The guys at Sun Bicycle are very good at seeing an opportunity and capitalizing on it. There has been a need for a reasonable priced Hand Cycle for some time now and Sun has brought a nice quality Hand Cycle to market with the HT3 SX.

The HT3 SX is very well built, it has a light weight steel frame that is TIG Welded together like many other Sun Trikes.

Adjustability: The HT3 SX seat is almost the same as a wheel chair seat and can be easily adapted for a lap belt or chest belt. The seat can be easily adjusted closer to the handlebars to accommodate smaller size riders by a simple lever under the seat. Its foot pads can be adjusted up and down for different size people as well as forward an backwards. They come with Velcro straps to make sure your feet stay where they are meant to be. The cranks have a height adjustment as well.

Steering: The HT3 SX is easy and natural to perform by just angling the cranks slightly while cranking. There is a spring in the steering so it wants to keep the trike riding straight. There is very little effort needed to overcome the spring resistance to turn the HT3 SX. The spring tension can also be adjusted for you personal taste. We felt no steering wobble while riding and the trike and it tracked nice and straight while coasting or cranking.

Braking: There are two ways you can brake on the HT3 SX. The first is with the hand brake on the left side which stops the front wheel with a simple V brake like on most two wheel bicycles. The second is to apply the coaster brake by turning the cranks backwards about one quarter turn. There is a parking break button on the brake lever so you can park on a hill and your hand cycle will not roll away.

Gearing: The gearing on the HT3 SX is performed by a reliable Shimano three speed internal hub. This is one of the only gripe I have with the HT3 SX. Even though the Shimano or Sturmey Archer eight speed hubs cost more, I think it would have made the Hand Cycle much more user friendly. The Shimano three speed in my opinion just does not have enough gear range, especially if it is hilly where you live. Shimano does make a twenty two tooth front sprocket that can be added to make it easier to crank.

Cables: The cables on HT3 SX are standard bicycle shifter and brake cable which is easily replaceable. The cable housing will need to be replaced more often than a traditional bicycle because of all the bending while cranking.

Chain: The chain is routed over two idle pulley which are adjustable along with the height of the crank for the proper chain tension. It runs over the pulley very nicely with no bouncing. The chain is enclosed by the crank to hopefully keep anything like loose clothing from getting tangled up into the chain and chain ring.

Pros: We are very happy to see the low cost on the HT3 SX Hand Cycle compared to other manufactures of Hand Cycles. Sun Bicycles was able to bring a quality Hand Cycle to market because of there huge buying power with all of there other model trikes.

Cons: Three speed gearing is not enough if it is hilly where you live. The gearing on the HT3 SX can be change easily but we would have preferred and eight speed hub to make the trike appeal to a broader group of people

Best place to buy: Your local bike dealer or www.industrialbicycles.com