How to Install a Captain's Chair and Swivel Seat on the Simple Glide eTrike

Why the Seat Is the Upgrade Riders Ask About Most

Ask anyone who rides a recumbent trike regularly what matters most, and the answer usually isn't the motor or the battery. It's the seat. On a bike you can stand up on the pedals, shift your weight, or hop off at a light and stretch. On a recumbent, your body is in the seat for the whole ride, and every bump, every long stretch of pavement, and every slow turn runs through it. If the seat isn't right, nothing else about the trike feels right either.

That's why the captain's chair and the swivel seat are two of the most popular add-ons for the Simple Glide. The captain's chair gives you a broader, more supportive place to sit, with the kind of backrest and cushioning you'd expect from a well-made armchair rather than a bicycle saddle. The swivel adds something a lot of riders didn't know they wanted until they tried it: the ability to rotate the seat so you can sit down facing sideways and then turn into riding position, instead of lowering yourself straight down between the frame and the handlebars.

In this walkthrough, Dustin, who has spent 20 years in the bike and ebike industry and serves as sixthreezero's head fit specialist, takes a Simple Glide apart and puts it back together with both upgrades. He shows two routes: bolting the captain's chair straight onto the existing seat rails, and installing it on top of the swivel base. Both are covered here in detail, along with the small adjustments that make the difference between a frustrating afternoon and a clean install.

If you're still shopping and haven't picked a trike yet, it's worth browsing the full range of recumbent electric trikes first. Everything below applies to the Simple Glide platform, but the thinking behind it, about seat height, comfort, and getting on and off easily, applies to almost any three-wheeler you might consider.

The Simple Glide comes in several versions. The one Dustin works on in the video is the low-to-the-ground model, but there's also a dual motor version, a deluxe version, and the Simple Glide fat tire, which you'll find alongside our other fat tire electric trikes. The good news is that all of them share the same platform for mounting the seat. The bolt pattern, the sliding rails, and the general layout are the same, so the steps below carry over from one model to the next.

There is one meaningful difference to know about before you start. On the Simple Glide fat tire, the seat assembly is fixed to the frame. On the model in the video, the whole seat assembly can be unbolted and lifted off the trike, which makes the job more comfortable because you can work on it at bench height or on a chair beside you.

If your seat assembly is fixed, don't worry. Dustin is clear that the process is the same. You'll simply be doing every step with the seat still attached to the trike. That means a bit more crouching and reaching, and you may want to work from a low stool so you're at eye level with the bolts, but nothing about the order of operations changes. Every bolt he removes and installs in the video is reachable with the assembly in place.

One more model-specific detail comes up later: some versions have small spacers between the rails and the frame platform, and some don't. Dustin mentions they're found on the dual motor, deluxe, and low-to-the-ground versions, and he believes most standard Simple Glide fat tires don't have them. We'll come back to why that matters, because those spacers are one of the easiest ways to bring your seat height back down after adding the swivel.

Before you pick up a wrench, decide which setup you're building. There are two options, and they solve slightly different problems.

Captain's chair mounted directly to the rails. This is the simpler job. You remove the original seat from the sliding rails and bolt the captain's chair in its place. You keep the fore-and-aft adjustment the rails give you, you get the comfort of the bigger chair, and the seat height stays close to where it was. If your main complaint about the stock seat is support or cushioning, and you have no trouble getting on and off the trike, this may be all you need.

Captain's chair on the swivel base. Here the swivel sits between the sliding rails and the chair. You still slide forward and back, but now you can also rotate the seat. For riders with stiff hips, bad knees, or back trouble, that rotation can make mounting and dismounting much easier: you sit down from the side, the way you'd sit on a bench, and then swing your legs around to the pedals. Plenty of riders who come to us looking at easy-to-mount trikes or electric trikes for seniors end up loving this feature.

The trade-off is height. Adding the swivel raises the seat noticeably. Dustin measures it at roughly an inch and a quarter. That doesn't sound like much, but on a low recumbent, where your feet reach forward to the pedals and down to the ground at stops, an inch and a quarter changes the feel. Taller riders often won't notice or may even prefer it. Shorter riders may find their feet don't plant as comfortably at a stop.

If you're not sure which way to go, think about which is harder for you right now: sitting in the seat for an hour, or getting into it. If it's the first, start with the direct mount. If it's the second, the swivel is worth the extra height and the extra half hour of work. And if you want a second opinion based on your height and mobility, our fitting consultation is exactly the kind of question it's designed for.

This isn't a job that needs a full workshop. Based on what Dustin uses in the video, here's what to have on hand:

• A 5 mm Allen key for the bolts that hold the original seat to the sliding rails. A T-handle or L-shaped key works; a 5 mm hex bit on a small ratchet speeds things up.
• A 13 mm wrench for the bolts on the swivel base. Dustin notes that having two 13 mm wrenches is ideal, since some of these are bolt-and-nut combinations and you'll want to hold one side while turning the other.
• A ratcheting 13 mm wrench for the final tightening of the captain's chair to the swivel. These bolts sit underneath the chair in tight spaces, and a ratcheting wrench saves a lot of repositioning.
• The Allen key that fits the bolts securing the seat assembly to the trike, if your model has a removable assembly.
• A low chair or stool. Dustin admits he likes having his folding chair nearby. You'll spend a fair amount of time working on bolts underneath the seat, and sitting at the right height makes it much easier to see what you're threading.

A small tray or magnetic dish for bolts is also a good idea. You'll be removing four bolts from the original seat and reusing them, and the swivel and captain's chair come with their own hardware. Keeping each set separate means you won't end up trying to force the wrong length of bolt into a thread.

Give yourself some time. Dustin's install runs about fifteen minutes of video, with plenty of explanation along the way, but if this is your first time working on the trike, budget closer to an hour. Nothing here is difficult, but a couple of steps involve lining up holes from underneath, and those go faster when you aren't rushing. If you've already put the trike together from the box using our assembly instructions, you'll find this a comparable level of effort.

On models with a removable seat assembly, start by locating the bolts that secure it to the frame. Dustin points these out right at the start: they're the bolts holding the assembly in place, and loosening them with the Allen key lets you lift the whole seat, rails and all, off the trike.

Once they're loose, lift the seat up and set it somewhere you can work on it. In the video, Dustin rests it right on top of the captain's chair, which keeps it at a convenient height and stops it from sliding around. A workbench, a sturdy table with a towel on it, or even a clean patch of garage floor would also work, as long as you can get to the underside.

If you have the Simple Glide fat tire with the fixed seat, skip this step. You'll carry out the next steps with the seat on the trike. It helps to make sure the trike is on level ground and won't roll while you work. Some riders like to set the parking brake, if their model has one, or simply wedge something under a rear wheel.

A quick note on what you're looking at: the seat assembly is made up of the seat itself and a pair of sliding rails underneath it. The rails are what let you adjust the seat forward and back to fit your leg length, using the adjuster lever. The rails stay on the trike in every version of this upgrade. What changes is what you bolt on top of them, either the captain's chair directly, or the swivel base with the captain's chair on top of that.

With the assembly off the trike (or with your head under the seat if it's fixed), the next job is to take the rails off the original seat. Flip the assembly so you can see where the rails meet the bottom of the seat. There are four bolts, two at the front and two at the back, threading directly through the rails into the seat. These are 5 mm.

Start with the two you can reach easily. Insert the Allen key, loosen both bolts, and pull them out. Set them aside; you'll use them again if you go with the direct-mount option.

The other two are usually hidden by the rail mechanism itself. To get to them, use the adjuster to slide the rails forward. That shifts the mechanism out of the way and exposes the remaining two bolts. Loosen and remove those as well. Dustin makes this look quick, but if you've never done it, it's easy to spend a few minutes wondering why you can only find two bolts. Sliding the rails is the trick.

With all four bolts out, the original seat lifts free of the rails. Put it somewhere safe. Even if you don't plan to go back to it, it's worth keeping in case you sell the trike, lend it to a smaller rider, or want to try the stock setup again for comparison.

Now, rather than leaving the bare rails lying on your workbench, Dustin reinstalls the rail assembly onto the trike. His reasoning is practical: you need space to work on the swivel and the chair, and the trike frame makes an excellent, stable mounting fixture. With the rails bolted back in place, you can attach the next pieces with the whole thing held firmly at a reasonable working height.

While the rails are off, look underneath them where they meet the frame platform. On many Simple Glide models you'll find small spacers there. They're easy to overlook, and most riders never know they exist, but Dustin makes a point of calling them out because they're removable, and removing them lowers the seat.

According to Dustin, these spacers are on the dual motor Simple Glide, the deluxe Simple Glide, and the low-to-the-ground version. He believes most of the regular Simple Glide fat tires don't have them, but it's worth checking yours rather than assuming.

Why would you want to take them out? Because the swivel base adds height, and pulling the spacers gives some of it back. It won't fully offset the inch and a quarter the swivel adds, but every bit helps if your feet feel a touch far from the ground at stops. Even riders who aren't installing the swivel sometimes remove the spacers just to get a lower, more grounded feel.

The process is simple. With the rails off the platform, loosen the bolts that hold the rails down, lift the rails away, take the spacers out, and bolt the rails back on. Before you reinstall, check that the bolts still reach the threads properly without the extra spacer thickness. They should, since you're shortening the stack, but make sure each bolt seats fully and the rails sit flat with no rocking.

This is a good example of why it pays to do this kind of upgrade yourself, or at least to watch it done. Small adjustments like this aren't obvious from the outside, and they can make the difference between a trike that's almost right and one that fits you properly. If you're working through fit questions more broadly, our bike advice library covers seat height and riding position in a lot more depth.

If you've decided you don't need the swivel, this is where your install gets short and sweet. Dustin shows it as a quick aside before moving on to the swivel, and honestly, it's about as simple as bike work gets.

Bring the captain's chair over and set it on top of the rails. Look underneath and you'll see the chair has threaded mounting points that line up with the holes in the rails. The idea is the same as the original seat: bolts pass up through the rails and thread directly into the chair.

Dustin suggests starting at the back. Line up the rear holes in the rails with the threaded points in the chair, then thread in the two rear bolts by hand. Starting by hand matters. If a bolt doesn't turn freely for the first few rotations, back it out and try again rather than forcing it with the Allen key. Cross-threading a bolt into the seat's mounting point is the one mistake in this job that's genuinely annoying to fix.

Once the rear bolts are started, use the adjuster to slide the rails so you can reach the front holes, and thread in the front two the same way. When all four are in, snug them down evenly with the 5 mm Allen key. Work in a cross pattern, a little at a time, rather than cranking one bolt fully tight before touching the others. That keeps the chair sitting flat on the rails.

That's it. Slide the chair through its full range on the rails to make sure nothing binds, sit in it, and check that it doesn't shift or creak. If your seat assembly was removed, bolt the assembly back onto the trike and tighten the mounting bolts. You now have the captain's chair at close to your original seat height, with all the forward and back adjustment you had before.

If you're installing the swivel, this is where the real work begins. Take the swivel base and set it on the rails. You'll notice it has the same kind of mounting hole pattern as the original seat, which is by design. Drop it into position so the holes line up with the rails.

The swivel mechanism is what lets the seat rotate. Dustin mentions you can take the seat assembly off the trike for this part if you prefer, but he's comfortable doing it either way. With the rails already bolted to the trike, the frame holds everything steady.

The order matters here. Dustin starts with the rear screws. Slide the rails all the way back using the adjuster, which gives you access to the rear mounting holes. Then line up the first rear bolt, reach underneath, and thread it in. Expect a bit of fiddling to get the hole lined up perfectly. Dustin slides the rails back a little further mid-step to get things aligned, which is normal.

Here's the key point: don't tighten the rear bolts all the way yet. Get both rear bolts threaded in and leave them slightly loose. That play gives you the room to wiggle the swivel base into alignment with the front holes. If you lock the back down first, you can end up with front holes that are a millimeter or two off, and no amount of pushing will bring them into line.

With both rear bolts started, use the adjuster to slide the rails forward. That exposes the front mounting points. At this stage you'll have the two back bolts mounted, and you're ready to deal with the front. But before you do, there's one adjustment that catches a lot of people out, and it's worth giving it its own section.

On the swivel base there's a separate rail, a short bracket that's what actually mounts to the sliding rails at the front. When Dustin first tried to line it up, it didn't match. The holes in that bracket wouldn't sit over the threads on the sliding rails no matter how he shifted things.

The reason was simple. The bracket was mounted to the front bolt position on the swivel. If you look closely, you'll see there are actually three holes along that part of the swivel, giving you three possible positions for the bracket. To get it to line up with the sliding rails, Dustin had to move the bracket back one hole.

Here's how he did it:

1. Using a 13 mm wrench, loosen the bolt holding the bracket to the swivel.
2. Rotate the seat portion of the swivel so you can get to the bolts. You will have to turn it to reach them; with the swivel facing forward, the top plate blocks access.
3. Slide the bracket back one hole on both sides. Both sides need to shift, not just one.
4. Leave the bolts loose for now so the bracket has room to settle into place.
5. Turn the swivel back to forward-facing.

Once the bracket was in the second hole, everything lined up. The front bolts dropped right into the threads on the sliding rails. Dustin tightened down the front bolts, then went back to the rear ones and tightened those too.

Next, he snugged the bracket bolts. With the swivel rotated for access and the 13 mm wrench in hand, he tightened each one, noting that there's a lock nut sandwiched between the two pieces. That lock nut is what keeps the bracket secure, so you don't need to reef on these bolts. Dustin describes them as tight enough once they're firm by hand plus a bit with the wrench. Do the same on the other side, then rotate the swivel back to the front.

Dustin calls this out again in his final tips because it's the single most common snag. If your front holes won't line up, don't assume the parts are wrong. Check which of the three holes the bracket is in, and move it back one.

With the swivel base securely mounted and sliding freely on the rails, it's time for the chair itself. Grab the captain's chair and bring it over.

To get the chair on, you're going to need to turn the swivel. The mounting points are beneath the chair, and the only way to get your wrench and fingers to them is by rotating the swivel so each set of holes comes out from under the seat in turn. Dustin turns it a little to one side to start.

Take a look at the top plate of the swivel. At the front, there are two longer slots. Those are where the front of the chair mounts. The slots give you some adjustment, which helps because you're lining up holes on a heavy object you can't see underneath very well.

Set the chair on top of the swivel, then work one side at a time:

1. On the first side, push a bolt up through the front slot and feel for the threads in the chair. Turn it by hand until it catches. Leave it hand-tight. You want a little wiggle room for the next bolts.
2. Move to the other side, rotate the swivel as needed, find the matching front bolt position, line it up, and thread it in by hand. Again, hand-tight only.
3. Rotate the swivel the other way to expose the rear mounting holes. There are a couple of holes to choose from here. Dustin pauses to check which one lines up and finds it's the one closest toward the rear on that side. Line it up, thread the bolt in, and hand-tighten.
4. Swing back around, rotate the seat once more, and install the last bolt. In Dustin's case, this one lined up perfectly and went straight in.

Hand-tightening every bolt first, before snugging any of them, is the habit that makes this go smoothly. It lets the chair settle into its natural position on the swivel. If you tighten the first bolt fully, the chair gets pinned slightly off-center and the last hole won't quite match. Dustin's comment that you have "a little bit of wiggle room to play with" is exactly the point: keep that wiggle room until all four are in.

Once all four bolts are threaded, Dustin does a quick function check before final tightening. The chair turns. It slides forward and back. Everything moves the way it should. It's worth doing this yourself now, while the bolts are still only snug, because if something binds, it's far easier to sort out before you've cranked everything down.

Now get your ratcheting 13 mm wrench. Rotate the swivel so you can get underneath to the first pair of bolts and tighten them down. As Dustin puts it, once the bolts are threaded, this is the easy part. The hard work was getting everything lined up. With a ratcheting wrench in a tight space, the final tightening goes quickly.

Keep track of which bolts you've done. Dustin catches himself halfway through, asking if he'd done one, and realizing he hadn't. It's an easy slip when you're rotating the seat back and forth and each bolt looks the same as the last. A simple method is to always work in the same order, front left, front right, rear right, rear left, and say each one out loud or tick it off as you go. Then do one last pass around all four to confirm.

When everything's tight, if your assembly was removed, put it back on the trike and tighten the bolts securing it to the frame. Then do a full check:

• Rotate the seat through its full range. It should turn smoothly without scraping or catching.
• Slide it forward and back on the rails and make sure the adjuster locks positively at each position.
• Sit in the chair and rock gently side to side and front to back. There should be no clunks, creaks, or movement between the chair and swivel or between the swivel and rails.
• Check that the swivel locks in the forward riding position, so the seat can't rotate while you're pedaling.

If anything feels loose, go back to that joint and tighten it before riding. Dustin's sign-off says it all: once it's done, you're set, and it's very comfortable.

Once the captain's chair is sitting on the swivel, you'll see the difference straight away. Dustin points it out at the end of the install: adding the swivel raises the seat by roughly an inch and a quarter.

On a low recumbent, that's not trivial. On the low-to-the-ground Simple Glide he's working on, Dustin notes that the swivel and captain's chair combination puts the seat high enough that he'd consider it suited to riders around 5'11" and taller. On the other Simple Glide versions, including the fat tire, the dual motor, and the deluxe, the swivel is a common and comfortable add-on, but it's still worth thinking about how the extra height will feel for you.

If the seat feels too high, you have a few options:

• Remove the spacers. As covered above, many Simple Glide models have spacers between the rails and the frame. Taking them out recovers some height.
• Skip the swivel. Mount the captain's chair directly to the rails and you keep the comfort upgrade with almost no change in height.
• Use the rails. Sliding the seat to a different position doesn't change height directly, but it changes your relationship to the pedals and the ground, and many riders find a slightly different position feels more natural with the taller seat.

What matters most is whether you can comfortably put your feet down at a stop and reach the pedals through a full stroke without overextending your knees. Take a short test ride in a quiet area before heading out on a longer trip. If you're shorter, or you're buying the trike for someone with limited mobility, it's especially worth thinking this through before ordering. Our team can talk you through it as part of a personal fitting, and if you ever want to ask a question directly, the contact page is the quickest route.

One of the more interesting points Dustin makes at the end of the video is that the Simple Glide's rail system isn't unique to sixthreezero. It's the same style of rail system used on forklift seats and many tractor seats. Those seats typically come with their own adjustable rails, and the mounting pattern is designed to be compatible across a lot of equipment.

That opens up a lot of options. If you want a different color, such as an all-black seat to match your trike, or a different style of cushioning or backrest, there's a wide range of forklift and tractor seats available that should fit the rail system. Dustin mentions a follow-up video showing some of these alternatives, so keep an eye on our video blog.

A few things to keep in mind if you go that route:

• Check the hole pattern. "Compatible with most" isn't the same as "compatible with yours." Measure the spacing of the mounting holes on your rails, front to back and side to side, and compare it to the seat's listed dimensions before you order.
• Think about height and weight. Some equipment seats are thick and heavy. A tall, heavy seat raises your center of gravity and your sitting height, which matters on a trike more than on a tractor.
• Look at the backrest angle. A recumbent puts you in a reclined position with your legs out in front. Seats designed for upright equipment may have a backrest angle that feels different in that posture.
• Use the right hardware. Make sure the bolts you use are the right length and thread for the new seat. Don't reuse a bolt that's too long or too short just because it's in the box.

If you'd rather keep things simple, the sixthreezero seats collection and our broader range of add-ons are designed with our trikes in mind, so you know the fit is right out of the box.

Most installs go smoothly, but here are the issues that come up most often, and how to handle them.

"I can only find two of the four bolts holding the original seat." The other two are hidden by the rail mechanism. Use the adjuster to slide the rails forward and they'll appear.

"The swivel's front holes won't line up with the sliding rails." This is the big one. Check the bracket on the swivel. There are three holes it can be mounted in. If it's in the front hole, loosen it with a 13 mm wrench, move it back one hole on both sides, and try again. Also make sure you didn't fully tighten the rear bolts before trying the front; leave them a little loose until everything is aligned.

"I can't reach the bolts under the chair." Rotate the swivel. Every bolt is reachable when the seat is turned the right way, but none of them are easy to reach with it facing forward. Work one side at a time and keep rotating as needed.

"The last bolt won't go in." Usually this means one of the other bolts was tightened too early and pinned the chair slightly out of position. Back the other bolts off a turn or two so the chair can shift, line up the last hole, thread the bolt in by hand, and then tighten everything.

"A bolt feels gritty or stiff as I thread it." Stop and back it out. It may be cross-threading. Look at the hole, clean out any debris, and restart it by hand at a straight angle. Never use the wrench to force a bolt through resistance in the first few turns.

"The seat feels too high now." Expected with the swivel. See the ride height section above. Removing the spacers, or going with a direct mount, are your main options.

If you've worked through these and something still isn't right, don't keep forcing it. Reach out through our contact page with a photo of where you're stuck. Our team can usually spot the problem from a picture, and your trike's warranty coverage is there if a part turns out to be faulty.

Your first ride on the new seat should be short and easy. Pick somewhere quiet and flat, such as a driveway, a cul-de-sac, or an empty parking lot, and spend ten minutes getting a feel for it before heading out on a proper ride.

Pay attention to a few things. Can you put your feet down comfortably at a stop? Does your leg reach the pedals through a full stroke without your knee locking out or bunching up? If not, adjust the seat on the rails until it does. Does the swivel stay locked while you're riding? Do you hear any creaks or clicks from under the seat, especially over bumps? Any noise usually means a bolt needs another quarter turn.

Next, practice getting on and off with the swivel. If that's why you installed it, take a few minutes to find a technique that works for you. Most riders find it easiest to rotate the seat toward the side they're approaching from, sit down fully, then swing their legs around and rotate back to center before locking the seat. Getting off is the same in reverse. With a little practice it becomes second nature.

After the first few rides, go back and check every bolt you touched: the rail-to-frame bolts, the swivel-to-rail bolts, the bracket bolts, and the chair-to-swivel bolts. New hardware can settle slightly as the parts bed in under your weight, and a quick re-check catches anything that's backed off. After that, add the seat bolts to your regular maintenance routine. A check every month or so, or before a long ride, takes two minutes and prevents surprises.

It's also a good time to look over the rest of the trike while you've got tools out: tire pressure, brakes, and the general condition of the frame and fasteners. If anything is worn, our parts section has replacements for most components.

Can I install the captain's chair on the Simple Glide fat tire if the seat is fixed?

Yes. The process is the same. You'll do every step with the seat assembly attached to the trike instead of removing it first.

Do I need the swivel to use the captain's chair?

No. The captain's chair can mount directly to the sliding rails, using the same type of bolts that held the original seat. The swivel is a separate add-on for easier mounting and dismounting.

How much does the swivel raise the seat?

Roughly an inch and a quarter, based on Dustin's measurement in the video.

Can I lower the seat after installing the swivel?

Partly. Many Simple Glide models have spacers between the rails and the frame, and removing them lowers the seat a little. Dustin notes they're found on the dual motor, deluxe, and low-to-the-ground versions, and generally not on the standard fat tire model.

What tools do I need?

A 5 mm Allen key, a 13 mm wrench (two is better), and ideally a ratcheting 13 mm wrench for the final tightening under the chair. A low chair or stool to sit on while you work is a big help.

Why won't my swivel line up with the rails?

The bracket on the swivel may be in the wrong position. It can mount in one of three holes. Moving it back one hole usually fixes the problem.

Can I use a forklift or tractor seat instead?

The Simple Glide uses a rail system that's common on forklift and tractor seats, so many will fit. Always check the hole spacing, height, and weight before buying.

How long does it take?

The direct-mount option is a quick job. The swivel install takes longer, mainly because of the alignment steps. Budget about an hour if it's your first time.

Will this affect my warranty?

If you have questions about your specific situation, it's best to check the warranty page or contact our team directly.

Upgrading the seat on a Simple Glide is one of the best things you can do for how the trike feels day to day. The captain's chair gives you real support for longer rides, and the swivel takes a lot of the strain out of getting on and off. Neither job needs special skills, just a few common wrenches, some patience, and an understanding of the couple of spots where things tend to snag.

If you remember only two things from Dustin's walkthrough, make it these. First, the bracket on the swivel may need to move back one hole for it to line up properly with the sliding rails. Second, you'll need to rotate the seat to reach the mounting bolts, so work one side at a time and hand-tighten everything before final tightening. Get those right and the rest falls into place.

Take your time with it. As Dustin says, it can definitely be done, and once it's on there, it's really comfortable.

If you're still deciding on a trike, our most comfortable electric trikes and the full electric trike lineup are good places to start, and the buyer's guide walks through the bigger decisions. Every trike also comes with a 30-day test ride, so you can find out for yourself how a seat upgrade like this changes the ride.