Hi all. I have three bicycles and love all of them. My parents, especially my dad, seem to be interested in (possibly) buying a recumbent. Dad is 76 years old and in great shape... he walks 8-10 miles a day, he's 6 ft. tall and weighs 160 pounds. Mom is 5' 4", is 79 years old, weighs 100 pounds and can still work harder than me when she is gardening... she'll probably live to be a hundred! Anyway, I don't know anything about recumbents, so I can't recommend anything to them. Maybe some of you will give me some good advice and recommendations, so that I can talk to them about it? Thanks!

Check out www.bentrideronline.com lots of info and an active bent forum.
Trikes might be a good idea as older bones don't bounce as well as younger ones.
They vary from easy to sit on low performance such as EZ-3 to very low high performance tadpoles.
Good luck

Check out www.bentrideronline.com lots of info and an active bent forum.
Trikes might be a good idea as older bones don't bounce as well as younger ones.
They vary from easy to sit on low performance such as EZ-3 to very low high performance tadpoles.
Good luck

Also consider a Worksman PAV3 trike for your dad. These
trikes are made for the less-abled and older set. The quality
is first rate and it's American made (in New York city !!).

Check out their web site......

www.worksman.com

Get the EZ3....it's a goodie, girls just love it, ask me about it all the time, I'm only 62.

Thanks to all those who recommended me a recumbent for my parents. I have saved the URL's and will have dad read about EZ-3 and PAV3. Most helpful!

Hi all. I have three bicycles and love all of them. My parents, especially my dad, seem to be interested in (possibly) buying a recumbent. Dad is 76 years old and in great shape... he walks 8-10 miles a day, he's 6 ft. tall and weighs 160 pounds. Mom is 5' 4", is 79 years old, weighs 100 pounds and can still work harder than me when she is gardening... she'll probably live to be a hundred! Anyway, I don't know anything about recumbents, so I can't recommend anything to them. Maybe some of you will give me some good advice and recommendations, so that I can talk to them about it? Thanks!
I ride along a 73-year-old who is very fast on his Easy Racer Ti-Rush. But then again he's also a triathlete who swims and runs regularly.
http://www.easyracers.com/ti_rush.htm

I ride along a 73-year-old who is very fast on his Easy Racer Ti-Rush. But then again he's also a triathlete who swims and runs regularly.
http://www.easyracers.com/ti_rush.htm


Well, dad's not the triathlon sort... He's in good shape because he's always been active; yet, he has never participated in sports of any kind, at least not as an adult. I think he can be persuaded in getting a moderately priced TRIKE of some sort... he's a thrifty kinda of guy (trikes are in the recumbent category, no? Btw, those loooooong chains look weird to me, as I'm a "bicycle person." Can they be a source of "problems"? It seems to me that a shaft drive would be the ticket for recumbents. Does such a thing exist?

Btw, those loooooong chains look weird to me, as I'm a "bicycle person." Can they be a source of "problems"? It seems to me that a shaft drive would be the ticket for recumbents. Does such a thing exist?
You get used to long chains. They pose no technical problems - just more length to clean and more dollars to replace. Yes, you may find home-built shaft drive bents - I recall seeing a website about it once - but there are no manufacturers that I know of. Have you looked at front-wheel drive bents? There are a few manufacturers of these, but mostly of the lowracer variety. They have short chains but unusual gear setups.