Why Rungu is more stable than a bicycle
…it’s not an adult trike
Rungu can stay upright and has three wheels but it isn’t an Adult Trike. An Adult Trike, like the Schwinn Meridian, has two wheels in back like a kid’s trike but has upright seating like a bicycle. The rear wheels are positioned more than two feet apart and require no ability to balance or bicycling experience to ride. When cornering an Adult Trike at higher speeds, riders need to shift their weight off of the trike and inside the turn to keep an Adult Trike from tipping over. Rungu has upright seating like a bicycle but with two wheels in front that have a narrow stance. The stance is narrower so riding Rungu requires some ability to balance but allows a rider to bank when cornering at higher speeds like a bicycle. Both Rungu and Adult Trikes will stay upright when parked on level ground without requiring a kickstand.
Rungu makes “track-stands” easy
Rungu stays upright easier than a bike. Because of the two front wheels, it is possible to come to a stop and stay upright. The stance of the two front wheels and front wheel suspension is designed for off-road handling, not to keep you upright when stopped. The dual-front-wheel design does give the rider extra time to move one foot from the pedal to the ground and stabilize Rungu at a stop. Bicyclists performing “track-stands” stay upright when stopped with both feet on the pedals. Staying upright when stopped on a Rungu requires some of the same skill as a track-stand but is much easier to accomplish.
You don’t have to know how to ride a bike to ride Rungu
You don’t need to know how to ride a bike to ride Rungu (but it helps). Riding a Rungu requires less balance than riding a bicycle, and people who have never ridden or those who have not ridden in decades find themselves riding Rungu with confidence in fewer than 20 minutes of practice. The hardest skill to learn riding a bike is getting started on your own. You push down on one pedal and counterbalance the bike to keep it from falling at slow speed while you wobble your way to stability. On Rungu, the second wheel helps to counter balance and minimize wobbling so you can start moving with less risk of falling. People who know how to ride a bike often over-compensate when riding Rungu for the first time. This leads to a different kind of wobbling, but in general, experienced bicyclists master Rungu in fewer than 5 minutes.
People with motorcycle experience find it very easy to ride Rungu. Because of the stability of the two-front wheels, riders need to lean into turns just like riding a motorcycle. This can be an alien feeling if you’ve never ridden a motorcycle, but once you learn how it makes riding Rungu even more fun!
You can learn more about the physics of Rungu by clicking on this link, or if you have other questions, please email us at info@riderungu.com.