Simple Glide Fat Tire eTrike First Ride: Back Support, Easy Turns, and a Rider Who Didn't Want to Get Off

Lindsay's First Ride on the Simple Glide Fat Tire

I've helped a lot of people pick out their first electric trike, and the moment I watch most closely is the first minute on the seat. Not the spec sheet, not the color, not the price. That first minute tells you whether a rider is going to relax into the machine or fight it the whole way. So when Lindsay came out to the sixthreezero headquarters to try the Simple Glide fat tire for the first time, with Lisa riding alongside as her guide, I was curious which way it would go.

It went the good way. Quickly.

This article walks through that whole ride, start to finish: what Lindsay noticed before she ever turned a wheel, how she handled the learning curve of a three-wheeler, what happened when she started climbing through the power levels, and why she spent most of the ride talking about one feature in particular. If you're weighing a recumbent-style electric trike and you've never ridden one, her experience is about as honest a preview as you'll find. She's not a cyclist. She said so herself. And that's exactly why her reactions are worth paying attention to.

The seat she noticed first

Before Lindsay even sat down, the seat caught her eye. She compared it to a really good ergonomic office chair, the kind built with genuine back support, and she pointed out something most riders don't think about until they're already sore: on just about any kind of bike, you don't get back support at all. You sit on a saddle, you lean forward or sit upright, and your lower back is on its own for the entire ride.

The Simple Glide takes a different approach. The seat has a proper backrest, and Lindsay picked up on it right away. "How cool is that?" was more or less her first review, and she hadn't rolled forward an inch yet.

I want to linger on this, because it ended up being the theme of her whole ride. She came back to the back support again and again. Within the first few seconds of moving, she said she could already feel it. A minute later she admitted she was kind of obsessed with it. Near the end, rolling through the neighborhood with the ocean in view, she called it everything. That isn't a rider being polite for the camera. That's a rider discovering something she didn't know she'd been missing.

Why back support matters more as we get older

Lindsay put it simply: as you get older, back support becomes more and more important. I hear some version of that in nearly every fitting conversation I have with riders past middle age. People tell me they used to love riding but drifted away because their back ached afterward, or because sitting upright on a narrow saddle for half an hour left them stiff for the rest of the day.

A backrest changes that equation. Instead of your core and lower back doing all the stabilizing, the seat shares the load. You can lean back, settle in, and let your body rest while the trike does the moving. For a lot of riders browsing our electric trikes for seniors, that single difference is what turns riding from something they put up with into something they look forward to.

Feeling secure, not perched

The other thing Lindsay mentioned early was how secure she felt. Her words: she didn't feel like she was going to fall backwards, or that anything was going to happen, or that she might fall off. That sensation is worth naming, because it's the opposite of what many adults feel when they climb back on a two-wheeler after years away. On a traditional bike you're perched. You're balancing the whole time, even when you're stopped at a light.

On the Simple Glide, Lindsay was sitting in the trike rather than on top of it. Three wheels handle the balance, the backrest holds her in place, and her job shrinks to steering, braking, and choosing how much help she wants from the motor. That's a much shorter list of things to worry about on a first ride, and it showed in how quickly she relaxed.

Starting on power level one

Lindsay began what she called the maiden voyage with the assist set to level one, and she said that was perfect to start. I agree completely. Level one gives you a gentle boost without surprises, which lets you learn how the trike accelerates, how it steers, and how it stops before you ask anything more of it.

She gave it what she called "a little boosty boosty," felt the back support working as she pulled away, and within seconds she was grinning. Moments later she was saying she wanted one. Then she said it again, and again. By her own estimate she'd been on the trike for about three seconds before she decided she was done shopping.

I've seen that reaction before, but rarely that fast. It's a good sign. When a first-time rider gets comfortable that quickly, it usually means the basic setup of the trike, the seating position, the steering feel, the way the power comes on, is working with them instead of against them.

A quick word on the fat tires

The model Lindsay rode is the fat tire version of the Simple Glide, and those wide tires show up in every shot of the ride. Lindsay didn't spend much time talking about them directly; she was too busy talking about the seat. But they're part of the picture when a trike feels planted under you from the first push. If wide rubber is high on your list, our fat tire electric trikes collection is the place to compare.

Once Lindsay had a feel for the basics, Lisa asked whether she felt ready to head out. Lindsay didn't hesitate. "I'm so ready, Lisa. Let's do it."

The first real lesson of Lindsay's ride had nothing to do with the motor. It was about width.

A trike isn't a bicycle with an extra wheel bolted on. It has a different footprint, and the biggest difference is at the back, where two wheels sit side by side. Lindsay figured this out almost immediately. Approaching her first corner, she announced she was going to go wide, all the way over, because she had to watch her back tires. It's a trike, she reminded herself out loud, so you've got a wider back, and you need to know the width of your back end.

Later in the ride she found a more memorable way to say it: remember, you've got a back. You've got a booty. You've got a wide booty in the back. It's a funny line, but it's genuinely good advice, and I may start borrowing it in fittings.

Why going wide matters

On a two-wheeler, your rear wheel follows almost the same line as your front wheel. Steer around an obstacle and the whole bike clears it. On a trike, the rear wheels don't trace the front wheel's path through a turn. They sit apart from each other, and the inside rear wheel cuts the corner tighter than you'd expect. Hug a curb on a turn and there's a decent chance one of your back wheels clips it.

Lindsay understood the stakes. You don't want to be running over curbs, she said; there'd be nothing fun about that. So her approach was to swing a little wider than felt natural, give the rear wheels room, and keep track of where they were. That's the right instinct, and it's the single most useful habit a new trike rider can build in the first week.

Corners and a healthy dose of caution

Early on, Lindsay started feeling bold. She said she was getting a little daredevil with this one, then caught herself and said she'd better be careful around the corners. Lisa was right there with the same reminder, and Lindsay passed it along to the camera: her instructor was telling her to be careful.

I'm glad this stayed in the video. Every new rider goes through this phase. The trike feels so stable and so easy that confidence runs ahead of experience for a minute. The fix is exactly what Lindsay did: say it out loud, ease off, and take the turns slower until they feel automatic. More than once she told herself to slow down because she was still learning how to drive it, and that she wasn't going to be crazy about it. That's a healthy attitude on any new vehicle.

How the Simple Glide handles turns

Once she'd settled in, Lindsay had good things to say about the steering. She said she really liked the turning on the Simple Glide, that it turns really easily, and she made a smart point about why that matters: on an e-trike, you're going to be doing a lot of turns. Neighborhood streets, parking lots, park paths, cul-de-sacs, driveways. A trike that fights you in the turns gets tiring fast. One that turns easily disappears underneath you.

She also gave a fair assessment of her own riding. Later on she admitted her turns were still a little choppy, then reminded everyone watching that this was her first time ever, so we should give her a little kindness. I think that's one of the most useful moments in the whole ride. Your first turns on a trike won't be smooth. They'll get smooth. And they get there faster when you're relaxed, which brings us right back to that seat.

Stop signs, crosswalks, and traffic

Lisa guided Lindsay through some real-world riding: stop signs, lefts, rights, and a crosswalk. At one stop sign the plan was to stop, check for cars, and use the crosswalk to make the turn. Lindsay's reaction was that it made sense. Stop here, go to the crosswalk, nobody's coming, turn. Easy peasy, as she put it.

She also made a point of saying it twice: safety first, always. Watch the road. Always look out for cars and people. When she wasn't sure whether to move left for an upcoming turn, she asked Lisa instead of guessing. None of this is glamorous, but it's what keeps a rider safe, and I appreciated seeing it in the footage rather than edited out. If you're getting ready for your own first rides, a good helmet from our helmet collection belongs on your list right next to the trike.

Her first sidewalk experience

Near the park, Lisa directed Lindsay onto a sidewalk path. Lindsay's reaction was refreshingly honest: this might be her very first sidewalk experience, and she let out a quick "holy crap" before committing. She remembered to go wide, because, again, she has a back. She made the transition, rolled onto the path, and celebrated. "Look at that, guys. I did it. I'm on the sidewalk."

A little later she made an observation I think matters to anyone worried a trike will be too big for their daily routes. She said she liked that the Simple Glide is still small enough to go on sidewalk paths. It's wider than a bicycle, yes, but it isn't so wide that it's stuck on the road. Always check your local rules on where trikes and e-trikes are allowed to ride, of course. But for riders who want three-wheel stability without feeling like they're piloting a small car, that balance is a big part of the appeal.

The cul-de-sac U-turn

At one point the route led into a little cul-de-sac, and Lindsay called out a U-turn. Right after, she told herself to slow down because she was getting a little crazy. That's the whole ride in miniature: a burst of fun, a quick self-check, a smooth recovery. It's what learning looks like when the machine underneath you is forgiving enough to let you make small mistakes without paying for them.

After some time on level one, Lindsay decided to bump up to level two "just because I feel like it." Honestly, that's about the best reason there is. One of the nicest things about an electric trike is that the assist level is a dial you control, not a decision someone else made for you. Feel like a little more? Take a little more.

Her reaction to level two was immediate: "Oh yeah." Then, a moment later, "Oh my gosh, that's amazing."

From two to three to four

Further along, Lindsay went up to level three. Then she said, "Let's try four." Lisa, watching her progress, remarked that she was a daredevil now. Lindsay's reply: "Let's go, baby. Throttle. Throttle."

What I want riders to notice is the order of operations. Lindsay didn't jump straight to the top. She started on one, learned the trike, moved to two once she felt settled, rode a good while, and only then tried three and four. By the time she was asking for more power, she already knew how the Simple Glide turned and how it stopped. That's the right sequence, and it's the one I recommend to everybody.

Pedal assist and throttle, working together

Lindsay used two kinds of help during her ride. There were the numbered power levels, which she stepped through one at a time, and there was the throttle, which she called on as she made a right turn and again when she wanted to pick up pace. Having both matters more than people expect.

A throttle is especially handy for getting rolling from a stop, for a little extra push through an intersection, or for a moment when your legs just want a break. The assist levels are what you set and forget for the long stretches. If a throttle is a must-have for you, our electric trikes with throttle control collection lets you browse with that in mind.

Hills, without the dread

Then came the hills. Lindsay's reaction to her first climb: "Big hills. Oh my gosh." Followed almost immediately by her verdict that this would be great if you lived in San Francisco, or anywhere with a lot of hills.

She also spoke for a lot of people when she described what climbing on a normal pedal bike is like. We all know, she said. You are going to be sweating. It's not fun. Nothing fun about that. Unless you're a cyclist, which she cheerfully admitted she is not, and she's not into the little tights and the whole outfit either.

I laughed at that, but she's making a serious point. Hills are the reason I hear most often for people giving up on bikes. Not distance, not traffic, not weather. Hills. A rider will happily cruise flat streets for miles, but one steep block on the way home turns the whole outing into something they dread. Electric assist takes that dread away. You still notice the hill, but you're not grinding up it in your lowest gear, out of breath, wondering why you bothered.

For Lindsay, that was the moment the Simple Glide went from fun to something more. "This to me is a dream," she said. "It's a dream."

Not tired, not sweaty

Later, looking back at how much ground they'd covered, Lindsay said she wasn't tired. Then she added the second half: and she wasn't sweaty. For anyone thinking about an e-trike for errands, meeting a friend for lunch, or getting to an appointment, that combination matters. Arriving somewhere red-faced and damp isn't on anybody's wish list.

She drew the comparison herself near the end of the ride. Heading back toward the park, she pointed out how fast they'd gotten around and said that if she'd been pedaling the whole way, it would have been a great workout, for sure, but she'd have been pedaling a lot. The motor doesn't make the trip shorter. It makes it easier, which means you're far more likely to actually take it.

And when you do want a workout

Here's the part that tends to get overlooked. Lindsay wasn't anti-exercise. She was clear that if you want to pedal and get some exercise, great. You just turn down the electric help and pedal. She said she really liked having the options, and that it's really, really nice to have options.

That's the whole philosophy of a good e-trike in a sentence. Some days you want to cruise. Some days you want to work. Some days you set out wanting to work and then hit a headwind on the way home. With adjustable assist, you don't have to decide before you leave the house. You turn it up or down as the ride unfolds.

One practical suggestion from my side: if fitness is part of your plan, try a lower assist level on the flats and save the higher levels for climbs. You'll get honest exercise on the easy stretches without ever facing a hill that sends you home early.

Speed, and how it felt

Lindsay never read a top speed off the display, and I'm not going to put a number in her mouth. What she did describe was the feeling: wind in her face, "I'm going so fast," "this is a blast," "I am having so much fun." For a first-time rider on her first-ever outing, that's the useful part. The Simple Glide felt lively to her without ever feeling out of control, and whenever she decided to slow down, she did. If you want the exact figures, the product page lists them, and that's where I'd send you rather than to anyone's impressions, including mine.

Somewhere around the time the group rolled past a brewery, Lindsay said something that captures why so many people fall for electric trikes. With an e-trike, she said, you get to see a lot more of the world, because you're covering more territory. "I'm going places, man."

It sounds like a throwaway line. It isn't. On foot, your world is a few blocks. In a car, you see the road and the bumper ahead of you and not much else. On a trike, you're moving fast enough to get somewhere and slow enough to notice where you are. You pass the brewery. You find the little park. You catch the ocean between the houses.

Relaxing into the ride

Lindsay talked about this directly. What's so nice about being on an e-trike, she said, is that you just relax and take in the scenery. You're not sitting there worrying about pedaling your butt off to get somewhere.

That's the seat and the motor working together. The backrest lets her body rest. The assist means she isn't straining. With both of those handled, her attention is free to go outward, to the neighborhood around her. She kept narrating what she saw: the brewery, a pretty little park, and then, with real delight, the water. "Oh, I see the ocean, everybody."

A basket, and room in the back

Practicality came up early, too. Lindsay imagined heading down to the store for groceries, because the Simple Glide has a basket to put them in. She contrasted that with a regular bike, where, as she put it, you don't have any place to put anything.

She also pointed out that beyond the basket, she had room in the back. For a lot of riders, that's the line between an e-trike being a toy and being transportation. If you can carry a bag of groceries, a tote, a jacket, or a few things from the pharmacy, a quick trip that would have meant starting the car becomes a short, pleasant ride instead. If carrying capacity is near the top of your list, take a look at our electric tricycles with a large basket, and our sixthreezero baskets collection has add-on options as well.

Give your car a break

Lindsay brought all of this together on the road toward the water. She pictured riding along the ocean in the summertime, then came back down to everyday life: living in California, doing errands and close-by stuff, and just being outside. Then she delivered her line of the day: "Give your car a break and get on your e-trike."

I couldn't have said it better. Most of our car trips are short. A run to the store, a drop-off, a visit to a friend nearby. Those are exactly the trips an e-trike handles best. You skip the hunt for parking, you get fresh air, and you tend to arrive in a better mood than you left in. Nobody's telling you to sell the car. Just give it some days off.

Music, scenery, and staying aware

At one point, clearly enjoying herself, Lindsay imagined listening to her tunes on a ride like this. I understand the appeal. It's exactly the kind of ride that makes you want a soundtrack. My one piece of advice from the fitting side: if you bring music along, keep the volume low enough, or one ear free enough, that you can still hear cars, cyclists, and people around you. Lindsay's own rule, safety first always, applies here too.

Through the neighborhood

The route itself was a nice mix, and it looks a lot like the loops many of our riders take every week. Lindsay rolled through residential streets ("Check out this neighborhood"), took turns at stop signs, passed a brewery, glimpsed the ocean, wound into a little cul-de-sac, and made her way to a park by way of a sidewalk path. No grand destination. Just a good stretch of time outside, covering more ground than she'd ever manage on foot.

What stood out to me was how quickly the trike faded into the background. In the first half of the ride, Lindsay talked a lot about the controls: the power levels, the throttle, the width of the back end, the turns. By the second half she was mostly talking about the scenery, the wind in her face, how much fun she was having, and, naturally, the back support. That shift is what you want from any ride. When the machine fades and the experience takes over, the machine is doing its job.

"I love it," on repeat

There's a stretch of the video where Lindsay just says "I love it" and "love it" over and over, close to a dozen times in a row. It's the sort of thing an editor might be tempted to trim. I'm keeping the spirit of it here because it's real. She'd been riding a good while by then. The novelty had worn off. And she was still saying it.

That tells me more about her experience than any spec could. Excitement in the first thirty seconds is common. Still being that happy after a long loop through the neighborhood, past the brewery, toward the ocean, and on to the park is the reaction we hope for. Lindsay summed it up as they rolled along: "This is a blast."

Lindsay's ride covered a lot of ground in a single outing. Here's what I'd pull out of it if you're considering an electric trike for yourself, and especially if you've never ridden one.

It really is easy to learn

Lindsay said it plainly in the middle of her ride: this was her first ride on this e-trike, and look how she was doing. It's really easy to learn, she said, so easy. I'll stand behind that with one caveat she supplied herself. Easy to learn isn't the same as instantly polished. Her turns were choppy at first. She had to remind herself to go wide. She slowed down whenever she felt herself getting carried away. All normal, and all things that smooth out over a few rides.

Back support is the headline

If you remember one thing from Lindsay's experience, make it the seat. She noticed it before riding, felt it within seconds, talked about it through the whole ride, and called it everything by the end. For riders who've stepped away from bikes because of back discomfort, or who simply want to sit back and relax rather than perch, a supportive seat with a backrest can change how riding feels from top to bottom. Our most comfortable electric trikes collection is a good place to start if comfort sits at the top of your list.

Security builds confidence

Lindsay said she felt very secure, with no sense she might tip backwards or fall off. That feeling is what let her go from level one to level four in one ride, try her first sidewalk path, and handle stop signs and crosswalks on day one. Confidence grows fastest when the machine underneath you feels steady.

The motor removes the hard parts

Hills, distance, and sweat are the three things that keep the most people off bikes. Lindsay's ride addressed all three. She climbed without dreading it, covered more ground than she expected, and finished neither tired nor sweaty. And on the days you want exercise, you simply turn the assist down and pedal.

First-ride tips, straight from Lindsay's ride

Everything below comes from what Lindsay and Lisa actually did on camera. I've just put it in order.

• Start on the lowest assist level. Lindsay began on one and said it was perfect to start. Learn how the trike steers and stops before asking for more.
• Go wide on corners. Your two rear wheels cut inside your turning line, so give them room and keep clear of curbs.
• Know your back end. In Lindsay's words, you've got a wide booty in the back. Keep it in mind around curbs, posts, and parked cars.
• Slow down while you're learning. Whenever Lindsay felt herself getting carried away, she eased off. Match your speed to your experience, not your excitement.
• Step up the power gradually. One, then two, then three and four once she felt settled. That progression made the higher levels feel natural.
• Stop at stop signs and use crosswalks. Check for cars, then go.
• Ask when you're unsure. Lindsay checked with Lisa about lane position before a turn instead of guessing.
• Safety first, always. Watch for cars and people, and wear a helmet.

Who the Simple Glide fat tire seems right for

Based on Lindsay's ride, I'd point the Simple Glide fat tire toward a few kinds of riders. People who value comfort and back support above everything else. People who aren't cyclists and have no wish to become one. Riders in hilly areas who are tired of dreading the climb home. Anyone hoping to swap short car trips for something more enjoyable. And first-time trike riders who want a forgiving machine that's easy to learn. If getting on and off is a concern for you, it's also worth browsing our easy-to-mount e-trikes to compare frame styles.

Getting the right fit

Every body is different, and the best trike is the one that fits yours. If you're not sure where to begin, our personal fitting process matches you with models that suit your height, riding style, and goals, and I'm always glad to talk it through. For a wider look at what to weigh before you buy, the sixthreezero ultimate bike buyer's guide walks through the big decisions one at a time.

Try it for yourself

The best way to understand what Lindsay felt is to sit in that seat yourself. If you're nearby, you can visit our store and take a test ride. If you're not, our 30-day test ride gives you a full month at home to make sure the trike is right for you. And if you'd like to see the whole range of three-wheelers side by side, you can browse all of our electric tricycles.

As Lindsay rolled back toward the park at the end of her ride, she had one last thing to say: "This is super fun." One first ride, and she wanted one. I have a feeling a lot of you will feel the same way.