I love to hear stories. Mainly those from people I respect for what they have achieved. I especially like stories from the past which include an important part of the recumbent history. And this is one of them. Written by Ben Goodall, owner of Australian recumbent company Trisled, who posted it on his Facebook wall just a few days ago. And I think you may like it as well. Ben kindly agreed so here it is for you. The story of Trisled Gizmo.
I spent the day today frame building Gizmos. With the whole lockdown situation, it created a bit of an air of nostalgia. I’ve been building this model of recumbent trike for over 20 years now and in so many ways it has shaped both my professional and personal life. Gizmo came into existence for one primary reason. To prove “Touring trikes can be fast and fast trikes can go touring!”. Compact, durable, pack-down able for international travel, and capable of carrying as much gear as you can strap to it. When I released it the entire ‘bent world wanted to check it out. Bent Rider Online’s Bryan Ball said it had the most comfortable seat he’d ever ridden on. Then world land speed champion Sam Whittingham said it was the fastest, most comfortable thing on three wheels. I exhibited it as the world’s biggest consumer bike show Interbike in Las Vegas (one of my most terrifying business experiences). I’ve shared Gizmo with endless people and made too many friends count across the seat. I’ve toured much of Australia’s east coast on one as well as an amazing adventure through Vietnam with my ex-wife Yolande. The young lass in the seat of the Yellow one is my good friend Delia who I met shortly after completing the prototype and convinced to model it for a photo.
I never really achieved mind-blowing commercial success with Gizmo. Probably made only a couple of hundred. There are many things I could have done to increase its appeal. To be completely honest only a select portion of people who test ride it like it from the beginning. But that is just the point. Gizmo is as pure rider’s machine as a recumbent trike will ever be. By not pandering to the showroom wants and first impressions. By sticking to my guns on what I had actually got out there and tested for myself, Gizmo is just as relevant today as it was at the beginning (maybe more so!). You have to get to know it as much as it does you. Once you do it can take you on amazing adventures of freedom! I’m humbled to have a few in the order book again. I’ll keep making these for people as long as my hands and eye still work