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Recumbent What IS that thing?! Recumbents may be odd looking, but they have many advantages over a "wedgie" bicycle. Discuss the in's and out's recumbent lifestyle in the recumbent forum.

New to recumbents, open to any suggestions.

Old 06-09-09, 12:22 PM
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New to recumbents, open to any suggestions.

Hey there,

My father, who has a prosthetic leg, has long been interested in biking but has some big balance issues. I think a recumbent would be perfect for him, and would allow him to go out on rides with my mother, but I've had a hard time getting him to check one out because bike stores typically don't stock them and, if they do, any one he gets will likely need to be customized for his particular needs, probably with some sort of harness for his prosthesis in stead of a second crank arm.

I live in south-central Virginia along the NC border, and my family frequents the DC/Northern Virginia area. First, does anyone have any suggestions for a good store or mechanic in either of these areas or somewhere in between that might be able to fix something up for my dad? Secondly, do you have any general suggestions for finding something he might be able to see in-store before buying or that might otherwise help me nudge him towards a recumbent? Thanks!
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Old 06-09-09, 01:43 PM
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When I see 'big balance issues' the first thing that comes to mind is tricycle. There are some recumbent trikes out there that would be nice, maybe a little too low in the beginning but would do away with the balance issue.
Since I do not live in your direction I can not give advice on where to look...cept at the bike shops.
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Old 06-09-09, 03:15 PM
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I second the suggestion to check out trikes. A delta-style trike would sit higher off of the ground.

On the lower end is the old-style Sun EZ-3 Heavy and with lower end components, but they've been around for a long time. Lots of them in the used marketplace.
https://www.bicycleman.com/recumbents...ent-trikes.htm

There there are the new line of Sun trikes:
https://basicallybicycles.com/itemdetails.cfm?id=1077

The more expensive, upscale Greenspeed Anura:
https://www.gstrikes.com/anura_main.html

And the even more expensive Hase KettWiesel
https://www.bicycleman.com/recumbents...ent-trikes.htm
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Old 06-10-09, 06:12 AM
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You might want to research "Hand Crank Trikes" on the internet. Many companies manufacture these bikes and there are many styles to choose from. Once you decide on a couple of possibilities you can generally find dealers listed on the manufacturer's web sites.

I rode with a gent last summer who was piloting a Hand Crank racing trike...well I didn't really ride with him. We started and ended at the same place, but got there much quicker than I did!

Good luck to you and your Dad. I hope you find a bike that he falls in love with.
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Old 06-10-09, 07:00 AM
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I have all my limbs, but lost a chunk of cerebellum when I was 20, leaving my balance too poor for a bicycle. Wanting to ride again though, I recently got a Catrike Road, and have been enjoying it a lot; no balance issues at all.
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Old 06-10-09, 02:35 PM
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Try this over on bentrideronline.com, there is a special interest Trike forum and you will find a number of people with similar capabilities riding trikes.

If you look at sunbicycles.com, you will find lists of dealers. However, my experience has been that most SUN dealers do not carry stock of the trikes unless they are specialist recumbent dealers, plus they are heavy compared to the competition.

Some manufacturer sites (nearly all have dealer locators) include :

www.catrike.com
https://www.ice.hpv.co.uk/
actionbent.com (unfortunately internet only distributor, but good price-points, and there is a relatively active Actionbent group on Yahoo Groups)
https://www.ice.hpv.co.uk/
https://www.sunbicycles.com/products.php?cl1=RECUMBENT

I have a SUN EZ Sport AX bike, not bad, but a bit heavy: my Trice (Ice Trike) arrives this week.
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Old 06-10-09, 11:30 PM
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Originally Posted by ahendo10

I live in south-central Virginia along the NC border, and my family frequents the DC/Northern Virginia area. First, does anyone have any suggestions for a good store or mechanic in either of these areas or somewhere in between that might be able to fix something up for my dad? Secondly, do you have any general suggestions for finding something he might be able to see in-store before buying or that might otherwise help me nudge him towards a recumbent? Thanks!
I've never been there, but I've heard nice things about Mt. Airy Bicycles in Maryland: https://www.bike123.com/ . I've chatted with the owner a couple times- he seems to have at least one of everything.
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Old 06-12-09, 09:52 PM
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Originally Posted by ahendo10
Hey there,

My father, who has a prosthetic leg, has long been interested in biking but has some big balance issues. I think a recumbent would be perfect for him, and would allow him to go out on rides with my mother, but I've had a hard time getting him to check one out because bike stores typically don't stock them and, if they do, any one he gets will likely need to be customized for his particular needs, probably with some sort of harness for his prosthesis in stead of a second crank arm.

I live in south-central Virginia along the NC border, and my family frequents the DC/Northern Virginia area. First, does anyone have any suggestions for a good store or mechanic in either of these areas or somewhere in between that might be able to fix something up for my dad? Secondly, do you have any general suggestions for finding something he might be able to see in-store before buying or that might otherwise help me nudge him towards a recumbent? Thanks!


I have a trike for sale. I live in north central Fla. Probably best to contact me off list sh8knj8k@msn.com



The trike I'm selling is a Wizwheelz TT3.4, has the long boom and has a Schlumpf Speed drive, under 1000 miles, $1500/offer I'm the original owner. The trike is garage kept and in very good condition





Jake

Reddick Fla.
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Old 06-13-09, 03:07 PM
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If you felt ambitious enough you could build him one!! I have a set of plans that I got from atomiczombie.com for a recumbent trike, delta style.
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