should know, and the rider made a point of explaining it. On this trike, you need to be in at least pedal assist level one for the throttle to work. If pedal assist isn't engaged, the throttle won't respond.

That's why, after crossing, the rider mentioned they were still in level one even though they didn't really need it on that stretch. They like to leave it on so the throttle or pedal assist is available if they need it for any reason. I think that's a smart default. Level one gives you very little push while you pedal, so it doesn't change the feel of the ride much, but it keeps the throttle ready for the next crossing, driveway, or surprise incline.

The kill switch

The rider also pointed out another safety feature: a kill switch. If for any reason you don't want pedal assist activated or the throttle to work, you hit the kill switch and the electric assistance cuts out. At that point, it's just you and the pedals.

There are plenty of reasons you might want that. Maybe you're walking the trike through a crowded area. Maybe you want a stretch of pure exercise. Maybe you simply want certainty that nothing will engage unexpectedly while you're stopped. Whatever the reason, it's reassuring to have a single control that shuts the electric side down. When you test ride, ask us to show you where it is and try it yourself so it's second nature.

Taking descents at your own pace

Then came a downhill. The rider was upfront that they personally don't like to go down hills quickly, and that they prefer to stay at or under about nine miles per hour on a descent. At one point the display read eleven, and they were riding the brakes to bring it back down.

What they noticed while braking is worth repeating. They didn't feel the trike pull one way or the other. It stayed straight and smooth. They described the brakes as quiet and smooth, to the point that you wouldn't know the brakes were on unless they told you.

And then came a candid admission I genuinely appreciated: riding the brakes the way they do probably isn't great for the trike. But again, they don't like going down hills fast, so that's their choice. I love this, because it's exactly how real people ride. Comfort and confidence come first. If you, like this rider, prefer to keep descents slow by feathering the brakes, that's a perfectly reasonable way to ride. Just know that regular braking means pads wear with use, so keep an eye on them, and have them checked during routine maintenance. If braking hardware is a priority for you, you can browse our electric trikes with disc brakes to see which models include them.

Why these small habits add up

Put these moments together and you get a very practical picture of safe e-trike riding. Wait for a genuine gap, then use the throttle to clear intersections. Leave pedal assist on a low level so the throttle stays available. Know where the kill switch is. Set your own speed limit on descents and use the brakes to hold it. None of this is complicated, and none of it requires you to be an experienced cyclist. It does require you to think a few seconds ahead, and the controls on this trike make that easy.

I'll add one thing from my side that wasn't in the video but always applies: wear a helmet, every ride, even on short trips around the neighborhood. We carry sixthreezero helmets if you need one to go with your trike.

The traffic crossings and the descent are where the Simple Glide showed its calm side. On the next stretch, the rider shifted focus from safety to comfort, and to the question of how much exercise you actually want on any given day.

Once the rider was past the busy streets and the descent, the ride shifted into the kind of riding most people will do most of the time: flat roads, gentle inclines, the occasional turn, and a choice about how much effort to put in. This is where a recumbent e-trike like the Simple Glide earns its reputation for comfort.

Turns without the lean

The first thing the rider noticed was how easy it was to navigate a turn. There was very little leaning required going into it. On a two-wheeled bike, turning is a balance act. You lean, the bike leans, and your body works to keep it all upright. On a trike, all three wheels stay on the ground, and you're steering more than balancing. For riders who've lost some confidence in their balance, or who simply don't want to think about it, that difference is huge.

Coming out of that turn onto a flat road, the rider was back in pedal assist level one, which is right where I'd expect someone to be cruising on level ground.

A seat that lets you use your whole body

The rider called out the Simple Glide's very wide, cushy seat. Then something interesting happened: on a slight incline, they decided they wanted some exercise, so they started pedaling and really feeling it themselves.

Because the seat is so wide and has a supportive back, they said they were using all their muscles. That's an underrated advantage of recumbent seating. When you're braced against a backrest, you can push into the pedals with more of your body rather than just your legs. It's a more stable, more supported way to exert yourself.

If seating comfort is your top priority, our most comfortable electric trikes collection is worth a look.

Watching the motor kick in

After pedaling under their own effort for a while, the rider said their legs were starting to get a little tired. So they clicked up to pedal assist level two and asked the camera a question: did you see the difference? Did you see the motor just kind of kick in?

That moment captures pedal assist better than any explanation. One button press, and the trike surges forward with noticeably more help. The rider described it as using full bike energy and zero self energy to pedal. As they came up the next little incline, it was no problem at all, because they were in level two. Then, back on flat land, they clicked down to level one again, following the same habit they recommended at the top of the big hill.

They summed up the experience with genuine amazement at the difference between the pedal assist levels. Each level is a distinct step, and you feel it right away. That's what makes the system so easy to learn. You don't need to understand torque sensors or motor wattage. You just need to know that up means more help and down means less.

As little or as much effort as you want

Later, on another small incline, the rider was again using their own energy and made what I think is the most important point of the whole video: the beauty of riding any kind of e-trike is that you can put in as little or as much effort as you want.

Want a workout? Drop to a low level, or use the kill switch and pedal on your own. Getting tired halfway through a ride? Click up a level and let the motor share the load. Need to get home without pedaling at all? Use the throttle.

The rider took that idea a step further, talking about people recovering from an injury or going through rehab. If your knee starts hurting partway through a ride, you can simply use the throttle and not pedal at all. Just cruise back. I hear versions of this story from customers all the time. The fear of getting stranded, of overdoing it and having no way home, keeps many people from riding. A throttle removes that fear. You can ride out with confidence, knowing your way back doesn't depend on how your joints feel an hour from now.

For riders in that situation, it's also worth thinking about how easy a trike is to get on and off. Our easy-to-mount e-trikes and electric trikes for seniors collections are good starting points if mounting and dismounting are concerns.

Wrapping up the ride

The rider had mentioned wanting to show the turning radius, though the clip moved on before we got a clear look at it, so I won't put a number on it here. At the end of the loop, they set the brakes again, the same brake lock from the bottom of the hill, and noted how easy it is to do. Then came their verdict: what a great ride, and one that would have been impossible on their own. They'd have had to find another path entirely.

That's really the heart of it. Without electric help, this rider's map gets smaller. With it, the hills become part of the ride instead of the reason to skip it.

Throughout the ride, the rider made a point of noting that the trike they were on is the standard version of the Simple Glide, with a single motor. They also mentioned that a dual-motor version is available to try, and described it as having so much power it's almost insane, in their words.

But their conclusion about the standard model was just as clear: it was perfect for them. A very comfortable, very controlled ride. The brakes impressed them. The hill that stopped them cold without help became a steady climb with it.

How I'd think about the choice

I always encourage people to match the trike to the riding they'll actually do. If your routes look like this one, with real hills, busy crossings, and a mix of flat cruising, the single-motor standard model handled it well in this video. If you're drawn to even more power, the dual-motor option is there, and the best way to judge whether you need it is to ride both back to back. Check the product pages for each one's current specs before you decide, and you can compare everything in our recumbent e-trike lineup.

Reading about pedal assist isn't the same as feeling it

The rider closed with an invitation I want to echo. If you live in Southern California, you know that unless you're right at the beach, it's hard to find a ride without a hill somewhere. So come out and test ride one of these e-trikes for yourself. You can read about pedal assist and the throttle all day long, but until you feel them on your own, especially on a hill, it's hard to grasp just how much of a difference they make.

You can find directions and hours on our visit our store page. If you're not near San Clemente, our 30-day test ride lets you try a trike on your own roads, and you can review our warranty details before you buy.

What to try on your test ride

Based on this ride, here's the short list I'd suggest working through:

• Find a slope, set the brakes, and take your hands off so you know how the trike holds on an incline.
• Start from a stop on the slope with a gentle twist of the throttle, so you feel how smoothly it gets all three wheels moving.
• Keep the same cadence and click up through the pedal assist levels one at a time, noticing how each step adds help.
• At the top, drop back to level one before you pedal again on flat ground.
• Try the kill switch so you know exactly where it is and what it does.
• Ride a descent at the speed that feels right to you, and feel how the brakes keep the trike straight and calm.

Do those six things, and you'll know more about whether an e-trike fits your life than any article can tell you, including this one. Thanks to our guest rider for taking us along on this one. I hope it shows what pedal assist and a throttle really mean on the kinds of roads we ride every day.