
Why Ride Recumbent?
There are some very good reasons for reclining. You rest on a supportive and comfortable seat, rather than perching on a saddle. Your diaphragm can expand freely, improving your breathing. Weight is taken off your wrists, your neck does not have to strain to see where you are going, and you have better all-round vision. Recumbents are quite often very beneficial to cyclists with back or knee problems, who would otherwise need to restrict or stop cycling altogether.
Recumbent bikes and trikes come in many flavours, and are often very fast machines, partly due to the improved aerodynamics of having your legs in front of you not below you. And with a firm supportive seat to push against, a recumbent cyclist produces just as much energy as an upright cyclist. It is also argued that recumbents are safer than upright cycles - for one thing, the first part of your body to hit an obstruction is your feet, not your head. Brakes can be pulled as hard as they will go with no fear of diving over the handlebars, and car drivers seem to be much more wary of recumbents. Read lots more in the Technical Guide....
Which Recumbent?
That all depends on what you intend to do with it ;-) Two-wheelers are generally lighter and faster, and happier in traffic. Three-wheelers are more stable, especially at very low speeds, and can be a lot of fun to play with as they’re like pedal-powered go-karts.
We are dealers for six different brands of recumbent - all with several models - so I’ve tried to arrange them into a sensible order ;-)
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| Flevobike GreenMachine: With a totally enclosed chain drive and a mid-mounted Rohloff gearing system, a perfect all weather recumbent... | ||||
| Hase Tagun: A comfortable, relaxing but sporty suspended bike which folds... | ||||
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Recumbent tricycles are a bit harder to categorise, so I’ve grouped them by manufacturer:
HPVelotechnik Scorpion
HPVelotechnik have been making what I think are the world’s best two-wheel recumbents for over 10 years - now they’ve turned their attention to 3 wheels, with suspension and aluminium frame...
Hase also specialise in conversions for the disabled - they make an arm-powered version of the Kettwiesel, the Handybike, and lots of other adaptions. There’s also an all-titanium race version - the Kettwiesel TT, and an offroad version - the Kettwiesel Ride...
We also stock a wide range of specialist recumbent parts - for tyres, have a look at our Tyre Guide, and for other parts see our Recumbent Parts section...
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Last updated on:
29 January 2012
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tel: 0141 942 2552, email: mail@kinetics-online.co.uk
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